CMJ 236 Objectives

At the end of this semester I would like to know how to write for the mass media by adopting a new style of writing. This style will consist of neutrality with the subject but will be overloaded with facts such as, who, what, when, where, and most importantly: why. This style would not only increase my writing stamina but the attraction that will be presented to readers who may later develop into consumers of my writing. Journalism infatuates my mind; it tells a story of what is happening to society with a never ending plot. Protagonists and antagonists arise through the various sections of a basic newspaper. Deborah Tannen, writer of The Argument Culture claims that the media produces controversial information and this trade couldn't survive if it produced information that everybody agrees with(Tannen 1998). This seems true but it appears as though some well known journalists use distortion to get a reaction and more readers. Over exaggerations I consider to be distortion. This may create more reaction, but the object that the spotlight is on can be destroyed from a person's over use of imagery and vocabulary. In sort, I would like to create news that is pure.
-Samuel M. Mayhew