Basic TV Reporting, 2nd Edition

Writing to Pictures

The test of a really good television script is whether it makes sense when heard with the eyes closed. Oddly, it shouldn’t–quite–because what is missing is that essential pictorial dimension. So the starting point for any journalist who hopes to produce anything more than run-of-the-mill commentaries is recognition of the principle that words are tailored to pictures, not the other way round. It follows the only way this can be achieved is by viewing and assessing the edited material before writing the commentary.

Regrettably, time pressures on writers have become such that the temptation to take the lazy way out and dash off recorded commentaries to which the pictures are then cut to match has become almost irresistible. ...