10 Steps to Writing a Story

10 Steps to Writing a Story – Broadcast Journalism

1. Find a Topic
-What is your story about?
-Who is your audience?
-Why is this story important to your audience?
2. Find an Angle
-What about your topic?
-More specifically, what is important about your topic?
-What should the reader learn?
-Summarize in 3 words: Subject, Verb, Object
-Wife awaits soldier; Class misses students
3. Collect Information
-Who are the experts for this story?
-Do you need opposing points of view?
-What interview questions should I ask?
-What other research must be done to complete the story?
4. Interview
-Ask open ended questions
-Rule of Threes
-Filling the silence
-The Non-Question Question
-Get good sound bytes. A PIECE OF AUDIO THAT CAN STAND ALONE.
5. Shoot Your Reporter Stand-UP
-Should have a good idea what story is about
-Stand-UP should provide information that audience doesnt know
-Use Stand-UP for transition from one location to the next
-No first person: I went
-In MIDDLE of story!
6. Organize Your Sound Bytes 
-What quotes should I use?
-How can I organize the quotes to tell a story?
-What are my gold nuggets?
-Sprinkle the nuggets throughout the story
7. Write Segues in Your Story
-Use words that tie the interviews together
-What other information can i add to the story?
-Can the story stand on its own?
8. Write The Beginning and End of Your Story
-Write body first
-Best sound bytes for the beginning and end
-Paraphrase a sound byte at the beginning
-Leave them with the strongest sound byte at end
-Leave them with hope
9. Write the Anchor and (if necessary)                                            
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10. Collect ___________ to add to your story (throughout steps 4-9)
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