COM 373 - Feature Writing and Magazine Management

2 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday
S204
Dr. Tamara Gillis, Office: 361-1386
Fall 2004

Textbooks (required):
The Best American Magazine Writing 2003. Perennial: New York.
Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual
Recommended Reading/Resources:

• Writer's Market
  
• Dictionary and Thesaurus
  
• Writer's Handbook and
  
• Editor & Publisher Magazine

Read, read, read magazines, features in newspapers, books about magazines and authors that you respect. The more you read the better you write. "Reading is important -- read between the lines. Don't swallow everything." - Gwendolyn Brooks

Course Description and Purpose:
This course will focus on the writing, editing, production and management skills necessary for the successful publishing of a magazine. The semester's brevity requires that students work on more than one assignment at a time. Skills needed to write as a free-lance writer and a staff writer in the magazine industry are developed. Among the types of writing covered are human interest, personality sketch, humor, how-to, background and informational pieces. Story titles, openings, closings, structure, research and query letters are examined. The impact of new media on the traditional print magazine is also explored. The course culminates with the production of a mass circulation publication, The Jay Crew Magazine.

Course Objectives:
The objectives of this course are:

• For students to develop skills in long-form journalism.
  
• For students to improve journalistic writing and editing skills.
  
• For students to develop the skills in writing different types of feature articles that are found in the majority of magazines, e-zines and newspapers today.
  
• For students to experience the production and management components associated with starting and maintaining a periodical publication.

As a writing intensive production course, the students will produce a number of magazine articles before the end of the semester.

Course Policies:
Attendance: It is expected that all students attend every class and be on time. Absences severely handicap the learning process and reflect on the student's ability to meet deadlines. Being late for class interrupts the momentum of the class and distracts other students.

A student may miss two class sessions without penalty; however, on each successive absence, a grade reduction will be made from the course final grade.

Student athletes must discuss their schedules individually with the instructor. There may be occasions where the absence of a student athlete will not be permitted.

Submission of Assignments: Unless otherwise stated, assignments and class exercises are to be handed in during the class. In an attempt to provide you with a professional experience, deadlines will be made for some in-class assignments. In such cases, if the story is not ready at the deadline, it will not be accepted. Work assigned for overnight will be due at the beginning of the next class meeting, unless otherwise agreed.

Makeup Work: Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period. No late work will be accepted and a grade of 0 will be given.

Assignments, quizzes or tests missed as a result of absence will only be made up by prior arrangement with the instructor. Unless allowed to be made up, a grade of 0 will be given.

Written Work: All work must be typed including drafts (although editing marks ... as shown in the AP Stylebook are OK).

Specifications: All written submissions (in class and out of class assignments) must be type-written or printer generated, double spaced, 12 point type, Times or Times Roman, one inch margins on all edges, and proper slugs.

The Jay Crew Magazine
We will produce a professional-quality magazine as we study the magazine industry. This course requires substantial outside work for the production of this magazine. Be prepared to budget time outside of class to meet to discuss stories, advertising design, strategy and deadlines.

This course draws on the entire range of communications skills: interpersonal, writing and editing, design, advertising, production, photography, as well as the art of meeting all deadlines. We follow AP style for all writing in this class; please brush up on it. (No AP quizzes.)

Typically it takes 18 months to two years from the time a magazine idea is concieved until its premiere issue is published, assuming it successfully runs the gauntlet of approvals. We will compress this process into a single semester. On the second meeting of the course, you will form a working magazine staff. You will vote for: an editor in chief, an art director, a production chief, a copy editor, an advertising director and a managing editor. The remainder of the class will be placed on staff according to expertise and need. There is one position already filled on our magazine: I am the publisher. The magazine staff will have freedom, but I will have the final say on editorial formula. (For 1997, we have a magazine designer, too.)

Regardless of the fact that you will be elected or assigned to a position on the magazine staff, everyone is encouraged to work in all areas of the magazine. Please note that all jobs are important, and that grades certainly do not reflect "status."

Deadlines are NOT subject to negotiation in this course. Think of our magazine as a line of dominoes -- miss one deadline and it affects the other deadlines down the line. Know your deadlines.

We will firm up the production schedule, make assignments for stories, photos, etc. after the staff has been formed. A tentative production schedule is listed in the class schedule.

Projects, Tests and Assignments
Each student will conceptualize, plan, finance, staff and complete a magazine this semester. Class readings and lectures will show how, and we will be doing the same steps for the class magazine. There are deadlines for various part of this project found in the project deadlines column on the class schedule. This makes the task less daunting.

Project 1: Conceptualizing your magazine: In general describe the magazine you plan to create, giving it a working title, describing the audience and geographic boundaries, competition, etc. Give specifications: size, appearance, content, angle, editorial philosophy. State your concept, formula and objectives.

Project 2: Planning your magazine: Produce a dummy of the first issue of your magazine, including placement of titles, illustrations, ads, copy and color.

Project 3: Staffing and scheduling your magazine: How will you organize your staff? How will you schedule the production of an issue? How will you schedule 12 issues a year/six issues a year/four issues a year?

Project 4: Financing your magazine: What is your advertising policy? What percentage of advertising to editorial will you carry? Who are some potential advertisers? What percentage of your budget will come from advertising? From subscriptions? From single copy sales? How will you promote the magazine? What will it cost you to produce your magazine?

Final Project: Final paper and complete sample: This should be visualized as a sales pitch to investors. It will include a written description of your publishing plan and a mockup of your first issue. It will also include a list of stories for future issues. The final project will take the form of a ten minute oral presentation before the class before it is submitted.

The final project is a comprehensive of projects 1 through 4. Your grade for this project will be seperate from the grades for the smaller projects.

Things to consider: Choose a project concept based on viability, uniqueness or strength compared with existing titles in the field, advertising and circulation bases, potential and as a learning experience. I will provide input and may ask you to reconsider an idea if it seems to be limited or implausible.

Please approach trade magazines with an open mind; a majority of the nation's titles fall into this category, as do the bulk of jobs in the field. Whether you propose a consumer or trade magazine, don't present ideas espousing a particular religion or political party, ones that obviously can't be profitable, or ones that duplicate previous efforts.

A magazine is not a newspaper, nor a diary. It involves voice, pacing, focus, targeting, as well as departments that express the concerns of its readers. It must have something to offer potential advertisers. It needs a design capable of expressing editorial material, adding an appropriate artistic element. Your publication will come alive amid social trends, market forces, competing titles and financial considerations. It will involve audience research, from focus groups to national surveys.

Your publication concept must be supported by editorial, advertising and circulation. Consider: audience, competition, niche definition, sustaining the future of the publication, advertising. Rewrite opportunities are listed in the class schedule. Original and rewrite grades are averaged to arrive at a final grade for each piece.
Stories to be completed during the semester, listed below, are in addition to the project and class magazine work:

Story 1: A news feature story. (1,000 words) Identify the publication for which you are writing this feature. Consider the audience of the publication when selecting the topic. *

Story 2: A profile for a magazine. (1,500 words) This story may be written for a consumer, trade or class magazine. Identify the magazine for which you are writing this feature.*

Story 3: A feature story for a magazine. (2,000 words) This story may be written for a consumer, trade or class magazine. Identify the magazine for which you are writing this feature.*

Story 4: A feature story for an e-zine (1,000 words) This story may be written in one of many styles, but must be prepared for use in an online forum.*

* One of these stories will appear in the class magazine. One or more will appear in a fellow-student project.

Exams: There will be a midterm and a final exam. These tests may include a writing assignment or questions about class readings (essay, short answer, multiple guess). These are minor compared to the writing assignments throughout the semester.

Grading Stories:
A - The story is exceptionally well-written and edited, thorough and free of errors. The lead is clear, concise and interesting. The story is well-organized and contains effective transitions, quotations if possible, descriptions and anecdotes if applicable.

B - The story contains a few minor errors. The lead clearly and accurately summarizes the story and presents the news of the story. The other paragraphs present all the information necessary for a comprehensive story. Most of the information is presented in a cohesive, well-organized manner.

C - The story is superficial and needs extensive editing. The lead may be too wordy or may fail to clearly emphasize the latest, most interesting and most important part of the story. The story is disorganized and contains a number of errors.

D - The story contains most of the necessary facts but is presented in a disorganized and confusing manner. The story needs a re-write and probably contains many careless errors.

F - The story could not be published because it is incomplete, misses the point of the assignment entirely and is riddled with errors.

Grading: