Political Writing

WHEN 4 weeks, June 17 - July 8 Online Chats: Tuesdays, 9-10 pm EST WHERE Online. Click here for information. LEVEL Intermediate AvantGuild members are eligible for a special $40 discount on this class. See our expanding list of AvantGuild benefits and sign up for mediabistro.com's membership program to get this special course discount. PRICE $350 ($310 for ) more info

Course Details

Are you a political junkie? Do you find yourself glued to the television during presidential debates the way dad used to during football games? If so, you should channel your passion for politics into writing. While man is by nature a political animal, we are not all by nature good political writers. But with practice, patience, and a sharp pen, you can summon your inner Helen Thomas or David Broder.

Thanks to the web, there are untold numbers of venues to sound off about politics, whether it is a personal blog or a political web site (Huffington Post, Politico.com, etc). You can build a stockpile of clips, get your name in circulation, and maybe even shape the debate. In today's world of 24/7 political coverage, if you write compellingly and have an interesting story to tell, you'll find an audience.

In this seminar, you will learn how to:

• Conceive and frame up political stories that aren't covered, or are undercovered, by the mainstream press
• Pitch editors who have no idea who you are
• Write for blogs and pick up strategies for boosting hits
• Stay ahead of the curve while finding stories
• Sell yourself as a political authority

By the end of the course students will have:
A completed blog post, pitch letter, and a short article or op-ed.

• 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.

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Instructor Bio

Adriel Bettelheim's Courses

Adriel Bettelheim is White House correspondent for Congressional Quarterly, where he also oversees coverage of health care, energy, the environment, entitlement programs, and government regulation for CQ Weekly magazine. He also steers Congressional Quarterly's contributions to Politifact.com, a political web site jointly operated with the St. Petersburg Times that fact-checks the truthfulness of presidential candidates' claims and advertising.

As a Washington-based reporter and editor for Congressional QuarterlyThe Denver Post, Adriel has covered presidential campaigns, power shifts in Congress, Supreme Court confirmation battles, the enactment of the Patriot Act, and the overhaul of Medicare. His reporting has been recognized with a Sigma Delta Chi bronze medallion and awards from the Colorado Associated Press editors and New York State Publishers Association. He is the author of Aging in America: A to Z, a reference book about the politics surrounding aging issues.

Testimonials

Adriel is an expert in the mainstream, daily news business and the congressional, as well as specialized, committee inner workings. From key political players to a changing industry, he discusses journalism and is accessible to both yeomen and more accomplished journalists. -- Kevin Spence