Writing with the Company in Mind

As I am writing this, I have just learned, coincidently, that my column on "Anti-Bullying," does not meet the legal standards of the company because of the way I use the word 'murder'. Of course, I was dumbfounded by this revelation being that laws and regulations in journalism were not taught to me in college. Then, I read Writing in an Emerging Organization by Stephen Doheny-Farina. In it, Farina points out a statement found in a Scribener and Cole report: "Most of our notions of what writing is about, the skills it entails and generates, are mostly tied up with school based writing...(go figure)." This is definitely the case for me. I have come to realize that the way I was taught to write, is so much different from my job's requirements. This seems to come as no surprise, considering what Farina has to say about it. According to him, recent surveys have revealed that writing on the job is not an easy task being that workers are required to address diverse audiences for diverse purposes. While his research focuses mainly on technology-based businesses, I can see how it might apply to the journalism field. In such case, the company I work for is a nonacademic organization, and does follow a business plan, where completed texts are followed. In addition, they are careful to consider who has access to the written text, who reads it and who doesn't, and how it influences subsequent texts. These questions, which are included in Farina's research, are the very same ones that my boss encouraged me to consider when writing my column. I think Farin's idea for professors to teach students interpersonal skills is a good one, for that is another issue I struggle with. Certain tasks at work call for collaboration, and the fact that I struggle with maintaining an effective dialogue to get the assignment underway, becomes a hindrance. So I agree with Farin when he mentions the importance for teachers to be concerned with the social process that their students take on to achieve their writing tasks.