Sibilants

Beware of too many sibilants . . . "s" and "sh" sounds. They tend to create a hissing sound when read aloud Read the following example aloud:

Example: THE SIX SOLDIERS STOOD SHOULDER TO SHOULDER.

This problem also arises quite often when the apostrophe is used to show possession. Remember, the sibilant makes the announcer sound like a "snake sliding slowly southward"

Homonyms

Watch out for homonyms - words that sound alike

but have different meanings. The ear cannot tell the difference between "won" and "one" or "bear" and "bare."

Here and There

Where are "here" and "there" when they are heard by listeners scattered over a wide broadcast area? Make "here" and "there" taboo words when you must refer to a location. "Here," in reference to a location, can be anyplace it is heard

Libelous Words

So-called "red flag" words can lead to libel. You should be careful not to mistake "colorful treatment" in your story with words like Marxist, illegitimate, deadbeat, addict, and soon.

Meaningless Words

When you refer to persons, places or things already mentioned avoid using meaningless words, such as "latter," "former" and "respectively." Again, listeners cannot refer back. Likewise, avoid transitional phrases within your stories, such as "meanwhile," "meantime" and "incidentally." They are crutches. Each thought, phrase or paragraph should flow to the next with skillful organization - not with throwaway transitional words. Steer clear of flowery phrases and trite expressions that take uptime and space and are of no value. Also avoid slang, vulgarisms and dialects in news writing.

Always translate military jargon and technical, legal and foreign terms into simple language as in the following examples:

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations are used in broadcast copy, but only

when they are intended to be read as abbreviations. The use of well-known abbreviations is permissible, such as Y-M-C-A, F-B-I, U-S, U-N, A-M, P-M or E-S-T (note hyphens). You may also use MR., MRS., MS. and DR. "ST." may be used instead of "SAINT," in cases such as ST. LOUIS or ST. PAUL.

Do not abbreviate the names of military installations. For example, use FORT (not FT.) KNOX and NAVAL AIR STATION (not NAS). Never abbreviate names of states, cities, countries, political parties (except G-O-P), days of the week months, titles of officials and address identification, such as street, avenue, drive or boulevard. In addition, avoid starting a sentence with an abbreviation. A good rule for you to remember when using abbreviations in broadcast copy is - when in doubt write it out. Note the following examples:

When you use an unfamiliar abbreviation or acronym that will be pronounced as a word, be sure to spell it out in the first usage. The following example applies:

^Example: THE NAVY'S CHIEF OF INFORMATION - COMMONLY CALLED CHINFO . . .

Phonetic Spelling

If you are concerned about mispronouncing names and places, you can limit the possibility by writing a phonetic spelling of the word in parentheses immediately following the troublesome word. You are the author of the release and thus the "authority" for pronunciation of all names and places in the story. Study the following example:

^Example: CAPTAIN ANTOINE (AN-TWAN) SPOKE TODAY . . .

Make sure the phonetic spelling appears on the same line as the word it represents.

NUMBERS

Numbers present special problems to the broadcast writer. For the sake of clarity, broadcasters have developed their own style with numbers. Any number that begins a sentence is always written out.

From One to Nine

For broadcast copy, write out the numbers from ONE to NINE. Exceptions: Sport scores, time (hours, minutes, etc.), dates, addresses, telephone numbers and license numbers.

From 10 to 999

Use numerals for numbers 10 through 999. Examples: 12, 45, 893, 250, 999.

Thousand, Million, Billion

Borrow from both styles and substitute words for zeroes. Examples: ONE-THOUSAND, 15-HUNDRED, 150-BILLION, TWO-TRILLION.

Conversational Numbers

Make numbers conversational. Round out figures unless the exact figure is essential to your story. For example, $1,527 would become 15-HUNDRED DOLLARS. However, exact numbers must be used if your story deals with deaths or other subjects requiring exact statistics.

Dates

Write dates as OCTOBER 1ST, 2ND, 3RD, 4TH and 31ST, and use four digit numerals for years, such as 1979 or 1994.

Additional examples of using numbers in broadcast copy are shown in figure 13-1.