What Must a Script Writer Bear in Mind When Writing Script for Broadcasting Media?

Script writing is important aspect of broadcasting and care should be taken when writing the scripts because a slight mistake can distort the information thereby fail to convey the desired message. The first step is to be mindful of broadcasting media that will use the script. Writing script for radio broadcasting media takes a different form from that of television broadcasting media.

When a script writer is writing for radio broadcasting media, the writer should be mindful that radio is principally for the ear. This means that any message through the radio appeals to the ear only. Radio has no visual but depends on the use of words. In writing a radio script, the script writer must use descriptive words to explain all actions, events and issues. The words used should be appropriate enough to point pictures in the mind of the listener in order to convey the meaning of what the script is saying. Because radio is principally for the ear, the scriptwriter should avoid using too much statistics and data. These may confuse the listener. It is better to round off figures to the nearest approximation. It is also necessary to write numbers in words. Writing numbers in words is more colorful and makes for easier reading. The scriptwriter should remember that he or she is writing for non-captive audience. This means that the slightest lapse in delivering the written script makes the listener to change dial.

Listening to radio is not a group experience like watching television. So the scriptwriter should bear in mind that the message ends up in the mind of the individual listener. The scriptwriter should visualize the listener while writing, making sure that the listener is carried along at the same time. The scriptwriter should also remember that though radio is being listened to by one person at a time, the message actually goes to thousands or to millions of people. That is why radio should not be thought of as a group experience like an audience in a theatre or in an auditorium. To ensure that the scriptwriter has the listenership of the required audience, the script should be written in very simply clear language, devoid of ambiguity, phrases and clichés like are written in the print media. A few of these phrases includes: “as I said before…”, “as discussed above…”, “listeners may like to know…”, “some of you will have seen…”, “as I said before….” and so on.

Finally, the radio script should be seen as a communication between the listener and the broadcaster. So, the scriptwriter should write for the individual listener who invariably, feels that he or she is being talked to. This makes the words used in the script to have much impact on the listener.

The television scriptwriter should be conversant with working with images as well as with words. The script should be written in such a way that words follow action in the script. Because of the visual and audio capabilities of the television medium, it enjoys greater advantages over the radio medium. The viewer sees as well hears what is written in the television screen. This conjures a lot of conviction and believability. That is why the television scriptwriter writes in such a way that the viewer keeps glued to the screen, watching. More so, the scriptwriter should write to make the script conform to the reality which the medium shows.

The images on television may convey the message alone or in combination with appropriate sound effects or visual aids. In view of this, the television scriptwriter must be visually oriented as to ensure that viewers are carried along throughout the duration of the programme.