Dynamics of Media Writing: Adapt and Connect

by Vincent F. Filak

Overview

Dynamics of Media Writing gives students transferable skills that can be applied across all media platforms—from traditional mass media formats like news, public relations, and advertising to emerging digital media platforms. Whether issuing a press release or tweeting about a new app, today’s media writers need to adapt their message for each specific media format in order to successfully connect with their audience. Throughout this text, author Vincent F. Filak introduces fundamental writing skills that apply to all media, while also highlighting which writing tools and techniques are most effective for specific media formats and why. User-friendly and loaded with practical examples and tips from professionals across mass media, this is the perfect guide for any student wanting to launch a professional media writing career. The newly revised Fourth Edition features a new chapter centered around artificial intelligence (AI), in addition to highlighting recent developments in writing for websites and blogs, new interviews with working journalists on recent changes in the industry, and updated examples to show success digital media writing strategies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071936689
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/07/2025
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Vincent F. Filak, Ph.D., is an award-winning teacher and scholar who serves as a professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where he primarily teaches courses on media writing and reporting. Prior to his arrival at UWO, he served on the faculty at Ball State University and also taught courses at the University of Missouri and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also previously worked for the Wisconsin State Journal and the Columbia Missourian newspapers. He was also unanimously voted and selected as the next editor of Journalism & Mass Communication Educator by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

The Associated Collegiate Press honored him as part of the organization’s inaugural class of Pioneer Award Winners in 2022. The Scholastic Journalism Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication presented him with the Educator of the Year award in 2021, a year after he was honored by the National Society of Leadership and Success with an Excellence in Teaching award. In 2019, he received the Friend of KEMPA award for his work with high school journalism students through the Kettle Moraine Press Association. In addition, he has received awards from the College Media Association (CMA) and the National Scholastic Press Association for his work as a college media adviser and a mentor to high school journalists.

As a scholar, Filak has received thirteen top conference paper awards, including those from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Broadcast Education Association, and the International Public Relations Society of America. He has published more than thirty scholarly, peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals, including Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, the Newspaper Research Journal, the Atlantic Journal of Communication, Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, the Howard Journal of Communication, Educational Psychology, and the British Journal of Social Psychology. He is also the winner of CMA’s Nordin Research Award, which goes to the best research paper completed on a topic pertaining to media advisers within a given year.

He has published several textbooks in the field of journalism, including Dynamics of Media Writing (SAGE), Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing (SAGE), Dynamics of Media Editing (SAGE), Convergent Journalism (Focal), and The Journalist’s Handbook to Online Editing (with Kenneth Rosenauer; Pearson). He also blogs about media-related topics at Dynamics Of Writing.com.

xxiv He lives outside Auroraville, Wisconsin, with his wife, Amy, and their daughter, Zoe.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Part I: The Basics you Need, Regardless of Field
Chapter 1: Know Your Audience
How to Define an Audience
Key Questions to Improve Your Connection With Your Audience
What Attracts an Audience?
How to Make Your Audience Care About Your Content
Notes
Chapter 2: Artificial Intelligence
The Basics of Artificial Intelligence
How AI Can Help You as a Media Writer
The Limitations of Generative AI in Media Writing
Best Practices for Using AI Effectively in Media Writing
Notes
Chapter 3: Why is Journalism such a Picky Field?
The Fight Against Misinformation
Using a Basic Fact Check to Make Sure You Are Sure
Where to Find Your Facts
Examining the Broader Issues
Notes
Chapter 4: Grammar, Style and Language Basics
Why Do Grammar and Style Matter?
Sentence Structure
Sentence Length
Read Your Work Aloud
How to Keep Writing Tight and Right
Note
Chapter 5: Basic Media Writing
The “Killer Be’s” of Good Writing
The Inverted Pyramid
Leads: The Prominence of Importance
Types of Leads
Problematic Leads and Potential Fixes
How to Order the Rest of Your Pyramid
Note
Chapter 6: Interviewing
Interview Preparation
Getting the Interview
The Pros and Cons of Digital Interviewing
Developing Your Interviewing Strategy
Additional Techniques to Get More Information
Note
Chapter 7: Writing for Websites and Blogs
Working on the Web
Blogging
Best Blogging Practices
How to Build a Quality Blog Post
Axios’ “Smart Brevity” Approach to Content
Linking and Other Interactive Elements
Engaging Readers
Notes
Chapter 8: Social Media
What Does Social Media Do?
Why Is Social Media Valuable?
Social Media Tools
How to Avoid #Fail
Building a Social Media Audience
Notes
Chapter 9: Law and Ethics in Media Writing
The First Amendment
Misconceptions Regarding the Amendment
Libel
Legal Defenses Against Libel
Copyright
Ethics and the Media
How to Work Through Ethical Dilemmas
Determining Your Own Approach to Ethics
Notes
Part II: Focus on News Media
Chapter 10: Reporting: The Basics and Beyond
Event Coverage
Preparing for the Event
How to Cover the Event
Beats
Reporting Across Other Story Forms
Note
Chapter 11: Writing for Traditional Print News Products
Nuances for Print Writing
Quotes
Attributions
Expanding the Inverted Pyramid
Notes
Chapter 12: Writing for Broadcast
Nuances for Broadcast Writing
Structure
Script Basics
Integrating Additional Elements
Types of Stories
Notes
Part III: Focus on Marketing Media
Chapter 13: Public Relations
Defining PR
Types of PR Writing
Keys to PR
Why the Media Matters
Notes
Chapter 14: Advertising and Marketing
Defining Advertising
Brands and Campaigns
The Creative Brief
Message Formation
Writing in Advertising
Notes
Glossary

Editorial Reviews

I've been using Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing for the last several years in my digital media writing class. The textbook is very user-friendly and engaging for students. The layout, visuals and write now exercises make it very interactive. Filak's blog is an additional way to add content to lectures by staying current on the latest in journalism. My class last year was fortunate to have Filak join us via Zoom for a discussion which was really impactful for students to actually talk to the author of their textbook!

Tracy Hemmingway

The perfect book for classes that focus on media writing in a broader sense. While many texts do a good job explaining journalistic writing, Dynamics of Media Writing takes it a step further, showing how good writing applies across multiple media careers, including broadcasting, public relations and social media marketing. Author Vince Filak practices what he preaches, writing this book in journalistic fashion-filled with anecdotes from professionals, grounded in sound research and engaging for the reader.

Joe Dennis

"Accurate and concise. Well organized. "

Beth Jannery

"Well written, geared toward our students. "

Jim Crandall

"Filak has provided a timely and useful text for the introductory media writing course. This book has a lot of potential to reframe the way instructors approach the basic writing course and the way students understand the skills as essential to their learning."

Lindsey Wotanis