COMM5561– PR Writing for Creative Industries

Topical Studies in Corporate Communication I

School of Journalism and Communication
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
 
Instructor: Bruno Lovric
Lecture: Tuesday 18:30 - 21:15 / Online: Zoom
Virtual Office Hours: By Appointment
Email: brunolovric@cuhk.edu.hk

Course Description
A core competency required of any successful communications expert is a strong awareness of what is
newsworthy, combined with solid writing skills. This course is designed to nourish appreciation for
innovative PR approaches that capture the publics’ attention and imagination, while accomplishing strategic
marketing goals. In addition to examination of the most salient social sciences literature, students will
advance their professional writing skills by applying various forms of public relations writing, including
media pitches, press releases, media correspondence, and social media management. The subject will be
grounded in Creative Industries Marketing with a particular emphasis on corporate approaches and consumer
interactions in digital environments. Writing excellence takes practice, creativity, discipline, preparation, and
hard work. Successful students will learn to work within an integrated marketing environment and gain
exposure to a wide range of writing styles that will serve them well in professional ventures.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
● Identify most appropriate strategies based on client’s communication goals and strategies
● Apply the relevant theories and demonstrate professional writing skills used in various forms of PR
● Effectively evaluate peers and explain how writing for a purpose and target audience influences their
message construction
● Produce high-quality PR print and electronic communications, with and without deadline pressures
● Demonstrate a written ability to connect with diverse and multicultural audiences
● Develop analytical and critical thinking skills along with boldness to to find innovative solutions

Required Readings
Textbook: You are required to acquire the following book:
● Newsom, D & Haynes, J. (2017). Public Relations Writing: Strategies and Structures. Cengage
Learning. 11th ed.

Articles and Chapters: All additional articles, book excerpts, cases, and multimedia listed on the course
schedule will be posted to our course in Blackboard. Readings not included in the initial syllabus will be
provided later in the semester, so we can review real-time cases and current events.

Recommended Readings:

● Flowers, A. (2016). Global writing for Public Relations: Connecting in English with stakeholders
and publics worldwide. New York: Routledge.

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 ● Perloff, R. M. (2010). The dynamics of persuasion: Communication and attitudes in the 21st
century. New York: Routledge.

● Sant, T. (2012). Persuasive business proposals: Writing to win more customers, clients, and
contracts. New York: AMACOM Books.

● Zinsser, W. (2016). On writing well: The classic guide to writing nonfiction. New York:
HarperPerennial.

● Amorose, V. K. (2013). Art-Write the writing guide for visual artists: Crafting effective artist
statements and promotional materials. Eugene, Or.: Luminare Press.

Assignments

Participation -- 20% of Final Grade

Due: Ongoing-- Class Discussions and Activities
Success in this class is dependent on active participation in discussions and activities. Our goal is not to
memorize the material supplied in the readings but to understand how it can be applied effectively. To
that end, you will be required to participate in class discussions and activities during each session. Your
contributions should show clear understanding of the readings and subjects at hand; apply a framework
or criteria for analyzing a topic; and/or help make connections among ideas, readings, or experiences we
discuss. You will also engage with the instructor and your fellow classmates in active discussions
designed to enhance your own learning experience and those of your fellow classmates. You may earn
up to 2 points for your participation in each class. This grade includes both your discussion boa rd responses
and your comments to your peers. This is an online course and there are no excuses to skipping attendance.
Students are expected to attend all synchronous class sessions.
Discussion Board - You will be presented with a prompt meant to spur your thinking about the readings
and activities for each class. Your responses to these prompts will require you to synthesize and apply all that
you have learned during that lesson. In order to fulfill the requirements for the discussion posts, you will also be
required to respond to two of your peers’ posts.

Short Quizzes (2) -- 20% of Final Grade Due: There are two multiple choice content quizzes during the course,
which are meant to test your knowledge of the assigned readings. Each quiz will be 10 multiple choice or
true/false questions.

Writing Assignments (8) -- 40% of Final Grade Due: Modules 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, & 12 There are 8 written
assignments meant to enable to you to apply your knowledge of public relations writing different contexts. The
assignments will cover types of writing you are most likely to encounter during your career as a public
relations professional. There will be two assignments for the key elements of a media kit (news releases, fact
sheets, backgrounders, and bios/profiles), by-lined articles, and advertorials.
• Peer Reviewed Assignments (4) - You will receive 5 points for completing the assignment according to the
instructions and with all the core components, and you will receive another 5 points for reviewing a peer’s
assignment in-depth. When reviewing your peer’s assignment, you are expected to constructively analyze
their work and provide detailed feedback to help them improve the assignment. The instructor may also
provide feedback if he/she feels more feedback is necessary. Your assignment must be submitted each
Thursday night, and you must review your peer’s assignment by Monday night.

Final Project – 20% of Final Grade Due: December 1. The final project is designed to allow you to synthesize

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and apply all your knowledge from the semester. For the final project, you will work in a group and deliver a
ten-minute media pitch. The specifics of the topic and client will be given to you in a separate document.

Assessment Tasks/Activities Breakdown

Assessment Tasks/Activities Weighing Due

Participation: Students are 20% Ongoing

asked to take part during
discussion and in-class
exercises (including Discussion
Board)

Short Quiz 1: An examination in 10% Oct 13

the middle of semester will
evaluate student's knowledge of
the assigned readings

Writing Assignments (4): Written 40% Sept 22

assignments test student’s ability Oct 13
to apply your knowledge of public Nov 3
relations writing in different Nov 17
contexts

Short Quiz 2 (Final) An 10% Nov 24

examination will evaluate student's
knowledge of the assigned
readings from the second part of
sem

Final Group Project: Client Pitch 20% Dec 1

Course Grades

Grade and Standard Sub Division (if needed) Converted Points Evidence

A Excellent A 4.0 Evidence of strong ability

A- 3.7 to critically synthesize
and apply theoretical
concepts. Well-
organized, lucidly written
and creative solutions to
PR problems based on
well-defined research and
solid evidence. Ability to
work with team members
(with a total score of 90-

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 100 weighted points).

B Good B+ 3.3 Evidence of good ability

B 3.0 to synthesize theoretical
B- 3.7 concepts and apply them
to written assignments.
Clearly written final
project, with clearly
defined proposal and
based on solid evidence
(with a total score of 80-
89 weighted points).

C Adequate C+ 2.3 Evidence of adequate

C 2.0 ability and effort to
C- 1.7 synthesize and apply the
discussed topics;
adequately written
assignments (with a total
score of 70-79 weighted
points).

D Pass D+ 1.3 Evidence of some ability

D 1.0 and effort to employ the
class material or profit
from the course subject
(with a total score of 60-
69 weighted points).

F Failure F 0.0 Little evidence of ability

or effort to learn from the
course subject; little
familiarity with the
assignment goals and
readings (with a total
score of 59 or lower
weighted points).

Technical Requirements

As an online student your "classroom" experience will be very different than a traditional student. As part of
your online experience, you can expect to:

1. Communicate via email including sending attachments

2. Navigate the internet using a Web browser
3. Use office applications such as Microsoft Office or Google Docs to create documents
4. Learn how to submit assignments in Blackboard
5. Communicate with peers using discussion boards and other platforms

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 6. Upload and download saved files
7. Have easy access to the Internet
8. Navigate Blackboard, including using the email component within it
9. Use a microphone to record audio through your computer
10. Use an internal or external camera to record video through your computer

In this course we will use Zoom and VeriGuide.

● Zoom enables users to conduct synchronous (“real-time”) conferences, presentations, lectures,

meetings, office hours and group chats via audio, video, text chat and content sharing.
● VeriGuide (https://academic.veriguide.org/academic/login_CUHK.jspx) is a writing assessment tool
that is used to detect plagiarism and allows teachers to provide assignment feedback to students.

References on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary
guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/. With each assignment, students will be required to submit a
signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.
• In the case of group projects, all students of the same group should be asked to sign the declaration, each
of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions should there be any plagiarized contents in the
group project, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has
contributed directly or indirectly to the plagiarized contents.
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and
submitted via VeriGuide (https://academic.veriguide.org/academic/login_CUHK.jspx), the statement, in
the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the
assignment.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers. Only the final version of the
assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.
The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the
requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed
undeclared multiple submission. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from
one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s)
concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.

Any assignment which shows evidence of plagiarism will be penalized severely. Plagiarism is the copying of
passages from other sources without proper citation or attribution. In the case of plagiarism, the minimum
penalty is one demerit and a zero mark for the assignment.

Class Schedule and Assigned Readings (subject to change)

Week Date Topic Due/Readings

1 Sept 8 Public Relations Writing, Role and Responsibility Read Syllabus
Assign Groups
2 Sept 15 Writing with Style: Principles and Best Practices Newsom, & Haynes.

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 Authenticity/Social Media (2017). “3. Writing to
Clarify and Simplify
the Complex: Style and
Content,” 34–57.;75-91
3 Sept 22 Research, Planning, and Storytelling: Getting Ready to Newsom, & Haynes.
Write (2017). “3. Writing to
Clarify and Simplify
the Complex: Style and
Content,” 93-120.
4 Sept 29 Writing for Global Audiences Newsom, & Haynes.
(2017). “3. Writing to
Clarify and Simplify the
Complex: Style and
Content,” 151-178

Recommended:
Flowers, A. (2016).
Global writing for
Public Relations:
Connecting in English
with stakeholders
and publics
worldwide. New York:
Routledge.
2018-230
-Paper 1/Peer
Review
5 Oct 6 Crisis Management: Catherine McLelland/Sutton PR Newsom, & Haynes.
(2017). “3. Writing to
Clarify and Simplify the
Complex: Style and
Content,” 179-210
6 Oct 13 Cross Cultural Writing Flowers, A. (2016).
Global writing for
Public Relations:
Connecting in English
with stakeholders
and publics
worldwide. New York:
Routledge.
pp. 52-128
Paper 2/ Peer Review
Quiz 1
7 Oct 20 Understanding Global Perspectives in PR Flowers, A. (2016).
Global writing for
Public Relations:
Connecting in English
with stakeholders
and publics
worldwide. New York:
Routledge.

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 pp. 27-76

8 Oct 27 Emails, Memos, Letters, Proposals and Reports Flowers, A. (2016).

**Newsworthiness Global writing for
Public Relations:
Connecting in English
with stakeholders
and publics
worldwide. New York:
Routledge.
235-262, Flowers

Newsom, 221-235
9 Nov 3 Writing Media Pitches Flowers, A. (2016).
Global writing for
Public Relations:
Connecting in English
with stakeholders
and publics
worldwide. New York:
Routledge. 294-323,
Flowers
https://www.criminallypr
olific.com/email-pitch-
tips/
Paper 3/Peer Review
10 Nov 10 Branding and Society; Amanda Lui Flowers, A. (2016).
Global writing for
Public Relations:
Connecting in English
with stakeholders
and publics
worldwide. New York:
Routledge. 379-403,
Flowers
11 Nov 17 Business Writing Flowers, A. (2016).
Global writing for
Public Relations:
Connecting in English
with stakeholders
and publics
worldwide. New York:
Routledge. 405-459,
Flowers
Paper 4/Peer Review
12 Nov 24 Quiz 2 / Group Consultations - Final Project Review TBA
13 Dec 1 Final Group Presentations Group Presentation