While reading the transcript for an
NPR broadcast, More Angst For College Applicants: A Glitchy Common App, I
realized that broadcast journalism and print journalism are vastly different.
Before even reading the transcript, I noticed that the title of the broadcast
was a bit lengthy and would probably be written in a more concise manner if
written for a print publication.
The first
paragraph also seemed awkward due to the sentence structure. When reading the
second sentence that begins with “but”, there was a lack of fluidity because conjunctions
aren’t typically used to start sentences in print. However, when I listened to
the broadcast, I didn’t pick-up on the awkwardness because it’s common for
conjunctions to be used in speech. Additionally, I noticed that the lead was at
the end of the first paragraph, whereas if this story was a journal article, it
would most likely be the first sentence.
Some of the
word choices in the article were also different from those that would be used
in print. Much of the language was conversational, but also at times redundant.
For example, Lisa Meyer ends one part by saying “those kind of things” and then
Eric Westervelt repeats “those are big things…”, only for Meyer to reply,
“those are very big things.” Not only are these choice of words redundant, but
they are vague and confusing. If this part of the broadcast was to be written
for print media, I think the dialogue would be paraphrased for understanding
and concision.
Finally, I
noticed that AP rules for writing are not as closely followed. For example, the
age of one of the students is spelt out when AP style states that numerical
values should be used for any number greater than nine. Seeing as how the
broadcast was made with the intent of being listened to and not read, the AP
style rules are not as important as in print journalism.
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