Brevity

   In print journalism, readers have the option of going back and reading again anything that's not clear. However, writers should not make them. Moreover, broadcast writing doesn't have that option. You only get one chance to get the viewer's attention, and give the information in a quick, understandable fashion. There is no instant replay button with a TV newscast.
   There's also a presentation style favored by corporate types, in which the writer or presenter should tell them what he or she is going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what he or she told them.
   But there's a difference between a corporate presenter and a good journalist or teacher. Corporate types want the credit for having attended a presentation, without the bother of having to learn anything.
   Our Dublin correspondent, a computer specialist, reported that he was asked to give a presentation on technical issues. Being an experienced teacher, he formulated some lecture notes, to be followed by class discussion and an assignment to build experience.
  He was surprised at the corporate lack of understanding that a presentation is not the same as an educational experience. 
   It seems the participants expected a series of presentations without any work assignments. 
   News media don't have the time or space for the repetitious presentation format. A better style of writing (and teaching, for that matter) calls for brevity: Say what you have to say, be done with it and be quiet.