journalism, because the copy is meant to be read aloud easily and with
meaning rather than to be read silently. For instance, in editing print,
one line is drawn through words to be omitted. This leaves the words
still legible so that they can be reinserted later if desired. In broadcast,
words to be omitted are completely blacked out so that the announcer
can’t possibly say them by mistake.
In print, the transposition sign is used to change the order of words
or letters. The transposition sign is never used on a broadcast script,
because it is confusing and might cause an announcer to hesitate or
lose his or her place in the script while reading. Words or letters to be
transposed should be completely crossed out and rewritten in the cor-
rect order on a broadcast script.
Other marks, called rehearsal marks, may be added to the broadcast
script to assist the announcer in reading with meaning. Underline or
capitalize words to be stressed. Use ellipses (.. .) or dashes (—) to indi-
cate longer pauses:
The doctor says the quarterback will NOT be able to play Friday... but MAY be able to return by next week.
Broadcast scripts include pronouncers, the phonetic spellings of
unfamiliar words or names that are included to assist the announcer in
pronouncing the words correctly. The pronouncer appears in parenthe-
ses above or following the correctly spelled word:
Shots were fired in Bihac (BEE-hotch) today.
Shaquille (sha KEEL) O’Neal
Sinead (sha NAYD) O’Connor
A pronouncer is not a substitute for the correct spelling. The names
of people and places mentioned in the script are often superimposed
on the television screen, and their spellings are taken from the script.
Phonetic spellings have appeared on the screen unintentionally when
the correct spellings weren’t included in the script.
Correct spelling is as important in broadcast scripts as it is in print.
Someone will be reading these scripts aloud to an audience, and mis-
spelled words are more likely to be mispronounced. Words with the
same spelling but different pronunciations, such as wind, read, resume
and suspect, are also likely to be mispronounced. Avoid using them
whenever possible.
Numbers in broadcast scripts are written as words from one through
nine and as numerals from 10 through 999. Numbers greater than 1,000
are written as words exactly as they should be spoken, with hyphens
connecting the whole number: one-hundred-thousand-nine-hundred-fifty;
three-million dollars or twenty-one-year-old. Some stations mix numerals
and words: 3-million dollars or 21-year-old. Years are written as numer-
als: 1776 or 1999.
Formatting a Broadcast Script
The way a script looks—including the words a newscaster will read
and instructions about when prerecorded material will be inserted and
for how long—is called a format. Formatting broadcast scripts has been
simplified by computer templates designed to prepare news scripts. The
452 MIXED MEDIApronouncer
the phonetic spellings of
unfamiliar words or names
that are included in broadcast
scripts to help the announcer
correctly pronounce the words