Dynamics of Media Editing

As traditional newsrooms staffed by journalists and managed by experienced editors become less and less common, there is an even greater need for all types of professional writers to be fluent in the editorial process. Dynamics of Media Editing emphasizes the broad value of editing as both a tool for journalistic management and an essential skill for individual writers of all stripes. Author Vince F. Filak recognizes editing as an essential process for improving the quality of published writing, something that is relevant and essential to investigative journalists, social media interns, celebrity bloggers, and everyone in between. By organizing the book around skills and by platforms, Dynamics of Media Editing shows students how the basic principles of good editing work across disciplines and media platforms.

 Key Features

• The emphasis on transferrable skills and multiple platforms shows students how to use the basic principles of good editing for journalism, PR, advertising, or social media marketing.
  
• The book takes a broad approach to editing, demonstrating that it’s not just a skill for managers at newspapers, but rather an essential process for improving all aspects of published writing. This addresses a critical course challenge, in that many students don’t see the relevance of editing in their planned careers.
  
• The audience-centric method emphasizes the need to engage one’s audience in order to be a successful writer.
  
• "Helpful Hints" boxes provide easy-to-consult lists of dos and don’ts for good writing.
  
• "Thoughts From a Pro" boxes allow media professionals from a variety of backgrounds to demonstrate the essential function of the editing process in the workplace.

Vincent F. Filak, Ph.D., is an award-winning teacher and scholar who serves as a professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where he primarily teaches courses on media writing and reporting. Prior to his arrival at UWO, he served on the faculty at Ball State University and also taught courses at the University of Missouri and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He also previously worked for the Wisconsin State Journal and the Columbia Missourian newspapers. He was also unanimously voted and selected as the next editor of Journalism & Mass Communication Educator by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The Associated Collegiate Press honored him as part of the organization’s inaugural class of Pioneer Award Winners in 2022. The Scholastic Journalism Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication presented him with the Educator of the Year award in 2021, a year after he was honored by the National Society of Leadership and Success with an Excellence in Teaching award. In 2019, he received the Friend of KEMPA award for his work with high school journalism students through the Kettle Moraine Press Association. In addition, he has received awards from the College Media Association (CMA) and the National Scholastic Press Association for his work as a college media adviser and a mentor to high school journalists. As a scholar, Filak has received thirteen top conference paper awards, including those from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Broadcast Education Association, and the International Public Relations Society of America. He has published more than thirty scholarly, peer-reviewed articles in top-tier journals, including Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, the Newspaper Research Journal, the Atlantic Journal of Communication, Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, the Howard Journal of Communication, Educational Psychology, and the British Journal of Social Psychology. He is also the winner of CMA’s Nordin Research Award, which goes to the best research paper completed on a topic pertaining to media advisers within a given year. He has published several textbooks in the field of journalism, including Dynamics of Media Writing (SAGE), Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing (SAGE), Dynamics of Media Editing (SAGE), Convergent Journalism (Focal), and The Journalist’s Handbook to Online Editing (with Kenneth Rosenauer; Pearson). He also blogs about media-related topics at DynamicsOfWriting.com. xxivHe lives outside Auroraville, Wisconsin, with his wife, Amy, and their daughter, Zoe.