DURATION/TIME  8 weeks October 26 - December 12 Online chats: Tuesdays, 8-9 pm EST  LEVEL Intro ONLINE CLASS INFO See our eClasses info page.  PRICE $499 ($475 for ) more info

Course Details

This workshop is for writers who want to start and manage a career in the television industry but have no idea where to begin. Is broadcast television the place to be? Cable? Or writing and producing mobisodes for future cell phone networks?

Today, television is a cyclical media business that includes pilot season, sweeps week, the new fall season, syndication, and over 500 cable networks and hundreds more proposed broadband offerings.

This intensive workshop will take a close look at the current trends in the television industry and offer the keys to surviving in a world that often breeds on familiarity. Many of today's favorites -- including the reality genre -- are new versions of audience favorites from the past. Your guide, Laurie Scheer, analyses the work culture of one of the most fascinating industries while offering an insider's insight to understand the essential qualities and strategies necessary for writers of all types. Explore areas where you will flourish within the often volatile television, cable, and digital media landscape.

• The television food chain from broadcast networks to weblets to cable nets and broadband offerings
• Broadcast, cable television and digital media development 
• Pilot season, sweeps week, the summer swipe-away, and the new fall season 
• The writing process -- what goes on in the writer's room
• The anatomy of sitcoms, dramas, and reality shows
  Working in Los Angeles or New York...or Bethesda or Atlanta
• How to pitch ideas and become a working writer/producer

• Instructors post lectures once a week. You can read them online, print them, or download them at your convenience.
• Students post completed assignments for feedback and discussion by the instructor and class.
• Weekly chats allow your class to get together via instant message. Transcripts are available for review if you can't attend. 
• Technical support is available from mediabistro staff.

Instructor Bio

Laurie Scheer's Courses

Laurie Scheer is a former vice president of programming for WE: Women's Entertainment and is currently a key member of the Film Faculty at Flashpoint Academy in Chicago. She has worked as an assistant, d-girl, and producer for some of the most powerful media conglomerates in the world, including ABC, Viacom, Showtime, and AMC-Cablevision. She has been a professor at numerous universities across the US and considers herself a media goddess, helping creative professionals realize their goals of working and improving 21st century media. Her book Creative Careers In Hollywood: From Extra Girls to Errand Boys (Allworth Press, 2002) chronicles and celebrates all of the movies ever made that feature women working in Hollywood. She also has a DVD, How to Pitch and Sell Your Screenplay.

Testimonials

Laurie has boundless enthusiasm and offers the opportunity to succeed. -- Paul Hagen

"Aside from priceless information and insight based on her background in TV, Laurie offers constructive feedback and moral support that fledgling TV writers are unlikely to find elsewhere." -- Roslyn Ross

"Laurie's seminar was by far the best I have ever taken! She's the most knowledgeable instructor I've ever had, excellent on every level. I can't say enough how much I got out of attending." -- Jamila Bey

"Laurie's seminar was the best money I've ever spent! I learned more about how television programming works in 3 hours than I picked up in a lifetime as a television news reporter." -- Brigette Polmar

"Laurie's class provided invaluable tips. She's one of the coolest instructors I've ever had. I would recommend her classes to anyone interested in learning more about writing for film and television." -- Imani Dawson

"Laurie's generous advice about television writing helped give me the confidence I needed to negotiate the contract process. I'll always remember that if you are a professional, you're worth it." -- Gina Laurie

"Laurie's classes are musts for anyone wanting to progress in the television industry.It is quite unusual to have someone offer to share their experiences, and even more unusual for them to truly want you to succeed." -- Tamara Federici, writer & former associate producer, Chappelle's Show

"Laurie is a professional who generously shares with her students her love and first-hand knowledge of the complex TV industry. She has a wonderful knack of encouraging writers, instilling confidence, and showing them where they have taken a wrong turn." -- Nancy West

"Laurie was informative, funny, and extremely knowledgeable. I found myself riveted and wanting to know more. If anyone is thinking of a career in television writing, this course is your starting point." -- Inger Slade

"Laurie's message of being well-researched, prepared and realistic -- while also having supreme confidence in yourself and your ideas -- is one that all producers should hear." -- Tony Monterastelli

"Laurie's engaging presentation, her wealth of knowledge, and her personal stories about the TV business will give any aspiring TV writer the necessary tools to succeed. Laurie gives you a thorough step by step process that will make you hone in on your concepts, brand, writing, and pitching skills." -- Denise Hendricks