Writing for Media – Opinion and Commentary Pieces
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Syndicated Columnist Assignment
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST ASSIGNMENT This portion of the summer reading assignment provides students with a measure of choice, and is intended to allow them to spread the work over the course of a few weeks, although this assignment may also be completed in less time by using archived material. Students are to select two columnists from the list below and read a minimum of five columns by the same columnist, writing a rhetorical précis (pronounced “pray-see”) for each column using the guide provided. A brief biography of each columnist is provided (most are quoted or paraphrased from the corresponding newspaper site); students may wish to read one sample column from several writers listed below before settling on the two columnists who will be central to completing this assignment. A diverse selection of columnists has been provided; additional suggestions are welcomed. List of Syndicated Columnists Charles Blow Visual Op-Ed columnist who won first John Gould An American humorist, essayist, and New York Times two best in show awards from the Christian columnist who wrote a column for the Saturday Malofiej International Infographics Science Monitor Christian Science Monitor for over sixty Summit for work that included deceased; check years from a farm in Lisbon Falls, coverage of the Iraq war. archives Maine. He is known for his role as a mentor to novelist Stephen King. David Brooks He has been a senior editor at The Bob Herbert Prior to joining The New York Times, New York Times Weekly Standard, a contributing editor New York Times Mr. Herbert was a national Tuesday & Friday at Newsweek and the Atlantic Tuesday & correspondent for NBC from 1991 to Monthly, and he is currently a Saturday 1993, reporting regularly on “The commentator on “The Newshour with Today Show” and “NBC Nightly Jim Lehrer.” He is also a frequent News.” He had worked as a reporter analyst on NPR’s “All Things and editor at The Daily News from 1976 Considered” and the “Diane Rehm until 1985, when he became a columnist Show.” His articles have appeared in and member of its editorial board. -
Opinion Writing Steve Woodruff University of Montana - Missoula
University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Syllabi Course Syllabi 9-2009 JOUR 489.01: Opinion Writing Steve Woodruff University of Montana - Missoula Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy . Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/syllabi Recommended Citation Woodruff, Steve, "JOUR 489.01: Opinion Writing" (2009). Syllabi. 1232. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/syllabi/1232 This Syllabus is brought to you for free and open access by the Course Syllabi at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Syllabi by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. lOURNALISM 4 8 9 Opinion Writing 3 credits 2:10-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday Don Anderson Hall, Room 210 Adjunct Professor Steve Woodruff E-mail: steve.woodruff(5)umontana.edu Phone: 531-5019 Office: 402 DAH Office hours; 3-4:30 p.m Mondays and Wednesdays Course description This course explores several forms of persuasive journalism: editorials, criticism, op-ed columns and personal columns. Course work emphasizes thorough reporting, critical thinking and sound argumentation along with effective, stylish writing adaptable to any medium. Class sessions include extensive discussion of professional practices, sophisticated writing techniques, ethics, legal issues and moderating opinion forums. Prerequisite: JOUR 331 or instructor's permission. Outcomes Successful students will emerge from Journalism 489 with: ■ Experience writing editorials, columns and reviews. ■ The ability to build strong arguments and recognize and counter logical fallacies. ■ Improved analytical and writing skills contributing to good opinion writing - skills applicable to all types of writing. -
Using Genre Theory to Understand the Way Opinion Journalism Is
Using Genre Theory to Understand the Way Opinion Journalism is Changing in Today’s Digital World Tess Halpern Introduction I began writing for my college newspaper at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst as an opinion columnist during my freshman year. I had no real writing experience, and I especially had no experience with column writing, but I began composing a biweekly article on topics ranging from politics, to current events, to personal stories, and just about anything else I was interested in. A semester later, I became an assistant editor for Opinion and Editorial and by the time I was a junior, I was running the section. In four years, I have gone from someone with no real interest in opinion journalism to someone who reads it constantly and even educates my peers on the topic. Unintentionally, I have even pursued educational tracks that center around the writing form. I am graduating with an English major, where the writing style common in the discipline is similar to the writing style in opinion journalism, and I am also pursuing minors in political science and sociology, which are both topics that are typically written about in opinion articles. With this type of journalism relating to all of my educational fields and occupying much of my extracurricular time, this form of writing has — intentionally or not — shaped my college experience, and it is likely to play a large role in my future endeavors. But while a majority of my work as an editor consists of correcting grammar and fact checking, the hardest facet of my job has nothing to do with those things. -
The Presence of Female Columnists in US Opinion Pages
JMQXXX10.1177/1077699014527457Journalism & Mass Communication QuarterlyHarp et al. 527457research-article2014 Media and Society Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 2014, Vol. 91(2) 289 –307 Where Are the Women? © 2014 AEJMC Reprints and permissions: The Presence of Female sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1077699014527457 Columnists in U.S. Opinion jmcq.sagepub.com Pages Dustin Harp1, Ingrid Bachmann2, and Jaime Loke3 Abstract Empirical and anecdotal evidence shows that the news media are male-dominated. This study updates the extant literature on women’s representation in the op-ed pages of ten U.S. newspapers. A content analysis showed that female authors are moving beyond topics traditionally linked to females and are writing columns on topics such as politics and economy. However, they remain a minority, and, thus, women’s voices have yet to gain more visibility in the world of opinion writing in U.S. journalism. Keywords print media, content analysis, gender, professional issues Opinion pages illustrate an area of American journalism notorious for its lack of diver- sity. Deborah Howell of the Washington Post explained the problem simply when she wrote the opinion page is often “too male and too white.”1 Scholars offer various explanations for why women are not featured more on opinion pages, such as gender enculturation, by which women are raised to believe they are not qualified nor have the right to voice their opinions; the male-dominated culture of newsrooms, where women have traditionally been marginalized and offered fewer opportunities; and 1University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA 2Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile 3University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA Corresponding Author: Dustin Harp, Department of Communication, University of Texas at Arlington, Box 19107, 700 West Greek Row, 118 Fine Arts Building, Arlington, TX 76019.