How to write copy for radio

A lecture from Annette Rizzo. I found it to be really helpful, so I thought that it couldn't hurt to stick it on here.

Writing copy

You have to work twice as hard to grab the attention of a listener when writing a news bulletin, as there are no visual aids.

Good copy will:

• Have a 'headline' style to it
• Have the main point of the story in the first sentence
• Cut out waffle. It's not a lecture or an essay - just include the salient facts
• Avoid repetition e.g. avoid using 'The Government wants... the public wants'
• Avoid polysyllabic words where a mono one would have done the job... like I could have just said 'long words' there. The copy will have to be read out on air, and words that are tricky to say just make the whole process more difficult
• Avoid clichés, melodrama and emotive language - where applicable; it is acceptable to say house prices 'crashed' if they dropped overnight by 30%, but not acceptable to say an MP 'attacked' the Prime Minister when all they did is disagree with them. Unless The Sun has a radio station, leave it out
• Avoid complex sentences with many a comma. It's not an 18th century book on philosophy, and while the reader is struggling to make sense of the long sentence a listener will lose track of what they are trying to say
• Remember your target audience at all times. While younger listeners will prefer a more conversational style, older listeners tend to see this as a lack of authority. It's acceptable to use longer words for an older audience.
• As you write your copy, read it aloud to see if it flows and is easy to say.

Mechanics

1 line spacing

One side of the page only, to avoid the sound of rustling paper on air

Never handwritten, always typed up so that everybody can read it

Audio cuts written as: "Mr Brown has defended his decision"

Audio name - Brown expenses

IN WORDS: I have already...

OUT WORDS: ...will not be drawn.

Duration: 10'

SOC

(which means standard out cue - I'm John Smith, and that was the news. You stay classy, Hampshire)

Peas in a POD - Perfect Oral Delivery 

PACE

Nice, consistent pace

Slower than ordinary conversation

Variation in intonation

PAUSE

Well placed pauses

Mark script with pauses

Helps to phrase things properly - spoken punctuation

PHRASING

Grouping of words into 'sense units' A sense unit is a mental concept spoken in one breath.

PITCH

Is the position of sound on the tone scale.

Make it low but give it variation

Mark your script so that you know where the most important words are which should have the most stress

PRONUNCIATION

Received pronunciation used to be the standard - not many stations would deviate away from that

Any accent is acceptable now... BUT:

Avoid glottal stops (sounding like you're from Eastenders) and misconstruing the meaning of words

e.g.

Perfect is an adjective. Perfect is a verb. Be clear.

PRACTICE

Recording yourself speaking is the only way to improve.

Also helps to listen to the professionals doing it - listen to the radio.

That's it folks.