How to Write TV News Copy

Writing TV news copy can be an interesting and exciting career. News writing is actually fundamental to all the other forms of writing. If you can get accurate, detailed information and write it in an interesting way, you can be an employed writer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Learn what makes a good news story in order to write TV news copy. It has been said that news is "instant history." In other words, news is here today and gone tomorrow. The public is interested in what's happening right now. Good news copy gives people a glimpse of real life.
2. Tell exactly what happened without any of your own personal editorial comments. News reporting should be unbiased, impersonal and, above all, accurate. You must not tell why you think something happened. Don't express your personal reactions toward people involved in the news copy you are writing. The privilege of giving a personal opinion is that of the editor or critic, not the TV news copywriter.
3. Write TV news copy by sticking to the facts. Always double check your information. Use action verbs and simple sentences. The most important part of any news story is the introduction. Good news copy should put everything into a lead sentence. You must get the full story out there quickly. Also, the editor might have to delete some sentences in order to fit the time frame. Put less important information in later so the public won't miss anything vital.
4. Use the five Ws and an H in your opening when you write TV news copy. Tell what happened, when it happened, why it happened, where it happened and who was involved in the happening. Tell how it happened. These facts should go in the first paragraph.

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