Keep It Simple, Stupid

Picture this:

You turn on NBC at 6:30pm. NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams comes on. He begins his show with this:

"Islamist parties made dramatic advances in Egypt's parliamentary elections during the first round of voting for lawmakers this week, a result reflecting a growing embrace of religious-oriented sentiment across turbulent North Africa. Al Noor Salafi Movement, a hard-line Muslim group, had the second-highest total, 20%, in the first round of voting for the lower house of parliament"

Huh?

If that long winded introduction won't cause viewers to either be confused, change the channel, or both, then I don't know what will. This is the exact reason why short and simple sentences are so important in TV and radio broadcasts.

Short and simple sentences allow viewers to understand what is being broadcasted to them without much thinking about or deciphering what the anchor just said. They are easy to understand and they don't alienate less educated viewers who may not be apprised of the news material or would not understand certain terms or words. Short and simple sentences are also more conversational when compared to more in depth print stories. Shorter sentences are also easier for the broadcaster to say, as there are little to no commas requiring the anchor to pause. Word economy at its finest