COMM 2000, Media Writing
3 Credit Hours, 3 Contact Hours

Prerequisite:  None
Facilities Use:  Lecture Classroom
Course Materials:  None
Instructor:								Office Hours:
Telephone:								Email:

Text Examples:  All the News:  Writing and Reporting for Convergent Media, Tom Lieb, Towson University, 2009; ReachingAudiences:  A Guide to Media Writing, 5th ed., Jan Johnson Yopp, Katherine C. McAdams, and Ryan M. Thornburg, 2010

Course Description:
This course provides instruction in writing for print, broadcast, video, and new media.  Students will practice skills including form and content required for various media.  Writing objectively, considering legal and ethical issues, developing ideas and stories, gathering information, and interviewing are some concepts covered by this course.

Learning Outcomes:
As a result of this course, the student will be able to:
1.	Apply information-gathering and effective listening techniques, including interviewing
2.	Develop original story ideas
3.	Write accurate, objective, and balanced news and media articles
4.	Make distinctions in content of various types of media writing
5.	Write content for new media such as blogs, news feeds, social media, and other emerging platforms
6.	Articulate ethical, legal, and copyright issues related to writing

Weights Used to Derive the Final Total Points Out of One Hundred:
Written assignments			40%
Discussions and Mock Interview	20%
Tests and Exams		40%

From Point Grades to Letter Grades:
93-100	A	
90-92	A-	
87-89	B+	
83-86	B	
80-82	B-	
77-79	C+	
70-76	C	
67-69	D+	
60-66	D	
>60	F	

The instructor reserves the right to raise or lower final grades due to attendance, class participation, and other course requirements.

Academic Integrity:
Violation of academic integrity will be subject to the college’s disciplinary code as stated in the Student Handbook.

Attendance: 
You are required to attend all classes. Absences not excused by legitimate documentation of an illness or emergency will count against your final grade.

English Department Attendance Policy 
“Class attendance is vital to student success because it provides opportunities to enhance learning by interacting with fellow classmates and instructors. With this goal in mind, the English Department created its attendance policy. When students register for a course which meets on a specific day(s) and time, they are consenting to be on time and present. Faculty members follow the policy in an effort to treat everyone equally. Remember that absences should be used only if absolutely necessary for bereavement, serious illness, court appearances, and other unavoidable circumstances.”

Accommodations:
The Disability Services Office (DDS) provides support services and coordinates reasonable academic accommodations for students with documented disabilities under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Students are responsible for identifying themselves to the DSS office and submitting appropriate documentation in advance of the requested accommodation. For more information, contact DSS: (401) 825-2164 in Warwick, (401) 333-7329 in Lincoln, (401) 455-6064 in Providence and (401) 851-1650 in Newport.

Schedule
Wk.	Topic	Assignment	
1	What is news and media writing?	Textbook reading.
	
2	Writing tools and techniques	Textbook reading.
Come up with 3 story ideas.	
3.	Guidelines and Editing	Textbook reading.
Edit a story.	
4.	Leads	Textbook reading.
Come up with three leads.	
5.	Crafting the message	Textbook reading.
Write a one page story.	
4	Interview and reporting techniques	Textbook reading.
Conduct a mock interview and write story based on it.	
5	Online Content	Textbook reading.
Write an online opinion article.	
6	News versus Feature, Obituaries, Speech 	Textbook reading.
Write an obituary and a speech story.	
7	Gathering and reporting objectively and accurately	Textbook reading.
Write a biased and an unbiased report.	
8	Public Relations writing	Textbook reading.
Write a news release and a one-piece promotional materials.	
9	Broadcast writing	Textbook reading.
Write newscast story.	
10	Video writing	Textbook reading.
Write short script.	
11	Radio and podcast writing	Textbook reading.
Write radio and podcast script.	
12	Blogs and website writing	Textbook reading.
Write blog article.	
13	Voice over and narration writing	Textbook reading.
Write voice over script.	
14	Legal issues, and ethics	Textbook reading.
Test on law and ethics.	
15	Final Exam	Final Exam

Please Note: This schedule is subject to change.