Radio news script
generator

Write a radio news bulletin in seconds. Add your stories, pick a length and we'll write a script ready for the newsreader, with headlines, each story in turn and a sign-off. It only uses the facts you give it.

Radio news script examples

Three example bulletins for community, student and local stations. Use the generator above to turn your own stories into a script.

1 minute community bulletin
Riverside FM news at 9
About 58 sec read aloud
1. [NEWS STING]
2. NEWSREADERRiverside FM news, I'm Priya Shah. A new skate park for Mill Park, and the library stays open later on Thursdays.
3. NEWSREADERRiverside Council has approved plans for a skate park in Mill Park. Building work starts in March, and the council says it'll be open by the summer holidays.
4. NEWSREADERRiverside Library is staying open until eight on Thursday evenings from next week. Library staff say the change is for people who work during the day.
5. NEWSREADERThe number twelve bus is changing its route from Monday while Bridge Street is resurfaced. It will run along Mill Road instead, and the bus company says the work should take three weeks.
6. NEWSREADERAnd the Riverside food bank needs volunteers on Saturday mornings. You can sign up at the community centre on Bridge Street.
7. NEWSREADERThe weather: dry and bright today, with a high of fourteen. That's the news from Riverside FM.
8. [NEWS STING OUT]
1 minute student radio bulletin
Campus Radio news
About 56 sec read aloud
1. [NEWS STING]
2. NEWSREADERThis is Campus Radio news. The late-night bus is staying, and the library goes twenty-four hours from Monday.
3. NEWSREADERThe students' union has voted to keep the late-night bus running through exam season. The union says buses will leave the main gate every thirty minutes until two in the morning.
4. NEWSREADERThe main library opens twenty-four hours a day from Monday until the end of exams. You'll need your student card to get in after ten at night.
5. NEWSREADERIn sport, the women’s football team beat Northfield three one on Wednesday and are now top of the league.
6. NEWSREADERTickets for the end of term ball go on sale at noon tomorrow from the union shop. The union says there are four hundred tickets, and last year's sold out in a day.
7. NEWSREADERThat's the news from Campus Radio. Good luck with your exams.
8. [NEWS STING OUT]
2 minute local news bulletin
Northside Radio news at 5
About 1 min 56 sec read aloud
1. [NEWS STING]
2. NEWSREADERNorthside Radio news at five, I'm Dev Patel. A crash closes the ring road eastbound, the Christmas market dates are confirmed, and Millbrook Town win at home.
3. [MUSIC BED: news bed, under]
4. NEWSREADERThe ring road is closed eastbound near the Hill Lane roundabout after a crash this afternoon. Police say two cars were involved and no one was seriously hurt. Diversions are in place through Hill Lane and Station Road, and drivers are being asked to avoid the area until the road reopens.
5. NEWSREADERMillbrook Council has confirmed the Christmas market opens on the fourteenth of November. There'll be sixty stalls in Market Square, ten more than last year, and the council says late opening runs until eight on Fridays and Saturdays.
6. NEWSREADERNorthside Food Bank says demand has gone up and it needs more volunteers on Saturday mornings. The food bank's manager says even two hours a month helps. You can sign up at the community centre on Bridge Street.
7. NEWSREADERA new community garden has opened on the old car park behind Millbrook station. Volunteers from three local schools planted more than two hundred trees and shrubs over the summer, and the garden is open to everyone from dawn until dusk. Organisers say they're looking for local groups to look after the raised beds next spring.
8. NEWSREADERIn sport, Millbrook Town beat Eastfield two one at home this afternoon. Both goals came in the second half, and the win moves Town up to fourth in the table.
9. NEWSREADERThe weather: showers this evening, clearing overnight, with a low of six. Tomorrow should be dry and brighter, with a high of twelve.
10. NEWSREADERThose headlines again: the ring road is closed eastbound after a crash, and Millbrook's Christmas market opens on the fourteenth of November. That's the news from Northside Radio.
11. [NEWS STING OUT]

Radio news bulletin template

Prefer to write it yourself? Copy this template and fill in the brackets. It follows the same shape as the examples: headlines, the most important story first, a lighter story to finish, then weather and a sign-off.

[NEWS STING] NEWSREADER: [Station name] news, I'm [your name]. [Headline one in a single short line.] [Headline two.] [Headline three.] NEWSREADER: [Story one, the most important: what happened, where and who it affects, in two or three short sentences. Say who said it before what they said, e.g. "Police say..."] NEWSREADER: [Story two: same shape, a little shorter.] NEWSREADER: [Story three: a lighter or community story to finish.] NEWSREADER: [Weather, sport or what's on.] NEWSREADER: That's the news from [station name]. [NEWS STING OUT]

How to write a radio news script

Lead with the story that matters most to your listeners and tell it in one sentence before adding detail. Local news is why people tune in to a community station, so a road closure in town beats a national story they've already heard.

Write for the ear. Keep to one idea per sentence, say who said something before what they said, and round numbers the way you'd say them. Listeners can't scroll back, so repeat the key headlines at the end of a longer bulletin.

Time it before it airs. At about 150 words a minute, a one minute bulletin is around 150 words. Read it out loud, check every name and number against your source, and cut anything you can't stand behind.

Related tools & resources

Need a show intro, station ID or announcement instead? The radio script generator writes those too, and the radio ad script generator writes ads for your sponsors. For more on the craft, read our guide to writing for radio.

FAQs

How do I write a radio news script?

Lead with the most important story and give it in one sentence before adding detail. Keep to one idea per sentence, say who said something before what they said, and write numbers the way you'd say them. Read the bulletin out loud before it airs: if you stumble, so will the listener. The generator above writes a first draft in that shape, and the template on this page gives you the structure to fill in yourself.

Read our guide to writing for radio

How long is a radio news bulletin?

Most bulletins at the top of the hour run between one and three minutes, with longer ones at breakfast and drive time. A one minute bulletin fits two or three short stories, while three minutes leaves room for five or six stories plus weather and sport.

How many words is a one minute news bulletin?

Newsreaders read at around 150 words a minute, so a one minute bulletin is roughly 150 words, two minutes is about 300 and three minutes is about 450. Leave a few seconds for the sting at the start and end.

What is the format of a radio news script?

Each spoken line starts with the speaker in capitals, usually NEWSREADER, and production directions such as stings and music beds sit on their own lines in square brackets. Headlines come first, then each story in turn, most important first, then weather, sport or what’s on and a sign-off with the station name.

Will the generator make up facts?

It writes only from the stories you give it and is told never to add quotes, names, numbers or details that are not there. If your stories are too short to fill the length you picked, it writes a shorter bulletin rather than padding it out. Always check every fact and source before the bulletin goes to air.