Mervin Block- who has written for the best in the business- offers timeless advice, guiding both first-year students and seasoned professionals through the essentials of writing for the ear. With countless scripts collected from writing workshops in newsr

PREFACEI. RULES1. Dozen Deadly Don¿ts: Missteps and mistakes that mar scripts2. Venial Sins: More mistakes that hurt copy3. Top Tips of the Trade: 40 tips from the field that lead to better writingII. STYLE AND FORM4. Style: Tips to develop your writing style5. Lead-ins, Lead-outs and Leading Questions: On starting strong and finishing well in broadcast stories6. Attributions: Who Says? How to quote people and attribute facts in broadcast scripts7. Words Part I: Put in a Good Word: How to find the right word at the write time8. Words Part II: Eliminate the Journalese: How to write plainly and clearly for stronger scripts9. After Words-After Math: A lesson on numbers for wordly writers10. Bad News: Characterizing news is bad- and tips for sports and weather scripts11. Noosepapers: Dangers of fishing for a fast fact in a print storyIII: BEST PRACTICES12. The Art of Rewriting: Why rewriting is an essential skill13. My Least Worst: Rewrites of scripts written by the author14. Your Turn: Scripts and rewrites to test your skills15. All Else: Q&A with the author on the "tricks" of broadcast writingAPPENDIX A: A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR BROADCAST WRITERS