Nino Soria de Veyra

Writing for Print Media

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Prof. Antonino Salvador S. de Veyra
BA Communication Arts Program
Department of Humanities
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
2/F CHSS Wing, Administration Building
University of the Philippines in Mindanao
Mintal, Tugbok District, Davao City
8022 Philippines

Tel: +63 928 350 3148
™Email: media.arts110@yahoo.com
Blogsite: <http://ninosoriadeveyra.wordpress.com/meda110>

Consultation hours are posted at the entrance
to the Office of the Department of Humanities

Description: Media Arts 110 (MEDA 110) or “Writing for Print Media” is a three-unit course that involves learning the skills in writing for different types of news and feature articles for print media. The class meets twice a week, for one and half hours per session, over a 16-week period. Students enrolled in the course must have taken COMA 101.

Objectives: The course seeks to train students in writing different kinds of news reports and feature articles. At the end of the semester, the students are expected to have:

• Demonstrated critical thinking skills in their analyses of subject matter tackled in their writing samples
• Practiced ethical and responsible practices in the writing of news and feature articles
• Mastered the fundamentals of news writing and feature writing, including the skills in gathering information and developing a “nose for news”
• Mastered the dynamics of the news room, especially in the process of the regular production of news reports and feature articles
• Produced news reports and feature articles based on their coverage of actual events and situations

References: To assist students fulfill the above objectives, they may refer to the following sources found at the Reserve Section of the CHSS Library:

Blundell, William E. The Art and Craft of Feature Writing. New York: Plume, 1988.

Bonime, Andrew, and Ken C. Pohlmann. Writing for New Media. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998.

Fleming, Carole, Emma Hemmingway, Gillian Moore, and Dave Welford. An Introduction to Journalism. London: Sage, 2006.

Gutkind, Lee. The Art of Creative Nonfiction. New York: Wiley and Sons, 1997.

Harris, Christopher R., and Paul Martin Lester. Visual Journalism: A Guide for New Media Professionals. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2002.

Metzler, Ken. Creative Interviewing: The Writer’s Guide to Gathering Information and Asking Questions. 3^rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997.

Mencher, Melvin. Basic Media Writing. 6^th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1999.

Ramsey, Janet E. Feature and Magazine Article Writing. Madison, WI: Brown and Benchmark, 1994.

Yopp, Jan Johnson, and Beth A. Haller. An Introduction to News Reporting: A Beginning Journalist’s Guide. Boston: Pearson Education, 2005.

Instructional Format: Students will be assigned readings prior to class discussions, exercises, writing assignments, and examinations. Students are expected to have read these assignments and to be ready to participate in class discussions and other activities. On several occasions, class discussions will give way to exercises and/or examinations.

Requirements: Aside from active participation in class discussions, students will write an analysis of a print media material (news report, feature article, etc.) for every meeting. They will also undergo workshop exercises leading towards the writing of print media materials. They will present their portfolio of print media materials (from first draft to final/published article) by the end of the semester. Students will also take occasional quizzes and the final exams.

Late Submissions: Grades of papers submitted beyond the deadline may be deducted points for each calendar day the paper is late. No make-up test will be given for short quizzes since topics covered will be discussed during class sessions.

Plagiarism: Students commit plagiarism when they present as their own someone else’s work or ideas. Such action may result, depending on the gravity of the offense, in a failing mark for the particular activity or course. In serious or repeated offenses, students may face possible expulsion from the university (please refer to the Student Manual for guidance).

Grading: Grades for discussions, weekly assignments, short quizzes/exercises, examinations, and final portfolio will be computed using the following formula:

Student’s score (50) / highest possible score + 50 = Grade

To arrive at a particular rating, students may get their individual raw score and multiply it by 50 (the transmutation base). They then divide the product by the highest possible score, and add 50 to the quotient. The grade arrived at is equivalent to the University’s rating scale as shown below.

98-100 → 1.0 (Excellent)
95-97 → 1.25
92-94 → 1.50 (Very Good)
89-91 → 1.75
86-88 → 2.0 (Good)
83-85 → 2.25
80-82 → 2.50 (Satisfactory)
77-79 → 2.75
74-76 → 3.0 (Passing)
71-73 → 4.0 (Conditional Failure)
00-70 → 5.0 (Failure)

A student’s rating for discussions, weekly assignments, short quizzes/exercises, examinations, and final portfolio will then be computed according to its corresponding percentage of the final grade: class participation and weekly assignments (30%), short quizzes/exercises and final exams (30%), and the final portfolio (40%).

Attendance: Students may refer to the university’s Student Manual regarding policies on absences and their corresponding penalties. However, attendance also means active participation in classroom discussions and activities. As such, students are expected to take responsibility in examining, exploring, critiquing, and challenging ideas, concepts, and methods and techniques. They are also expected to have completed reading assignments before the scheduled discussion session.

Topics: Readings and discussions for the course will revolve around several writing workshop sessions, and will tackle several concepts and principles involved in the writing of several print media materials. Specifically, the readings and discussions fall under the following topics: