"Man Leaves Wife Accidentally At Gas Station"

NPR’s Morning Edition featured a very well-written and brief story called “Man Leaves Wife Accidentally At Gas Station” this morning. (http://www.npr.org/2013/10/14/233884471/man-leaves-wife-accidentally-at-gas-station) This radio story was well-written due to its attractiveness, concise writing, and circular style.

The very first words to begin the story convinced me of its quality. The lead sentence was “If you've forgotten to replace the fuel cap at the gas station, you could do worse,” which definitely catches people’s attentions and makes them listen. You first listen because, yes, most likely you have forgotten to replace the fuel cap at the gas station; you then continue listening because you’re intrigued about what could be worse.

The story’s closing remark, “This is probably not what she meant when she said, no better or for worse” is a funny way to wrap up the brief story about the newlyweds. This supports the idea that broadcast journalism’s story structure is usually circular, instead of the inverted pyramid of print media.

Another noticeable aspect of this writing that made it different from a print news article was that it does not include a date or time. In broadcast stories, people assume it is current, at least having occurring in the last day.

The overall writing of this story is clear and conventional. The sentences are very short and simple. This made the thoughts of the speaker easy to follow. The diction throughout the story was also simple and easy. Not a single word would require a dictionary search or rereading  for understanding. Listening on the radio, there is no time for that. Therefore, this story from NPR’s Morning Edition was very well-written.