How to cut time out of your package

Every station has rules about package times. Some like stories that run about 1:30, while others prefer what I call "packlets" that run 1:10 or less. Personally, I allowed stories to run more than two minutes if they were really good.

Regardless of your station's parameters, hitting time limits is often difficult for young reporters. You've got a good story, but it runs too long... so what do you cut? A sound bite? Your standup? Nat sound breaks?

Nope. The easiest thing to cut is your voice track. Trust me, packages are loaded with tons of extraneous words. You may look at your script and think it's impossible without changing the meaning or taking out facts, but it's easy if you know how to do it. Your package will be tighter and just as informative while keeping management and producers happy.

So, let me give you a few examples of how to "red pen" your script.

Let's say we're writing a story on health care. We've got our bites, nat sound breaks and standup in place but we're still ten seconds too long. So take a look at your copy.

"Opponents of the health care bill say that many doctors will stop taking Medicare patients. And that could make it harder for seniors to get a doctor's appointment."

Okay, there's really nothing wrong with those two sentences, except everything could easily be said in one. There are plenty of extra words in there... do we really need to say "health care bill" when our entire story is on the subject?

Now try this:

"Opponents say seniors could face problems since many doctors might stop taking Medicare patients."

Five seconds, outta here. Did the story change? Nope.

Now let's try some really simple stuff and deal with lead-ins to sound bites.

"Senator Knowitall, who chairs the committee that is reviewing the bill, says the new system will bring big changes to the country's health care system."

Hmmmm... do we really need you to tell the viewer what the Senator is going to say? So let's try this to lead in to the sound bite.

"Committee Chairman Senator Knowitall."

Wow, that's pretty simple. Another five seconds, outta here. Did the story change? No, because the Senator's sound bite is untouched. You didn't need to paraphrase the bite if you didn't have the time.

Remember, the last things to go in a package are your standup, nat sound, and critical sound bites. When seconds count, the easier things to cut are your own words.