Students learn to balance the value of individual initiative and the value of teamwork. Editors depend on writers to turn in their stories on time, but writers depend on their own skills to get the facts straight. In the end, each issue of the Monitor is a group effort and an individual effort. Students learn the necessity of planning, get many forms of feedback on their work, and walk away with real-life experience in an attractive field of employment. Interviewing and news-gathering techniques are covered, along with ethics and libel.
Students learn to write by writing a lot.
Final project is a news or feature story suitable for publication. Since we all consume mass communication, the course aims at a greater understanding of the communication process. It is useful for both communication majors and for the general consumer. Field trips and guest speakers are arranged. This course is a practical approach to magazine and newspaper writing, emphasizing planning stories, free-lance marketing techniques and change of slant for factual, opinion and feature publication requirements.