Nancy Edmonds Hanson, APR

Office: 293.1489
Fax: 237.4662
nancy@hansonphoto.com

Mass Comm 210: Media Writing

***Syllabus —* *Spring 2008***

12-1:15 p.m.
1:30-2:45 p.m.
Tuesdays & Thursdays
Frick 258.

Course information
Required texts, attendance policy and grading overview

About the instructor

”Bad writing makes bright people look dumb."
— William Zinsser

Assignments

Week 1
01/11/08

Writing for today’s audiences

	Media crisis: Dangerous times/ times of opportunity (The Chinese word for "crisis" combines elements of "danger" and "opportunity.")
	Core skills for professional media writers
	What your English teacher won't tell you
	Why your business teacher would flunk this class
	Fractured! Or, whatever happened to the mass audience?
	“Talking” online — where media rules collide
	Better writing in seven thoughtful steps
	Just who is the AP ... and what's the point?

Write: Media audit. Assess your personal media habits for 24 hours. Then compare them with someone at least one generation older. 500–1,000 words. Due Tuesday, 01/15.

Format for this and all material prepared for Media Writing: DOUBLE -space your text. INDENT paragraphs. Do NOT single-space and add an extra line between paragraphs.

Check out: Minnpost

Check out: Media

Check out: Media clutter

Week 2
01/15-17

Tools of the trade: spelling, grammar, style and math

	Walking the tightrope without a net?
	Copy editiing issues: Spelling, punctuation and grammar vs. style issues
	Life's greatest pleasure: Editing [other people's] writing
	The English language just for laughs: homonyms, grammar, punctuation, numbers and a few rules to live by
	Bring AP Manual of Style to class
	Language mechanics: Run-on sentences
	Commas and other punctuation

Read: Yopp 1-2

Write: Brief story about the partner assigned in class (about 30 lines in length). Follow the 7-step writing process described in Yopp 1, also available here. Due Thursday.

Check out: Copy-editing symbols

Week 3
01/22-24

Guidelines for good writing

	Who's got style?
	Editing for content vs. copy editing
	What's news? Newspaper coverage of Iraq
	The problem of the ongoing story
	More "grammar slammers"
	Language mechanics: Subject-verb agreement
	AP: days, dates and times
	AP: handling the time element— days of the week, dates and years

Complete: AP1 exercise (for discussion in class on Tuesday).

Read: Yopp 3 and 4
Also review AP Stylebook contents

Write: Brief essay on writing issues that bug you

Check out: InForum.com

Week 4
01/29-31

Better Writing — suggestions and writing project

	Redundancy and wordiness/discussion & exercises
	Due Tuesday: AP worksheet 2

Lead on: getting to the point fast

	Baiting the hook to catch readers
	News elements

Copy-editing symbols

Read: Yopp 5 (Thursday)

Write: Bad writer/good writer —Write about one page about coming to school in today's frigid cold. In your first draft, write long on purpose: lots of description, wordy, very informal. Then edit this first version into a concise, lean story NO MORE THAN ONE-HALF the length of the first. Pare down your sentences and language; avoid redundancy. Squeeze out the air using all the guidelines discussed in Yopp 4 (last section). Due Thursday

Week 5
02/05-08

Lead on, part 2: news judgment

	Recipes for writing leads
	News values
	Exercise in class: Fractured fairy tales nursery rhymes more nursery rhymes
	Due Thursday: Essay on first news story that made a real impact on you

Writing tip of the day: For clarity, add the time element after the verb. Don't start with it!

Not: On Thursday we'll talk about news leads.
Instead: We'll talk about news leads Thursday.

Read: Yopp 5

Write: One double-spaced page on the first big news story that you were really aware of. Bring a printed copy to class Thursday, 02/08.

Write: Four-paragraph news story about the I-94 turkey tragedy. Use hard-news recipe, including focus on most current status. Due Tuesday. Notes

Week 6
02/12-14

Beyond the lead — writing the message

Using the inverted pyramid in longer-form stories
Alternatives for organizing longer stories

	Due Tuesday: Hard news story about turkey tragedy
	In class: Second-day story on turkey tragedy (due 2/14)
	AP: days, dates and times
	AP: time element
	AP: media names and the Net
	Redundancy
	Getting to the point

Read: Yopp 6 & 7

Write: Second-day story (follow-up) on turkey tragedy. Due 2/24.

Check out: AP style tips on this link

Week 7
02/19-21

Beyond Simple Formats

	Features and news features
	The visual element
	Leads — descriptive and anecdotal
	Corroboration
	Attribution
	Sourcing your story
	Punctuating quotes

AP style quiz Thursday

Read: Yopp 8

Write: Feature story on topic of personal interest related to alcohol and young adults. Must include: 1) Three sources; 2) At least one live interview; 3) At least two instances of correctly punctuated direct full and partial quotes. Due 03/11

Week 8
02/26-28

midterm 02/29

Research and Observation

	The public record
	Pleasures and perils of the Web
	The principle of corroboration

Midterm exam Thursday

Read: Yopp 9

Midterm review notes
Midterm covers Yopp chapters 1-8 and AP style sheets/stylebook

03/04-06

Spring break

Week 9
03/11-13

No class Tuesday -- instructor is ill. Deb Hval will collect your feature stories at the beginning of class time -- or turn them in to her in the Mass Comm lounge, MacLean 260. (If you're not done with your feature, consider this a miracle. And if you're not done and have anything to do with my flu ....)

	Due Tuesday: Feature story
	Tips for professional-level Web searching

Check out: Essential Google tips

Google advanced operators (printable)

Google cheat sheet

20 Great Google Search Tricks

Try Googling "the answer to life, the universe and everything"

Check out: How people read on the Web (by Web readability expert Jakob Nielsen)

Week 10
03/18-20

Interviewing, Quotes & Attribution

Opening up

Recording what you learn

Attribution and corroboration (again)

Punctuating quotes

Read: Yopp 10

Write: Personality profile (feature) on media writer of your choice. Length – 3-4 pages (800-1200 words). Emphasis is on use of quotes and scene-setting. Due April 8. Start planning now!

Week 11
03/24-27

Recognizing bias and stereotypes

	Identifying personal bias
	Guidelines for fair writing Hint: No "Gee whiz, look at this!"
	Guidance from AP style

Read: Yopp 11

Write: Mea Culpa ... 600-800 word essay on three forms of everyday copyright or libel abuse from personal perspective plus suggestion of legal/ethical alternatives. Due

Check out: National Review commentary on "niggardly" and PC

Read: Yopp 12

Write:

Newtopia.com essay on sensitivity and language

Week 12
04/01-03

Legal & ethical issues

Intellectual property, copyright, trademark & patent

	Law and tradition
	Challenges being raised today by new media

Libel and slander

	Right to privacy
	Journalism vs. commercial speech
	"Public figure" vs. private citizen

Weird Al Yankovic on violating copyright

Extra credit opportunities

Copyright (25 pts): After reading text and AP about copyright, write an essay (3 pgs, double-spaced) citing three everyday violations of copyright standards you've observed or heard of in your own life .... plus three examples of proper use of copyright material.

Libel & slander (20 pts): Research three current libel cases or controversies (not necessarily already in court); summarize your findings in a 3-pg, dbl-spaced essay, citing sources of your information within the text. Then tell me how YOU feel about these situations.

I'll accept extra-credit papers through the last day of class.

Week 13
04/08-10

Due Tuesday: Personality profile of media writer

Writing for Broadcast

Print vs. broadcast style

Leads and story structure — the hourglass

Broadcast peculiarities — numbers, quotes

Playing to video's strengths

Read: Yopp 12

Check out: Forum editor Matt Von Pinnon on a new kind of counterculture

Write: 20-second radio script based on hand-out. Due 04/17

Week 14
04/15-17

	Broadcast media Throwaway leads -- exercise in class
	Convergence

Due Thursday: Radio script

Advertising: Lots more than pretty pictures

	How advertising really works — reach & frequency
	Ads and today's audiences
	Psychographics ... VALS

Read: Yopp 14

Write: Essay on the earliest ads that influenced you ... plus 3 contemporary ads that stand out.

Write: Final project -- advertising Dragon Yogurt. Details. Due 4/29.

Week 15
04/22-24

Advertising

	What's beneficial, what's unique, what's your position?
	Herschel Gordon Lewis and the Great Motivators
	Writing ad copy that sells
	Due Tuesday : Advertising memories and observations essay
	Channels of communication compared

Public relations: It's all about writing

	What’s public relations? What's advertising?
	Common ground
	Channels of communication
	Writing for “scanners” and hungry audiences
	PR Mosaic
	The 24-hour news cycle