Communication Studies 141: Introduction to Media Writing
Winter 2016
Instructor: Matt Edwards
Class Meetings: Mon/Wed 11:30am-12:20pm, R204 and online (bc.instructure.com)
Office Hours: By appointment only
Phone: 425-564-2117 (office)
E-mail: matthew.edwards@bellevuecollege.edu
(*Please note: I will respond to all email messages Monday-Friday within 24 hours)
Required Textbook:
Mencher, M. (2011). News Reporting and Writing, 12th ed. McGraw-Hill
Course Description:
This course emphasizes observation skills and choice of language, structure, and source
material to communicate events and ideas to selected audiences. Students learn interviewing,
basic research, effective expression, and editing through note taking, interviewing, drafting,
and revision.
Course Outcomes:
∞ Describe and practice the journalistic process
∞ Gather data from various sources
∞ Write a coherent and accurate news story
∞ Understand and synthesize ideas for others
∞ Refine punctuation, grammar, spelling and proofreading skills to achieve error-free text
∞ Demonstrate an understanding of the ethics involved in interview methods, the history of
journalism and audience awareness.
∞ Analyze and evaluate professional journalistic writing.
∞ Demonstrate an understanding of the advertising and business components of news
publications.
∞ Collaborate and communicate as a professional team to meet deadlines
Total Points: 850
Grading Scale:
A – 93% and above
B+ 87-89%
B- 80-82%
C 73-76%
D+ 67-69%
D- 60-62%
A- 90-92%
B 83-86%
C+ 77-79%
C- 70-72%
D 63-66%
F – under 60%
*Please note: You are able to check your grade on Canvas throughout the quarter which gives
immediate and timely updates on your progress and subsequent point breakdowns.
Quizzes: In my course, you will have the following quizzes:
News and Feature Quiz – 50 points
Grammar Quiz – 50 points
AP Quiz – 50 points
News Quiz – 25
Features Quiz – 25 points
PR Quiz – 25 points
Course Assignments:
Recent News Leads – Online – 25 points
Recent News – News – Online – 25 points
Recent News – Features – Online – 25 points
Recent News – Opinions – Online – 25 points
First Interview - 25 points
News Article #1 – 100 points
News Article #2 – 100 points
Feature Article - 100 points
Opinion Article – 100 points
PR Portfolio 100 points
Classroom Policies
Late Written Assignments/Quizzes: As your instructor, I will push you to excel and expect your
best effort in my course. I will not accept late work at any point in my course and no extra
credit will be provided at any time. If you miss an assignment, you will receive a zero. You are
provided a reasonable amount of time to complete all assignments in my course. Deadlines for
all assignments will be announced on the course calendar, written in your course schedule,
and posted on the Canvas site.
Student Behavior: Students are expected to act professional, mature and demonstrate model
behavior in my course. I will not tolerate disrespect, swearing and other inappropriate behavior
at any time. Please review the Arts and Humanities Division statement of Student Procedures
and Expectations and/or contact your instructor should you have any questions or concerns.
http://s.bellevuecollege.edu/wp/sites/59/2014/10/STUDENT-PROCEDURES-ANDEXPECTATIONS.pdf
Statement on Academic Integrity: You should know that plagiarism is a serious violation of
your contract as a student and will be treated severely. Students caught cheating on a quiz or
plagiarizing an assignment will not receive any credit for that portion of the class and will be
reported to the Dean of Student Programs.
Textbook: Students are required to access the textbook for the course by the second week of
class. A copy of the text is on reserve in the library if a student is having delivery issues with an
online purchase.
Special Needs: The Disability Resource Center serves students with a wide array of learning
challenges and disabilities. If you are a student who has a disability or learning challenge for
which you have documentation or have seen someone for treatment and if you feel you may
need accommodations in order to be successful in college, please contact us as soon as
possible. If you are a student with a documented autism spectrum disorder, there is a program
of support available to you. The DRC office is located in the Library Media Center for the
spring 2014 quarter or you can call our reception desk at 425.564.2498. Deaf students can
reach us by video phone at 425-440-2025 or by TTY at 425-564-4110. Please visit the DRC
website for application information into the program and other helpful links
at www.bellevuecollege.edu/drc Please meet with me if you have any questions.
Important Links
Bellevue College E-mail and access to MyBC: All students registered for classes at BC are
entitled to a network and e-mail account. Your student network account can be used to access
your student e-mail, log in to computers in labs and classrooms, connect to the BC wireless
network and log in to MyBC. For your account: http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/services/
Find current campus locations for all student labs by visiting the Computing Services website http://depts.bellevuecollege.edu/helpdesk/students/computerlabs/
Public Safety: The Bellevue College (BC) Public Safety Department’s well trained and
courteous non-commissioned staff provides personal safety, security, crime prevention,
preliminary investigations, and other services to the campus community, 24 hours per day, 7
days per week. Their phone number is 425.564.2400. Public Safety is located in K100 and on
the web at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/
Academic Calendar: The Bellevue College Academic Calendar is separated into two
calendars. They provide information about holidays, closures and important enrollment dates
such as the finals schedule.
Enrollment Calendar: http://bellevuecollege.edu/enrollment/calendar/deadlines On this
calendar you will find admissions and registration dates and important dates for withdrawing
and receiving tuition refunds.
College Calendar: http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/enrollment/deadlines/
This calendar gives you the year at a glance and includes college holidays, scheduled
closures, quarter end and start dates, and final exam dates.