ENG 103: Writing for Television and Interactive Media

Overview

This course emphasizes strong writing skills, irrespective of medium and regardless of whether the student is learning to write for traditional television or digital online media. In this course, you will learn to write for the ear, the eye, and sometimes the heart. Words in print, after all, often report first to the intellect, while television and other visual media sometimes report first to the heart.

You will learn the writing basics of electronic journalism and proceed to more specialized types of writing that build on narrative skills. You will learn how to create and reshape material for the Web, blogs and podcasts; and how production requirements differ for traditional TV and the Web. You also will be introduced to the basic principles of interactive media, including hyperlinking, personalization, modularity, layering of information and reverse publishing. You will leave the class knowing how to write for television and how to apply those TV writing skills in an online environment, all the while retaining a fundamental sense of narrative.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Incorporate the word, the image, silence, sound, actions, and behaviors as writing tools.
• Apply the unique requirements of writing for the ear and to the image.
• Write succinctly with relevance and originality while achieving a personal and recognizable style.
• Change writing styles and tone to produce content for traditional media; and interactive, digital, and online technologies.
• Apply innovative approaches to media writing and storytelling.
• Develop a unique style and sense of narrative within written content, irrespective of medium.

Required Texts
ENG 103 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore