Newswriting for Radio

Welcome to newscript.com, the Newswriting for Radio website. The Newswriting for Radio website is an online tutorial on the craft of radio journalism, with particular attention to the writing of news scripts. Since 1996, newscript.com has been providing creative suggestions and ideas to radio news reporters, writers and anchors, as well as to broadcast journalism students around the world.

Improving your newscasts

The purpose of this website is to help radio journalists improve their skills as writers and anchors. Journalism education has greatly declined over the past two decades as colleges and universities have either closed journalism programs or transformed them into "Communications Departments." Radio journalism has been especially hard hit, with diminished teaching resources given over to television instruction because TV is the more attractive broadcast medium.

Consequently, many journalists starting out in radio lack basic knowledge on how to communicate effectively though the medium. In the past, much of that knowledge was learned on the job, but consolidations, cutbacks and downsizing in radio have reduced news staffs to the point where news directors can afford little time to training those new in the profession.

In this sink-or-swim environment, far too many radio journalists have figured out only how to float. They haven't been introduced to the wide range of possibilities in preparing radio news and are often frustrated either by not being able to move up to a larger market or by not having the satisfaction of becoming respected journalists within their communities.

Features

This website is intended for those who are early in their radio careers, whether in a first or second job or still in college or an internship. The pages assume some experience in radio, but visitors unfamiliar with some of the terminology may consult a small glossary. Although the Newswriting for Radio website has been extensively used in college journalism courses, the website is not meant to replace a broadcast newswriting textbook. The Newswriting for Radio website is a supplement to coursework, and especially to on-the-job experience.

The site is organized into four major sections. In The Basics, you learn fundamental lessons and characteristics of broadcast newswriting. Three different newscast formats are examined in The Styles. You'll examine some of the questions surrounding what deserves coverage in the section on News Judgment. Finally, The Newsroom teaches you about creating an organized environment that allows you to be better prepared for stories. There's also a collection of links to other radio journalism websites.

On several of the pages, sample news scripts are accompanied on the right side of the page by the speaker symbol (shown on the right side of this paragraph). The appearance of the symbol next to a script indicates that you can listen to a sound file (in the WAV format) containing the words of the script. Listening to these files will allow you to hear and practice the patterns of voice modulation regularly used in radio newscasts. Just click on the symbol to hear the script.

Michael Meckler, creator of the Newswriting for Radio website

I began working in radio news with an internship at WCBE in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, back in 1982. Over the next decade and a half, I worked at radio stations in small, medium and large markets in the Midwest and Northeast, including three enjoyable years in the 1990s as a writer, producer and reporter at the pre-Westinghouse, pre-Infinity, pre-Viacom CBS owned-and-operated all-news WWJ in Detroit.

I have also taught at several universities, including Michigan, Ohio State and Yale. I have a master's degree in history and a Ph.D. in classical studies, and I pursue scholarly research in ancient and medieval history in addition to my work as a journalist. My personal website, which primarily concerns academic matters, can be found at MichaelMeckler.com. I also post notices on Twitter when I update the blog on my personal website.

To all the visitors to newscript.com, best wishes on your radio career, and thanks for visiting!

The contents of the Newswriting for Radio website are under copyright and may not be printed or reproduced in any form without permission.