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Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Develop story ideas, identify sources, conduct interviews and research and write different types of news and feature articles.
2. Distinguish between news and feature articles in terms of lead, content, sources and story structure.
3. Use copyediting skills and knowledge of AP style to edit, refine and improve articles.
4. Apply ethical philosophies to the evaluation of news judgments regarding use of controversial photos, conflicts of interest, withholding information and other ethical dilemmas.
5. Analyze libel and invasion of privacy case studies and determine potential outcomes based on knowledge of media law.
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I. Newswriting - Inverted pyramid
II. Leads
A. Typology and rules of leads
B. Writing news leads
III. Covering a Beat
A. Finding story ideas
B. Developing and keeping sources
IV. Sources and Research
A. Offline and online research
B. Mapping sources in articles
V. Interviewing
A. Interview preparation and question type
B. Note taking and accuracy
VI. Attribution
A. Choosing best quotes
B. Quote vs. paraphrase
C. Quote punctuation
VII. Working with Numbers
A. Finding and using numbers in stories.
B. Data driven stories and online numbers research
C. Means, medians, percentages
VIII. Story Types Practice
A. Meeting stories
B. Speech stories
C. Event stories
D. News conferences
Police stories
IX. Feature Writing
A. Feature leads and nut graphs
C. Feature story structures (focus, hourglass, narrative)
D. Use of fiction techniques in features
E. Profile writing practice
X. Editing
A. Grammar
B. Punctuation
C. AP Style
D. Active vs. passive
E. Conciseness
F. Clarity and precision
G. Strong verbs
H. Transitions and story flow
XI. Media Law
A. Libel case elements and defenses
B. Finding libel in articles and analyzing cases
C. Analyzing invasion of privacy cases
XII. Media Ethics
A. Recognizing ethics cases
B. Applying the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics
C. Evaluating and problem solving ethics cases
XIII. Objectivity
A. Recognizing bias
B. Recognizing framing
XIV. Media as Business
A. Portfolio building
B. Online journalism jobs and internships
Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing. | Writing 0 - 0% |
None | |
This is a degree applicable course but assessment tools based on writing are not included because skill demonstrations are more appropriate for this course. |
|
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills. | Problem Solving 20 - 40% |
In-lab assignments | |
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams. | Skill Demonstrations 20 - 40% |
In-lab skills practice | |
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams. | Exams 0 - 0% |
None | |
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories. | Other Category 20 - 40% |
Attendance and classroom participation | |
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Instructor prepared materials
Associated Press Stylebook (2013)