{"id":1715,"date":"2021-07-16T17:12:07","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T17:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/?page_id=1715"},"modified":"2022-09-05T15:52:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T15:52:45","slug":"write-radio-and-tv-scripts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/write-radio-and-tv-scripts\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio and TV scripts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #444444;\">Exactly how do you plan and structure a news script?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Most news is delivered around 2 to 3 words per minute,\u00a0 so plan for 120 to 180 wpm in your script.<\/p>\n<p>Cues and timing elements help structure radio and tv scripts.<\/p>\n<p>Print conventions are different from radio and TV scripts. For example, where\u00a0 <em>\u00a0$2 million<\/em> would be the AP Style for a print article, a script would spell out <em>&#8220;two million dollars.&#8221;\u00a0 <\/em>Scripts also spell out the pronunciations of difficult names and places.<\/p>\n<p>Examples for radio and tv\/av.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0BUENOS AIRES (BWAY-NOS-<strong>AIR<\/strong>-EES)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Buenos Aires (bway nos <em>air<\/em> ees)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Radio scripts are written in ALL CAPS (upper case).\u00a0 But in TV, only the cues and directions are written in all caps. The actual spoken narration is in standard upper and lower case type.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Five basic broadcast news story types:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Readers (RDR) &#8212; Anchor or reporter just reads the story with no actualities, sometimes with over the shoulder graphics (OTS).\u00a0 Usually short, 20 seconds or so.<\/li>\n<li>Voice Overs (VO) &#8212; Anchor reads &#8220;over&#8221;\u00a0 full screen graphic or video.\u00a0 Usually short, 20 seconds or so.<\/li>\n<li>Sound on Tape (SOT) &#8212; Clip from an interview, speech or event;\u00a0 with lead-in and exit line, often expressed as VO-SOT-VO.\u00a0 Mid-length, 45 seconds.<\/li>\n<li>Package (PKG) &#8212; One event usually with one reporter, various forms including VOSOTVO or looklive stand-up.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s1\">DONUT &#8212; A\u00a0 news package that begins with the anchor in a live intro, switches to a reporter&#8217;s PKG, and ends with an anchor\u00a0 &#8220;tag.&#8221;\u00a0 (A tag is a final word from the anchor that fills in a little extra meaning or emotion.)\u00a0 Usually 45 seconds to one and a half minutes.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Radio Scripts have time and actuality cues along with spoken text. Here&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/studylib.net\/doc\/17820804\/podcast-script-writing-guide\">a guide to podcast scripts.<\/a>\u00a0 Television scripts have time and video cues along with spoken text. Here&#8217;s one example<a href=\"https:\/\/visihow.com\/File:Newsscript.jpg\"> from Visi How.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.poynter.org\/educators-students\/2016\/5-tips-for-writing-for-tv-scripts\/\">Here&#8217;s some advice from Poynter<\/a> on TV script writing<\/p>\n<p><strong>Terms used in script writing:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Actuality\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 Sometimes shortened to \u201cACT\u201d Audio or video recording taken outside of the studio on location (aka sound bite in radio;\u00a0 aka SOT Sound On Tape from a\u00a0 source in a TV script)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>A &#8211; Roll<\/strong> &#8212; Main part of a\u00a0 news package including stand up and interviews.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B &#8211; Roll<\/strong> &#8212; Background video with establishing shots or more of the scene,\u00a0 usually with VO (voice over) or NAT (natural sound)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chroma Key &#8211; Greenscreen<\/strong> &#8211;\u00a0 Video in background, reporter in foreground<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chyron<\/strong> &#8211; Words or images on part of the screen (usually lower third or over-the shoulder) that identify speakers, locations, subjects, or tease another story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Crawl\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 AKA the news ticker, a thin bar of scrolling text which informs viewers of any upcoming breaking news or weather alerts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>\u00a0<\/b><span class=\"s1\"><b>Hot Roll <\/b>\u2013 When a crew in the field doesn\u2019t have enough time to feed back footage to the newsroom, so they must roll it live from the truck during the broadcast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Kicker\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 A light story that ends a newscast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Lip Flap<\/b> \u2013 Video of somebody talking, with the audio portion muted. Happens when using video of people being interviewed as B-roll. Avoid it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Lower Third\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 The bottom third of the frame containing text information regarding the current story, the anchors\u2019 or interviewee\u2019s identification, and other relevant captions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>NATSOT or NAT Package<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A type of pre-produced package that has no reporter track; the only audio is the natural sound of the video being shown. It may also use interview sound bites. Often used to convey the mood or atmosphere at a scene or an event.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>NAT Sound\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 Natural sound on video that the microphone picks up. Example: Including sound of a rally with video of a rally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>OC or On Cam\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 Abbreviation for \u201con camera.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>On Camera Bridge or OC Bridge\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 The reporter appearing on camera in the middle of the story. Used for transition between voiceovers or soundbites, or when there is no video to talk over.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Outcue\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 The final three or four words of a news package, included in scripts to signal to the anchor and control room staff when the package is about to end so they can cue the next element in the program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Over the Shoulder Graphic or OTS or OC Box\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 A graphic that appears over the anchor\u2019s shoulder.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Package (sometimes Wrap)<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A pre-recorded, pre-produced news story, usually by a reporter, with track, sound, B-roll, and possibly a stand-up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>POV or Point-of-View Shot<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 B-roll shot from the perspective of the subject, illustrating what the subject sees or saw at a given moment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Pronouncer<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Phonetic spelling of word in story, placed in copy behind correctly spelled word.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>PSA<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Abbreviation for \u201cPublic Service Announcement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Raw Video<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Unedited video, just as it was shot. Also called field video.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Reader<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A script read entirely by the anchor on camera, without sound bites or video.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Remote<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A live shot from the field, where a satellite truck is required to transmit the image.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Rundown<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 An electronic or paper form created by the line producer of a news broadcast. Gives specific details of every element in a newscast, including the order of stories, video, audio, and graphic elements and timing for each.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>ROSR\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 Radio On Scene Report. Audio broadcast from the scene of a breaking news story, or shortly in the wake of recent events.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Rundown\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 An electronic or paper form created by the line producer of a news broadcast. Gives specific details of every element in a newscast, including the order of stories, video, audio and graphic elements and timing for each.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sidebar\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 A small story, graphic, or chart accompanying a bigger story on the same topic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sign Off, Sig, Sig Out<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Reporter giving name and dateline at the end of a package or report.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Slate<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A full-screen graphic, shown on screen before the beginning of pre-produced video which identifies the story title, the reporter\u2019s name, and the total running time. Only for newsroom use; not meant for broadcast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Slug<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The name given to a story for newsroom use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>SOT or Sound Bit<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cSound on Tape.\u201d A recorded comment, usually audio and video, from a news source other than the anchor, narration, or voiceover, played during a news story. Usually an edited portion of a larger statement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Spot<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A commercial.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Stacking\u00a0<\/b>\u2013\u00a0Lining up stories within a newscast based on their important and relationship to one another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Stagger-through\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 A full rehearsal of the show.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Standup<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A reporter speaking to camera, not covered by video.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Studio<\/b>\u00a0<b>(in the)<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A story updating or supplying additional details about an event that has been previously covered.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Still<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A still image as opposed to a moving video image. Stills can be used to illustrate a story and can sometimes be displayed over track or interview clips instead of video footage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Sting\u00a0<\/b>\u2013<b>\u00a0<\/b>A brief piece of music, typically less than fifteen seconds, used to punctuate the end of a segment or story. The sting is often the station\u2019s own jingle.<b>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Stop Set\u00a0<\/b>\u2013<b>\u00a0<\/b>The time allotted to any commercial breaks within the broadcast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Survey Week, Sweeps Week \u2013<\/b>\u00a0The week in which a station\u2019s viewership is monitored and rated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Switch \u2013<\/b>\u00a0An instruction given to the control room to cut to another camera or video source.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Tag \u2013<\/b>\u00a0A paragraph at the end of a news story, usually delivered by the anchor, that provides additional information or sums up the item.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Tease<\/b>\u00a0<b>\u2013<\/b>\u00a0A short description of an upcoming story designed to keep the viewer watching through commercial breaks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Tight on \u2013\u00a0<\/b>A direction to the camera crew to zoom in on a subject so that they fill the shot (e.g. \u201cTight on anchor\/guest.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Time Code<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The time signature on a camera or recording device\u2014actual time a story is being shot on a 24-hour basis, i.e., 1300 is 1 p.m., 0900 is 9 a.m. Includes hours, minutes, seconds, and video frames.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Toss<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 When an anchor or reporter turns over a portion of the show to another anchor or reporter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Track<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The reporter\u2019s written and recorded script in a news package.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Tracking<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The act of recording a script.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>TRT<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cTotal running time.\u201d The length of an edited package.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Two-Shot<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Most often an interview guest and the back of the reporter\u2019s head. Also used to refer to any shot including two people; two anchors at a single news desk, for instance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Upcut<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Chopping off the beginning of the audio or video of a shot or video story. Opposite of downcut.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Video Journalist or VJ<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A reporter who shoots his or her own video and may even edit it. Also referred to as a \u201cMultimedia Journalist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Videographer<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A name for a photographer or cameraperson.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VO or Voiceover \u2013<\/b>\u00a0\u201cVoiceover\u201d followed by \u201csound on tape.\u201d A news script, usually read live, that includes video, track, and at least one sound bite.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>VOSOT<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cVoiceover\u201d followed by \u201csound on tape.\u201d A news script, usually read live, that includes video, track, and at least one sound bite.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Watermark \u2013\u00a0<\/b>A semi-transparent graphic, usually the station\u2019s logo, placed in one corner of the broadcast feed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Woodshedding \u2013\u00a0<\/b>The practice of annotating a news script to denote which words should be spoken with emphasis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Back Timing\u00a0<\/b>\u2013 On-set on-the-fly timed rehearsal of a final segment of a news broadcast so the anchors can speed up or slow down\u00a0 to coincide with the exact time to end the news program.\u00a0 (Traditional broadcast news)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><strong>MORE\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Newsscript.TV_.example.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1852 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Newsscript.TV_.example-212x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Newsscript.TV_.example-212x300.jpeg 212w, https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Newsscript.TV_.example-565x800.jpeg 565w, https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Newsscript.TV_.example.jpeg 638w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sample\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TV.Script.docx\">TV.Script\u00a0<\/a> (.docx)<\/p>\n<p>Sample <a href=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Radio.Script.docx\">Radio.Script<\/a> \u00a0(.docx)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cuescript.tv\/downloads\/Manuals\/MAC_Comprehensive%20Manual%20For%20Software%20Link.pdf\">CueScript teleprompter manual<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exactly how do you plan and structure a news script?\u00a0 Most news is delivered around 2 to 3 words per minute,\u00a0 so plan for 120 to 180 wpm in your script. Cues and timing elements help structure radio and tv &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/write-radio-and-tv-scripts\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page.php","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1715","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1715"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1872,"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1715\/revisions\/1872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}