Feedback

using language, argument, and oratory to persuade students to their point of view. Thenext class period they would present the opposing side in a persuasive argument. Onestudent might use words or phrases in an ironic way, conveying a message of supportthrough one of opposition. Another student might find vocal inflections influencinghow an audience responds to delivery. At the end of the presentation, students would beasked how they would side on the issue and if the student had successfully argued his orher case. Finally, students would be asked to write a broadcast news story that presentedboth sides of the issue in a compelling, balanced style.This exercise forces students to think outside the box, to consider both sides of anissue and how the presentation of it could influence an audience one way or another aswell as carefully examine word choice and story structure. The exercise also works onoratory and delivery skills that are keys for the broadcast reporter and/or anchor.An Erasmus ExerciseThis exercise would mimic one performed by Erasmus found in his On Copia:Foundations of Abundant Style (1512), in which he asked his students to rewrite thesentence “Your letter pleased me mightily.” Students would be given a sentence such as“Police say the murderer used a knife on the victim” and told to rewrite the sentence inas many ways as they could think of in the time allotted. Then they would discuss andread their sentences aloud. This would get students thinking about how to use differentforms of expression, words, and phrases in broadcast style writing. Explaining andtalking about ways to use language and words in an accurate, creative, and stimulatingway also might promote the avoidance of clichés or other trite expressions that arefrowned on in this field. Reading the sentences out loud provides a verbal aspect toconsider as well—especially since it would allow students to hear what their writingsounds like and more often than not recognize a style or sentence that should bere-written.TextsFinding writers who speak to this combination of rhetoric and broadcast writingideas is a more difficult task. Trying to get students to read or re-read long segmentsor works by Aristotle or Plato could be beneficial if certain segments or parts wereexcerpted, since reading the longer works would be very time intensive when trying toshow how the fields influence each other. Excerpts of works could be used to explainthe connections between broadcast writing and rhetoric/composition. Journal articlesare another consideration, however, careful thought would need to be paid to types ofarticles chosen. This is because undergraduate broadcast writing classes usually have atough time comprehending heavy or complex journal articles since they have usuallynot had much exposure to such complex reading at that point in their education.Essays on broadcast style and writing would be good choices for easier reading materialsclearly illustrating not only writing techniques but also ways to tell a story. Topicslike sentence structure, content, style, and voice could be examined in writings byrespected journalists. Stories created by well known journalists like Charles Kuralt, apopular traveling news anchor/reporter for CBS, could prove interesting and informativereads for students as well as reflect the modeling techniques so popular with manyclassical rhetoricians (CNN, 1997). Pieces by Edward R. Murrow, one of America’s10Feedback March 2009 (Vol. 50, No. 2)