Syllabus:
JRNL 301-Advanced News Reporting and Writing: A Digital Media Workshop
Section 00P-Fall 2013
Tuesday/Thursday 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Callaway Center S-108
Instructor: Sissel McCarthy
E-mail: swmccar@emory.edu
Phone: 404-712-8457 (office)
Office Hours: T-Th 1-2 p.m. Callaway S-106 or by appointment
“If you wish to be a writer, write.” (Epictetus, Greek philosopher)
Objective:
This newly designed course will build on the skills learned in Journalism 201 and reflect the multimedia nature of the journalism industry by introducing writing for broadcast journalism as well as social media. You will be learning new ways to produce excellent online, audio and video journalism as well as how to use the latest digital recording, filming and editing technology. This course is also part of the Fall 2013 pilot program called “A Domain of One’s Own” in which each of you will create your own website where you will publish your multimodal writing. This project will prepare you for digital citizenship and teach you about the best practices for digital publication. You will establish a digital identity and your own personal cyber-infrastructure that will last well beyond this course and allow you to both engage in intellectual conversations online and archive your work. We will also have a class website and our own Twitter hashtag, which will help turn this course into an open, networked community.
Although all the assignments have been redesigned to include digital elements, you will still be focusing on traditional skills including reporting in-depth, developing sources, interviewing, covering beats, and improving your writing and storytelling skills across all media platforms including Twitter. You will be covering a beat of your choosing for your assignments, telling fresh and new stories rather than recycling news from other media.
Required Texts/Equipment/Fees:
Convergence Journalism, Janet Kolodzy, 2011
The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (2006 or later).
Broadcast News Writing Stylebook, Allyn & Bacon; 2nd edition or later.
Math Tools for Journalists, Kathleen Wickham (second edition)
Grammar Girl podcast subscription.
Access to a digital audio recorder or iPod/Nano that records audio. Using your phone will not produce broadcast quality recordings and will hurt your grade. You are strongly encouraged to use your own iPod, but you will also have access to iPods/Nanos and mics at Cox Hall.
Access to The New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Class Format:
This course will be taught as an interactive workshop with an emphasis on class participation and good writing, including a refresher on proper AP style and an introduction to broadcast writing and tweeting. You will pitch story ideas in class and brainstorm with classmates to sharpen a story’s focus. You will deconstruct both good and bad writing by critiquing each other’s work in class. You will share your insights and news about your beat with the class via our Twitter hashtag.
You will also focus on how to tell compelling stories and research story ideas in depth. You will continue to become even more critical consumers of all media and are expected to read, watch and listen to as much news as possible. You must keep up with current events in the community and the world in order to provide the necessary context in your own reporting. All students will be required to read The New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution daily and subscribe to AP’s Twitter feed. You will be responsible for knowing key details about the top stories for pop news quizzes.
This course will demand a lot from you. Please come to class prepared each day. Complete reading assignments in advance, turn in stories on time, be ready for story meetings, know what is happening in the news and be prepared to participate in class discussions. This class is a major time commitment, so you will need to make it a priority.
Assignments:
The assignments for this course include building your own domain, reporting and writing one print story and one podcast on the same topic, producing a two-minute Listening Post video, and tweeting throughout the semester. You will pick a beat and pitch story ideas in class. This semester, students interested in immigrant issues, specifically the East African refugee community in Atlanta will have the opportunity to air their podcasts and post their print stories on Sagal Radio.com. Students on the health beat will also be able to publish their stories on the health and wellness website “shareWIK.com”. The online journal “Southern Spaces” is also interested in publishing multimedia stories about regions, places and cultures of the U.S. South. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please see me.
All assignments must be published on your domain and the class domain. I also require a typed, stapled and double-spaced hard copy of your story to edit. The hard copy must include a slug with your name, date and assignment heading. Stories in both formats will be turned in before class or at the beginning of class on the due date. No late stories will be accepted. This is a harsh rule in journalism, but you cannot miss a deadline. Ever. If you do, you will receive an F for that assignment. If you are absent the day a story is due, it is your responsibility to turn it in by e-mail no later than the beginning of class.
Both the print and podcast stories will be graded independently, reviewed in class by your peers and me, returned to you and then rewritten, incorporating comments and suggestions. You will have one week to make these changes and turn in new versions to be graded again. We will do the same peer review for the Listening Post assignment, and you will have one week to make those revisions.
Grading:
Basic Skills Test 5 percent
Midterm 10 percent
Homework/Quizzes 15 percent
Domain 10 percent
Print Assignment 20 percent
Podcast Assignment 20 percent
Listening Post Video Assignment 15 percent
Tweets 5 percent
Total 100 percent
Your final grade in the course is not necessarily a strict mathematical average. I reserve the right to move your grade up or down based on your class participation and attendance. Participation in class discussions is expected. Exceptional engagement and participation will improve your final grade while a lack of participation will hurt your final grade. On-time attendance at every class is also expected and habitual tardiness will lower your grade. Students are allowed two absences, but any unexcused absences beyond those two will damage your grade. Absences for illness or personal emergencies need to be documented in writing. Any in-class assignment including news quizzes cannot be made up, but I offer at least one extra credit assignment to replace your lowest quiz grade. Any factual error, including misspellings of any names and proper nouns, will result in your grade being lowered 10 points on the first offense. Any subsequent error will result in an F on that assignment. This is a journalism program policy, which reflects the belief that accuracy is the cornerstone of good journalism and that such errors cannot be tolerated.
Plagiarism also undermines a journalist’s credibility. All work must be original and references and quotes from any source properly cited. You cannot submit stories written for another class or news organization nor may you ever copy the work of another writer whether a friend, the Internet, or other printed material. Every word, outside a direct quote, must be your own. All quotes and soundbites must be authentic and reported by you alone. You may not interview friends or family without advance permission and a notation of this in your story. You also may not tell sources what to say or ask them to read or reread a quote for a soundbite. You may not stage any events for your Listening Post assignment. Any student suspected of fabricating quotes, soundbites, or plagiarism will be reported to the director of the journalism program and the Honor Council.
The Emory Writing Center:
The Emory Writing Center staff includes talented and welcoming undergraduate and graduate students from a range of disciplines. They are eager to work with all writers at all stages of the composing process. Whether you are exploring ideas, revising a draft, or polishing a final version of a project, the Writing Center is the place for you. We offer discussion-based tutorials for individuals and groups that enable writers to approach their work with fresh eyes and to practice strategies for writing, revising, and editing. Tutors can talk with you about the purpose, organization, and audience of your work, your design choices, or how you engage other texts. They can also work with you on sentence-level concerns, including grammar, syntax, and word choice; however, they will not proofread for you. Instead, they will discuss strategies and resources you can use to become a better editor of your own work.
The Writing Center is located in Callaway N212. Regular appointments are 45 minutes long. You should bring a copy of your assignment, any relevant writing (notes, a draft, the url for your website, etc.) and a plan for what you want to work on. If you have a laptop, we encourage you to bring it. In addition to our regular appointments, we also offer walk-in visits, a good resource when you have a quick question or can’t get an appointment. To view our hours, make an appointment, and get more information, go to writingcenter.emory.edu.
The entire Writing Center staff has been specifically trained to support Domain of One’s Own students. By talking with a tutor, you can more critically consider the purpose, design, and usability of your digital texts. You can also work with a tutor to troubleshoot technical matters; however, you should consult the Domain student resource pages first. In most cases, you will be able to solve tech troubles on your own, reserving your Writing Center appointments for discussions about how your technical choices—along with other choices—affect your larger aims.
Final Note:
This is an intense class. Very few journalism programs in the country are offering this type of multimedia instruction that teaches students to how to build their own domain and report across multiple platforms in one course. Given the nature of the new technology you will be using, many events may occur that cannot be predicted. This will require flexibility and a sense of adventure. Remember not to let the technology overwhelm you—it is just a tool to help you as a journalist. Also remember the greater purpose of all journalism: to serve our community with news that is important, relevant and engaging.
Tentative Schedule:
Week 1: Introduction and State of the News Media
Thursday, August 29: Class orientation, review of syllabus, and plagiarism statement. Class introductions. Homework: Read The State of the News Media 2013, (http://stateofthemedia.org) and prepare an essay analyzing key trends. Due 9/3.
Week 2: Guest Speaker on Multimedia Journalism and Domain Building Workshop
Tuesday, September 3: State of the News Media essay due. Guest Speaker: Diana Keough, Founder, ShareWIK.com
Thursday, September 5: Domain building Workshop
Week 3: Multimedia Presentations and Editing and Math Skills Review
Tuesday, September 10: Kolodzy chpts. 1-3. Multimedia presentations.
Thursday, September 12: Editing and Math Tools Review.
Friday, September 13: Field Trip to WABE. Departure: 3 p.m. Return: 5:30 p.m
Week 4: Basic Skills Test and Beat Reporting and Writing for Broadcast
Tuesday, September 17: Basic Skills Test and Beat Reporting
Thursday, September 19: Personal Domain due. Broadcast Basics including types of leads, Kolodzy chpt. 5. Stylebook chpts. 1-5. First assignment announced. Print story due 2/26; podcast 2/28.
Week 5: Finding and Cultivating Sources and Story Pitches
Tuesday, September 24: Finding and Cultivating Sources and In-class Writing for Broadcast
Thursday, September 26: Story Pitches and iPod Workshop at Woodruff Library room 312.
Week 6: Digging for Information and Tech Talk: iPods and Audacity
Tuesday, October 1: Library Presentation on digging for information with Jennifer Elder. Woodruff Library, room 312.
Thursday, October 3: Audacity Workshop and in-class editing.
Week 7: Story Structure and Anatomy of a Good Quote: Print vs. Broadcast,
Tuesday, October 8: Kolodzy chpts. 4,6. Story structure.
Thursday, October 11: Structure Picking good quotes: print vs. broadcast. Sources and attribution review.
Week 8: Fall Break and Midterm Exam
Tuesday, October 15: No class
Thursday, October 17: Midterm Exam
Week 9: Voice, Diction and Delivery
Tuesday, October 22: Voice and Delivery basics and exercises. Handout on BB.
Thursday, October 24: Voice and Delivery.
Week 10: Radio Reporting Guest Speaker and Voice, Diction and Delivery Workshop
Tuesday, October 29: Print assignment due. Post on your domain and class domain, email me a digital version and turn in a hard copy at the beginning of class. Guest Speaker, Crystal Edmondson, Business Reporter, Atlanta Business Chronicle and WABE.
Thursday, October 31: Podcast assignment due. E-mail me anchor lead, script and mp3 by the start of class. Post on your domain and class domain and turn in a hard copy in class. Voice, Diction and Delivery Workshop.
Week 11: iPad Workshop and Critic’s Corner
Tuesday, November 5: iPad Workshop for Listening Post Assignment, due 11/21.
Thursday, November 7: In-class review of print assignment. Rewrite due 11/14.
Week 12: Critic's Corner and Beat Reporting Guest Speaker
Tuesday, November 12: In-class review of podcast assignment. Rewrite due 11/19.
Thursday, November 14: Print rewrite due. Guest Speaker: Carolyn O’Neil, Food and Nutrition Journalist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Week 13: Guest Speaker on Backpack Reporting and Basic Skills Retake
Tuesday, November 19: Podcast rewrite due. Guest Speaker: Sonia Moghe, Reporter, CBS Atlanta
Thursday, November 21: Listening Post Presentation due. Post on your domain and class domain. Turn in a hard copy of your critical essay. Basic Skills retake and in-class extra credit assignment.
Week 14: Critic’s Corner
Tuesday, November 26: In-class review of Listening Post Video.
Thursday, November 28: No class. Happy Thanksgiving!
Week 15: Guest Speaker on Multimedia Journalism and Showtime
Tuesday, December 3: Listening Post re-do due. Guest Speaker: Scott Peacocke, Digital Enterprise Projects Editor, AJC
Thursday, December 5: Domain presentations.
Week 16: Showtime and Class Party!
Tuesday, December 10: Domain presentations and class party!
JRNL 301-Advanced News Reporting and Writing: A Digital Media Workshop
Section 00P-Fall 2013
Tuesday/Thursday 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Callaway Center S-108
Instructor: Sissel McCarthy
E-mail: swmccar@emory.edu
Phone: 404-712-8457 (office)
Office Hours: T-Th 1-2 p.m. Callaway S-106 or by appointment
“If you wish to be a writer, write.” (Epictetus, Greek philosopher)
Objective:
This newly designed course will build on the skills learned in Journalism 201 and reflect the multimedia nature of the journalism industry by introducing writing for broadcast journalism as well as social media. You will be learning new ways to produce excellent online, audio and video journalism as well as how to use the latest digital recording, filming and editing technology. This course is also part of the Fall 2013 pilot program called “A Domain of One’s Own” in which each of you will create your own website where you will publish your multimodal writing. This project will prepare you for digital citizenship and teach you about the best practices for digital publication. You will establish a digital identity and your own personal cyber-infrastructure that will last well beyond this course and allow you to both engage in intellectual conversations online and archive your work. We will also have a class website and our own Twitter hashtag, which will help turn this course into an open, networked community.
Although all the assignments have been redesigned to include digital elements, you will still be focusing on traditional skills including reporting in-depth, developing sources, interviewing, covering beats, and improving your writing and storytelling skills across all media platforms including Twitter. You will be covering a beat of your choosing for your assignments, telling fresh and new stories rather than recycling news from other media.
Required Texts/Equipment/Fees:
Convergence Journalism, Janet Kolodzy, 2011
The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (2006 or later).
Broadcast News Writing Stylebook, Allyn & Bacon; 2nd edition or later.
Math Tools for Journalists, Kathleen Wickham (second edition)
Grammar Girl podcast subscription.
Access to a digital audio recorder or iPod/Nano that records audio. Using your phone will not produce broadcast quality recordings and will hurt your grade. You are strongly encouraged to use your own iPod, but you will also have access to iPods/Nanos and mics at Cox Hall.
Access to The New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Class Format:
This course will be taught as an interactive workshop with an emphasis on class participation and good writing, including a refresher on proper AP style and an introduction to broadcast writing and tweeting. You will pitch story ideas in class and brainstorm with classmates to sharpen a story’s focus. You will deconstruct both good and bad writing by critiquing each other’s work in class. You will share your insights and news about your beat with the class via our Twitter hashtag.
You will also focus on how to tell compelling stories and research story ideas in depth. You will continue to become even more critical consumers of all media and are expected to read, watch and listen to as much news as possible. You must keep up with current events in the community and the world in order to provide the necessary context in your own reporting. All students will be required to read The New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution daily and subscribe to AP’s Twitter feed. You will be responsible for knowing key details about the top stories for pop news quizzes.
This course will demand a lot from you. Please come to class prepared each day. Complete reading assignments in advance, turn in stories on time, be ready for story meetings, know what is happening in the news and be prepared to participate in class discussions. This class is a major time commitment, so you will need to make it a priority.
Assignments:
The assignments for this course include building your own domain, reporting and writing one print story and one podcast on the same topic, producing a two-minute Listening Post video, and tweeting throughout the semester. You will pick a beat and pitch story ideas in class. This semester, students interested in immigrant issues, specifically the East African refugee community in Atlanta will have the opportunity to air their podcasts and post their print stories on Sagal Radio.com. Students on the health beat will also be able to publish their stories on the health and wellness website “shareWIK.com”. The online journal “Southern Spaces” is also interested in publishing multimedia stories about regions, places and cultures of the U.S. South. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please see me.
All assignments must be published on your domain and the class domain. I also require a typed, stapled and double-spaced hard copy of your story to edit. The hard copy must include a slug with your name, date and assignment heading. Stories in both formats will be turned in before class or at the beginning of class on the due date. No late stories will be accepted. This is a harsh rule in journalism, but you cannot miss a deadline. Ever. If you do, you will receive an F for that assignment. If you are absent the day a story is due, it is your responsibility to turn it in by e-mail no later than the beginning of class.
Both the print and podcast stories will be graded independently, reviewed in class by your peers and me, returned to you and then rewritten, incorporating comments and suggestions. You will have one week to make these changes and turn in new versions to be graded again. We will do the same peer review for the Listening Post assignment, and you will have one week to make those revisions.
Grading:
Basic Skills Test 5 percent
Midterm 10 percent
Homework/Quizzes 15 percent
Domain 10 percent
Print Assignment 20 percent
Podcast Assignment 20 percent
Listening Post Video Assignment 15 percent
Tweets 5 percent
Total 100 percent
Your final grade in the course is not necessarily a strict mathematical average. I reserve the right to move your grade up or down based on your class participation and attendance. Participation in class discussions is expected. Exceptional engagement and participation will improve your final grade while a lack of participation will hurt your final grade. On-time attendance at every class is also expected and habitual tardiness will lower your grade. Students are allowed two absences, but any unexcused absences beyond those two will damage your grade. Absences for illness or personal emergencies need to be documented in writing. Any in-class assignment including news quizzes cannot be made up, but I offer at least one extra credit assignment to replace your lowest quiz grade. Any factual error, including misspellings of any names and proper nouns, will result in your grade being lowered 10 points on the first offense. Any subsequent error will result in an F on that assignment. This is a journalism program policy, which reflects the belief that accuracy is the cornerstone of good journalism and that such errors cannot be tolerated.
Plagiarism also undermines a journalist’s credibility. All work must be original and references and quotes from any source properly cited. You cannot submit stories written for another class or news organization nor may you ever copy the work of another writer whether a friend, the Internet, or other printed material. Every word, outside a direct quote, must be your own. All quotes and soundbites must be authentic and reported by you alone. You may not interview friends or family without advance permission and a notation of this in your story. You also may not tell sources what to say or ask them to read or reread a quote for a soundbite. You may not stage any events for your Listening Post assignment. Any student suspected of fabricating quotes, soundbites, or plagiarism will be reported to the director of the journalism program and the Honor Council.
The Emory Writing Center:
The Emory Writing Center staff includes talented and welcoming undergraduate and graduate students from a range of disciplines. They are eager to work with all writers at all stages of the composing process. Whether you are exploring ideas, revising a draft, or polishing a final version of a project, the Writing Center is the place for you. We offer discussion-based tutorials for individuals and groups that enable writers to approach their work with fresh eyes and to practice strategies for writing, revising, and editing. Tutors can talk with you about the purpose, organization, and audience of your work, your design choices, or how you engage other texts. They can also work with you on sentence-level concerns, including grammar, syntax, and word choice; however, they will not proofread for you. Instead, they will discuss strategies and resources you can use to become a better editor of your own work.
The Writing Center is located in Callaway N212. Regular appointments are 45 minutes long. You should bring a copy of your assignment, any relevant writing (notes, a draft, the url for your website, etc.) and a plan for what you want to work on. If you have a laptop, we encourage you to bring it. In addition to our regular appointments, we also offer walk-in visits, a good resource when you have a quick question or can’t get an appointment. To view our hours, make an appointment, and get more information, go to writingcenter.emory.edu.
The entire Writing Center staff has been specifically trained to support Domain of One’s Own students. By talking with a tutor, you can more critically consider the purpose, design, and usability of your digital texts. You can also work with a tutor to troubleshoot technical matters; however, you should consult the Domain student resource pages first. In most cases, you will be able to solve tech troubles on your own, reserving your Writing Center appointments for discussions about how your technical choices—along with other choices—affect your larger aims.
Final Note:
This is an intense class. Very few journalism programs in the country are offering this type of multimedia instruction that teaches students to how to build their own domain and report across multiple platforms in one course. Given the nature of the new technology you will be using, many events may occur that cannot be predicted. This will require flexibility and a sense of adventure. Remember not to let the technology overwhelm you—it is just a tool to help you as a journalist. Also remember the greater purpose of all journalism: to serve our community with news that is important, relevant and engaging.
Tentative Schedule:
Week 1: Introduction and State of the News Media
Thursday, August 29: Class orientation, review of syllabus, and plagiarism statement. Class introductions. Homework: Read The State of the News Media 2013, (http://stateofthemedia.org) and prepare an essay analyzing key trends. Due 9/3.
Week 2: Guest Speaker on Multimedia Journalism and Domain Building Workshop
Tuesday, September 3: State of the News Media essay due. Guest Speaker: Diana Keough, Founder, ShareWIK.com
Thursday, September 5: Domain building Workshop
Week 3: Multimedia Presentations and Editing and Math Skills Review
Tuesday, September 10: Kolodzy chpts. 1-3. Multimedia presentations.
Thursday, September 12: Editing and Math Tools Review.
Friday, September 13: Field Trip to WABE. Departure: 3 p.m. Return: 5:30 p.m
Week 4: Basic Skills Test and Beat Reporting and Writing for Broadcast
Tuesday, September 17: Basic Skills Test and Beat Reporting
Thursday, September 19: Personal Domain due. Broadcast Basics including types of leads, Kolodzy chpt. 5. Stylebook chpts. 1-5. First assignment announced. Print story due 2/26; podcast 2/28.
Week 5: Finding and Cultivating Sources and Story Pitches
Tuesday, September 24: Finding and Cultivating Sources and In-class Writing for Broadcast
Thursday, September 26: Story Pitches and iPod Workshop at Woodruff Library room 312.
Week 6: Digging for Information and Tech Talk: iPods and Audacity
Tuesday, October 1: Library Presentation on digging for information with Jennifer Elder. Woodruff Library, room 312.
Thursday, October 3: Audacity Workshop and in-class editing.
Week 7: Story Structure and Anatomy of a Good Quote: Print vs. Broadcast,
Tuesday, October 8: Kolodzy chpts. 4,6. Story structure.
Thursday, October 11: Structure Picking good quotes: print vs. broadcast. Sources and attribution review.
Week 8: Fall Break and Midterm Exam
Tuesday, October 15: No class
Thursday, October 17: Midterm Exam
Week 9: Voice, Diction and Delivery
Tuesday, October 22: Voice and Delivery basics and exercises. Handout on BB.
Thursday, October 24: Voice and Delivery.
Week 10: Radio Reporting Guest Speaker and Voice, Diction and Delivery Workshop
Tuesday, October 29: Print assignment due. Post on your domain and class domain, email me a digital version and turn in a hard copy at the beginning of class. Guest Speaker, Crystal Edmondson, Business Reporter, Atlanta Business Chronicle and WABE.
Thursday, October 31: Podcast assignment due. E-mail me anchor lead, script and mp3 by the start of class. Post on your domain and class domain and turn in a hard copy in class. Voice, Diction and Delivery Workshop.
Week 11: iPad Workshop and Critic’s Corner
Tuesday, November 5: iPad Workshop for Listening Post Assignment, due 11/21.
Thursday, November 7: In-class review of print assignment. Rewrite due 11/14.
Week 12: Critic's Corner and Beat Reporting Guest Speaker
Tuesday, November 12: In-class review of podcast assignment. Rewrite due 11/19.
Thursday, November 14: Print rewrite due. Guest Speaker: Carolyn O’Neil, Food and Nutrition Journalist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Week 13: Guest Speaker on Backpack Reporting and Basic Skills Retake
Tuesday, November 19: Podcast rewrite due. Guest Speaker: Sonia Moghe, Reporter, CBS Atlanta
Thursday, November 21: Listening Post Presentation due. Post on your domain and class domain. Turn in a hard copy of your critical essay. Basic Skills retake and in-class extra credit assignment.
Week 14: Critic’s Corner
Tuesday, November 26: In-class review of Listening Post Video.
Thursday, November 28: No class. Happy Thanksgiving!
Week 15: Guest Speaker on Multimedia Journalism and Showtime
Tuesday, December 3: Listening Post re-do due. Guest Speaker: Scott Peacocke, Digital Enterprise Projects Editor, AJC
Thursday, December 5: Domain presentations.
Week 16: Showtime and Class Party!
Tuesday, December 10: Domain presentations and class party!