Abraham Frei-Pearson - JMC Overview

JMC 2033: Writing for Mass Media is an introductory course to writing for different multimedia professions. In the course, students work to improve their writing, adapt their writing to various media contexts, and better understand those contexts by becoming more conscious of the media.
The course is broken up into a lecture section and a lab section, each worth 50% of the students grade for the class. The purpose of the lecture section is to introduce concepts that students can use to improve their writing and be successful communicators. The purpose of the lab section is to give students a chance to practice their in different media contexts, and to receive constructive feedback from an experienced instructor. The lecture is graded on students' performance on quizzes and exams. The lab is graded on students' performance on lab assignments, such as blogs, interviews, and newspaper and magazine articles.
JMC 2033 is a gateway course: in order to enter the Gaylord College of Journalism, you must pass JMC 2033 with at least a 69.5%. The professor and the lab instructors repeatedly stress that the course is demanding and that students should not take this course if they are already carrying a heavy academic load.
JMC 2033 has four texts: James Glen Stovall's "Writing for the Mass Media" G. Arnold's "Media Writer's Handbook," George Padgett's "New Directions in Diversity," and "The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual." All are required, and material will be drawn from all four for quizzes and exams.