Dynamics of Media Writing: Adapt and Connect

by Vincent F. Filak

Overview

Dynamics of Media Writing Third Edition 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, award-winning teacher and college media adviser 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781544385686
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	08/30/2021
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Vincent F. Filak, Ph D, is an award-winning teacher, scholar and college media adviser 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.

Filak has earned the Distinguished Four-Year Newspaper Adviser award from the College Media Association for his work with the Advance-Titan, UWO’s student newspaper. CMA previously honored him as an Honor Roll Recipient for his work as the adviser of the Daily News at Ball State. The National Scholastic Press Association presented him with its highest honor, the Pioneer Award, “in recognition of significant contributions to high school publications and journalism programs.”

As a scholar, Filak has received 13 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 30 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals, including Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 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 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 lives outside of 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 Ask in Serving Your Readers
What Attracts an Audience?
What Audiences Need to Know and How to Make Them Care
The Big Three
Chapter 2. Being Accurate, Relying on the Facts
Why Is Journalism Such a Picky Field?
Why Media Professionals Matter More Than Ever
Making Sure You Are Sure
Examining the Broader Issues
The Big Three
Chapter 3. 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
The Big Three
Chapter 4. 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
The Big Three
Chapter 5. Interviewing
Interview Preparation
Places to Dig
Getting the Interview
Interacting With Your Source
Interviewing via Email or Text
Interviewing for Multiple Media
The Questions
Interview Flow
Silence as an Ally
The Nonverbal Approach: How to Ask a Question Without Asking
The End of the Interview (Almost)
Follow-Up Interviews
The Big Three
Chapter 6. Writing for Websites and Blogs
Working on the Web
Blogging
Best Blogging Practices
How to Build a Quality Blog Post
Linking and Other Interactive Elements
Engaging Readers
The Big Three
Chapter 7. Social Media
What Does Social Media Do?
Why Is Social Media Valuable?
Social Media Tools
How to Avoid #Fail
Building a Social Media Audience
The Big Three
Chapter 8. Law and Ethics in Media Writing
The First Amendment
Libel
Legal Defenses Against Libel
Getting SLAPP-ed Anyway
Copyright
How to Avoid Copyright Infringement
Ethics and the Media
Ethical Concerns
How to Work Through Ethical Dilemmas
Determining Your Own Approach to Ethics
The Big Three
PART II. FOCUS ON NEWS MEDIA
Chapter 9. Reporting: The Basics and Beyond
Event Coverage
Preparing for the Event
How to Cover the Event
News Reporting Beyond the Event
Beats
Features
Profile Writing
Localizations
Obituaries
The Big Three
Chapter 10. Writing for Traditional Print News Products
Nuances for Print Writing
Attributions
Expanding the Inverted Pyramid
The Big Three
Chapter 11. Writing for Broadcast
Nuances for Broadcast Writing
Structure
Integrating Additional Elements
Types of Stories
Polishing Your Final Piece for Delivery
The Big Three
PART III. FOCUS ON MARKETING MEDIA
Chapter 12. Public Relations
Defining PR
Types of PR Writing
Keys to PR
Why the Media Matters
The Big Three
Chapter 13. Advertising
Defining Advertising
The Creative Brief
Message Formation
Writing in Advertising
The Big Three
Chapter 14. Marketing
Brands and Branding
Campaigns Versus Brands
Useful Marketing Platforms and Tools
Copywriting for a Brand
Ways to Work With and for Your Readers
Writing Creatively for Marketing
The Big Three
Glossary
Index

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