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Copyright 2010, The Johns Hopkins University and Christine Butorff. All rights reserved. Use of these materials permitted only in accordance with license rights granted. Materials provided “AS IS”; no representations or warranties provided. User assumes all responsibility for use, and all liability related thereto, and must independently review all materials for accuracy and efficacy. May contain materials owned by others. User is responsible for obtaining permissions for use from third parties as needed.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Your use of this material constitutes acceptance of that license and the conditions of use of materials on this site.
Writing for Radio
Christine Buttorff
Where we are headed
Introduction
An Overview of the Writing Process Sound
Writing
Voicing
This assignment: Personal Stories
National Public Radio
268 independent member organizations
764 stations nationwide.
Pay dues, purchase programming
Member stations also produce programming.
Funding
Source: http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/publicradiofinances.html
Funding
Source: http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/publicradiofinances.html
Before we start writing
Visualize listeners.
Public Domain.
Listening to the Radio
Photo by Quentin Xeres Zamfir. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
Photo by Scott Miller. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
Listening to the radio
Photo by Indiana Public Media. Creative Commons BY-NC.
Listening to the radio.
Image: wikihow.com
Photo by j/k_lolz. Creative Commons BY.
The point is…
…clarity is a must.
If listeners tune out, they should still be able to follow you story.
The Story Process
Sound sets the place
Sound helps put the listener where you are.
Images through sound.
Make it up…within the realm of what is natural.
Be careful, all rooms make noise.
Some Examples
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89289448 -David Greene, US
http://wpln.org/news/mp3-2009/fairgrounds-speedway_072009.mp3
-Craig Havighurst, US
Writing
Tell me a story.
DO NOT give me a report.
Use particular events or people who illustrate the story you are trying to tell.
So how do we do this?
Write your headline
You’ve only got a few words, so they had better be good ones.
Helps clarify what your story is about.
Some Examples
Ex-Transit Officer Sentenced To Two Years In Shooting Death Of Unarmed Man
Midterm Losses Bite Blue Dog Democrats
Labor Dept. Asks Court To Close Massey Mine In Ky.
Npr.org, 7 November 2010.
Use Active Voice
This means:
Someone doing something
“By” is an indicator. academics love passive voice.
Saves words
Some examples
Passive: The heat was chased out of town by the approaching storm.
Active: The approaching storm chased the heat out of town.
Passive: Vitamins may be the cure for cancer, a Johns Hopkins study has found.
Active: Johns Hopkins researchers think vitamins can cure cancer.
Passive: The reason he left college was that his health became impaired.
Active: Failing health compelled him to leave college.*
*Strunk and White: p19
Freedom…
From academic stricture:
Use contractions….
I’ve, wouldn’t, couldn’t, don’t, would’ve
Be conversational: Read out loud as you write.
Clichés: A mixed bag.
A note on adjectives Use them judiciously. They
introduce bias.
Some examples: Gut-wrenching Parent’s worst nightmare
“Only months before, a new drug had shown that it could safely slow the cancer’s progress in certain patients. Both cousins had the type of tumor almost sure to respond to it.”
Harmon A. New Drugs Stir Debate on Rules of Clinical Trials New York Times. Online: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/health/research/19trial.html?pagewanted=all
Writing Motivates Voicing
One idea per sentence
“Dear friend now in the dusty clockless hours of the town when the streets lie black and steaming in the wake of the watertrucks and now when the drunk and the homeless have washed up in the lees of walls in alleys or abandoned lots and cats go forth highshouldered and lean in the grim perimeters about, now in these sootblacked brick or cobbled corridors where lightwire shadows make a gothic harp of cellar doors no soul shall walk save you.”
-Cormac McCarthy, “Suttree.” 1979
Seriously, One Idea at a time.
“Liking him she opened the door and looked out. It was raining harder. A man in a rubber cape was crossing the empty square to the café. The cat would be around to the right. Perhaps she could go along under the eaves. As she stood in the doorway an umbrella opened behind her.”
Ernest Hemingway, “Cat in the Rain.”
Voicing.
The HARDEST PART
Short, clear sentences make voicing easier.
Read in phrases: listeners have to catch up to you
Imitate one of NPR’s reporters: http://www.npr.org/templates/
story/story.php?storyId=103569390 -Danny Zwerdling, India
Personal Stories
Personal Stories
Keep it short
800 words is about 4 minutes
Most commentaries are less than this
Several different devices can help you tell your story: Use a pivotal event in your life
Use sound Try other creative tactics
Structure
Host Intro: this has to tell us the point
Body of story Beginning: why we should
care
Middle: the drama/tension
End: what happens next
Hosts can have an “out” which is an extra bit of information.
An Example: Beginning
Copyright © NPR. All Rights Reserved.
An Example: Middle
Copyright © NPR. All Rights Reserved.
An Example: Ending
Copyright © NPR. All Rights Reserved.
Personal Stories: No sound, just commentary
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129909819 -Georgie Hanlin, Iraq
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129731335 -Jeff Moyer, US
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129046431 -Jackie Lyden, US
Personal Stories: Commentary and Sound
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129357264 -Rachel Martin, Afghanistan
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128196971
-Sandip Roy, India
Try other things…
Many personal stories, such as those on This American Life, have a narrator or interviewer to help us along.
Try a Story Corps format:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129001959
Parting Thoughts: “Be Clear.”
“Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise.”
Remember to tailor your communication to your audience.
White EB, Strunk W. The Elements of Style. 4th edition. Allyn&Baco, Massachusetts, 2000: pp23 and 79.
References Roy S. No Country for Old People? NPR. 30 July 2010.
Martin R. Reporter’s Notebook: Waiting around in Afghanistan. NPR. 22 August 2010.
McCarthy C. (1979) Suttree. Vantage Books, Rondom House, NY.
Hemingway E. (1925) “A Cat in the Rain.” In Our Time. Charles Scribner's Sons. Charles Scribner's Sons; renewal copyright 1953 Ernest Hemingway.
Story Corps. “Daughter, Dad On Life Apart, Together.” NPR. 6 August 2010.
Hanlin G. “An Army Wife Reflects on her Husbands Return.” NPR. 17 September 2010.
Moyer J. “Giving A Kidney, Gaining A Lifelong Friend.” NPR 13 September 2010.
Lyden J. “The Land Of The Care-Free” NPR. 7 August 2010.
Zwerdling D. “In Punjab: Crowding onto the Cancer Train.” NPR. 11 May 2009.
Farmer B. “Tennessee Drought Stunts Growth of Local Crops.” http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11095767.
Havighurst C. “Fairgrounds Speedway.” Nashville Public Radio. 20 July 2010.
Greene D. “Philly Voters on Race and a Long Election.” NPR. 2 April 2010.
