COMM 323 Writing and Editing for the Media

Advancements in public communication systems have changed not only how traditional members of the media communicate with their editors and publishers, but these same advancements have opened the door to the possibility of anyone with a smart phone becoming a news reporter. Professional media outlets, whether traditional print and broadcasting or Internet news sites, still rely on the work of trained professionals to provide the needed news and pictures for their broadcast or publication. The most successful of these professional is skilled with a variety of tolls from smart phones to digital cameras and laptop computers. A growing number of the "new media" those men and women who have turned cell phones and tablets into cameras and "typewriters" have done so after discovering that editors and publishers will pay for their well composed and competently written pictures and articles. This course combines the requirements of writing the news story, knowing how to edit it for publication, and then successfully sending it to a publisher, blog, or an internet site, using the smart phone, a tablet, or computer. This course is required for the Communications major, however is open to students from other majors whose planned careers may including communicating with groups of people using social media technology. Pre-requisite: none. Spring, odd years on campus.