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THE STYLE GUIDE

General tips

Do not describe news as good, bad, shockingorhorrendous. Tell the story and let thelistener decide.

Do try to get a strong active verb in the firstsentence. You want to make an impact andkeeppeople listening.Do not start a news report with a question.The audience wants to be informed, not takepartin a quiz.Do not begin a story withAs expected. If your

item was predictable and you have nothing

new to say, why should the listener or viewerpay attention? Be positive. Make assertions wherever possible,and try to avoid negatives. It is moredirect to sayThe plan failedthan The plan was not successful.Despite the above, we are mainly dealing with advice, not rules. The most interestingwriting often involvescreating something unexpected, and rules tend to getin the way.But daily journalism has its discipline andthat is the subject of this guide.

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area officials versus officials in

Please do NOT write "A Maryland man...." , "A Montgomery County, Marylandwoman...", :"Virginia officials...", "DC authorities..." or ANY iteration of the same.

Please do write "A man from Maryland ..." , "A woman in Montgomery County,Maryland...", :"In Virginia, officials...",

"Authorities in DC ..." or ANY iteration of the same.

happened and occurred

Please say "happened" not "occurred" when you write phrases such as "the event

happened at City Hall" or "the accident happened overnight".

Please say "about" rather than "in regards to" when you write phrases such as "he made a

statement about" or "the mayor's comments were about the latest scandal".

incorrect usage or phrases

"in order to" should be "to"

"since it's dark" should be "because it's dark"

impact versus affect

Impact...is a noun

Affect...is a verb

Impact..... the striking of one thing against another; forceful contact;collision: The impact of the colliding cars broke the windshield.

Affect....to act on; produce an effect or change in: Cold weather affectedthe crops.

is and are

When you write "One out of every", the verb that follows is

singular...as in "is"...NOT plural as in "are".

Though many people, including NPR, etc, continue to make the samemistake, let's not be one of them.

When in doubt, remove everything (prepositions, objects of prepositions, parenthetical

expressions, etc.) except the noun and the verb.

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You will be left with the basics, as in, "One is".

leads

Leads should be written FIRST

We're still seeing too many lead-ins for spot news reports such as this one:

"Maryland government leaders are setting up a new coalition to start the process of

beginning to address the growing phenonmenon of happy people moving into their

various communities. Jim Asendio takes a look at the creation of this new partnership "

How about....

"Some elected officials in Maryland want to steer happy people away from their

communities. Jim Asendio reports..."

Fewer words in the lead-in means more time for the reporter AND a sentence that

listeners can understand.

quote

Do not use the word "quote" in any news report you broadcast on WAMU 88 5.

Remove the word "quote" from any wire copy you read on the air on WAMU 88 5.

"Quote" no longer exists in the WAMU 88 5 newsroom vocabulary.

reporting on reports

Whenever you are writing a story about a new report.....Please do not start off by

saying...."A new report...." or "A just released report" or "In its latest report."

Be creative.

How about......"The National Widget Society says...." or "Researchers at the FederalFeral Agency have found..." or ...you get the point.

Anyone who writes "A new report..." or any iteration of same will be forced to read thereport and be tested on it.

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singular/plural

When you write "None of......", the verb that follows is singular, not plural.

For example.....The correct form is "None of their injuries was life-threatening".

youths and young people

Please use the term "young people" when writing about them.

When we write "youth" or "youths", we sound like the police blotter.