Writing Broadcast News - Shorter, Sharper, Stronger

Mervin Block is a broadcast writing coach and author. He has written news at three television networks: as a staff writer for the "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" and the "ABC Evening News with Frank Reynolds," and as a freelancer at NBC News. He has written news for Ed Bradley, Tom Brokaw, Walter Cronkite, Douglas Edwards, Charles Kuralt, Roger Mudd, Edwin Newman, Charles Osgood, Dan Rather, Harry Reasoner, Frank Reynolds, Diane Sawyer, Bob Schieffer, Robert Trout and Mike Wallace. Block teaches newswriting workshops at TV and radio newsrooms around the country. In 2004, the Chicago Press Veterans Association chose him as Press Veteran of the Year.

Mervin Block- who has written for the best in the business- offers timeless advice, guiding both first-year students and seasoned professionals through the essentials of writing for the ear. With countless scripts collected from writing workshops in newsr

PREFACEI. RULES1. Dozen Deadly Don¿ts: Missteps and mistakes that mar scripts2. Venial Sins: More mistakes that hurt copy3. Top Tips of the Trade: 40 tips from the field that lead to better writingII. STYLE AND FORM4. Style: Tips to develop your writing style5. Lead-ins, Lead-outs and Leading Questions: On starting strong and finishing well in broadcast stories6. Attributions: Who Says? How to quote people and attribute facts in broadcast scripts7. Words Part I: Put in a Good Word: How to find the right word at the write time8. Words Part II: Eliminate the Journalese: How to write plainly and clearly for stronger scripts9. After Words-After Math: A lesson on numbers for wordly writers10. Bad News: Characterizing news is bad- and tips for sports and weather scripts11. Noosepapers: Dangers of fishing for a fast fact in a print storyIII: BEST PRACTICES12. The Art of Rewriting: Why rewriting is an essential skill13. My Least Worst: Rewrites of scripts written by the author14. Your Turn: Scripts and rewrites to test your skills15. All Else: Q&A with the author on the "tricks" of broadcast writingAPPENDIX A: A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR BROADCAST WRITERS