JMC 2033 Writing for Mass Media is the gateway course for all Gaylord majors. Students learn essential writing skills for all media professions through lectures and writing labs.
This course is designed to help students improve their writing skills, learn the conventions of writing for different media outlets, and learn how to operate as a professional in various media fields. The lectures discuss the skills and concepts needed to be a successful writer, and the labs put those lessons into practice in a small-group setting.
Kathryn Jenson White, a media professional for over 25 years, teaches the lecture classes. Most lectures begin with either language skills quizzes, covering grammar and writing rules, or media and news quizzes over assigned readings or broadcasts. These quizzes double as proof of attendance and preparation for tests. The class textbooks are Stovall’s “Writing for the Mass Media,” Padgett’s “New Directions in Diversity,” Arnold’s “Media Writer’s Handbook,” and the Associate Press Stylebook. Lectures utilize these texts to explore media diversity, increase student’s media literacy, and to emphasize specific writing techniques. The lecture portion of the class counts for fifty percent of students’ overall grade in the course.
The lab section of the course accounts for the other fifty percent of the course grade. Labs are held in small groups, giving students the opportunity to have their writing reviewed by a writing coach on every assignment. Lab assignments range from news leads to broadcast copy, including a semester-long blog project. Whatever media emphasis students eventually pursue, this course prepares them to be effective communicators.
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