NM2220 - Introduction to Media Writing Review

NM2220

Taken in: AY21/22 Semester 1
Lecturer: Dr Wu Shangyuan
Tutor: Ms Sim Ee Waun

Grading:

• 20% - Participation
• 20% - Assignment 1: News Angle Pitches
  
• 35% - Assignment 2: Feature Story
  
• 25% - Assignment 3: Press Release
  

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NM2220 was scary to us, because some seniors complained it was hard to do well in, some made it out barely scraping by a B. Though, others seemed to get by just fine. Well, we took it anyway.

This module covers a lot of aspects of media writing including print journalism (news), broadcasting (radio/TV), web, advertisement, media ethics and law, PR, etc. However, this module does not go deeply into many of the topics it covers, and the assignments have an emphasis on written work (News article, Press release).

The assignments cover print/written news, feature stories, and PR press releases/social media. For the other topics like media law, ethics, and advertising, there will only be tutorial activities.

If you're going down the journalism branch, you definitely need to take this module. You should take this with an S/U to spare (just in case), and a good command of English is mandatory. This module's lectures and tutorials are super lightweight (No readings or prep work) but each assignment counts for a lot, so you should start early and plan your time wisely. The assignments having high weightage and being somewhat heavy may be the reason why this module is hard to score in.

Prof Shan encourages active class participation. Lectures are live and not recorded, and everyone is encouraged to participate. For my semester, it was conducted on zoom, so this includes everyone having to turn on their cameras and participating in class activities. There are often writing exercises during lecture/tutorial and Prof Shan may call on you unexpectedly, so make sure to pay attention (or just not show up for lecture, right?). During my semester, the class was very, very, competitive with the participation (snake?). Not surprised considering it's 20% for participation.

Tips from seniors: Try to take Prof Shan's tutorial. Hearsay she takes the first monday slot of the week.

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Detailed Breakdown

Assignment 1: News Pitches

For this assignment, you are tasked to come up with a plan for 3 news angle pitches that follow from a real, recent article. As an example, I chose to follow up from the Dunearn Road floods earlier in 2021. You are not allowed to pitch angles that have already been published, but lee-way can be given for those published after you've already started the assignment.

You are to come up with the burning questions related to your chosen article. From these burning questions, come up with 3 pitches, and list down your plan for tackling the article, such as whom you will interview, and what questions you may ask. You can also add in other information, like providing statistics, infographics, etc. Besides the brief, we weren't given a template or rubric to work from, just make sure to include everything that the brief asks for. Note that you don't actually have to write any news article, just pitch them.

I got a B- for this assignment, not a good start to the module. One very important tip which I learned afterwards is to NOT stray away from the article you've chosen. The point of a follow-up article is to follow up on the specific occurrence. If I was following up on the Dunearn Road flood, I should focus on that specific flood, such as following up on the victims or reporting on damages/future constructions to Dunearn Road ONLY. My mistake was I pitched an article for floods in general or on other places in Singapore, as that period of time was quite rainy. For that, I got marked down. Don't make the same mistake as me.

Assignment 2: Feature Story

This assignment is a whopping 35%. Your task is to write a feature story for an NUS publication, about NUS students. It has to be timely and interesting. An example of what my peers and I wrote: Project Aphrodite, Student volunteering initiatives, student olympians, etc. The prof explicitly told us not to write about students who started their own online business, because it's overdone. Not proud to say that was my first and immediate idea. The feature story also has to contain two ORIGINAL photographs and optionally, additional marks will be awarded for multimedia like videos or infographics.

As opposed to a news story, feature stories can be a little more embellished and creative. The prof will go through in lecture on feature stories and photography. For this, I would definitely advise starting early (This assignment is also issued near recess week), and find someone to interview/photograph ASAP.

I got an A- for this assignment which brought back my confidence. A few tips: Don't skimp on the photographs. Make sure to compose them well (e.g. rule of thirds) and include human subjects inside, as I have heard it is a sizeable component of this assignment. After all, there's one lecture dedicated to photography. Yes, this module does cover a lot of ground.

Assignment 3: Press Release and Social Media

For this assignment, you are given an event to produce a press release and social media collaterals. For our semester, it was a year-long campaign to raise awareness for elderly mental health, beginning with a launch event. For the social media collaterals, that includes photographs and captions for BEFORE and AFTER the event, on two platforms, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM. The captions and/or photographs should be different on each platform.

If you haven't already, I strongly urge you start early. Pay attention to the required information on press releases. Most people use Canva for the collaterals. A few important tips: make sure your Facebook and Instagram posts are different. Instagram is more photo-heavy while Facebook is more caption-heavy, so make sure to work with these in mind. If the assignment prompt is the same, make sure to focus on the overall campaign, not just the launch event. Also, the AFTER posts should not just thank the public for attendance, but also allow audiences to catch up to what they missed, i.e. to say don't assume audiences know what you're talking about in the AFTER posts. Lastly, the issue of elderly mental health is not positive or cheery, so ensure the tone of your PR materials matches the tone of the campaign (Despite there being game shows and giveaways during the launch event). These were all points raised as feedback, although the final grade was not disclosed.

Final Note

As always, feel free to drop me a message and I'd be happy to share my assignments so you know what (not) to do. I definitely had a lot of help referencing off my seniors' work. I'm happy to have scraped by and this module was genuinely one of the more fun ones I've taken.

Expected grade: B+

Actual grade: A-

Reviewed by: ZH, Meiji