Junior Scholars Academy (JSA)

Classes Session 2 - June 23-27, 2008

The Power of the Pen: News Reporting and Writing

Journalism offers writers the power of voice, persuasion and communication. Through media, citizens can make known their viewpoints and promote…

their causes, thus participate in a democratic society and effect change.

Media literacy and the basics of journalistic reporting and writing are the focus of this session. Learn about news media operations, generally. More specifically, how to generate story ideas, conduct interviews and research and write compelling stories for publication. Special writing forms, such as features, news and opinion, will be explored.

Students will read and watch journalistic productions and discuss their effectiveness. Field trips will afford story ideas. Visits with local media practitioners will provide extra insight.

As a final project, students will produce a collection of stories.

Instructor

Vanessa Shelton is executive director of Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists, headquartered at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, where she is also an adjunct professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Previously, she served as director of the Iowa High School Press Association and Summer Journalism Workshops at the UI, and was involved in the development of an award-winning journalism academy for elementary and junior high school students. She also has been a newspaper reporter and a public relations officer. Shelton holds a doctorate in Mass Communications and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Iowa; and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.