JMC:3412:0003 OMMUNICATION WRITING S T PM · JMC:3412:0003 • S ... What does a mission statement do ... How can it guide your written work? o Examples: On-line: Unilever.com

JMC:3412:0003 • STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING

SPRING 2016

TUESDAY & THURSDAY 1:30-3:20 PM

AJB 336

THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA • SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM & MASS COMMUNICATION

MAIN OFFICE: E305 ADLER JOURNALISM BUILDING • 335-3486

INSTRUCTOR: FRANK DURHAM, PH.D.

OFFICE: E330 ADLER JOURNALISM BUILDING • 335-3362

E-MAIL: [email protected]

OFFICE HOURS: TUESDAY, THURSDAY—9-10:30 A.M.

The course

Writing for strategic communication successfully depends connecting ideas to actions for

your target readers. That means understanding how to use a persuasive outline, how to

apply a range of document formats, and how to employ sound mechanics with consistent

editorial style-all at once. By developing a thorough understanding of these skills in this

course, you will be able to effect organizational strategies by turning key ideas into

observable actions by your intended readers. In our weekly workshop meetings, we will

review basic principles of grammar and style, while learning to write mission statements,

fliers, fact sheets, biographical sketches, news releases, media pitches, speeches,

multimedia presentations, public service announcements, letters to the editor, and op-eds.

To test these skills in a real-world context, the final exam will be based on a professional

agency entrance test.

JMC Learning Outcomes

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication is committed to your academic and

professional success. In line with this commitment, we have identified particular learning

outcomes that every student should obtain by the time they earn a JMC degree. We

regularly assess the curriculum to determine whether students are achieving these

outcomes. You can find more information about these learning outcomes here:

(http://clas.uiowa.edu/sjmc/undergraduate-programs/assessment).

This 3000-level workshop course contributes to these learning outcomes by helping you

to demonstrate knowledge of concepts of ethics, writing and storytelling, and multi-

culturalism. This class has other, course specific outcomes as well, including the mastery

of persuasive writing across a range of professional formats, editing, and presentation

skills.

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 2

Course rules

Attendance is essential, because all work will be completed in class.

No make-up assignments, except in documented or pre-arranged cases.

Reading responses are due in the ICON dropbox before class. These one-page,

bulleted summaries of the assigned readings should conclude with one-three

questions you want answered in class. They will be graded on a pass-fail basis.

You will be required to keep a folder of your accumulated in-class exercises on a

thumb drive in order to refer to assignments that we will develop. You may also

use a cloud server, if you prefer.

Grading scale

Graded writing assignments (10 @ 5 points each) 50

Reading responses 20

Attendance/participation 10

Final exercise: Agency test _20_

100 points

94-100% = A

90-93% = A-

86-89% = B+

83-85% = B

80-82% = B-

76-79% = C+

73-75% = C

70-72% = C-

65-69% = D+

60-64% = D

> 60% = F

Required texts

Two required books have been ordered through IOWA BOOK, 8 S. Clinton St, Iowa

City, IA 52240 • (319) 337-4188. They are also available on-line:

Associated Press Stylebook 2015. ISBN 978-0-465062-94-2

Merry Aronson et al., The Public Relations Writer’s Handbook: The Digital

Age, second edition. Jossey-Bass. ISBN-13: 978-0-7879-8631-5

One on-line resource is required, as well:

Commented [CS1]: Don’t use news section.


AP Style Quizzes On-line (Order at:

https://www.apstylebook.com/apbookstore/invoice.php?pid=APQ=917360

Note: You must bring these books to your writing sections to complete your

assignments. Copies of each book will be available in the SJMC Resource

Center. If you need to use those copies, you will have to read the chapters there

to write your weekly summaries. You will also have to photocopy the exercises

listed in the syllabus to bring to class. Coming to class without these materials

will count as an unexcused absence.

ICON—course management site:

To access the course ICON site, go to:

icon.uiowa.edu (please note that there is no “www” at the beginning of this URL)

log on to ICON using your Hawk ID and password

[Note: The login ID for each new account will be your HawkID. If you don’t

know your HawkID, you can find out what it is by calling the Customer

Information Desk (384-0800), looking it up in WebISIS (http://isis.uiowa.edu/) or

calling the ITS Help Desk (384-4357)].

To post responses to the “Discussions” folder, click on “Discussions” in the green

navigation bar at the top of the page. Open the appropriate folder. Click “Compose” in

the upper left-hand corner. You can either type your text directly into the dialog box, or

you can attach a file by clicking on the box at the bottom of the page. If you are

attaching a file, please use standard Word or PDF format.


Schedule of activities

Jan. 19 First day

Course overview

o Syllabus and course readings

o Exercises

o Daily reading responses

Introductions

Personal/professional goal statements

Jan. 21 Introduction

Handbook — Intro., chapter 1, pp. xiii-12.

The behavioral framework explained. Read: “Applying behavioral

principles to public relations writing,” pp. 39-60. From: Tucker et al.,

Public Relations Writing: An Issue-driven Behavioral Approach, 3rd

ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1997. See the pdf in

ICON.

Exercises on p. 60.

Jan. 26 “The Public Relations Process and Research,” pp. 43-62. From Public

Relations Worktext: A Writing and Planning Resource, 2nd ed., Mahwah,

NJ: Erlbaum, 2004. See the pdf in ICON.

Case 5: Alcohol Awareness Month (Part A), pp. 57-58.

Jan. 28 Case 6: The Web Site Research Project, pp. 58-59.

Commented [CS2]: Give an overview of the research process and related methods. Focus on Fig. 3.1 on pp. 45-46.


Feb. 2 The Mission Statement

o AP Style quiz

o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

o How to write a mission statement (read/respond)

http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/miss

ion-statement.html

What does a mission statement do for strategic

communications?

How can it guide your written work?

o Examples:

On-line:

Unilever.com

o https://www.unilever.com/

Procter & Gamble

o http://us.pg.com/who_we_are/our_appro

ach

Doctors Without Borders

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/about-

us/history-principles/charter

Volkswagen

http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mi

ssion-statements/volkswagen-mission-

statement.html

University of Iowa (Search Google for “University of

Iowa mission statement)

NFL.com

http://www.nfl.com/careers/values

Look up your own examples.

o Exercise: Writing the mission statement (not graded)

Revise one of the examples we have found to 100

words or less.

What is the longest? Why would brevity help?

What is the shortest? Why does it still work?

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/mission-statement.html

http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/mission-statement.html

https://www.unilever.com/

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/about-us/history-principles/charter

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/about-us/history-principles/charter

http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mission-statements/volkswagen-mission-statement.html



http://www.nfl.com/careers/values


Feb. 4 A start: The flier

o AP Style quiz


o Analysis of examples: Applying the behavioral framework

o Exercise: Drafting the flier

Feb. 9 Fact Sheets

o Handbook, pp. 79-81.

o Examples:

bp.com (See “BP at a glance.”)

Volkswagen

http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mi

ssion-statements/volkswagen-mission-

statement.html

o Exercise: Formatting the fact sheet

Feb. 11 Bio Sketches

o AP Style quiz


o Handbook, pp. 75-79.

o Draft a fact sheet for your new position at BP. (See “careers at

BP” at BP.com. (You may choose another present or future

position with another company.)

o Graded exercise 1: Then write a 200-word bio sketch

announcing your appointment to the position.

Commented [CS3]: Brian English, Director, Office of Program Innovation and Senior Urban Advisor at Global Communities, an international non-profit that provides development services to improve social, economic and environmental conditions in low- and moderate-income communities around the world (?)







Feb. 16 Leads and News Releases

o AP Style quiz


o Handbook, chapter 2, pp. 19-32.

o Leads:

The inverted pyramid revisited: organizing your

story

Writing a list

The semantic map

Exercise: Writing the summary lead

Feb. 18 News Releases (cont.)

Graded exercise 4: Revise your bio sketch as an

appointment release (Handbook, pp. 19-23)

o AP Style quiz

o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar


o Graded exercise 3: Product release (Handbook, pp. 23-24)


o Lifestyle, trend and survey releases (Handbook, pp. 25-26)

o AP Style quiz




March 1 News Releases (cont.)

o Localizing a national release (Handbook, pp. 26-28)

March 3 News Releases (cont.)

o AP Style quiz


The delayed (feature) lead (Handbook, pp. 28-

30)

Graded exercise 4: Quotations (Handbook, pp.

30-32)

Commented [CS4]: Need fact sheets for lead types and exercises

Commented [CS5]: Have them script quotes for the product release.


March 8 Assessing media relations: PR Newswire exercise (in syllabus)

March 10 Tapping emotion, not cognition: “Upworthy” and “click-bait”

o AP Style quiz


Listen to:

o http://www.onthemedia.org/tags/upworthy/

Visit:

o http://www.upworthy.com

Then identify examples of “click-bait” on these sites:

o nytimes.com

o nola.com

o huffingtonpost.com

o press-citizen.com

Answer these questions for in-class discussion:

How does click-bait work to target intended readers?

as persuasion?

What is the emotional element versus the cognitive effect in stage one

of the behavioral framework? Give examples.

How likely is click-bait to reflect a strategic approach to

communication with targeted publics?

How would you know? Or could you know?

Exercise: Write “click-bait” ledes for the news releases you have drafted to

date.

Spring break — March 13-20

http://www.onthemedia.org/tags/upworthy/

http://www.upworthy.com/


March 22 Writing the pitch

Handbook, chapter 3, pp. 49-64.

o AP Style quiz


o Conciseness exercise 1

Exercise: Writing a persuasive pitch

March 24 Making the pitch: Researching venues

Cisionpoint.com (develop exercises here.)

o AP Style quiz


o AP Style quiz



March 29 (Graded exercise 5) Writing speeches

Handbook, chapter five: pp. 85-106

March 31 Writing speeches–presentations (cont.)

o AP Style quiz





April 5 (Graded exercise 6) Writing and formatting the Powerpoint presentation

Handbook, pp. 107-121.

April 7 Powerpoint presentations (cont.)

o AP Style quiz


April 12 (Graded exercise 7) Writing for broadcast: Public Service Announcements

Handbook, pp. 134-139

April 14 Writing for broadcast: Public Service Announcements (presentations)

o AP Style quiz


April 19 (Graded exercise 8) Writing for the Internet

Handbook, pp. 225-242.

“On-line Writing and Communications,” pp. 232-248. See Icon for pdf.

o AP Style quiz


o Web site analyses—How do working Web sites conform to the

criteria in the text?


April 21 Writing for the Internet (cont.)

o Exercise: Case 41, pp. 239-240.


April 26 Responsive Writing

o AP Style quiz


Handbook, pp. 243-262

Graded exercise 9: Writing the letter to the editor (75 words).

April 28 Graded exercise 10: Writing the op-ed (600 words)

May 3 Final exam: Ketchum Writing Test

May 5 Last class meeting. Make-up workday.

Commented [CS6]: Need to update the news section



Grading rubric — Public relations writing 11/15

I. Structure and content

Behavioral framework applied correctly 30

Format (based on example) 30

Research 20

Effectiveness 20

100

II. Errors to avoid

Grammar (5 points)

Spelling (3 points)

Punctuation (3 points)

Syntax or word choice (3 points)

Style (3 points)

Fact error (15 points)

Subtotal -

Total


The behavioral framework

1. Does the communication raise a public need, concern or interest?

2. Is the desired behavior clearly packaged as a credible solution to the need,

concern or interest?

3. Have you clearly presented the benefits of action and the consequences of

inaction to create discomfort with existing behavior?

4. Have you helped the receiver mentally rehearse the desired behavior?

Source: Kerry Tucker, Doris Derelian and Donna Rouner, Public Relations Writing: An

Issue-driven Behavioral Approach, third edition. (Prentice-Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ,

1997), pp. 42-56. ISBN 0-113-256488-2


Exercise: PRNewswire analysis

As you read and review the articles that you find in the news, write out the answers to

these questions. You will refer to them in our classroom discussion and turn them in

afterwards.

The goal of this exercise will be to compare an original news release to a resulting news

story covered in the press. We will search PRNewswire.com for originating releases.

Then we will search the Web for related news stories for comparison. We will be

interested in changes to the themes and frames reflected in the news as a way to

understand the relationship of strategic relations to journalism.

Instructions

You will write a report on your findings following these steps:

Using PRNewswire.com, identify a current news release from a non-profit or

corporate organization.

Search keywords from that release in Google to locate a related news story.

Provide the author’s name(s), date, and newspaper or Web site name at the top of

your written response.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the dominant frame or theme of the news story?

2. Are there other, emerging themes in the coverage? If so, list them.

3. Reporters Key differences in the way that the news is reported. They propose

observing five points:

(a) Who is/is not quoted based a comparison to the original release?

(b) Who is/is not named by title?

(c) Where are those cited positioned in the news reports?

(d) Whose ideas are supported reinforced? or questioned?

(e) Which original details are included or excluded?1

1 Daniel J. Perkins and William J. Starostra, “Representing coculturals: On form and

news portrayals of Native Americans,” Howard Journal of Communication 12 (2001):

73-84.



HOUSEKEEPING

• Please use your uiowa.edu e-mail account (or if you use a different account, make sure

it is linked to the uiowa address).

• Missed classes or late work. In-class exercises and quizzes cannot be made up. No

extensions will be granted for short writing assignments. Extensions for longer work are

possible only under genuinely extenuating circumstances, which must be documented.

Late assignments will be marked down; none will be accepted late unless you have

notified the instructor in advance with an explanation; and except for truly extraordinary

circumstances, no assignments will be accepted at all more than one week after the

original due date.

OTHER COURSE POLICIES & INFORMATION

Attendance is not optional. Except in cases of death in the family, serious illness, or

other genuine emergencies or crises, you are expected to attend all class meetings. If you

unavoidably must miss a class, notify the instructor in person or by e-mail in advance; if

advance notice is impossible, provide a written explanation of your absence as soon as

possible. Attendance will be taken in every class and will count toward your class

participation grade. Excused absences are granted only for the following reasons: serious

illness (which must be documented with a doctor’s certificate), a death in the family

(again, documentation is required), or, in very rare cases, a school-related event that

requires your presence and that you have arranged with the professor well in advance

(e.g. an out-of-town university competitive event in which you are required to participate,

a religious holiday, or a job interview). In order for an absence to be excused,

documentation must be provided (a note from a coach, letter scheduling the interview,

etc.).

The following types of situations are NOT considered excused absences: social events,

Daily Iowan assignments, meetings of Greek or service organizations, entertaining out-

of-town visitors, holiday plans, going to weddings or to visit relatives, or any other

circumstance that is extracurricular and at which your attendance is optional and

secondary to your schoolwork.

A note on Thanksgiving and Spring Break: The University generously offers a full

week for each of these scheduled breaks. Class is officially in session before and after

this designated week. If you choose to extend your break, you cannot have extensions on

deadlines, nor can you make up the missed work. The choice to extend a break is a

choice to accept the grade penalty.

Common courtesy. Arriving to class late and leaving class early is disruptive and

inappropriate behavior. If other classes or obligations overlap with times scheduled for

this course, rearrange the other matters or drop this course.

Special accommodations. Academic arrangements for students with disabilities are

handled with the cooperation of Student Disability Services, Burge Hall lower level, tel.

335-1462. Students needing special accommodations for any aspect of the course are

urged to contact SDS and to speak with the instructor early in the semester. The Student

Disability Services website is http://www.uiowa.edu/~sds/.


Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the

School, College or University. For definitions, assistance, and the full University policy,

see http://www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edu/.

Severe weather. If a weather event disrupts class, we will seek appropriate shelter in

the building; and class will resume if possible when the event is over.

Administrative supervision. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the

administrative home of this course and governs matters such as add/drop deadlines,

second-grade option, and other related issues.

Complaints. Show up during office hours, make appointments, and/or contact me by e-

mail with thoughts and concerns. If you feel uncomfortable bringing a concern directly to

your instructor or the course coordinator, you may consult David Ryfe, director of the

School of Journalism and Mass Communication; Helena Dettmer, associate dean for

academic affairs of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the University

Ombudspersons; and/or other relevant authorities. For procedural information, see

http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml.

http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml

Documents

JMC:3412:0003 OMMUNICATION WRITING S T PM · JMC:3412:0003 • S ... What does a mission statement do ... How can it guide your written work? o Examples: On-line: Unilever.com