Journalism 215
Journalism on the WebHofstra University
Media Studies and Public Relations
Introduction:This course covers online journalism -- a relatively new and rapidly evolving part of a traditional craft. It's an exciting time to be a journalist and one filled with opportunities as traditional mainstream news media grapples with how to use the new tools and capabilities of the Internet and still fulfill its traditional role in a free society.
We meet 15 times for two hours – less than an average working week. We will work at a high level, classes will be interactive, and we will be proceeding on various tracks concurrently. You are expected to have done the reading, be aware of current events, and be prepared to ask questions and contribute to the discussion. For every hour in class, I expect you to spend two hours outside. So, class is two hours a week, you can be expected to work an additional four hours each week, at minimum.
This course is designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge needed to be able to critically evaluate and know how to effectively apply a broad and ever-changing array of digital tools to enhance the traditional methods of journalism.
This is not a tools course, but a journalism course. Students will work to master the traditional journalistic skills of clear writing, thorough reporting and editing, and will learn how to apply those core skills to a creative and ethical use of multimedia, producing news articles that are suitable for publication.
You are expected to have a grasp of grammar, style and punctuation and to turn in clean copy. That means after writing, print it out, edit it, and make corrections to your digital copy, turning on edit track.
This course will provide theoretical background, professional instruction and evaluated practice in those judgments and skills. Emphasis will be placed on:
Writing and reporting. Students will learn how to write and report professionally and effectively and how to collect and produce multimedia and critically evaluate it for publication online.
Teamwork and Deadlines: No matter what the medium, today's professional journalism requires the ability to work well with others – editors, artists, producers, photographers, videographers, audio engineers – and most importantly, with readers, who are empowered with the ability to fact-check your work and to respond well beyond the letters-to-the-editor page of the newspaper. Ask Dan Rather.
You will be working in teams and your success in this class will depend on your ability to integrate with each other, support each other, and meet deadlines.
In the real-time world of the Internet, scoops can be measured in milliseconds, putting a premium on the ability to accurately and quickly write and report, and then to turn around and do it all again. Deadlines count. If you don't make your deadline, you don't keep your job. It's just that simple. So, know that deadlines count in this class too.
New mediaStudents will first learn how to write and report for Web, and then for the emerging channels of blogs, vlogs, and mobile. Students will learn and practice the skills of writing headlines, captions, blurbs, voice-overs, and audio reports to create a click-compelling matrix of reporting that rises to the highest standards of ethical journalism and keeps the user engaged and interacting with the main articles that will be assigned throughout the class. Students will take photographs, collect audio and audio, and create graphics and animation.
The Business of Online Journalism
In this field, while respecting the traditional and inviolable ethical “wall” between editorial and business, students will still need to know about the financial fuel that powers their ability to conduct their journalism. We will look at the search for a successful business model for online journalism, within traditional and startup companies, and well in as solo efforts.
Each week, students will have required readings from the textbook, web research, and writing. The class meetings will include instructor lectures, guest lectures, deadline writing exercises, multimedia production and tests.
Assignments will be turned in electronically, via e-mail or posted in a website.
Students will earn points for attendance, and for contribution in class.
Required Texts:Rich, Carole.
Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method. Fifth Edition. Belmont, Calif., Wadsworth Publishing. 2006.
Norm Goldstein.
The Associated Press Stylebook. New York, Associated Press. 2006.
Handouts, both electronic and hard copy.
Note: With the exception of the first class meeting, all assigned readings should be completed prior to each class meeting.
Note 2: There will be a number of unannounced quizzes on the reading, asking you to work with ideas from that day's assignment, or to put ideas from that reading into a context developed earlier in the term.
The overall course score will be assigned based on the following criteria:
Class Participation and attendance -- 20 percent
Assignments -- 20 percent
Quizzes, grammar, punctuation, style -- 15 percent
Project -- 45 percentThe Schedule:
Week 1. Introduction, background, history.We will start off by learning about each other, and then examining the history of online journalism, moving into the present, and then looking toward the future of the craft.
Week 2. Zeroing in on a TopicQuiz on readings. Discussion of readings. Assignments returned. Students will select a reporting topic that they will explore for the remainder of the semester, culminating in a multimedia website. In-class exercise: Students will locate a press release on their topic of interest and re-write it for a news article.
Reading Assignment: Rich, Ch. 17, “Beat Reporting”
Writing assignment: select five online broadcast news segments in either health or business and write a paragraph on each, critically evaluating the multimedia elements used in the reporting, with links. E-mail to instructor before class.
Week 3. Setting up your SitesWith reporting topic selected, students will be grouped into teams and will begin planning their reporting while targeting appropriate multimedia elements to be included on their website project. In-class assignment: Students will write a deadline meta-article, with links to supporting articles.
Reading Assignment: Rich, Ch. 1, “Changing Concepts of the News”
Writing assignment: Select five non mainstream-media health-related or business-related blogs. Evaluate for reliability of content, multimedia usage (if any), and interactivity. Distribute to colleagues.
Week 4. Acquiring contextual data.Students will learn how to locate data and information beyond what is available from a Google search. This class will concentrate on databases, hard-copy data and non-traditional sources of data.
Discussion of previous week's assignment.
Reading Assignment: Rich, Ch. 19, “Statistical Stories,” pp 387-392.
Writing Assignment: Create an 250-word article using statistics relevant to your beat. E-mail to instructor
Week 5. Introduction to Photography and GraphicsStudents will learn how to produce a graphic from the data used for the previous week's writing assignment. Additionally, an in-class workshop on using Flash software.
Week 6. Digital PhotojournalismStudents will become familiar with digital photography, learning how to take successful mug shots, action shots, and scenic post cards, and then how to write captions for them, and then to create photo packages.
Reading Assignment:
Look at the website of NY Times photographer Vincent Laforet
Look at the website of the North Carolina Press Photographers Association
Writing Assignment: Using digital camera, create a digital photo essay package, with captions. Post.
Week 7. Mapping and MapsStudents will learn how to relate statistical data to geography, and learn how map mashups might be appropriate and useful to their reporting.
Week 8. Introduction to Podcasts, and AudioWeek 9. The Business of Online Journalism
Reading Assignment: The Business of Online Journalism, Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism.
Writing Assignment: Select 10 keywords from your beat, Google them and determine who has bought them. Then consider an advertising plan using those keywords to create revenue for your website.
Week 10. Introduction to VideoWeek 11. Standups, Interviews, B-roll, Lighting
Reading Assignment: VJ Article
Writing Assignment: Produce a 2-minute vidcast for your beat.
Week 12. Putting it all together, ethicallyThis class will concentrate on ethics in journalism with guest speakers, case histories, and a test.
Week 13. ProductionDesign a news blog that will include daily reports, long-form articles and multimedia for your beat. Begin reporting.
Writing Assignment: Start reporting. Create reporting memo.
Week 14. Complete Reporting, Complete Production
Week 15. Presentation Final Project
