Day 1: Writing for Media & PR

1. Writing
for
the
Mass
Media
COM 2308 - Dr. Corinne Weisgerber
& PR

2. Office Hours
via ZOOM
During the pandemic: Please email me to set up an
appointment & I will send you a Zoom link.

3. What you need for the class...

4. Course Policies
1. Transparency
2. Courtesy
3. Late Work
4. Email Policy
5. Grades & Academic Honesty
6. Attendance
7. Accommodations
8. Title IX
9. Resources
A+
B
2C

5. Dust
Jacket
Bios

6. Stephen King is the author of more than fifty
books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His
recent work includes The Bill Hodges Trilogy,
Revival, and Doctor Sleep. His novel 11/22/63
was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New
York Times Book Review and won the Los
Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller
as well as the Best Hardcover Book Award from
the International Thriller Writers Association.
He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book
Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution
to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine,
with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

7. Stephen King is the author of more than fifty
books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His
recent work includes The Bill Hodges Trilogy,
Revival, and Doctor Sleep. His novel 11/22/63
was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New
York Times Book Review and won the Los
Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller
as well as the Best Hardcover Book Award from
the International Thriller Writers Association.
He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book
Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution
to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine,
with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

8. Michelle Robinson Obama served as First Lady of
the United States from 2009 to 2017. A graduate of
Princeton University and Harvard Law School,
Mrs. Obama started her career as an attorney at
the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she
met her future husband, Barack Obama. She later
worked in the Chicago mayor's office, at the
University of Chicago, and at the University of
Chicago Medical Center. Mrs. Obama also founded
the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization
that prepares young people for careers in public
service.She currently live in Washington, DC, and
has two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

9. Michelle Robinson Obama served as First Lady of
the United States from 2009 to 2017. A graduate of
Princeton University and Harvard Law School,
Mrs. Obama started her career as an attorney at
the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she
met her future husband, Barack Obama. She later
worked in the Chicago mayor's office, at the
University of Chicago, and at the University of
Chicago Medical Center. Mrs. Obama also founded
the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization
that prepares young people for careers in public
service.She currently live in Washington, DC, and
has two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

10. Harper Lee was born in 1926 in
Monroeville, Alabama. She is the author
of the acclaimed novels To Kill a
Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, and
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, and
numerous other literary awards and
honors. She died on February 19, 2016.

11. Harper Lee was born in 1926 in
Monroeville, Alabama. She is the author
of the acclaimed novels To Kill a
Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, and
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, and
numerous other literary awards and
honors. She died on February 19, 2016.

12. George R.R. Martin sold his first story in 1971 and
has been writing professionally since then. He
spent ten years in Hollywood as a writer-producer,
working on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the
Beast, and various feature films and television
pilots that were never made. In the mid '90s he
returned to prose, his first love, and began work
on his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire.
He has been in the Seven Kingdoms ever since.
Whenever he's allowed to leave, he returns to
Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with the
lovely Parris, and two cats named Augustus and
Caligula, who think they run the place.

13. George R.R. Martin sold his first story in 1971 and
has been writing professionally since then. He
spent ten years in Hollywood as a writer-producer,
working on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the
Beast, and various feature films and television
pilots that were never made. In the mid '90s he
returned to prose, his first love, and began work
on his epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire.
He has been in the Seven Kingdoms ever since.
Whenever he's allowed to leave, he returns to
Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives with the
lovely Parris, and two cats named Augustus and
Caligula, who think they run the place.

14. John Green is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author
of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines,
Paper Towns, Will Grayson, and The Fault in Our Stars.
His many accolades include the Printz Medal, a Printz
Honor, and the Edgar Award. He has twice been a
finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and was selected by
TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential
People in the World. John lives with his family in
Indianapolis, Indiana.

15. John Green is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author
of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines,
Paper Towns, Will Grayson, and The Fault in Our Stars.
His many accolades include the Printz Medal, a Printz
Honor, and the Edgar Award. He has twice been a
finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and was selected by
TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential
People in the World. John lives with his family in
Indianapolis, Indiana.

16. Mindy Kaling is an actor, writer, producer, and director. She
currently stars in the Hulu original comedy series
"The Mindy Project," which she also writes and executive produces.
Before this she was best known for her work on the critically
acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning NBC show "The Office." In addition
to directing, producing, and portraying celebrity-obsessed
Kelly Kapoor, she wrote 18 episodes of the series, including the
Emmy nominated episode "Niagra."
In 2011, Mindy penned the comedic memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out
Without Me (And Other Concerns), which continues to be featured on
New York Times' and USA Today's best-seller lists. Her second
memoir Why Not Me? was released in September 2015 and launched
at #1 on the New York Times' best-seller list.
She was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in
the world in 2012. In 2014, she was named one of Glamour's women
of the year.

17. Mindy Kaling is an actor, writer, producer, and director. She
currently stars in the Hulu original comedy series
"The Mindy Project," which she also writes and executive produces.
Before this she was best known for her work on the critically
acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning NBC show "The Office." In addition
to directing, producing, and portraying celebrity-obsessed
Kelly Kapoor, she wrote 18 episodes of the series, including the
Emmy nominated episode "Niagra."
In 2011, Mindy penned the comedic memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out
Without Me (And Other Concerns), which continues to be featured on
New York Times' and USA Today's best-seller lists. Her second
memoir Why Not Me? was released in September 2015 and launched
at #1 on the New York Times' best-seller list.
She was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in
the world in 2012. In 2014, she was named one of Glamour's women
of the year.

18. Malala Yousafzai (born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani
activist for female education and the youngest-ever
Nobel Prize laureate. She is known mainly for
human rights advocacy for education and for
women in her native Swat Valley in the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province of northwest Pakistan,
where the local Taliban had at times banned girls
from attending school. Yousafzai's advocacy has
since grown into an international movement.

19. Malala Yousafzai (born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani
activist for female education and the youngest-ever
Nobel Prize laureate. She is known mainly for
human rights advocacy for education and for
women in her native Swat Valley in the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province of northwest Pakistan,
where the local Taliban had at times banned girls
from attending school. Yousafzai's advocacy has
since grown into an international movement.

20. Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield,
Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from
Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University,
intending to acquire a doctorate in literature. At Oxford,
Geisel met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. Upon his
return to America later that year, Geisel published cartoons
and humorous articles for Judge, the leading humor
magazine in America at that time.
Geisel published his first children's book, And to Think That I
Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937, after 27 publishers
rejected it. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy
Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and
three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44
books. While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991,
Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages
to explore the joys of reading.

21. Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield,
Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from
Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University,
intending to acquire a doctorate in literature. At Oxford,
Geisel met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. Upon his
return to America later that year, Geisel published cartoons
and humorous articles for Judge, the leading humor
magazine in America at that time.
Geisel published his first children's book, And to Think That I
Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937, after 27 publishers
rejected it. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy
Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and
three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44
books. While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991,
Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages
to explore the joys of reading.

22. Donald J. Trump is the very definition of the
American success story, continually setting the
standards of excellence while expanding his
interests in real estate, sports, and
entertainment. He is a graduate of the Wharton
School of Finance. An accomplished author,
Mr. Trump has authored over fifteen bestsellers
and his first book, The Art of the Deal, is
considered a business classic and one of the
most successful business books of all time.
Mr. Trump has over eight million followers on
social media and is a frequent guest across a
variety of media platforms.

23. Donald J. Trump is the very definition of the
American success story, continually setting the
standards of excellence while expanding his
interests in real estate, sports, and
entertainment. He is a graduate of the Wharton
School of Finance. An accomplished author,
Mr. Trump has authored over fifteen bestsellers
and his first book, The Art of the Deal, is
considered a business classic and one of the
most successful business books of all time.
Mr. Trump has over eight million followers on
social media and is a frequent guest across a
variety of media platforms.

24. Oprah Gail Winfrey, born January 29, 1954, is an American media
proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She
is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was
the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally
syndicated from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she
has been ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century.
Several assessments regard her as the most influential woman in the
world. In 2013, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
by President Barack Obama and honorary doctorate degrees from
Duke and Harvard.
Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage single
mother and later raised in an inner-city Milwaukee neighborhood.
Winfrey landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-
anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19.

25. Oprah Gail Winfrey, born January 29, 1954, is an American media
proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She
is best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which was
the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally
syndicated from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she
has been ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century.
Several assessments regard her as the most influential woman in the
world. In 2013, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
by President Barack Obama and honorary doctorate degrees from
Duke and Harvard.
Winfrey was born into poverty in rural Mississippi to a teenage single
mother and later raised in an inner-city Milwaukee neighborhood.
Winfrey landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-
anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19.

26. Neil deGrasse Tyson was born in New York City the
same week NASA was founded. His interest in the
universe traces back to age 9, after a first visit to
the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum
of Natural History. He was educated in the public
schools of New York City through his graduation
from the Bronx High School of Science. And after an
BA in Physics from Harvard and a PhD in
Astrophysics from Columbia and a Postdoctoral
research fellowship at Princeton, Tyson become the
Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden
Planetarium, where he has served since 1996.

27. Neil deGrasse Tyson was born in New York City the
same week NASA was founded. His interest in the
universe traces back to age 9, after a first visit to
the Hayden Planetarium of the American Museum
of Natural History. He was educated in the public
schools of New York City through his graduation
from the Bronx High School of Science. And after an
BA in Physics from Harvard and a PhD in
Astrophysics from Columbia and a Postdoctoral
research fellowship at Princeton, Tyson become the
Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden
Planetarium, where he has served since 1996.

28. Martin Luther (1483-1546) initiated the Protestant
Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he
confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his
The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed
their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin
could be purchased with money. His refusal to retract all of
his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Edict of Worms
meeting in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the
pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.
. . .
His hymns inspired the development of singing in
churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model
for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant
priests to marry.

29. Martin Luther (1483-1546) initiated the Protestant
Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he
confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his
The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed
their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin
could be purchased with money. His refusal to retract all of
his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Edict of Worms
meeting in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the
pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.
. . .
His hymns inspired the development of singing in
churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model
for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant
priests to marry.

30. Andy Cohen is an Emmy Award-winning American
television executive, host, and author. He is the host of
Bravo network's nightly live talk show Watch What
Happens Live and the author of a memoir, Most
Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture,
as well as The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a
Shallow Year. His third book, Superficial: More
Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries will be
released November 2016. He is the first openly gay host
of an American late night talk show. Andy is currently
on tour with Anderson Cooper for their AC2 Tour: Deep
Talk and Shallow Tales.

31. Andy Cohen is an Emmy Award-winning American
television executive, host, and author. He is the host of
Bravo network's nightly live talk show Watch What
Happens Live and the author of a memoir, Most
Talkative: Stories from the Front Lines of Pop Culture,
as well as The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a
Shallow Year. His third book, Superficial: More
Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries will be
released November 2016. He is the first openly gay host
of an American late night talk show. Andy is currently
on tour with Anderson Cooper for their AC2 Tour: Deep
Talk and Shallow Tales.

32. Dust Jacket Bio:
Includes about 50 words.
The biography should include a brief overview of who the author is.
A List of important work or accomplishments.
A few-sentence description of where s/he lives and relationship status.
Reference to an upcoming or current project.
W R I T E A B I O

33. ?
SG U E S W H O