Media Writer’s Self-Perception Reflection

This first week of my Writing for the Media course, I completed the Perceptions of Writing Skills activity in the Appendix of my textbook. Here, my Elaborate/Surface Score was a 25. This suggests that I think of myself as a “deep writer”—that I think about what I am writing and enjoy the process. This is true. My writing has ranged from songwriting to poetry, creative writing, scholarly writing, campaigns, letters, petitions, and grant writing. If I didn’t think about or enjoy writing, I wouldn’t have so much experience.

My Reflective/Revisionist Score was a 15. This reflects my tendency to refine and revise my writing. I put time into both my writing and editing. Still, in grant writing, I learned, “done is better than perfect.” With several high-priority deadlines, I think strategically about my writing the first time. While I refine my work, I also accept the finality of each submission. My Self-Efficacy Score was 37. This reflects my deep conviction or confidence that I have something valuable to say and a way of saying it, particularly through songwriting and storytelling. This may be my most accurate score.

My Writing Apprehension Score was a -4. While I am prone to anxiety around deadlines, writing itself doesn’t give me anxiety. Writing feels therapeutic. Still, between my heavy workload and prior adverse experiences, I often procrastinate on my personal writing. This aspect wasn’t measured. So, the score may be somewhat misleading. My Social Media Professional Score was a 5, demonstrating my personal expectation that my professional writing transcends any informal communication. My overall score was a 76. While I’d like to improve all areas of my writing, I would most like to improve my access to feedback, guidance, and support to reach my professional goals as a writer, songwriter, and published author.

The Professional Strategy Triangle

The Professional Strategy Triangle, introduced in Chapter Two, outlines three main points that journalists, public relations professionals, and advertising professionals must each consider when shaping their stories. First, the situation. The situation is essentially the assignment. Of the situation, we ask: What is the story about? Why is this important? Second, the audience. This is the community of listeners, readers, or viewers. Of the audience, we ask: Who will consume and/or be impacted by this story? What will this story mean to them, and why? Third, the message. I think of the message as wise words spoken after carefully chosen, because these words will, in part, shape the reality of our client, organization, audience, and community.

Media writers deploy this framework to curate stories effectively and efficiently. Standard questions professionals may ask include: Who are the main characters? What is this all about? Where will I find more information? How will my audience respond—and how will I deliver the most effective message? At the center of the triangle is the active thinking process. This involves considering the situation and audience, envisioning the final story, actively learning the facts, refocusing, and writing. When constructing a piece, professionals might ask whether the essence of the message is based on fact, analysis, judgment, or action (The FAJA Points). These considerations help to orient the writer’s direction. While each story relies on facts and a combination of these elements, journalism often emphasizes facts, whereas public relations will also emphasize analysis and judgment, and advertising frequently emphasizes action.

Understanding the audience, the purpose of the story, and the writing strategy is important because journalism, public relations, and advertising rely on clarity, accuracy, relevance, and timing. In a fast-paced environment, media professionals must fact-check information and prioritize the most meaningful and newsworthy details for their audiences, then keep moving on.

References

Kuehn, S. A., & Lingwall, A. (2017). The basics of media writing: A strategic approach. CQ Press.