Mervin Block

Television Newswriting Workshop

  • About
  • Articles
    • 2017
      • Reasonable Reaction to Broadcast Thank-yous: No Thanks
      • ‘Bermuda Triangle’ Kept Alive by Broadcasters
      • Network Anchors Entangled in ‘Bermuda Triangle’
      • When ‘Breaking News’ Is Neither Breaking Nor News
    • 2016
      • ABC’s David Muir Not Intimidated by Facts
      • ABC Anchor David Muir Caught in Two Tall Tales
      • ABC’s David Muir Likes to Ing, but Ing Lacks Zing
      • How WNBC Anchor Covered Crime Spree
      • CNN Broadcast: Worse Than Wrong
      • CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: Broken News
      • Lester Holt’s Scripts: True and False
    • 2015
      • When Stars Lester Holt and David Muir Don’t Shine
      • NBC’s Lester Holt: His Write Stuff Is Often Wrong
      • When ‘Breaking Overnight’ Was Broken
      • How Lester Holt Gives News a Jolt
      • Holt, Williams Tamper with Clock, Time After Time
    • 2013
      • How NBC Newscasters Turn Day into Night
      • Scott Pelley’s ‘Breaking Story’ Breaks Up
      • TV Consultant Tells Clients to Make News Sound Urgent
    • 2012
      • Diane Sawyer and Her Word Games
      • Anchors’, Reporters’ Use of ‘Confirmed’ Questionable
    • 2011
      • CBS’s Scott Pelley: Wearing Two Hats Can Cause Headaches
      • When a Hit Is Amiss
      • CNN: When Bad Things Happen to a Sad Story
      • Brian Williams Outruns the Learning Curve
      • Anchors, Reporters Plagued by Learning Problems
      • CNN Anchor Likes Astrologer, Astrology and Astrologizing
      • ABC’s David Muir: A Man of Learning
    • 2010
      • Diane Sawyer: When Words Fail Her
      • When Hype Is Tripe
      • ABC’s Muir Seems to Think Using ‘Tonight’ Works Muiracles
    • 2009
      • ABC News Anchor Tampers with Clock and Calendar
      • When ‘Now’ is Not Now on ABC’s ‘World News’
      • Brian Williams: Lack of Copy Editor Causes Problems
      • For Want of a Nail—And an Editor
      • CNN: Blitzer Cries Wolf
    • 2008
      • Are You Ready for the Big Time, Say, ’60 Minutes’?
      • Test Your Newswriting I.Q. Against Networkers’ I.Q.
      • CNN: ‘Keeping Them Honest’
      • CNN Fobbing Off Old News As New
      • When A Network Script Should Be Scrapped
      • Former NBC News Writer Slams Brian Williams’s Scripts
      • Brian Williams: History-Maker
      • When ‘Breaking News’ Needs a Brake
      • How Brian Williams Beats The Clock
    • Archive of 2007 and prior columns
      • CBS Producer Says My Article About Evening News Had Errors
      • Couric: When ‘Exclusive’ News is Not Exclusive–And Not Even News
      • CNN’s Paula Zahn: Perky, But…
      • Anderson Cooper’s ‘Keeping Them Honest’ Raises Questions
      • Chicago News Producer Hunts Down Clichés
      • Brian Williams: “Nightly” Problems
      • Autopsy of an Anderson Cooper Script
      • “All Eyes Are On…”: Broadcast Writing Clichés
      • ’60 Minutes’ Story About Singer Hits False Note
      • ’60 Minutes’ Keeps on Ticking, But Its Writing Takes a Licking
      • ‘More Violence to Report’ — and More Weak Ways Not to Report
      • A Look at BBC’s New Stylebook
      • A Hard Look Finds a Weak Network Script Fading to Blah
      • Breakfast with Andy Rooney
      • Better Than a Post-Mortem: A Thorough Pre-Mortem
  • Newswriting Columns
    • Mistakes Are Bad News
    • Error Alert: Wrong Words Slip Into Network Newscasts
    • ‘More Violence to Report’ — and More Weak Ways Not to Report
    • When Bad Scripts Happen to Good Newscasts
    • Résumés That Can’t Get to First Base: They Strike Out Even Before Getting to Bat
    • Networks’ Mistakes May Make You a Better Writer
    • Who Was Taking a Snooze on the Evening News?
    • Newscasters Caught in a Blunder-Storm
    • Better Than a Post-Mortem: A Thorough Pre-Mortem
    • Half-true is False
  • Workshops
    • Why a Workshop?
  • Books
  • Tips
  • Resources
    • A Broadcaster’s Book List
  • Quotable Block
  • Contact
    • Meet Merv Block
    • Block’s Extra Ears and Eyes—His Readers—Sound Off

2013

2013 Articles written by Mervin Block

How NBC Newscasters Turn Day into Night (October 7, 2013)

Scott Pelley’s ‘Breaking Story’ Breaks Up (July 16, 2013)

TV Consultant Tells Clients to Make News Sound Urgent (July 1, 2013)


Mervin Block

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