Monthly Archives: June 2015

An interesting column on the Poynter website regarding the declining use of hashtags among journalists.  Read it here.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

If you had information regarding secret government surveillance, and the FBI asked you to withhold the story, would you do it? Would it depend on the circumstances? The Associated Press had to make just such a decision a few days ago.

Former TV News Director and RTDNA contributor Forrest Carr has some very cogent opinions on this matter, well worth the few minutes it takes to read. The column is here.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Officer-involved shooting?  Sounds like a train-involved wreck, but you hear it all the time. It’s cop-speak, and a lot of inexperienced news writers think that’s how news is supposed to sound. Yet you’ll never hear anyone except a cop, prosecutor, or bad news writer speak like that, and they wouldn’t use such language in everyday conversation. Here’s a funny, but effective post from a good news writer that deals with some of the more common and widespread examples of poor news writing.

There’s an entire section of the WBA Newsroom site devoted to helping any broadcast journalist become a better news writer. It’s here, and it’s full of sub-sections with scores of useful tips on writing better and more effective scripts.

Posted by Tim Morrissey – with thanks to former Madison TV News reporter Marc Lovicott, who’s now with the UW-Madison Police Department putting his writing skills to good use.

In almost every case, the answer is “yes” – but this comprehensive survey from RTDNA goes into detail about broadcast news profitability. Well worth the few minutes it takes to read it.

Posted by Tim Morrissey