If you use music or sound effects in your spot, you
broadcast copy is divided into phrases is to read the copy
must remember to take these into consideration in your
timing. A 30-second spot with 10 seconds of sound
effects averages four to five lines of copy. A stopwatch
will help you in timing spots.
Whenever you write a spot, it is best that you include
a “kill date” and cutoff time so the station will know
when to stop using it. A spot heard over and over, day
after day for along time, soon gets dull and irritating to
the listener. Also, if you have a spot telling people to
visit your command on Sunday, it would certainly sound
ridiculous to hear it the following Monday.
RADIO ANNOUNCING
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify the
techniques used in radio announcing in terms
of preparing and delivering copy, and the
responsibilities of the announcer.
Some Navy broadcasters forget that their primary
responsibility is to communicate. It is essential that you,
the announcer, know what the stories are about before
you try to read them on the air. Announcers who only
read words are doing exactly that — reading words and
not communicating. Remember — it is not the listener’s
responsibility to interpret what is read.
PREPARING RADIO COPY
There are certain aspects of preparing your radio
copy that you must do before you go on the air. These
include phrasing and marking your copy.
Phrasing
The bulk of the communication process centers on
phrasing. People do not talk in words; they speak in
phrases. The phrasing process is done during normal
conversation, without thought. Beginning newscasters
have some trouble transferring this natural process when
aloud. Identify whether the phrases answere one or more
of the five Ws and H. If the phrase does not answer one
of the five Ws and H, then it is not a complete thought
Marking Copy
Broadcasters use specific oral punctuation marks to
divide their copy into phrases. There is disparity
between written punctuation and oral punctuation.
English teachers teach written punctuation and follow
strict rules of usage. Oral punctuation adds accent and
tells the announcer when to breathe, without disrupting
the natural flow, phrasing and the importance of a sentence.
As stated earlier, most phrasing problems occur
because announcers do not understand what they are
reading. They are not breathing at the right time or not
marking their copy properly. Most announcers adapt
easily to the following system:
/ (The single slash mark means you are to pause
and take a short breath.)
Use the single slash as an oral comma, just a short
pause in the flow of words from your mouth — not a
complete stop like a period.
// (The double slash mark means you are to stop
reading and take a deep breath.)
The double slash is an oral period. This is a big stop
and is the end of a sentence. This is the time to take a
good breath for the next sentence.
/
/ (The triple slash mark means you are to pause
/ for emphasis, but do not breathe.)
This mark has nothing to do with breathing. It is just
a sign to you, and it means pause for emphasis. You
might use it for difficult names, quotes or a number in
the copy you know you want to emphasize.
An example of radio copy with oral punctuation
delivering their copy. The best way to see if your
marks is shown in figure 13-6.
WASHINGTON INTELLIGENCE SOURCES SAID TODAY THAT TUVALU NOW LEADS THE
WORLD IN ESPIONAGE ACTIVITIES.// ACCORDING TO AN UNIDENTIFIED STATE
DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL, / THE SMALL SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND NATION, / LEAD BY PRIME
/
MINISTER / JEFFREY TINAI (TIN-EYE), /IS BEHIND SEVERAL RECENT INTELLIGENCE-
/
GATHERING ACTIVITIES / AT NAVY BASES IN THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE.//
Figure 13-6.—Radio copy with oral punctuation marks.
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