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JMC:3412:0003 • STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING
SPRING 2016
TUESDAY & THURSDAY 1:30-3:20 PM
AJB 336
THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA • SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM & MASS COMMUNICATION
MAIN OFFICE: E305 ADLER JOURNALISM BUILDING • 335-3486
INSTRUCTOR: FRANK DURHAM, PH.D.
OFFICE: E330 ADLER JOURNALISM BUILDING • 335-3362
E-MAIL: FRANK-DURHAM@UIOWA.EDU
OFFICE HOURS: TUESDAY, THURSDAY—9-10:30 A.M.
The course
Writing for strategic communication successfully depends connecting ideas to actions for
your target readers. That means understanding how to use a persuasive outline, how to
apply a range of document formats, and how to employ sound mechanics with consistent
editorial style-all at once. By developing a thorough understanding of these skills in this
course, you will be able to effect organizational strategies by turning key ideas into
observable actions by your intended readers. In our weekly workshop meetings, we will
review basic principles of grammar and style, while learning to write mission statements,
fliers, fact sheets, biographical sketches, news releases, media pitches, speeches,
multimedia presentations, public service announcements, letters to the editor, and op-eds.
To test these skills in a real-world context, the final exam will be based on a professional
agency entrance test.
JMC Learning Outcomes
The School of Journalism and Mass Communication is committed to your academic and
professional success. In line with this commitment, we have identified particular learning
outcomes that every student should obtain by the time they earn a JMC degree. We
regularly assess the curriculum to determine whether students are achieving these
outcomes. You can find more information about these learning outcomes here:
(http://clas.uiowa.edu/sjmc/undergraduate-programs/assessment).
This 3000-level workshop course contributes to these learning outcomes by helping you
to demonstrate knowledge of concepts of ethics, writing and storytelling, and multi-
culturalism. This class has other, course specific outcomes as well, including the mastery
of persuasive writing across a range of professional formats, editing, and presentation
skills.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 2
Course rules
Attendance is essential, because all work will be completed in class.
No make-up assignments, except in documented or pre-arranged cases.
Reading responses are due in the ICON dropbox before class. These one-page,
bulleted summaries of the assigned readings should conclude with one-three
questions you want answered in class. They will be graded on a pass-fail basis.
You will be required to keep a folder of your accumulated in-class exercises on a
thumb drive in order to refer to assignments that we will develop. You may also
use a cloud server, if you prefer.
Grading scale
Graded writing assignments (10 @ 5 points each) 50
Reading responses 20
Attendance/participation 10
Final exercise: Agency test _20_
100 points
94-100% = A
90-93% = A-
86-89% = B+
83-85% = B
80-82% = B-
76-79% = C+
73-75% = C
70-72% = C-
65-69% = D+
60-64% = D
> 60% = F
Required texts
Two required books have been ordered through IOWA BOOK, 8 S. Clinton St, Iowa
City, IA 52240 • (319) 337-4188. They are also available on-line:
Associated Press Stylebook 2015. ISBN 978-0-465062-94-2
Merry Aronson et al., The Public Relations Writer’s Handbook: The Digital
Age, second edition. Jossey-Bass. ISBN-13: 978-0-7879-8631-5
One on-line resource is required, as well:
Commented [CS1]: Don’t use news section.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 3
AP Style Quizzes On-line (Order at:
https://www.apstylebook.com/apbookstore/invoice.php?pid=APQ=917360
Note: You must bring these books to your writing sections to complete your
assignments. Copies of each book will be available in the SJMC Resource
Center. If you need to use those copies, you will have to read the chapters there
to write your weekly summaries. You will also have to photocopy the exercises
listed in the syllabus to bring to class. Coming to class without these materials
will count as an unexcused absence.
ICON—course management site:
To access the course ICON site, go to:
icon.uiowa.edu (please note that there is no “www” at the beginning of this URL)
log on to ICON using your Hawk ID and password
[Note: The login ID for each new account will be your HawkID. If you don’t
know your HawkID, you can find out what it is by calling the Customer
Information Desk (384-0800), looking it up in WebISIS (http://isis.uiowa.edu/) or
calling the ITS Help Desk (384-4357)].
To post responses to the “Discussions” folder, click on “Discussions” in the green
navigation bar at the top of the page. Open the appropriate folder. Click “Compose” in
the upper left-hand corner. You can either type your text directly into the dialog box, or
you can attach a file by clicking on the box at the bottom of the page. If you are
attaching a file, please use standard Word or PDF format.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 4
Schedule of activities
Jan. 19 First day
Course overview
o Syllabus and course readings
o Exercises
o Daily reading responses
Introductions
Personal/professional goal statements
Jan. 21 Introduction
Handbook — Intro., chapter 1, pp. xiii-12.
The behavioral framework explained. Read: “Applying behavioral
principles to public relations writing,” pp. 39-60. From: Tucker et al.,
Public Relations Writing: An Issue-driven Behavioral Approach, 3rd
ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1997. See the pdf in
ICON.
Exercises on p. 60.
Jan. 26 “The Public Relations Process and Research,” pp. 43-62. From Public
Relations Worktext: A Writing and Planning Resource, 2nd ed., Mahwah,
NJ: Erlbaum, 2004. See the pdf in ICON.
Case 5: Alcohol Awareness Month (Part A), pp. 57-58.
Jan. 28 Case 6: The Web Site Research Project, pp. 58-59.
Commented [CS2]: Give an overview of the research process and related methods. Focus on Fig. 3.1 on pp. 45-46.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 5
Feb. 2 The Mission Statement
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
o How to write a mission statement (read/respond)
http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/miss
ion-statement.html
What does a mission statement do for strategic
communications?
How can it guide your written work?
o Examples:
On-line:
Unilever.com
o https://www.unilever.com/
Procter & Gamble
o http://us.pg.com/who_we_are/our_appro
ach
Doctors Without Borders
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/about-
us/history-principles/charter
Volkswagen
http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mi
ssion-statements/volkswagen-mission-
statement.html
University of Iowa (Search Google for “University of
Iowa mission statement)
NFL.com
http://www.nfl.com/careers/values
Look up your own examples.
o Exercise: Writing the mission statement (not graded)
Revise one of the examples we have found to 100
words or less.
What is the longest? Why would brevity help?
What is the shortest? Why does it still work?
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 6
Feb. 4 A start: The flier
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
o Analysis of examples: Applying the behavioral framework
o Exercise: Drafting the flier
Feb. 9 Fact Sheets
o Handbook, pp. 79-81.
o Examples:
bp.com (See “BP at a glance.”)
Volkswagen
http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/mi
ssion-statements/volkswagen-mission-
statement.html
o Exercise: Formatting the fact sheet
Feb. 11 Bio Sketches
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
o Handbook, pp. 75-79.
o Draft a fact sheet for your new position at BP. (See “careers at
BP” at BP.com. (You may choose another present or future
position with another company.)
o Graded exercise 1: Then write a 200-word bio sketch
announcing your appointment to the position.
Commented [CS3]: Brian English, Director, Office of Program Innovation and Senior Urban Advisor at Global Communities, an international non-profit that provides development services to improve social, economic and environmental conditions in low- and moderate-income communities around the world (?)
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 7
Feb. 16 Leads and News Releases
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
o Handbook, chapter 2, pp. 19-32.
o Leads:
The inverted pyramid revisited: organizing your
story
Writing a list
The semantic map
Exercise: Writing the summary lead
Feb. 18 News Releases (cont.)
Graded exercise 4: Revise your bio sketch as an
appointment release (Handbook, pp. 19-23)
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar
Feb. 23 News Releases (cont.)
o Graded exercise 3: Product release (Handbook, pp. 23-24)
Feb. 25 News Releases (cont.)
o Lifestyle, trend and survey releases (Handbook, pp. 25-26)
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 8
March 1 News Releases (cont.)
o Localizing a national release (Handbook, pp. 26-28)
March 3 News Releases (cont.)
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar
The delayed (feature) lead (Handbook, pp. 28-
30)
Graded exercise 4: Quotations (Handbook, pp.
30-32)
Commented [CS4]: Need fact sheets for lead types and exercises
Commented [CS5]: Have them script quotes for the product release.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 9
March 8 Assessing media relations: PR Newswire exercise (in syllabus)
March 10 Tapping emotion, not cognition: “Upworthy” and “click-bait”
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Listen to:
o http://www.onthemedia.org/tags/upworthy/
Visit:
o http://www.upworthy.com
Then identify examples of “click-bait” on these sites:
o nytimes.com
o nola.com
o huffingtonpost.com
o press-citizen.com
Answer these questions for in-class discussion:
How does click-bait work to target intended readers?
as persuasion?
What is the emotional element versus the cognitive effect in stage one
of the behavioral framework? Give examples.
How likely is click-bait to reflect a strategic approach to
communication with targeted publics?
How would you know? Or could you know?
Exercise: Write “click-bait” ledes for the news releases you have drafted to
date.
Spring break — March 13-20
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 10
March 22 Writing the pitch
Handbook, chapter 3, pp. 49-64.
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
o Conciseness exercise 1
Exercise: Writing a persuasive pitch
March 24 Making the pitch: Researching venues
Cisionpoint.com (develop exercises here.)
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
o Conciseness exercise 2
March 29 (Graded exercise 5) Writing speeches
Handbook, chapter five: pp. 85-106
March 31 Writing speeches–presentations (cont.)
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 11
April 5 (Graded exercise 6) Writing and formatting the Powerpoint presentation
Handbook, pp. 107-121.
April 7 Powerpoint presentations (cont.)
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
April 12 (Graded exercise 7) Writing for broadcast: Public Service Announcements
Handbook, pp. 134-139
April 14 Writing for broadcast: Public Service Announcements (presentations)
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
April 19 (Graded exercise 8) Writing for the Internet
Handbook, pp. 225-242.
“On-line Writing and Communications,” pp. 232-248. See Icon for pdf.
o AP Style quiz
o Conciseness exercise 3
o Web site analyses—How do working Web sites conform to the
criteria in the text?
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 12
April 21 Writing for the Internet (cont.)
o Exercise: Case 41, pp. 239-240.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 13
April 26 Responsive Writing
o AP Style quiz
o Grammar Quiz http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Handbook, pp. 243-262
Graded exercise 9: Writing the letter to the editor (75 words).
April 28 Graded exercise 10: Writing the op-ed (600 words)
May 3 Final exam: Ketchum Writing Test
May 5 Last class meeting. Make-up workday.
Commented [CS6]: Need to update the news section
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 14
Grading rubric — Public relations writing 11/15
I. Structure and content
Behavioral framework applied correctly 30
Format (based on example) 30
Research 20
Effectiveness 20
100
II. Errors to avoid
Grammar (5 points)
Spelling (3 points)
Punctuation (3 points)
Syntax or word choice (3 points)
Style (3 points)
Fact error (15 points)
Subtotal -
Total
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 15
The behavioral framework
1. Does the communication raise a public need, concern or interest?
2. Is the desired behavior clearly packaged as a credible solution to the need,
concern or interest?
3. Have you clearly presented the benefits of action and the consequences of
inaction to create discomfort with existing behavior?
4. Have you helped the receiver mentally rehearse the desired behavior?
Source: Kerry Tucker, Doris Derelian and Donna Rouner, Public Relations Writing: An
Issue-driven Behavioral Approach, third edition. (Prentice-Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ,
1997), pp. 42-56. ISBN 0-113-256488-2
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 16
Exercise: PRNewswire analysis
As you read and review the articles that you find in the news, write out the answers to
these questions. You will refer to them in our classroom discussion and turn them in
afterwards.
The goal of this exercise will be to compare an original news release to a resulting news
story covered in the press. We will search PRNewswire.com for originating releases.
Then we will search the Web for related news stories for comparison. We will be
interested in changes to the themes and frames reflected in the news as a way to
understand the relationship of strategic relations to journalism.
Instructions
You will write a report on your findings following these steps:
Using PRNewswire.com, identify a current news release from a non-profit or
corporate organization.
Search keywords from that release in Google to locate a related news story.
Provide the author’s name(s), date, and newspaper or Web site name at the top of
your written response.
Answer the following questions:
1. What is the dominant frame or theme of the news story?
2. Are there other, emerging themes in the coverage? If so, list them.
3. Reporters Key differences in the way that the news is reported. They propose
observing five points:
(a) Who is/is not quoted based a comparison to the original release?
(b) Who is/is not named by title?
(c) Where are those cited positioned in the news reports?
(d) Whose ideas are supported reinforced? or questioned?
(e) Which original details are included or excluded?1
1 Daniel J. Perkins and William J. Starostra, “Representing coculturals: On form and
news portrayals of Native Americans,” Howard Journal of Communication 12 (2001):
73-84.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 17
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 18
HOUSEKEEPING
• Please use your uiowa.edu e-mail account (or if you use a different account, make sure
it is linked to the uiowa address).
• Missed classes or late work. In-class exercises and quizzes cannot be made up. No
extensions will be granted for short writing assignments. Extensions for longer work are
possible only under genuinely extenuating circumstances, which must be documented.
Late assignments will be marked down; none will be accepted late unless you have
notified the instructor in advance with an explanation; and except for truly extraordinary
circumstances, no assignments will be accepted at all more than one week after the
original due date.
OTHER COURSE POLICIES & INFORMATION
Attendance is not optional. Except in cases of death in the family, serious illness, or
other genuine emergencies or crises, you are expected to attend all class meetings. If you
unavoidably must miss a class, notify the instructor in person or by e-mail in advance; if
advance notice is impossible, provide a written explanation of your absence as soon as
possible. Attendance will be taken in every class and will count toward your class
participation grade. Excused absences are granted only for the following reasons: serious
illness (which must be documented with a doctor’s certificate), a death in the family
(again, documentation is required), or, in very rare cases, a school-related event that
requires your presence and that you have arranged with the professor well in advance
(e.g. an out-of-town university competitive event in which you are required to participate,
a religious holiday, or a job interview). In order for an absence to be excused,
documentation must be provided (a note from a coach, letter scheduling the interview,
etc.).
The following types of situations are NOT considered excused absences: social events,
Daily Iowan assignments, meetings of Greek or service organizations, entertaining out-
of-town visitors, holiday plans, going to weddings or to visit relatives, or any other
circumstance that is extracurricular and at which your attendance is optional and
secondary to your schoolwork.
A note on Thanksgiving and Spring Break: The University generously offers a full
week for each of these scheduled breaks. Class is officially in session before and after
this designated week. If you choose to extend your break, you cannot have extensions on
deadlines, nor can you make up the missed work. The choice to extend a break is a
choice to accept the grade penalty.
Common courtesy. Arriving to class late and leaving class early is disruptive and
inappropriate behavior. If other classes or obligations overlap with times scheduled for
this course, rearrange the other matters or drop this course.
Special accommodations. Academic arrangements for students with disabilities are
handled with the cooperation of Student Disability Services, Burge Hall lower level, tel.
335-1462. Students needing special accommodations for any aspect of the course are
urged to contact SDS and to speak with the instructor early in the semester. The Student
Disability Services website is http://www.uiowa.edu/~sds/.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION WRITING 19
Sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the
School, College or University. For definitions, assistance, and the full University policy,
see http://www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edu/.
Severe weather. If a weather event disrupts class, we will seek appropriate shelter in
the building; and class will resume if possible when the event is over.
Administrative supervision. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the
administrative home of this course and governs matters such as add/drop deadlines,
second-grade option, and other related issues.
Complaints. Show up during office hours, make appointments, and/or contact me by e-
mail with thoughts and concerns. If you feel uncomfortable bringing a concern directly to
your instructor or the course coordinator, you may consult David Ryfe, director of the
School of Journalism and Mass Communication; Helena Dettmer, associate dean for
academic affairs of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; the University
Ombudspersons; and/or other relevant authorities. For procedural information, see
http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml.