conversation. You will even find that we do not always talk  in  complete  sentences.  Quite  often  we  speak  in fragments,   especially   if   everyone   engaged   in   the conversation is familiar with the subject matter. Nevertheless, do not get too carried away with this idea. While the strict grammatical rules we have used during  years  of  education  might  not  have  a  direct application to broadcast writing, they are still valuable. Verb  tense  agreement  and  subject-verb  agreement,  in particular, are still important, especially for the sake of clarity. PRESENT  TENSE Since broadcasters report events as they happen, the present tense is the natural tense. Using the present tense in broadcast news gives the copy an air of immediacy and   it   gives   the   listener   a   sense   of   participation. However,  the  verb  tense  that  is  most  natural  to  a situation will be the most effective. Every story does not have to sound as if it happened the moment before the newscaster went on the air. ACTIVE VOICE Write your broadcast copy in the active voice. The active voice will help you tell your story more quickly and   effectively.   It   also   gives   the   story   a   sense   of immediacy.  Active  voice  provides  impact,  which  is extremely  important  to  a  competitive  broadcaster.  On the  other  hand,  the  use  of  passive  voice  normally weakens the impact of a sentence. Look at the following example: Example:  THE   MILITARY   POLICEWOMAN SEIZED  THE  EVIDENCE.  (Active) THE EVIDENCE WAS SEIZED BY THE  MILITARY  POLICEWOMAN. (Passive) If you write the copy to sound like old news, then it will  probably  be  treated  as  no  news.  Further,  writing stories that will be happening far in the future is just as bad. Do not confuse the active voice with verb tenses. The active voice can apply to past, present and future tenses.  Active  voice  does  not  necessarily  mean  the present tense! Subject-verb-object is the best indicator of the active voice structure. SENTENCE  LENGTH A sure way to improve broadcast copy is to shorten sentence   lengths.   Long   sentences   are   difficult   to understand  and  are  equally  difficult  for  an  announcer  to read. Remember, the announcer has to breathe! Further, the  announcer’s  ability  to  breathe  naturally  will  directly affect  the  pace  and  phrasing  of  the  story.  Again,  the sentence has to sound natural. A good average length for broadcast  sentences  is  20  words.  Do  not  go  over  25 words. This is not a magic number, but it does work. Sentences  longer  than  this  tend  to  be  saddled  with unnecessary  clauses  or  multiple  thoughts.  More  often than  not,  those  additional  clauses  can  be  treated  as independent phrases. Broadcast sentences starting with “and,”  “but”  or  “because,”  for  example,  are  perfectly acceptable as long as they sound natural. You should vary the length of sentences also. Do not peg your sentences to that 20-word mark. Try to mix lengths. If all the sentences are the same length, the copy becomes  very  stilted  and  sounds  like  a  laundry  list. When possible, give the copy a little rhythm, a natural flow that approximates a conversation. The end result of  proper  sentence  lengths  is  broadcast  copy  that  stands abetter chance of being understood by the audience. THE LEAD As  stated  earlier,  the  most  important  sentence  in your broadcast copy is the lead. The lead should grab the listener’s attention and set the tone for the rest of the information. Brevity and conciseness play an important part in the lead sentence. The general “what happened” lead is usually the most effective. This lead also can help localize  the  story.  There  are  several  reasons  for  the “what happened” lead. In broadcast copy, based on the premise of “headline service,” there just is not sufficient time for you to deal with all the complexities of a story. Only  one  or  two  of  the  “Ws”  might  be  dealt  with  at times. Granted, this may sacrifice some of the meaning of the story, but it is also a fact of life. Additionally, the broadcaster  is  usually  working  within  a  given  time frame  for  a  story.  Some  “stories”  may  be  only  10 seconds in length; others may run longer. The copy is not edited by whacking off the last sentence, since the last sentence also is quite important to a broadcaster. The last sentence is often used to make a specific point or as a  wrapup. QUESTION AND QUOTATION LEADS Generally, questions and quotations are not used in the lead of hard news stories. Since your listener cannot 13-8