CHAPTER 23
Beyond Powerful Radio
Newswriting
“Write to express, not to impress.”
—Mervin Block, Writing Broadcast News
The Long and Short of It
Anyone who writes knows it's harder to write shorter, but less is often more effective. Newspapers and the Internet specialize in detail. Radio cannot compete for sheer tonnage of information. Radio's job, and yours, is to get information out quickly and succinctly. When you hear it on the radio, it's news. When you read it in the paper, it's history. Put in the big stuff, the important things that you would tell friends. Give enough information so listeners can think about a story and discuss it at their dinner tables.
Author George Orwell was deeply concerned with the effect of words, especially those ...
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