COM2713: Writing for the Communication Professions (Kirby)

The Basics of Media Writing: A Strategic Approach helps readers develop the essential writing skills and professional habits needed to succeed in 21st-century media careers. This research-driven, strategy-based media writing textbook digs deeply into how media professionals think and write in journalism, public relations, advertising, and other forms of strategic communication. Authors Scott A. Kuehn and Andrew Lingwall have created two comprehensive writing models to help students overcome their problems in finding and developing story topics by giving them "starting points" to begin writing. The Professional Strategy Triangle model shows students how to think critically about the audience, the situation, and the message before starting a news story or persuasive piece and the FAJA four-point model asks students a series of questions about their story type (Fact, Analysis, Judgment, or Action) to guide them to the right angle or organizational structure for their message. Rooted in classical rhetorical methods, this step-by-step technique enables readers to strategically approach each writing task, no matter the format.

The style of The Associated Press is the gold standard for news writing. With the AP Stylebook in hand, you can learn how to write and edit with the clarity and professionalism for which their writers and editors are famous. The AP Stylebook will help you master the AP's rules on grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation, word and numeral usage, and when to use "more than" instead of "over." To make navigating these specialty chapters even easier, the Stylebook includes a comprehensive index. Fully revised and updated to keep pace with world events, common usage, and AP procedures, the AP Stylebook is the one reference that all writers, editors and students cannot afford to be without. This edition contains more than 300 new and revised entries, including: - A new chapter on inclusive storytelling: its importance and how to achieve it. - Detailed guidance on writing about people with disabilities and disabled people. - Many updates on immigration, the coronavirus, gender and race-related coverage, including the capitalization of Black and expanded use of singular they. - A revised chapter on religion, with guidance on when Catholic rather than Roman Catholic should be used on first reference. - A thoroughly updated chapter on using social media for reporting.