Writing a Story Notes

10 Steps to Writing a Story – Broadcast Journalism

1. Find a Topic.
- What is your story about?
- Who is your audience?
- Why is this story important to your audience?

2. Find an Angle.
- What about your topic?
- More specifically, what is important about your topic?
- What should the reader learn?
- Summarize in 3 words: Subject, Verb, Object.

3. Collect Information.
- Who are the experts for this story?
- Do you need opposing points of view?
- What interview questions should i ask?
- What other research must be done to complete the story?

4. Conduct the Interview.
- Ask open ended questions.
- Get GOOD sound bytes. A PIECE OF AUDIO THAT CAN STAND ALONE
- Have the person to restate the question in the interview.
- Interview 3 people with at least thre questions.

5. Shoot your reporter Stand-Up.
- Should have a good idea what stor is about.
- Stand-Up should provide information that audience doesn't know
- Use Stand-Up for transition from one location to the next.
- No first person: I went.

6. Organize your sound bytes.
- What quote should i use?
- How can I organize the quotes to tell a story?
- What are m gold nuggents?
- Sprinkle the nuggets throughout the story!

7. Write segues in your story.
- Use words that tie the interviews together.
- What other information can i add to the story?
- Can the story stand on its own?

8. Write the Beginning and End of your story.
- Write body first.
- Best sound bytes for beginning and end.
- Paraphrase a sound byte at the beginning.
- Leave them with the strongest sound byte at end.
- Leave them with hope.

9. Write the ins and outs (if necessary).
- What should the anchors say to introduce my story or bring it to a close? No scoop went to find out.
- How should the story begin and end?
- Use attention getters at the introduction but avoid rhetorical questions.

10. Collect B-Roll to add to your story (throughout steps 4-9)
- How can video enhance my story?
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*Steps 4-8 in your story are called the A-Roll.
- Anything that is said in story
- Anchor in