WRITING FOR BROADCAST
5 Conversational writing
‘Writing, when properly managed … is but another name for conversation.’
– LAURENCE STERNE
‘For years, editors told reporters: “Don’t tell me about it, write it.” Turn that around, and you have a good rule for the broadcast journalist: “Don’t just write it, TELL ME ABOUT IT.”’
– BROADCAST NEWS OF CANADA, STYLE BOOK
Anyone with ambition towards writing will probably appreciate a lively piece of prose. We all have our journalistic giants and literary heroes. But what may be clear and sparkling to the eye may be confused and baffling to the ear. It may also prove impossible to read out aloud. The following is from Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. A Spanish gypsy, Rafael, is describing a ...
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