"Write Like You Talk" is a guide to broadcast news writing. Buy: WriteLikeYouTalk.com “A broadcast news bible” “A master class in 150 pages." "A must-read."
Joined February 2015
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29 Feb 2020
If you have an issue with your book order (wrong address provided, lost in mail), please contact me!
Jeff@WriteLikeYouTalk.com
There are easy fixes to problems and I will make sure you get your book!
Just reach out. Please!
#WriteLikeYouTalk
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May 11
SUGGESTION!
No disrespect to our friends at AAA —
But their “Memorial Day Travel Forecast” is not news.
Our viewers don’t care. It’s irrelevant to them.
It’s just time-filler.
And the sooner we recognize we can’t simply ‘fill time,’ the better off we’ll be.
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Mar 23
One thing I’ve learned anchoring —
Mistakes are also opportunities.
When they’re obvious, cop to them and use them as a chance to humanize yourself.
Or, like here, turn it into GREAT TELEVISION:
instagram.com/reel/DWMw0kjCT…
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Jeff Butera retweeted
22 Dec 2025
Important note about investigative reporting: we always want govt officials on-camera. There's nothing better than an accountability interview. More and more, officials try to spike a story by refusing to participate. We never let their lack of participation stop us from airing an investigation built on facts.
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22 Dec 2025
"Government silence is a statement, not a VETO." -- Sharyn Alfonsi, 60 Minutes
Damn right.
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18 Nov 2025
The meeting isn't the news.
What happened *at* the meeting is the news.
The difference matters.
And your lead sentence should reflect that.
#WriteLikeYouTalk
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10 Nov 2025
Newsers —
This means you don’t call it a news conference.
Describe it as a “statement where Johnson took no questions.”
Any time a leader only says what they want and departs, viewers should know.
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27 Oct 2025
SUGGESTION --
Stop using the website as a crutch to end a story!
"Learn more at (station website)."
No. They're watching you NOW. Tell them NOW what's newsworthy now.
Don't give them homework.
Don't make them do something else.
Inform. Now.
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27 Oct 2025
If you have specific content on the website that amplifies the story, I'm cool with highlighting it.
But make clear what's there and *why* you're sending people there instead of covering it on-air.
However, a blanket "go to our website for more" doesn't play with viewers.
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27 Oct 2025
Glad you found it, Mike!
Anyone can order the second edition of "Write Like You Talk" at WriteLikeYouTalk.com
It's an easy way to immediately improve your broadcast news writing!
Sample chapter: WriteLikeYouTalk.com/Active_…
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Jeff Butera retweeted
14 Oct 2025
when you're pre-recording a newscast and audition decides to crash
14 Oct 2025
That look when the show starts but the prompter ain't working
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14 Oct 2025
That look when the show starts but the prompter ain't working
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3 Oct 2025
Consider --
What impacts the lives of your viewers more?
Let that be your guide.
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11 Sep 2025
🧵1. For my friends in the news industry --
These are scary times. Viewers already know that.
You don’t need to add adjectives to scripts to tell them. They get it.
Let others convey magnitude of the confusion, anger & fear we all feel.
Focus on facts. That's our role.
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11 Sep 2025
🧵4. You'll see some verbally attack the industry as a whole today. Some will do it every day for the rest of time.
REMEMBER:
* You're not a spokesperson for journalism
* You're not responsible for every decision other journalists make
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11 Sep 2025
🧵5. * You do not have to answer for other’s choices
All you have to do is answer for:
* Your own work.
* Your own choices.
* Your own product.
That's it. Do your job the right way.
Don’t internalize the rest.
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