Chapter 12: Creating a Writing Portfolio, 70. Complex sentence structures and jargon that you might find in traditional academic writing are not appropriate for diverse populations. According to Ur (2000), of all the four language skills called listening, speaking, reading, and writing, speaking is the most important Ensuring accurate reporting and writing can be challenging. Punctuation 6. Practicing the following skills will help you improve the quality of your work. As a media or strategic communication professional, you will need to synthesize and make sense of a great deal of information for your audience, often under a strict deadline. 1. where the emphasis was on reading and writing skills. (Passive voice: The press release was completed by Brian. It is true that a writer’s biases can become apparent in his or her writing. to keep your eye on the details, because, when writing an academic article, “the devil is in the details” (Feldman, 2004:1). Why do companies need public relations? 9 Media writing skills and characteristics Writing for the media can be difficult, especially for beginners. Use active, not passive voice. Public relations versus marketing versus advertising, 48. Readability 8. Improve Communication Skills. AP style provides consistency in writing across media outlets and publications. Selecting appropriate sources and verifying information obtained from those sources, referred to as fact checking, can help minimize inaccurate writing. Brevity 4. The stylebook is available both online and in hard copy. Writing for the media can be difficult, especially for beginners. Chapter 10: Social Media--Uses and Messaging, 57. As writing is an iterative process, these activities do not occur in a fixed order; rather, writers move among these activities although typically, more time is spent on planning or thinking at the start and on editing and reviewing at the end (Hartley, 2008). Precise writing and transparency give newsrooms credibility; misinformation can severely diminish the integrity of the media outlet. Startup “The fewer words you use, the better.” Yes, you read it right. Audiences respond better to information that is presented in a logical order that supports the overall narrative. 3. Powerful writing develops gracefully. Characteristic # 1. Objectivity is one of the principles of journalism, according to the code of ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists (2014). If you don’t know what a word or phrase means, there’s a good chance you’ll misuse the word and the reader/marker will know you don’t understand what you are reading. The men were innocent, and while the Post apologized for the error, the men later sued the media outlet for defamation (Wemple, 2014). In general, AP style has evolved to ensure that media writing is accurate, impartial, and clear to the audience. News writing versus public relations writing, X. You should purchase the latest edition of the AP stylebook and familiarize yourself with it because you will be required to write in this manner for messages intended for media outlets. Simplicity: The language shall be as simple as possible so that […] Media writing skills and characteristics, III. However, don’t use words and phrases that you are not familiar with just because you think it will make your writing more “academic”. She discusses common grammatical errors and tips to improve your writing. The purpose of this document is to guide you in writing a first academic article in which the results of an empirical research study are reported. Most media outlets use AP style—the style established and constantly updated by the Associated Press—as the foundation for basic news and media writing. 41. Media writing should provide well-rounded analyses and stories that include all major perspectives. Chapter 7: Public Relations Industry. Advertising campaign model: Social marketing, XII. The characteristics are: 1. The impact of social media in strategic communication industries, 63. Chapter 3: Strategic Communication Ethics, 20. 40. The role of writing in strategic communication, 9. Media professionals generally write for a large, mainstream audience. When you write for the media, you represent not only your personal brand but also the broader organization for which you’re producing content. Clear and concise writing makes it easier for a wide variety of groups to understand the core message. Writing for Strategic Communication Industries, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Chapter 2: Media Writing--Conventions, Culture, and Style, 8. Clarity 3. Writing typically consists of 4 main stages: planning, writing, editing and reviewing. Presentation. We will specifically focus on reporting Outstanding attention to detail is necessary in order to catch errors in content, grammar, and punctuation. However, media professionals should aspire to absolute objectivity. Skills needed in the strategic communication profession, II. Writing abilities channelize your knowledge and brain to the point of value. To achieve this, it helps to have a third party read your article or message to minimize biased writing. Active voice helps with clarity and concise writing. Knowledge of AP Style. If you present one organization’s point of view, you should also quote one of its competitors or discuss the contrarian perspective for balance. Other important points about the writing portfolio, Chapter 2: Media Writing–Conventions, Culture, and Style. Taking the time to slowly review your message will save you from the consequences of misinformation or careless errors. News value and the strategic communication professional, 33. With the exception of opinion columns and blogs, writers should not express their personal opinions on a story or event. Instead, they should write objectively, presenting the facts and leaving it up the audience to decide how to feel about the information. Use simple sentences to get your point across. Logical Sequence 10. Chapter 1: Defining Strategic Communication, 2. Fast-paced media environments make it tremendously difficult to thoroughly gather information and fact check it in a short amount of time. Accuracy also means using proper grammar and language appropriate to the audience. Simplicity 2. ). For example, in The Grammar-Translation method, reading and writing were the important skills and speaking and listening skills were not of great significance. If you want to be successful in speeches & debates, you’ll need effective writing skills. Some professionals believe that objective journalism does not exist because humans are innately biased creatures (Hare, 2013). Proper Form 11. Accuracy 9. ADVERTISEMENTS: This article throws light upon the top eleven characteristics of a good report. 4. I. Active voice: Brian completed the press release. Writing for Strategic Communication Industries by Jasmine Roberts is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Audiences hold media and strategic communication professionals to a high standard when it comes to knowledge of grammar and punctuation. Feature writing versus traditional news writing, VII. Approach 7. Positivity 5. Powerful writing is not just focused on a goal, it leads the reader inescapably towards that goal. Use simple sentences that follow the subject, verb, object order (example: Maria attended the press conference). This takes strategy, good storytelling skills, and the ability to focus on the essential information. To assist you in learning how to write for the media, here are a few basic grammar and punctuation rules: Watch the video below of Jenny Patton, senior lecturer in the English department at The Ohio State University. It about conveys the point that is significant for other people. In addition, the New York Post ran a photo on its front page of two men that it alleged were the suspects that federal investigators were searching for at the time. Practicing the following skills will help you improve the quality of your work. 11 Tips to help Improve Article Writing Skills. Five tenets of strategic communication, 3. Don’t worry about the length of your article besides this you should keep in mind that you’re writing this article for developing your skills of writing which can help you many people in the future to develop the same for themselves. The role of writing in public relations, 49. Yes, this eventually increases your communication skills as well. For example, in 2013, during coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings, reports of five additional explosives found in the area were later found to be false. Similarly, a big part of the writing process involves editing and revising your work, either by you or by an editor. Few writers can produce material that cannot be improved or does not need to be altered for style or content reasons.