All over the globe, citizens are getting information from radio — commercial, public and community. Radio is listened to in areas where literacy rates are high, as well as in regions where literacy is low. Radio is heard on short wave, AM, FM, mobile devices and on the Internet. It is one of the world’s most popular and effective modes of communication.
Radio is intimate and immediate. By concentrating the audience’s attention on sound alone, radio can give listeners a sense that they are on the scene where the news is being made. Words heard over the radio — without visual aids — can show, announce, declare and describe something with expression and feeling and at the same time reflect the personality of the talker.
Writing for radio is different from writing for print and has been described as similar to writing song lyrics. Lyrics and radio scripts involve putting language in a visual form (writing it out) for communication in an oral form (singing or speaking). The writing must be brief and the sentences simple.
Writing for the ear requires different techniques than writing for the eye, as in print or video. Radio audiences mentally process broadcasts as they listen. On radio, there usually is no second chance; most radio broadcasts cannot be called back. Information must be communicated clearly, succinctly and concisely the first time. Words must be enunciated properly and be in concert with the type of information relayed.
While a print news story must describe who, what, where, when, why and how, radio — and video news, too — must have correctness, clarity, conciseness and color.
When writing for radio:
• Get the attention of the listener from the beginning.
• Write conversationally, but not too wordy.
• Avoid using too many numbers or statistics. Round numbers up or down, so 2,785 becomes “nearly 3,000.”
• Avoid abbreviations.
• Write with active verbs in the present tense as much as possible.
• Avoid extended descriptions.
• Do not repeat information that has been stated by the anchor in the lead-in.
• Use phonetic spelling for unfamiliar and hard-to-pronounce names and words. La Jolla, California, might be written “la HOY-a.”
• In a radio script, use all caps and double space.
• Keep it short: Three lines of copy is equal to about 10 seconds.