Writing For Radio and then Television

I have enjoyed Media Scripwriting thus far, learning how to write for specific types of media. Last week, we looked at writing for radio. It was fun, but because I work in the radio station, I felt the pressure to do a good show. On Tuesday we were assigned to write a 30-second spot for 94.3 The Fortress. I ended up writing a promo highlighting artists from this area that we also play on The Fortress, like Everyday Sunday, Jon Mcaughlin, and Sevenglory. Then on Thursday we each read our radio spots that we had written. Everyone's sounded really good and I look forward to hopefully producing some of them for the radio station. Tomorrow we are going to talk about writing for television. This should be an interesting discussion too because everyone can show their creativity once again. I will let you know how the class goes.

The Influence of Writing in Media

Throughout this week we discussed all of the different ways that writing is used in the Media world today. I had never really thought about how every type of media has some type of writing involved. There are the obvious "writing oriented" media such as television and newspapers. However, there are also other media outlets where writing is a major part. For example, there is radio. Virtually everything you hear on the radio is written from the commercials to what the DJ talks about on the air. Also, in television writing is not only in the shows, but also all of the commercials. It has been interesting since the writer's strike, we have really seen the major influence that writers play in the media world. I urge you to pay more attention to television, radio, and internet and realize all of the writing that goes on.

Whats going on with the Writer's Strike?

The WGA Writer's Strike began on November 5, 2007. Today (January 10th) the strike has been going on for a little more than two months. This has affected the majority of television shows. On January 13, 2008, the Golden Globes were supposed to air. I found an article on FoxNews.com that was written on January 2nd. It discussed the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's efforts to get writers for the show because without them the show could not air. However, since the strike is still going, writers refuse to drop their picket signs and continue to protest. Despite the strike, the HFPA was trying to do something similiar to "The Late Show with David Letterman" which resumed its shows last Wednesday night. Both the Golden Globes and "The Late Show with David Letterman" are produced by independent companies and are not affiliated or controlled by the networks on which they air. Alan Rosenberg, president of the Screen Actors Guild said "unless and until there is an agreement between the WGA and HFPA, we will advise our members of their rights with respect to not crossing WGA picket lines and/or not appearing on programs using non-union writers." Rosenberg said that a meeting with the Golden Globes nominees was scheduled last week. The Writers Strike has been very interesting and has helped me realize the importance of writing in the media industry. I hope to stay updated on the strike and all of the writers issues in Hollywood.

You can view the article here: http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jan02/0,4670,HollywoodLaborGoldenGlobes,00.html

The First Day

I haven't really had a lot of experience writing media. However, while being on staff at the radio station, I have had some experience writing liners, 30-second spots, and sweepers. Also, when I took "Introduction to Newswriting", part of our final project was to prepare a script for a television show that would air on WIWU-TV. Although I don't have a lot of experience, I see that being able to write well in the media world is very important. Honestly before the writer's strike, I didn't think about writing all that much, but now I realize that almost (if not) everything we see on television is written. Through this Media Scriptwriting course I want to become a much more proficient writer and learn how to use writing well in my future occupation.