The next time you prepare to write a story, remember those six words, but ask yourself six DIFFERENT questions:

WHO is watching me? -- Do I know who my audience is? Do I understand that it’s not a faceless mass of generic viewers, but real people, watching the news, usually one person at a time? Do I realize that newswriting is an intimate conversation with a single individual, in his own home? Can I talk to that individual as a friend, speak his language, respect his intelligence, and give him what he needs and expects from me? Or have I loaded down my scripts with jargon, “newspeak”, “coptalk”, “groaners” and other useless baggage?

WHAT must I tell that person, above all else? -- Have I grasped the essentials of the story, the grand themes, the key elements, the most important material my friend is waiting to hear? Or have I cluttered it with minutiae that add nothing and won’t be remembered? Is my friend eager to hear how many gallons of water were poured on the warehouse fire, and the exact percentage, down to the third decimal, of the wage increase won by striking airline machinists? Or does she want to know that an arsonist is on the loose and the planes will fly tomorrow?

WHERE is the best sound and video? -- Have I taken the time to search for the strongest pictures to enhance my words, and the most powerful soundbites to add passion to my story? Do I understand that copy, audio and video are critical storytelling tools, each equally important, and each deserving my full attention? Or have I rushed, picking out “wallpaper” video and boilerplate sound, blunting the impact of the information I want to share?

WHEN will I have a better shot at telling this story? -- TV news stories fly through the air, reach the viewer (we hope!), and disappear. They’re not newspaper or website stories that can be slowly read, digested, absorbed, pondered, re-read, scrolled up, scrolled down, or archived! In TV we get one quick chance... so it has to be our best chance. Am I committed to making every one of my stories the very best it can be, each and every time?

WHY do I care about this story? -- Am I making the effort to find something, anything, in each story, that pushes my buttons and gets me excited? Am I searching for the “whoa!” factor? The unique angle? The unexpected element? (Remember, even the so-called “boring” stories can get you juiced, if you look hard enough. And if you don’t get juiced, your writing will show it.)

HOW do I make this story unforgettable? -- Am I using every tool at my disposal to focus a viewer’s attention and aid his memory? Am I hitting him over the head in the lead graph with information he can’t afford to ignore? Am I communicating the enthusiasm of the unspoken, “invisible” lead -- “Hey! You’ll never guess what just happened!!” Am I following the three-stage system -- setting up the story, telling the essence of it, and reinforcing at the end? Every one of these tools creates a psychological edge, an extra fighting chance to make an impact, and make sure the story is remembered.

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