and the announcer has a problem. Note the following examples: Examples: THE WESTERLY WIND WHISTLED WILDLY. THE  LOVELY  LITILE  LASSES LAUGHED  LOUDLY. Sibilants Beware  of  too  many  sibilants  .  .  .  “s”  and  “sh” sounds. They tend to create a hissing sound when read aloud Read the following example aloud: Example: THE  SIX  SOLDIERS  STOOD SHOULDER  TO  SHOULDER. This   problem   also   arises   quite   often   when   the apostrophe is used to show possession. Remember, the sibilant makes the announcer sound like a “snake sliding slowly  southward” Homonyms Watch out for homonyms — words that sound alike but  have  different  meanings.  The  ear  cannot  tell  the difference  between  “won”  and  “one”  or  “bear”  and “bare.” Here and There Where are “here” and “there” when they are heard by  listeners  scattered  over  a  wide  broadcast  area?  Make “here” and “there” taboo words when you must refer to a  location.  “Here,”  in  reference  to  a  location,  can  be anyplace it is heard Libelous  Words So-called  “red  flag”  words  can  lead  to  libel.  You should be careful not to mistake “colorful treatment” in your  story  with  words  like  Marxist,  illegitimate, deadbeat, addict, and soon. Meaningless  Words When you refer to persons, places or things already mentioned  avoid  using  meaningless  words,  such  as “latter,”  “former” and “respectively.” Again, listeners cannot refer back. Likewise, avoid transitional phrases within your stories, such as “meanwhile,” “meantime” and  “incidentally.”  They  are  crutches.  Each  thought, phrase or paragraph should flow to the next with skillful organization  —  not  with  throwaway  transitional  words. Steer clear of flowery phrases and trite expressions that take uptime and space and are of no value. Also avoid slang, vulgarisms and dialects in news writing. Always translate military jargon and technical, legal and   foreign   terms   into   simple   language   as   in   the following   examples: Examples:  USE AVOID ASSIGNED DETAILED BEFORE PRIOR TO ENLISTMENT    HITCH IF IN THE EVENT OF SAID CLAIMED SENT TRANSMITTED Abbreviations and Acronyms Abbreviations are used in broadcast copy, but only when they are intended to be read as abbreviations. The use  of  well-known  abbreviations  is  permissible,  such  as Y-M-C-A, F-B-I, U-S, U-N, A-M, P-M or E-S-T (note hyphens). You may also use MR., MRS., MS. and DR. “ST.” may be used instead of “SAINT,” in cases such as ST. LOUIS or ST.  PAUL. Do   not   abbreviate   the   names   of   military installations. For example, use FORT (not FT.) KNOX and NAVAL AIR STATION (not NAS). Never abbreviate names of states, cities, countries, political  parties  (except  G-O-P),  days  of  the  week months,  titles  of  officials  and  address  identification, such as street, avenue, drive or boulevard. In addition, avoid starting a sentence with an abbreviation. A  good  rule  for  you  to  remember  when  using abbreviations in broadcast copy is —  when in doubt write it out. Note the following examples: Examples:  WRITE AVOID THE  SENIOR THE SR. BALL BALL RALPH  SMITH RALPH  SMITH JUNIOR JR. 13-5