Creating Content

Writing radio scripts to improve food security: The Farm Radio Network Model - from planning to delivery to evaluation

By Nancy Bennett, Executive Director
(presentation to the FAO Workshop on Rural Radio and Food Security, Rome 5-9 November 2001)

Introduction
About Farm Radio International
Proper planning
Selecting script topics
Writing for radio - the seven Cs of effective communication
Writing scripts for food security
Editing the written script
Bibliography

Introduction

It may not be typical to think of a printed piece of paper when we think of radio. Indeed, it may not even be, in most cases, desirable. An advantage of radio is that production can be spontaneous, portable, and very fresh. An image of a radio broadcaster going straight to the story, pack on back and microphone in hand, is very appealing.

The reality behind the work of Farm Radio International is in sharp contrast to that image. Instead, we spend weeks and sometimes months meticulously researching a "story" and we produce several printed drafts to craft a program that will be relevant, accurate, and, most important, well understood by the eventual listener.

This paper is intended to share with the reader the steps in script writing that we at Farm Radio International follow to ensure that our final product - which is the written radio script - is credible and useful to you, the radio broadcasters we are mandated to serve. By sharing the steps behind our work, it is also hoped that radio broadcasters may gain some insight to the steps that they themselves can take to produce a high-quality information product that will be of direct benefit to the people in rural areas who listen to their radio programs.

About Farm Radio International

To fully understand how and why we produce radio scripts, it's important to understand the purpose of our Network. Farm Radio International is a non-government charitable organization based in Toronto, Canada. The Network was founded in 1979 to link broadcasters throughout the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean so that they could share with one another examples of good farming and nutrition practices, and then broadcast these stories on their farm radio programs. The stories were not shared directly, broadcaster to broadcaster. Ideas were sent by the participating broadcasters - at first, just 36 broadcasters in 24 countries - to the office in Toronto. They were then developed into radio scripts, and sent by post to all the broadcasters in the Network.

More than two decades later, that program is still intact. The Network, of course, has changed. There are now almost five hundred radio stations whose broadcasters participate in our script-sharing program. There are also almost one thousand agriculture extensionists, researchers and teachers who contribute ideas and expertise, and then use the scripts in their own work.

Our mission has changed: previously, our aim was to make information available to small-scale farmers. Now, our primary goal is support radio broadcasters so that they can strengthen small-scale farmers and rural livelihoods. That means that in addition to providing scripts, we are now also helping broadcasters develop their skills, sometimes through training, sometimes by facilitating links with other stakeholders in rural developmentand certainly by helping them connect and collaborate directly with other rural radio broadcasters around the world.

The ultimate goal of our work remains the same: we are working to improve food security in developing countries. We focus on rural areas, because that is where food insecurity is greatest. We recognize the complexities of food insecurity, and our work with broadcasters reflects this. Our scripts are about food production, food safety, food storage, and marketing. They are also about poverty reduction (such as local income generation ideas), access to land, access to credit, farm labour, environment issues, and the rights of farm women. They are about helping farmers stay healthy and productive. The topics we cover and the issues we address are always evolving.

Proper planning

The scope of our work is very broad. There are many issues that affect food security and rural livelihoods. When we are planning our script series, we have to decide what gets priority. We simply can't cover every story.

Our first step is to monitor the broad environment in which we work. What are the emerging issues? What are the experts telling us about what's most important for food security? Our many contacts are critical to our work at this stage. It is essential that anyone involved in development communication - and that includes the radio broadcasters in remote rural areas - develop and foster links with other stakeholders. In a changing world, we must always be seeking our new information. What we learned five years ago may no longer be relevant. For example, science may have discovered new technologies that can greatly improve the nutritional value of a traditional staple crop in Eastern Africa. We call on a variety of institutions and organizations to help us scan the environment in which we work.

At the same time, it is important to look to the people who will use the information. We look to our own network, to our partners in the field - the radio broadcasters, the extensionists who work directly with farmers in their own communities. What are they telling us about what people need most?

This research helps us to decide themes for our scripts, such as improving nutrition, or combating desertification, or preventing and living with HIV/AIDS, or coping with natural disasters. When we have identified potential themes for our scripts, we prepare a "case" for proceeding.

Broadcasters too can make a case for programs they want to produce. Sometimes, a station manager must be persuaded that the project has merit. Sometimes, carefully preparing a case that outlines why a project is worthwhile can help to attract sponsors.

When we make a case for a script series, we include:

Rationale for attempting to change behaviour of the chosen audience.
Why it would be appropriate for radio.
Key messages and general focus.
Sample script ideas that might be appropriate for the series.
Potential partners or collaborators for the project/series.
Schedule.

In some cases, we might also include a monitoring and evaluation plan. This might be appropriate for a radio station, too. However, we generally monitor and evaluate our work as part of an entire program.

At this point, we make a decision whether to proceed with the script series. If the project is deemed worthwhile and appropriate, we continue our research.

Now, the themes we present in our "case" are still very broad. Knowing our intended audience is what helps us narrow our focus. For example, good nutrition is important to everyone. But we are most interested in helping people in a rural environment improve their nutrition. And our scripts are intended to be useful to the average small-scale farmer, who usually must find ways to improve nutrition without cash or imported vitamin supplements. When we are planning our programs, we need to understand their nutrition issues. Understanding our target audience is the major focus of this research stage in preparing radio scripts.

The intended audience for Farm Radio International is vast. Our network comprises 500 radio stations in more than 70 countries, and our estimated (potential) audience is about 440 million people. Because we try to make our scripts relevant to as many people as possible, we cannot be as specific in our scripts as an individual radio broadcaster can be. We rely on our partners to know their audience, and adapt our materials accordingly.

What sort of audience research should a broadcaster undertake? Study the geographic, demographic, economic and social factors that shape the behaviour of the chosen audience. What differences are there in knowledge, attitude, and practices? Do they perceive their current behaviour as a problem? What are their ages? Income? Life-style? Values?

This amount of research may appear to be a luxury to a radio station manager who needs to meet strict deadlines and limited budgets. But we see it as a critical step in the effective use of radio to achieve food security and poverty reduction. The research and planning is every bit as important as the quality of writing for broadcast, and we make a significant investment in it. We have a professional librarian and a senior editor on staff to carry out this research.

Selecting script topics

Now that we have gained some insight into the specific issues, relevant to our chosen theme, that are important to the people we want to listen to our programs, we are ready to select script topics.

There are several considerations in our selection process.

Our mandate is to develop scripts that will have practical application in the field. That means that we must select topics that can be covered on radio in such a way that a listener can take the lesson and actually go and do something with what they've learned. Our mission is to improve food security - and for us, that means more than understanding the issues, it means helping people take action for change. Sometimes, despite a topic's importance, we decide that it is not appropriate for us.

When we have a short list of appropriate topics that we want to address in our script package, we scan our environment. Is someone else doing this work? For example, perhaps UNICEF has already produced radio programs about child nutrition. There are scarce enough resources for development programs - we don't want to re-do what's been done by someone else. Instead, we will collaborate with that organization to adapt their product for our Network.

Perhaps a radio partner in the field has already written a program about growing and preparing leafy dark green vegetables to increase Vitamin A in the diet. If that is the case, our role is to share our partner's work with others in our Network.

We encourage our partners to share their ideas and their work with us, so that it can reach an audience far beyond their broadcast range. And, happily, many of our partners also share their work directly with each other. For example, the National Community Radio Forum of South Africa shares scripts amongst its members. Some of those scripts are shared more widely with our partners elsewhere in Africa, and on other continents. In Russia, Developing Countries Farm Radio Network works with the Foundation for Agrarian Development Research to manage a national network that shares scripts and audio files on the internet. For broadcasters who do not yet use the internet regularly, we continue the script exchange using regular post, and audio files are shared on CD-ROM.

Writing for radio

In most cases, however, our choices mean that we must create new material. Any farm radio broadcaster knows that there are not many sources for ready-to-broadcast material about sustainable agriculture, basic nutrition and health, or other topics of interest to small-scale farmers.

When we write for radio, we follow "The Seven Cs of Effective Communication."^[1] These are:

Command attention.
Everyone loves a story, and we all like to listen in on the lives of other people. A radio drama can be very effective in commanding attention. However, we recognize that they can be time-consuming and expensive to produce, so we provide scripts in a variety of formats including interviews, group discussions and narrative storytelling, in addition to radio dramas. We ask our partners to add local details, names, places, etc. that will command the attention of their listeners.
Cater to the heart and head.
We are writing to convey social development messages and to change people's behaviour. The messages in our scripts appeal to people's intelligence. But to have lasting impact, they must also strike an emotional chord. We try to avoid technical language and a "teacher's tone." Instead, we try to write in a way that lets the listener place herself in the story or example.
Call to action. We write for radio so that people will listen. But we also write so that people can take action. We try to present practical examples (of farming, of community organizing, of marketing, etc.) that have been beneficial to a farmer, a rural family, or an entire community, so that others can learn from their experience and replicate their success.
Clarify the message.
It is often said that a message must be repeated three times if it is to be well understood and remembered. In our radio scripts, we often repeat the main message several times. We also reinforce the message and clarify techniques through serial radio scripts. Our scripts are packaged in series, and we encourage our partners to use them that way, for two main reasons.
1. The series may continue over many weeks, even months. Key messages can be introduced gradually and repeated as necessary. The audience then has a better chance of understanding the message, even if they must hear it several times before its relevance to their own lives becomes obvious.
2. The message can be introduced in different ways. The variety of the scripts in a series increases the likelihood that people with different perspectives and positions will have the chance to understand how the recommended practice or behaviour is relevant to their own lives. The complexity of the message is a factor in determining the number of scripts required.
Communicate a benefit.
When we write a script for social change, we know that the behaviour we are recommending will benefit the listener. But simply telling someone that something is good for him or her is not a very effective way to achieve change. One of the cardinal rules of good communication is "Show, don't tell." We try to demonstrate benefits by "taking" listeners to farmers elsewhere who have increased yield, increased income, reduced labour, or otherwise benefited from a changed behaviour. We write dramas that show how women empower themselves by forming cooperatives to market their produce. We encourage our partners to use the scripts as a basis for field interviews, visits to agriculture research stations, etc.
Create trust.
A health worker, a farmer-leader or a local agriculture extensionist or researcher who is known to the audience is much more likely to attract the trust of the listeners than is an official who is known only in a formal setting. We write our radio scripts so that our partners can easily adapt them to involve members of the local community. Even when such local figures are unavailable, scripts can be written in such a way as to create a familiar character that listeners will come to know and trust. For example, in a recent series of scripts we developed a character, Dr. Compost, whom listeners would recognize from week to week. Listeners are more likely to trust the message in the script by seeing their favourite characters or familiar local figures recommend and adopt the new behaviours.
Convey a consistent message.
This doesn't mean that scripts must be repetitious. In fact, we must constantly write new material that communicates and reinforces key messages. For example, we write for the small-scale farmer who is producing for her own family's consumption or for local market, and we consistently recommend behaviours that will benefit her. We ensure that the practices we recommend are not harmful to human health and the natural environment. There are thousands of scripts we can write that convey key messages that support sustainable, small-scale agriculture. We would confuse our audience if we one day wrote a script that extolled the benefits of large-scale, chemical-intensive monocropping! Each of our partners must decide what their main messages will be. These decisions generally are based on the radio station's mandate, particularly in the case of community or public radio. Then they can decide whether the scripts we share with them are appropriate for their radio programs.

Writing scripts for food security

Our writing process is, like our research, collaborative. The senior editor, who has been involved with the series since conception, works closely with writers who are recruited for the selected scripts.

If we are working on a pre-existing script, the editor works closely with the author on revisions that may be required. The writers and the editor work closely with content specialists who bring with them the latest accurate methods generally available.

Technology has significantly changed, and improved, the way we work. We are now able to consult specialists by e-mail. A script draft can be sent to our technical consultant halfway around the world, and be back on the editor's desk in a matter of hours. We are able to seek out writers from radio stations or associations in the South, who bring with them an understanding of communication nuances and barriers that influences our script content and style.

This interaction and collaboration contributes greatly to the quality of the scripts we are able to write and share with our partners. A script may be written with creative genius and be most entertaining, but if the writer is not able to accept the discipline of writing for development - which means rigorously including and clarifying key messages - it is, for our purpose, not worth the paper it is printed on. Likewise, a script may be technically accurate and the development message very logical - but if no one is listening, the value of the expertise is lost.

We sometimes commission more material than we will use for a particular series. Sometimes an item may not work well for radio despite our thorough research and planning. Sometimes it is simply not a good "fit" for the series, and we save the script to use at a later date.

There are a number of different approaches one can take when writing scripts about food security. At Farm Radio International, we try to ensure that our packages have a variety of formats to convey the messages. This increases the likelihood that the messages will reach people with different tastes, styles and interests. We also include different styles to provide examples and perhaps inspiration to the broadcasters who will adapt the scripts for broadcast. Script formats include:

Drama -- combining education and entertainment.
Features -- approaching factual themes in a creative, artistic way.
Interviews -- dialogue between the host and a guest expert.
Panels and discussions -- demonstrating different perspectives on an issue or question.
Documentaries -- factual reports, often combining a scripted talk with interviews and/or discussion.

The scripts we write average about six minutes in duration (when presented in English). This length allows us to cover the material adequately. It also allows the broadcaster to fit it into a variety of program formats (broadcast magazine programs are generally 15-30 minutes in length). If the broadcaster has less than six minutes available, the scripts can often be split into two segments.

Many of our partners combine scripts to use in a magazine format. This is a popular and widely used format, usually broadcast on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly), dealing with a number of different topics linked by a common theme.

Not writing scripts

We encourage our partners to interview local experts, farmers and farmer-leaders, and other community members to facilitate public, community discussion about development issues. Interviews offer an attractive way to present information and experience. Most interviews are unscripted, and offer a number of advantages: portability (they can be recorded on location); less preparation time, and literacy not required; lively, natural speech and sounds.

However, in presenting practical information to help people take action to improve food security, unscripted interviews have a major disadvantage. The limited control over the content and structure can sometimes create confusion for the listener. If we are sharing technical "how-to" information, confusion and inaccuracy in a radio program can have disastrous results.

There are ways to not write scripts to overcome this problem:

Carefully select and brief interviewees. Choose someone who has sufficient expertise and experience; who is articulate and can express themselves in a way that is appropriate to the target audience. Tell them who the interview is intended for, what it will cover, and how the material will be used.
Prepare appropriate, focused questions. Use simple, direct language. Don't ask a question that is really two or more questions. Instead, ask two separate questions.
Build in the ability to edit interview material after recording.

Editing the written script

As mentioned previously, the editor is involved in the project from conception, through all research stages and case development, to assigning scripts, agreeing on an outline, and coordinating and supporting the script writing team. When the scripts are written, the editor reviews them carefully, keeping the nature of radio in mind.

Writing for the ear is different than writing for the eye. Listeners can't skim ahead to see what's coming, like they can with printed materials. They can't speed up or slow down the presentation. The material has to be presented in such a way that it can be easily followed and understood on the first hearing. Often, the editor asks a volunteer to read the script so that an "audio edit" can be part of the review.

Some of the things the editor looks for:

Is the listener told at the beginning what the program is about, and what they will learn? (This is often done in the introduction by the program host.)
Is the listener given a "map" so that they have some idea of how the material is organized and structured?
Are there signpost throughout the script to allow the listener to know where they are, where they have been, and where they are going?
Are the main points emphasized and reinforced?
Does it cover the subject adequately?
Are the main sections clear? Do they flow naturally from one to the next?
Are there sufficient examples and illustrations?
Is the language conversational, natural and friendly?
Is the language appropriate to the audience?
Are the conclusions clear and relevant?
Is it about the right duration?

Still, a critical part of the writing process takes place after the scripts leave our office. Our partners are expected to adapt the scripts for local use. To do this well, they must work with local content specialists - preferably more than one, since there are often differences of opinion on what action should be taken.

In adapting scripts for broadcasts, it is also advisable to involve audience representatives. Audience representatives should have an understanding of local traditional beliefs, and know what barriers there might be to accepting the new behaviours or practices. For example, there might be very important societal or economic reasons for not adopting a recommended practice or behaviour. The audience representative can help the broadcaster address these issues appropriately.

The audience representative will also help the broadcaster determine the most appropriate format for the radio programs. For example, a project to develop radio materials to promote women's health worked closely with the intended audience to determine formats. ^[2] The project was carried out in Kenya, Sierre Leone and Nigeria. The Nigerian women preferred the drama format, as did the groups in Sierre Leone. In Kenya, the team found that five formats were suitable: drama, dialogue, role play, question/answer, and a talk.

Involving the audience complements the use of content specialists, and helps the broadcaster to avoid a top-down, expert-to-learner approach. Here, people determine what information needs to be created, and then contribute to meeting their own information needs.

Experience shows that information-based approaches (expert-to-learner) are generally effective in increasing awareness about behaviours, techniques and technologies -- but they have only limited success in bringing about actual behavioural changes. If broadcasters take the time to carefully adapt the script using participatory approaches -- involving the audience in script writing and in on-air presentation, their programs will have the best possible chance of appealing to and appropriately influencing the chosen audience.

The final step in writing a script is preparing it for microphone presentation. We do not follow standard presentation "rules" because we expect our partners to adapt and translate the scripts we share, and then prepare them to suit their needs. We do provide a newsletter with our scripts, which includes information to help our partners develop their skills. Advice for presenting a scripted talk at the microphone might be something like this:

A well-written script can be ruined by poor delivery at the microphone. Lay it out so that you can read it easily and confidently in the studio.

Type it or write it out clearly so that you don't have to struggle to read it.
Lay it out on one side of the paper so that you don't make unnecessary noise when turning pages.
Double-space it so that when you read it you will have space to write in any corrections that you want to make during the rehearsal.
End each page on a full top (end of sentence, or even better, end of paragraph) so that when you move from one page to the next, you can do so with a natural pause.
Leave wide margins so that there is room to write in production or technical notes.
Number the pages clearly.
Indicate the source, in CAPITALS, for each part of the program in the left-hand margin (or the right-hand margin if you write from right to left). For example: ANNOUNCER, MUSIC/CD, SIG(nature), etc.
Identify pre-recorded sources briefly. For example: In the margin, write CUE IN. In the body of the script, write "Sounds of livestock feeding."
Hand-mark the script sparingly (e.g., underlining key words or phrases, using a slash to indicate a pause) if you feel it will help your delivery.

When the broadcaster is ready to speak into the microphone, the script writing is complete.

Bibliography

Francis, Victoria, editor: Mucoore (trusted friend), let's share with others! UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, London UK, 1997.

McKee, Neill et al, editors: Involving People, Evolving Behaviour. UNICEF, New York, USA, 2000.

Riccio, Robert J., Editor: How to Design and Produce Radio Serial Drama for Social Development: A Program Manager's Guide. Population Communication Services, Center for Communication Programs, The John Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Maryland USA, 1998.

Thomas, John: Audio for Distance Education and Open Learning: A Practical Guide for Planners and Producers. The Commonwealth of Learning and the International Extension College, Vancouver, Canada, 2001.

¹ J.R. Williams, Johns Hopkins University/Center for Communication Programs.

² UNDP/World Bank/Who Programme in Gender, Health & Communication, 1996.