journalistically challenged?

Writing "journalistically" has definitely been a challenge for me, especially in this class. I have always been the writer that likes to write creatively instead of informatively. Writing papers such as news stories containing only facts that I have take from interviews was hard for me because I wanted to add my own touch to ever sentence I wrote. I am slowly but surely learning that writing in a journalistic style takes a lot of concentration paired with the understanding that the reader doesn't care about your opinion as much as they care about the facts.

Let the Acceptance Begin

I chose the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association website because this certain group of people have just started becoming more accepted in our society today.
Because they are gaining more acceptance and respect from our culture today, this website containing so much information about them can be very beneficial to anyone wanting to be become more knowledgeable in this different way of life. This website is also extremely significant because this group is so newly accepted that not many people understand how to write about them without saying something offensive.
This website provides great resources for everyone. If someone has doubts or concerns about coming out to their family or friends this website can show them that they are not alone. For anyone who is gay or lesbian, this website provides great opportunities for them. The top headline will inform them of what is currently going on in their community as well as ways to get involved. The left sidebar contains information about membership, awards, and ways to donate to the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.
For writers, it provides links to tools that can better their writing by making their work more knowledgeable and less offensive. The stylebook supplement provides information about what terminology to use when covering the LGBT community. The journalist toolbox provides information about how to accurately cover LGBT issues. Both of these resources are vital to a writer that has no idea how to not offend a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender in their writing.

Dear Bridgitte, stop being so cautious

The challenge I face when writing about different cultures and communities is being oversensitive. I am an extremely outgoing person who likes to make friends no matter what culture or community they come from. Knowing such a diverse group of people makes me aware of how many different groups I could possibly offend in my writing. Because of this, I become extremely cautious when writing to make sure that I do my best to not offend anyone. Starting today, I plan on researching some different cultures and trying to understand them better so that I can be more knowledgeable and less cautious with my writing.

What I didn't seem to know about my writing

Writing has always been interesting to me; it's like a type of adventure where I can express myself. Out of everything I was expecting to learn in this class, I never expected to figure out that I had such difficulties in putting my thoughts onto paper in an acceptable form for publication. My grammar is horrid, my spelling could use some work, and even something as simple as punctuation is apparently not my strong point either. My high school teachers obviously didn't take this course in college, because I seem to be lacking any of the knowledge I should have started with in this class.

The beginning of a writer's journey at the University of Oklahoma

After taking JMC 1013, Intro to Mass Communications, the next step in pursuing a major in the college of Journalism is JMC 2033, Writing for Mass Media. Taught by Kathryn Jenson White, JMC 2033 is a three credit hour course that is made up of a lecture and writing lab. This course contains writings and assignments that help students obtain the knowledge they need to grow as a writer, as well as a studious college student.

The course is graded by the students performance in three categories: quizzes, exams, and labs. The quizzes and exams are weighted 25 percent each, whereas the lab grade accounts for 50 percent of the students over grade in the class. Quizzes are handed out at the beginning of most of the lectures and are taken up 10 minutes after the student receives it. Lab assignments vary depending on the topic that is covered in lecture, but the lab and lecture schedule, found on desire to learn, can keep the student fully updated. Working hard and being productive in all three categories is important, because the student must earn a C or higher to continue on in the College of Journalism.

Attendance is extremely important in this class, because of the copious amounts of information covered and the explanations of assignments. Any more than four absences in lecture or lab will result in a failing grade for the student. Being tardy and leaving early is also not acceptable for this course; being more than ten minutes late or leaving early will count as an absent for that day.

The goal of this course is to provide students with a more professional outlook on writing. Whether working towards a degree in journalism, broadcast, public relations, advertisement, or professional writing, JMC 2033 will improve the students' every aspect of writing. The student will be "coached" by Professor White and the lab instructor ensuring that they leave with a better knowledge of writing in the mass media fields.