Trainer recommendation: Writing for Broadcast Journalists

I usually take a couple of journalism text books with me on the road for training workshops. Depending on the topic, it might be a handbook on broadcast journalism or ethics or perhaps a technical guide for a camera. It’s good to have reference books to hand, but I also think it’s helpful to lend books to participants looking for more detailed information.

By far the book that is always most sought after, if I refer to it during a workshop, is Rick Thompson’s Writing for Broadcast Journalists (Routledge, 2010).

It’s an excellent reference book, especially for news writing and language.

Thompson has packed this very travel-friendly volume full of useful examples of news scripts and different writing techniques for radio and television. My much thumbed second edition also has a chapter on online journalism and social media.

Yes, this book is very Anglo-centric and many of the examples are drawn from UK broadcasters, particularly the BBC. Workshop participants within the broadcast footprint of the BBC World Service will probably nod with approval. Our American journalist cousins might take issue with the section devoted to Americanisms, but some of us (including this Antipodean journalist) might say this is a good thing!

Advertisement in Lilongwe, Malawi (Photo: Guy Degen)

Writing for Broadcast Journalists is of course a book about language and using good English. If you cringe at weasel words such as “stakeholders” or “facilitate”, or hollow phrases such as “capacity building” or “scaling up”, (particularly when they are lobbed into interviews by development types) you’ll find the book’s appropriately titled appendix Dangerous words a good reference for jargon, cliches, journalese or misused words to avoid. I think Dangerous words also makes for a lively topic for discussion during a journalism workshop.

You can preview the book via Google here. And, do let us know if you have a good journalism reference book to recommend.

Author: Guy Degen