10 Steps to Writing a Story

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, whats important about your topic?
-What should the reader know?
-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 you ask?
-What other research must be done to complete the story?

4. Conduct the interview
-Ask open ended questions
-Rule of 3: filling the silence, The non-question question, get good sound bytes
-Sound bytes: A piece of audio that can stand alone

5. Shoot your reporter stand-up
-Should have a good idea what the story is about
-Stand-up should provide info that the audience doesnt know
-Use stand-up for transition from one location to the next
-No first person; I went
6. Organize your sound bytes
-What quotes should i use?
-How can i orginize the quotes to tell a story?
-What are my gold nuggets?
7. Write seques in your story
-Use words that tie the interviews together
-What other infor 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 strongest sound byte at the end
-Leave them with hope
                                                           
9. Write the anchor ______________ and ________________ (if necessary).
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10. Collect ___________ to add to your story (throughout steps 4-9)
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*Steps 4-8 in your story are called the ____________________.