COMM 4451
Copywriting for Electronic
Media
Fall Semester 2004
Tuesday and Thursday 9:30-10:45 p.m.
Doug Vinson
Humanities Bldg. Rm. 152 Mass Comm. Dept. 770-836-6518
Office hours Tues. - Thurs. 1–3:30 M-Wed. 10:30 - 12 and 1- 2 p.m.
Contact me by email dvinson@westga.edu to make an apt.
Prerequisite COMM
1154
Purpose of the Course: The goal of this course is to introduce you to a variety of writing styles and techniques for electronic media. You will become familiar with and practice writing commercials, professional copy, public service announcements, news stories, talk/interview programming, and documentary programs.
Texts: Writing for Television, Radio and New Media Robert Hillard
Broadcast News Handbook (with CD)
Course Overview:
Learning Outcomes
1. to develop an understanding of the unique attributes and needs of broadcast media.
2. To explore the types of job opportunities available for writers in broadcasting.
3. To put into practice theoretical approaches related to television and radio audiences and consumers.
4. To develop a greater appreciation of effective and creative mass communication writing.
Portfolio:
Students are expected to complete at least one major assignment that is appropriate for submission in a portfolio. A portfolio is graduation requirement for mass communications majors. Examples of outstanding work in this course suitable for the portfolio include completed copy or script writing assignments.
Evaluation:
Assignments
Advertising/Promotional/PSA 10%
Talk/Interview Program 10%
Broadcast news writing 20%
Documentary writing 20%
Midterm exam 10%
Homework assignments 10%
In-class assignments 10%
Final exam 10%
Attendance: I allow two absences only. Period. Do not tell me your printer died, (if you died please tell me) the computer crashed, or the dog ate your assignment (if a Georgia Bulldawg ate the paper you may receive partial credit…). No ‘whinos’ allowed in class. (If there is any complaining, carping or general lamenting about things I will handle that department…)
Academic honesty
Plagiarism and other forms of cheating (i.e. fabricating sources or quotes, etc.) will not be tolerated. Make sure you understand the student code of conduct regarding cheating.
Handouts
You will receive enough handouts from me to wallpaper Donald Trump's penthouse. These handouts will be very helpful in developing and refining your writing and critical thinking skills. Retain these handouts – put them under your pillow- put them in safety deposits boxes.
Textbook reading
schedule
You will receive this information in a separate handout
GRADING
Grading Criteria for Journalism Writing: Grades for writing assignments using
Associated Press style will be awarded according to these standards:
A Copy is publishable as is.
No fact error and copy meets deadline.
B Copy needs minor editing. No fact error and copy meets
deadline.
C Copy needs close editing.
No fact error and copy meets deadline.
D Copy needs heavy editing. No fact error and copy meets
deadline.
F Copy has fact error(s) and/or misses deadline.
Quizzes may not be retaken
for a higher grade. You may make up only
ONE missed quiz.
Fact errors: Corrections
are costly in journalism—they can harm your credibility as well as the
credibility of the newspaper or company you’re working for. For our lab, an
assignment written for your portfolio that contains a fact error or errors will
get an F. Common fact errors are found in names, addresses, ages, quotes and
narration. Proofread your copy before you turn it in. These Fs may or may not be part of your final
lab grade since they are part of your portfolios, and portfolio stories will be
chosen AT RANDOM for grading.
Goal of the grading system: The goal of the grading system is to not only teach
you to write a well-crafted story but to teach you the utmost respect for
deadlines, accuracy, attention to detail and the tools of your craft, which are
the mechanics of the English language. They are all critical components of a successful
career in journalism.
TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS CLASS YOU MUST:
Submit written assignments for grading: This is a writing lab. You will write in class and
out of class using AP style. All of your writing is to be properly formatted,
must be turned in on time, and is graded through a portfolio grading system.
Complete all editing assignments on deadline: Meetings deadlines is essential to the profession, so
any assignment turned in after its deadline will get an F. Deadlines are not
negotiable. Copy turned in after deadline will not be read and will receive an
F. Those F grades will be computed in your final grade. If you know you will
not be able to attend class on a day a story is due, you may give it to me
ahead of time in hard copy, via fax or by e-mail.
Be here and participate in class discussions: You must attend class. I allow two absences only. A
late arrival counts as half an absence.
STUDENT CONFERENCES: I will have scheduled class time during the term to
meet with you individually to discuss your progress and goals. (A sign-up sheet
with times will be made available as we approach week 6.) Several days will be set aside during class
time to meet with me individually. But if you have concerns or needs before
then, please don’t hesitate to talk to me.
Words of Wisdom
“ I never had the
advantage of a university education. But is a great privilege and the more
widely extended, the better for any country. It should not be looked upon as
something to end with youth but as a key to open many doors of thought and
knowledge.
A university education ought to be a guide to the reading of a lifetime. One who has profited from a university education has a wide choice. He need never to be idle or bored. He is free from that vice of the modern age which requires something new not only every day but every two or three hours of the day. The first duty of the university is to teach wisdom, not a trade. We want a lot of engineers in the modern world but we do not want a world of engineers. “ Winston Churchill
“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should
contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the
same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no
unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences
short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but
that every word tell.” Will Strunk
“ My mission is to
make you think like a journalist. To do this, you need to open your eyes, learn
to listen rather than talk, to practice the craft of reporting and writing
until you get it right. Journalism is
basically storytelling with a purpose,”
Dr. Barry Hollander
“He that studies only men, will get the body of knowledge without the soul, and he that studies only books, the soul without the body. He that to what he sees, adds observation, and to what he reads, reflection, is on the right road to knowledge, provided that in scrutinizing the hearts of others, he neglects not his own”
Caleb Colton