CHAPTER 1: YOU AS A WRITER

Learning Objectives

• Explain how the dynamics of media consumption and

production affect the media professional’s work.

• Identify the responsibilities and challenges that media

professionals face.

• Describe the importance of skilled writing in the media

professions.
 Learning Objectives

• Identify your self-perceptions as a writer.

• Explain how the Media Writer’s Self- Perception (MWSP) Scale

helps diagnose writing skills.

• Diagnose your own writing skills with the Grammar, Spelling,

Punctuation (GSP) Test.
 Critical Thinking Questions

Before we start, let’s think about the below questions:

• Why is skilled writing important to the task of telling the story
today?
• Media consumption has changed markedly in the last few
years. How does this affect the role of the professional
writer?
• How does good grammar, punctuation, and spelling affect
how your writing is perceived?
 Notable Quote

If you are a successful journalist, you can open the

door to opportunities for other people who do not have
a voice. You have a chance to make a difference
through the stories you tell.

-Jaime Fettrow-Alderfer, Television News Reporter

 Media Consumption and Production,
All at Once
Eight Key Takeaways About Social Media and News

SOURCE: “8 Key Takeaways About Social Media and News,” PEW Research Center, Washington, DC (March, 2014). Retrieved from http://www.jorunalism.org/2014/03/26/8-key-takeaways-about-social-media-and-news/.
NOTE: Asterisk indicates the percent of U.S. adults who get news on Pinterest and Vine; each accounts for less than 1%.
 Media Consumption and Production,
All at Once
• News audiences have become both consumers
and producers of a diverse array of media

• Media professionals must now be able to create

and deliver content that is accurate, relevant, and
on point for fragmented, time-pressured
audiences.
 Media Consumption and Production, All at Once

There is still a distinct difference between informal and professional

writing/ professional writing strategy:
• Informal writing: refers to writing you do for friends on social
media or in your personal blog for entertaining purposes.

• Professional writing: requires a highly developed skill set and the

ability to produce pieces that are accurate, ethical, thorough,
clear, and tailored to your audience’s media preferences

• Professional writing strategy: is driven by an understanding of

your situation and audience
 Media Responsibilities and Challenges

Writing for the media is a demanding work:

• Require honesty, accuracy, fairness
• Require models of good writing for others to understand
and emulate.

But in the meantime, you could also:

• Gain an opportunity to inform, engage diverse audiences,
to influence them, and possibly promote democracy
 The Role of Skilled Writing

Most media jobs require a tremendous amount

of writing:

• Convey desired messages/ information effectively.

• Increase the likelihood of a campaign's success.
 Notable Quote

“Knowing yourself is the

beginning of all wisdom.”

-- Aristotle
 Understanding Yourself as a Writer

The keys to becoming a better writer and a

media professional:
 Understanding your writing skills and perceptions
of your own writing abilities
 Consider factors in your life that have influenced
your writing development
 Jaime Fettrow-Alderfer’s Top Seven Tips

Jaime Fettrow-Alderfer’s Top Seven Tips for Becoming a Skilled

Journalist:
1. Reporting
2. Observation
3. Interviewing
4. Writing
5. More on writing
6. Ethics
7. Credibility
 Be Prepared for Any Opportunity

• Know how to adopt Jaime Fettrow-Alderfer’s tips in your

writing.

• Have a deep understanding of that audience drives your

professional writing strategy.

• Continually hone your skills from classroom to news room.

 Be Prepared for Any Opportunity

Where strong writing skills fit:

• Journalism
• Public relations
• Advertising
 Social Media Influences
• Over the past decade, social media have become
well established in the media professions

• Poor writing seems to be accepted as the norm in

many circles

• Professional social media writing is much

different from personal, informal social media
writing.
 Self-Knowledge Leads to
Career Success
• Knowing your strengths and weaknesses enables
you to see where you need to improve and
perhaps identify a career direction.

• It is important to build the right skill sets

 Good Writers are Made, not Born

Writing is a Skill You Can Learn

“One percent inspiration and

99 percent perspiration.”
-- Thomas Edison
 Good Writers are Made, not Born

Becoming a good writer takes:

• Self-understanding.
• Mental effort.
• Strategies.
• Practice.
 The Media Writer’s Self-Perception
(MWSP) Scale
• The MWSP Scale is used to identify your unique strengths,
weaknesses, experiences, and personal histories.

• How MWSP Scale works:

 The MWSP Scale has 50 statements about writing skills
and letters that indicate the extent to which the
statements reflect you.
 Do not spend too much time thinking about each item/
statement. List your first impression and calculate your
scores based on the provided guide, then you will have
your result
 The Media Writer’s Self-Perception
(MWSP) Scale
A Part of the MWSP Scale

SOURCE: Kuehn & Lingwall, 2017, p.740

 Three main areas of self-
perceptions
Research studies have revealed three main areas
of self-perceptions that influence your performance
as a writer:

(1) Writing Apprehension

(2) Writing Self-Efficacy
(3) Writing Approaches
 Three main areas of self-
perceptions
(1) Writing Apprehension
• Refer to feelings of anxiety connected with the
various phases of writing

• Relate to trouble getting started, worry about

mechanical skills, career skills, fear of being
evaluated, anxiety about procrastination, and
worry about which ideas to use.
 Three main areas of self-
perceptions
(2) Writing Self-Efficacy
• Refer to writers’ confidence in their writing skills.

• There is a controversial debate over whether high

self-efficacy translates to high self-confidence and
low self-efficacy translates to low self-confidence
or not.
 Three main areas of self-
perceptions
(3) Writing Approaches
• Describe the way you think about undertaking a
writing task

• Professionals rely upon specific strategies when

they take on any writing assignment.
 Strategies could enhance writers’ high self-efficacy
which potentially leads to better results
 Enables writers to take a deep approach to their writing,
exploring new meaning and insight instead of relying
upon a surface approach.
 The Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation
(GSP) Test
• The Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation (GSP) Test is
a diagnostic exam you can take to determine your
current skill levels in these areas.

• Some links to online grammar, spelling, and

punctuation tests:
 http://www.testprepreview.com/modules/
grammarpart3.htm
 http://www.grammarbook.com/
interactive_quizzes_exercises.asp
 http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.htm
 http://www.englishgrammar.org/exercises/
 You as a Writer

Get to know yourself as a writer:

• To build new skills,
• To learn professional strategy,
• To explore the many exciting career pathways in
the media professions.
 Homework

• Try out the below tests:

 The Media Writer’s Self-Perception (MWSP) Scale
 The Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation (GSP) Test

• Consult your tests’ results with the lecturer in the coming

week
THANK YOU
 Reference

Kuehn, S. & Lingwall, A. (2017). The Basics of Media Writing: A Strategic

Approach. SAGE Publishing