PREFACEI. RULES 1. Dozen Deadly Don'ts: Missteps and mistakes that mar scripts 2. Venial Sins: More mistakes that hurt copy 3. Top Tips of the Trade: 40 tips from the field that lead to better writingII. STYLE AND FORM 4. Style: Tips to develop your writing style 5. Lead-ins, Lead-outs and Leading Questions: On starting strong and finishing well in broadcast stories 6. Attributions: Who Says? How to quote people and attribute facts in broadcast scripts 7. Words Part I: Put in a Good Word: How to find the right word at the write time 8. Words Part II: Eliminate the Journalese: How to write plainly and clearly for stronger scripts 9. After Words-After Math: A lesson on numbers for wordly writers 10. Bad News: Characterizing news is bad- and tips for sports and weather scripts 11. Noose papers: Dangers of fishing for a fast fact in a print storyI II: BEST PRACTICES 12. The Art of Rewriting: Why rewriting is an essential skill 13. My Least Worst: Rewrites of scripts written by the author 14. Your Turn: Scripts and rewrites to test your skills 15. All Else: Q&A with the author on the "tricks" of broadcast writing APPENDIX A: A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR BROADCAST WRITERS