and H). For radio copy to include the who, what, where, when,  why  and  how  in  the  lead  would  be  too cumbersome. There is no time for nonessential details in radio news items. For the most part, news stories run from 20 to 30 seconds. Spot announcements run from 10 to 60 seconds, and features may run for two or three minutes, depending on the topic. THE  BEGINNING The  lead  sentence  must  gain  the  attention  of  the listeners and orient them on the facts that will follow in the body of the story. When you begin a story with a person’s name or a number,  you  risk  the  possibility  of  that  information escaping  your  listener.  Have  you  ever  wished  that  a newscaster  or  announcer  would  repeat  something because you either joined the story in progress or did not initially  give  full  attention  to  what  was  said?  Some writers remedy this by repeating key information later in the story. Unless you are striving for special effect, avoid  names  and  numbers  at  the  start.  Do  not  use  an “unknown” name at the beginning. It is much better to say, “A San Diego sailor was cited for heroism today,” than to say, “Seaman Phillip Jones was cited for heroism today.” Start the story with a general “what happened” lead; then mention the recipient by name. NAMES AND TITLES In the case of names and titles being used together, titles  should  precede  names.  It  should  be  “Hialeah Mayor  Perfecto  Hernandez  —  not  “Perfecto  Hernandez, Hialeah Mayor.” Alert your listener as to whom you are about to name by prefixing the name with the person’s title. You should refer to federal officeholders by title or as  “mister.”  For  example,  you  would  use  “President Clinton”  or  “Mr.  Clinton”;  “Mr.  Gore”  or  “Vice President Gore”; “Senator Simpson” or “Mr. Simpson.” If  a  difficult  name  is  unessential,  use  only  the person’s   title,   such   as   “The   Ambassador   from Nigeria . ..” INITIALS Generally, it is better to omit the middle initial of a person’s  name  unless  it  is  a  well-known  part  of  the person’s  name,  such  as  Howard  K  Smith,  William  F. Buckley or John F. Kemedy. The other exception to this rule  is  when  the  nature  of  the  story  requires  further clarification, such as in births or deaths. 13-4 WORDS In broadcast writing, you must be aware of certain categories  of  words  that  are  potential  trouble  areas. These categories are explained in the following text. Contractions In day-to-day conversations, contractions are used rather  liberally.  Therefore,  you  should  consider  using contractions whenever possible because they add to the “conversationality” of your broadcast copy. A definite exception to this rule is the “it will” contraction “it’ll,” which is awkward when you are trying to read it into a microphone. Additionally, a contraction should not be used when you are intending to stress a particular word or phrase. Not Avoid the use of the word not in your copy. “Not” can be dropped out of your copy inadvertently and leave“ listeners wondering whether they heard “not.” Note the following examples: Examples:   USE AVOID DISHONEST NOT  HONEST INNOCENT NOT GUILTY FORGOT DID  NOT REMEMBER IGNORED DID NOT PAY ATTENTION UNABLE NOT ABLE Pronouns There  is  a  danger  in  using  personal  pronouns  in broadcast copy. When you use “he,” “she” or “they,” make certain there can be no doubt in the listener’s mind to whom you are referring. The ear cannot go back and pick up the identification. Repeat the noun if there may be any question as to whom you are referring. Alliterations Beware   of   alliterations.   When   you   compose   a sentence  consisting  of  several  words  beginning  with  the same  vowels  or  consonants,  you  have  an  alliteration,