I am going to share a truth with you: Journalism schools teach newspaper writing techniques. Seemingly, a lot of radio news is written in that style. Radio is different and news needs to follow the following rules.
Start With the Most Ear-Grabbing Detail
Never Bury the Lead…Remember, this is audio…Grab attention. “Murderer Caught”… “The Suspected downtown slasher caused fear in our community”… “Police picked up Joe Blow early this morning”.
That works much better than “Police have arrested the alleged murderer in a string of downtown murders. His name is Joe Blow of suburban highland park.” Get listeners to lean into the story.
Create a Picture
Radio is theater of the mind and sadly this is not being utilized properly. “Smoke and Flames billowing from a vacant home on Elm Street created a rude awakening for that neighborhood after 2 this morning”. “4-alarm fire”. “More details as they become available”.
That works better than “The Fire Department says that a vacant home on Elm Street was on fire after 2 this morning. Fire Inspector will determine the cause”.
Basic Facts Are More Impactful
Most listeners are in the car or at work. They just want to know the basics. Don’t overcomplicate it. If there are many details, send the listeners to the station website. What is the most important part of the story. You need to figure it out. Fire, shooting, death, accident, riot. Those are always pretty good facts.
When covering a political story, no bill number ever. “Protecting Girls Sports…No Biological Boys allowed, even if the guy identifies otherwise…Passes the Legislature and is headed to the Governor’s Desk. More details at (station) dot com.”
More impact with a small number of words.
Don’t Worry About Story Rotation
Play the hits. If there is a huge story of the day, lead with it until there is another story to replace it. The stories underneath the lead, the biggest stories always trump story rotation. PPM has taught us the average time a listener is with the station is likely under 15 minutes per listening occasion. Even if you are in a diary market, PPM has been around for over a decade. The only people who are intently listening all day at shut-ins or people without lives. Think first about that target listener.
Another note about story rotation: the practice comes from the earliest days of radio that has been passed down to newspeople like Grandma’s Green Bean Casserole recipe. Was it good? Probably, when radio was the only thing. People are very selfish. If they hear something that they are not interested in hearing, they are gone. Don’t mess with the hits. A CHR has a tight playlist with the biggest hits. They are not playing the #75 song from 2 years ago because of rotation.
What is the Biggest Story?
Sometimes this is easy and simple. “Bank Robbery in the last 30 minutes at the midtown bank… Shots were fired… More details as they are available.” Sometimes, it is more difficult to figure that out. Here is the easiest way to pick that biggest story of the moment: Who is your target listener? Which story is most important to that listener? Remember, this is always evolving.
Something may be bigger in 30 minutes. Bounce it off your Program Director, host, or other news person.
Sometimes talking about the stories will bring you the obvious choice. It’s always about listener-focused experience.
Keep it as Short as Possible
There is a temptation to rip and read stories from the Associated Press. About the AP: They have no understanding of a commercial radio station’s time constraints. Digesting AP Copy and making it concise is an art form.
While I don’t believe that there should be a hard rule for story length, sometimes like a natural disaster, if that story takes your whole newscast, it is ok. But, generally, I like three sentences or less. If you can do it in two, great news. Look for ways to make things more concise. Your audience just wants to be informed. They are busy.
Longer Newscasts in Afternoon Drive
I am a subscriber to really getting the information to the audience on the way home. We replace the national news so that we can just get the stories to our audience that they need to know after work.
Lots of people are totally focused on the workday and want to make sure that everything is ok before they get home. I believe that this helps us connect with our listeners in a very important way.
Use Your Website
It is your friend for giving the little or even mundane details of every news story. You can share every detail as a newspaper does. There is no time constraint or word limit.
It also allows listeners to share your words with their friends on social media. It creates an opportunity to promote your brand and provide value for your audience.
Your station’s listeners trust you. Utilizing your website is essential for top-of-mind awareness.
Use Your Social Media
My station in Joplin, Missouri has 60,000 followers. Ok, we are using this. Post as many things as possible and news is a great way to promote your brand.
I hope that these details will help free you as you inform your community. If you apply all these ideas, you will have fun. News is essential for a news/talk station. Never forget that.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
