In the three short years that I have been advising broadcast, I have learned that script writing for news segments is perhaps one of the most important skills you can teach. Students who go out to film a story without a plan have very little success filming a high quality segment.

The first step of course is to instruct students on how a producer/reporter should structure a script. The basic process is to set up a two column sheet: left containing video, and the right containing audio. Or as we also tell them – the left has everything you will see, and the right has everything that you will hear. You must have both sides properly planned in order to have a successful video.

Here is a post that contains a sample script:

https://broadcastmanual.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/structure-of-a-sample-script/

Once your students know what goes where, they then need to understand how to best craft the parts. This starts with the opening shot and lead, and ends with the closing shot and zinger quote. Leads most often contain two short sentences that introduce the audience to the subject. They can be very poetic too.

Many leads contain all of the important facts. The who, what, when, where, how, and why? Be careful though not to include everything, because then you leave the story nowhere to go. Remember include the essential facts and then build a little suspense. The type of lead depends on the type of story you are trying to tell.

As you next introduce your characters/sources in your story, consider a few simple rules. The first rule is to attribute first. Tell us who said something before the quote. Avoid cliches. And don’t state the obvious. Remember the viewer is watching as well.

In addition, avoid using “you” or any form of second person. Also avoid starting a phrase with an item that would be easier to remember later on in the phrasing, like a number or detail. And lastly avoid passive voice. This includes and verbs ending in “ing” and words like “is” and “was.”

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