Converting TV Scripts to the Web

A Handy Ten Minute Checklist

Sometimes TV people are so naive. Can't you just copy a broadcast script straight over to the web?

Uh, no. It's no easy task hiding the (near) illiteracy of TV news with stuff like verbs and punctuation. For web producers, it's a nightmare. Ask a reporter to convert her own package script, and you'll end up with something like:

Said Smith, "the flames we're too hot."
Good grief! It's time to teach reporters how to write for the web, starting with Lost Remote's handy, ten minute checklist:

1. Combine Copy
   If you're converting a package script, combine the toss, lead-in and tag on the same page. Delete any redundancies. Make sure the story starts off with a strong sentence, not a tease line.
   
   
2. Remove Extraneous Remarks
   Strip out computer coding, including director, editing and graphics notation.
   
   
3. Fix Capitalization
   Convert the script from upper case to upper and lower case, correctly capitalizing as you go along. Many newsroom computer systems let you drop an entire script to lower case with a single keystroke.
   
   
4. Add Quotes
   Change the sound bites to quotes, adding the correct attribution. To speed up the process, reporters should get in the habit of writing out the full text of each sound bite in their package scripts. Here's the correct format:
   
   "The scumbag shot at us," said Bill Smith, police spokesperson.
   
   If the sound bite is more than a simple sentence, split it up and put the attribution in the center:
   
   "The scumbag shot at us," said Bill Smith, police spokesperson. "He better watch his back."
   
   
5. Form Complete Sentences
   Drop unnecessary punctuation like ellipses and hyphens, and convert sentence fragments into complete sentences.
   
   
6. Remove References to Video
   The best TV stories are written to video, but not on the web. Delete any language that makes a direct reference to video and audio, but add appropriate adjectives to bring a visual element to your copy.
   
   
7. Beef Up the Story
   Add any important details that hit the cutting room floor. Web copy is shorter than newspaper copy, but should deliver more information than 20-second TV stories (except with breaking news).
   
   
8. Bring it all Together
   Make sure the story reads well from beginning to end, with appropriate paragraph breaks. Usually, a little smoothing is in order.
   
   
9. Add Interactivity
   Finally, add links to any relevant reference materials. Tack on interactive elements, pictures and multimedia -- and run the spellchecker. See, wasn't that easy?