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Writing for
Radio
Christine Buttorff
Where we are headed
 Introduction
 An Overview of
Process
 Sound
 Writing
 Voicing
the Writing
 This assignment: Personal
Stories
National Public Radio
 268 independent member
organizations
 764 stations nationwide.
 Pay dues, purchase
programming
 Member stations also produce
programming.
Funding

Source: http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/publicradiofinances.html
Funding

Source: http://www.npr.org/about/aboutnpr/publicradiofinances.html
Before we
start writing
Visualize listeners.
Public Domain.
Listening to the Radio
Photo by Quentin Xeres Zamfir. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
Photo by Scott Miller. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
Listening to the radio
Photo by Indiana Public Media. Creative Commons BY-NC.
Listening to the radio.
Photo by j/k_lolz. Creative Commons BY.
Image: wikihow.com
The point is…
 …clarity is a must.
 If
listeners tune out, they
should still be able to follow
you story.
The Story
Process
Sound sets the place
 Sound helps put the listener
where you are.
 Images through sound.
 Make it up…within the realm of
what is natural.
 Be careful, all rooms make
noise.
Some Examples
 http://www.npr.org/templates/
story/story.php?
storyId=89289448
-David Greene, US
 http://wpln.org/news/
mp3-2009/fairgroundsspeedway_072009.mp3
-Craig Havighurst, US
Writing
 Tell me a story.
 DO NOT give me a report.
 Use particular events or people
who illustrate the story you are
trying to tell.
So how do we do this?
 Write your headline
 You’ve only got a few words, so
they had better be good ones.
 Helps clarify what your story is
about.
Some Examples
 Ex-Transit Officer Sentenced To
Two Years In Shooting Death
Of Unarmed Man
 Midterm Losses Bite Blue Dog
Democrats
 Labor Dept. Asks Court To
Close Massey Mine In Ky.
Npr.org, 7 November 2010.
Use Active Voice
 This means:
 Someone doing something
 “By” is an indicator.
 academics love passive voice.
 Saves words
Some examples
Passive: The heat was chased out of town by
the approaching storm.
Active: The approaching storm chased the
heat out of town.
Passive: Vitamins may be the cure for cancer,
a Johns Hopkins study has found.
Active: Johns Hopkins researchers think
vitamins can cure cancer.
Passive: The reason he left college was that
his health became impaired.
Active: Failing health compelled him to leave
college.*
*Strunk and White: p19
Freedom…
 From academic stricture:
 Use contractions….
 I’ve, wouldn’t, couldn’t,
don’t, would’ve
 Be conversational: Read out
loud as you write.
 Clichés:
A mixed bag.
A note on adjectives
 Use them judiciously. They
introduce bias.
 Some examples:
 Gut-wrenching
 Parent’s worst nightmare
 “Only months before, a new drug
had shown that it could safely
slow the cancer’s progress in
certain patients. Both cousins
had the type of tumor almost
sure to respond to it.”
Harmon A. New Drugs Stir Debate on Rules of Clinical Trials
New York Times. Online: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/health/research/19trial.html?pagewanted=all
Writing
Motivates
Voicing
One idea per sentence
  “Dear friend now in the dusty
clockless hours of the town when
the streets lie black and steaming in
the wake of the watertrucks and now
when the drunk and the homeless
have washed up in the lees of walls
in alleys or abandoned lots and cats
go forth highshouldered and lean in
the grim perimeters about, now in
these sootblacked brick or cobbled
corridors where lightwire shadows
make a gothic harp of cellar doors
no soul shall walk save you.”
-Cormac McCarthy, “Suttree.” 1979
Seriously, One Idea at a
time.
  “Liking him she opened the door
and looked out. It was raining
harder. A man in a rubber cape
was crossing the empty square to
the café. The cat would be
around to the right. Perhaps she
could go along under the eaves.
As she stood in the doorway an
umbrella opened behind her.”
  Ernest Hemingway, “Cat in the
Rain.”
Voicing.
  The HARDEST PART
  Short, clear sentences make
voicing easier.
  Read in phrases:
catch up to you
listeners have to
  Imitate one of NPR’s reporters:
  http://www.npr.org/templates/
story/story.php?
storyId=103569390
-Danny Zwerdling, India
Personal
Stories
Personal Stories
  Keep it short
  800 words is about 4 minutes
  Most commentaries are less than
this
  Several different devices can help
you tell your story:
  Use a pivotal event in your life
  Use sound
  Try other creative tactics
Structure
 Host Intro: this has to tell us
the point
 Body of story
 Beginning: why we should
care
 Middle: the drama/tension
 End: what happens next
 Hosts can have an “out” which
is an extra bit of information.
An Example: Beginning
Copyright © NPR. All Rights Reserved.
An Example: Middle
Copyright © NPR. All Rights Reserved.
An Example: Ending
Copyright © NPR. All Rights Reserved.
Personal Stories:
No sound, just commentary
  http://www.npr.org/templates/
story/story.php?
storyId=129909819
-Georgie Hanlin, Iraq
  http://www.npr.org/templates/
story/story.php?
storyId=129731335
-Jeff Moyer, US
  http://www.npr.org/templates/
story/story.php?
storyId=129046431
-Jackie Lyden, US
Personal Stories:
Commentary and Sound
 http://www.npr.org/
templates/story/story.php?
storyId=129357264
-Rachel Martin, Afghanistan
 http://www.npr.org/
templates/story/story.php?
storyId=128196971
-Sandip Roy, India
Try other things…
 Many personal stories, such as
those on This American Life,
have a narrator or interviewer
to help us along.
 Try a Story Corps format:
 http://www.npr.org/
templates/story/story.php?
storyId=129001959
Parting Thoughts:
“Be Clear.”
 “Omit needless words.
Vigorous writing is concise.”
 Remember to tailor your
communication to your
audience.
White EB, Strunk W. The Elements of Style. 4th edition. Allyn&Baco, Massachusetts, 2000: pp23 and 79.
References

Roy S. No Country for Old People? NPR. 30 July 2010.

Martin R. Reporter’s Notebook: Waiting around in Afghanistan. NPR. 22 August 2010.

McCarthy C. (1979) Suttree. Vantage Books, Rondom House, NY.

Hemingway E. (1925) “A Cat in the Rain.” In Our Time. Charles Scribner's Sons. Charles

Story Corps. “Daughter, Dad On Life Apart, Together.” NPR. 6 August 2010.

Hanlin G. “An Army Wife Reflects on her Husbands Return.” NPR. 17 September 2010.

Moyer J. “Giving A Kidney, Gaining A Lifelong Friend.” NPR 13 September 2010.

Lyden J. “The Land Of The Care-Free” NPR. 7 August 2010.

Zwerdling D. “In Punjab: Crowding onto the Cancer Train.” NPR. 11 May 2009.

Farmer B. “Tennessee Drought Stunts Growth of Local Crops.”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11095767.

Havighurst C. “Fairgrounds Speedway.” Nashville Public Radio. 20 July 2010.

Greene D. “Philly Voters on Race and a Long Election.” NPR. 2 April 2010.
Scribner's Sons; renewal copyright 1953 Ernest Hemingway.