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Write a one-minute television segment on a money-related issue. Write the script, and, as anchor of "The Money Minute," present your segment to your class live or on videotape. Make the segment informative, not persuasive. Your viewers should feel that you are an unbiased reporter who speaks objectively about your subject.
STEP 1: Initial Search
Start learning about financial issues. Browse through the following Web sites in search of a topic viewers will find informative:Take detailed notes. You'll need to explain the reasoning behind the tips and advice you give in your segment.
STEP 2: Analyze Your Source
You may be surprised by the advice you find. Evaluate each bit of information before you believe it. For example, a company selling mutual funds may tell you that such funds are the best, safest, and most approachable investment for young people. Watch out! This same advice may come from someone selling individual stocks! As you explore these subjects, consider the reliability of your sources.
STEP 3: Expanded Search
Review your notes or use a prewriting technique such as brainstorming or clustering(see Grammar for Writing, Level Blue, page 10) to choose a topic. Keep the topic narrow. One minute is not very much time to explain or give advice about anything. Use search engines to find additional information. If necessary, look for articles on the topic at the library.
Listen carefully to a TV financial reporter, and watch financial news channels. Pay attention to how the news is delivered - which facts come first, and how news items are worded. Compare a story reported on TV with its newspaper version, analyzing any differences in approach. If possible, tape some practice segments to get a sense of timing, style, and delivery. This will help you write your script in a style appropriate for a TV news report.
STEP 4: Plan Your Script
Think about how best to deliver the information you've gathered. Write an outline to organize your facts and decide which are most important. Decide whether you need visuals - charts and graphics - to clarify your data for viewers. You might also use quotations from well-known sources.
STEP 5: Draft Your Script
Write a first draft of your script and read it aloud. Time yourself. If it's too long, condense or cut copy. You must deliver your information concisely. Remember: You have only sixty seconds, so make every word count. (Tip: One-minute spots use about sixty words.)
If your script sounds choppy, vary the rhythm by combining sentences or inserting phrases. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Blue, page 137.) For example: "Credit cards are very profitable for banks. Many consumers have five credit cards. Growth of the credit-card business is slowing down. Surveys have found that responses to credit-card offers are at an all-time low." Change these sentences to: "Although credit cards are still very profitable for banks, the business is slowing down. Some consumers already hold as many as five credit cards, and surveys have found that more and more households are ignoring credit-card offers."
STEP 6: Revise Your Report
When you've revised your first draft so that you can deliver it in one minute, present it to your writing group, or tape-record your delivery and listen to yourself. Then ask yourself: "Is information missing? What should I explain more fully? What information can I cut?"
STEP 7: Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse!
Try to make your TV report sound as natural as possible. Your script should use the same voice and tone that you would use in speaking. Read your report to friends or family members to get their feedback.
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| TV news anchor at work. |
STEP 8: Edit and Proofread Your Segment
Reread your TV script for grammatical and usage errors. Read it again for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors. You'll want a perfectly written script to accompany the visual segment for your portfolio.
STEP 9: Publish Your Segment
Deliver your "Money Minute" TV report to the class.
Copyright ©2007 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.