Journalists in today's media environment require a skill set that can be adapted to a variety of media. Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing: Foundational Skills for a Digital Age teaches students the foundational skills they need to successfully report and write the news in an evolving digital landscape. Author Vince F. Filak offers guidance on the essential skills of the industry while weaving in the "how-to's" of writing digital news. Recognizing that well-crafted stories are founded on sharp prose, this new text covers the foundational elements of newswriting, such as lead writing, structure, and storytelling while also teaching students how to think critically and determine what matters most to their readers.
Key Features:
An audience-centric approach encourages students to understand why and how news is relevant to the lives of their readers before they even start digging into their stories.
"Write Now! Exercises" provide students with an opportunity to immediately practice the core set of skills they have just learned and apply these skills to various platforms.
"Consider This" debates spark classroom discussions by encouraging students to take a closer look at a current issue or ideological dilemma and make a valid case for their position.
"Thoughts from a Pro" offer students an up-close look at a specific aspect of reporting and writing from a professional who is plying their trade each day.
Author Biography:
Vincent F. Filak, PhD, is an award-winning teacher, scholar and college media adviser who serves as a professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where he primarily teaches courses on media writing and reporting. Prior to his arrival at UWO, he served on the faculty at Ball State University and also taught courses at the University of Missouri and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also previously worked for the Wisconsin State Journal and the Columbia Missourian newspapers.
Filak has earned the Distinguished Four-Year Newspaper Adviser award from the College Media Association for his work with the Advance-Titan, UWO's student newspaper. CMA previously honored him as an Honor Roll Recipient for his work as the adviser of the Daily News at Ball State. The National Scholastic Press Association presented him with its highest honor, the Pioneer Award, "in recognition of significant contributions to high school publications and journalism programs."
As a scholar, Filak has received 13 top conference paper awards, including those from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Broadcast Education Association and the International Public Relations Society of America. He has published more than 30 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals, including Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Newspaper Research Journal, the Atlantic Journal of Communication, Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, the Howard Journal of Communication, Educational Psychology and the British Journal of Social Psychology. He is also the winner of CMA's Nordin Research Award, which goes to the best research paper completed on a topic pertaining to media advisers within a given year.
He has published several textbooks in the field of journalism, including "Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing" (SAGE), "Dynamics of Media Editing" (SAGE), "Convergent Journalism" (Focal) and "The Journalist's Handbook to Online Editing" (with Kenneth Rosenauer; Pearson).
He lives outside of Auroraville, Wisconsin, with his wife, Amy, and their daughter, Zoe.
