Journalism 210/Writing, Reporting and Ethics II
Journalism 210/Writing, Reporting & Ethics II
Spring 2014
Thursday, 9:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
MZ360
Instructor: Jim Hill
MZ332
Ext. 7241
james.hill@csun.edu
Tuesday, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Thursday, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Course Description: Journalism 210 is a core course for majors and gives students the opportunity to expand the strengths they developed in Journalism 110. The goal is to enhance competency in writing and reporting by covering public affairs, including police, courts and other areas of government. Much of the writing will be for print, but students will also learn the techniques of broadcast news, online journalism and new media. In addition, students will develop and maintain their own multimedia news blogs. The course emphasizes ethics and off-campus reporting. Six hours of classroom and outside laboratory activity should be expected.
Prerequisites: Students must have earned at least a “C” in Journalism 110 or its equivalent, and have proficiency in word processing. Note: Students must have a “C” or better in Journalism 210 to enroll in Journalism 310 or Journalism 315. A grade of “C-“ does not qualify.
Required Texts: Inside Reporting, by Tim Harrower, 2nd Edition, and McGraw-Hill.
The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, Goldstein, N., editor. (Spiral Bound, ISBN 0917360249)
Optional Text: Working With Words, A Handbook for Media Writers and Editors, by Brian S. Brooks, James L. Pinson and Jean Caddy Wilson.
Equipment: Each student will need two AA batteries for use in multimedia audio and video equipment. Any student using one of the department’s digital audio recorders and video cameras will need their own SD card.
Student Learning Outcomes of the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs.
The Department of Journalism strives to prepare its students to become well-educated, principled citizens capable of initiating careers as skilled journalists, public relations practitioners and other related communication professionals. The Department will help students to achieve the following objectives by the end of their program of study:
1. Students will be able to write for a diverse audience, using proper grammar and punctuation, word usage and spelling, sentence and storytelling structures across multiple journalistic formats.
2. Students will be able to gather and analyze information, including basic numerical concepts, using journalistic storytelling techniques, such as interviewing, observation, and researching primary and secondary sources.
3. Students will be able to think critically, creatively and independently.
4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness, and diversity.
5. Students will apply tools and technologies appropriate for the news media professions in which they work to communicate for with diverse audiences.
6. Students will be able to understand and apply the historical, theoretical, legal and societal contexts for producing and consuming news media for consumers, and for local to global publics.
Journalism 210 Objectives
The following student learning objectives were developed for the 2004 curriculum revision. Ideally, they should be listed on your syllabus, and discussed with students.
STUDENTS’ LEARNING OBJECTIVES –
To successfully complete this course, students will:
■ Expand professional competency in reporting and writing through more challenging assignments;
■ Focus on ethical issues in myriad journalistic situations;
■ Prepare for reporting in the beats associated with public affairs journalism, including public safety, courts, municipalities and other government institutions and issues;
■ Increase proficiency in using the resources available, including the Oviatt Library, the Internet and other human, paper and electronic sources;
■ Explore techniques used in broadcast news, online news, new media and public relations writing, among other formats;
■ Develop the ability to generate ideas and write feature stories;
■ Analyze and write news stories based on statistics and technology;
■ Hone news judgment and acquire the values practiced by professional journalists;
■ Stretch their critical thinking skills with an emphasis on reading and understanding quality reporting and writing;
■ Pay attention to current events.
SKILLS
As students move to J310 or J315, they should be able to:
■ Develop and use diverse human, paper and electronic sources;
■ Produce an online story/package using basic multimedia reporting techniques.
■ Understand fundamental media law, such as libel, privacy, decency, copyright;
■ Grasp Freedom of Information Act concepts, including how to use public record, open meeting and shield laws in California;
■ Employ more advanced editing techniques and use of “Associated Press Stylebook” rules;
■ Know and utilize the professional ethics codes and practices.
OUTCOME
■ To ensure that our majors can perform in J310 or J315, the J210 students should report and write a minimum of six to eight off-campus stories, including coverage of municipal government (neighborhood/city/county), public safety (police/fire), courthouse (civil/criminal cases), education (K-12/college), and related beats. They may also experiment with enterprise (sports/lifestyle), specialized beats (religion/business), features and opinion writing.
Plagiarism/Cheating: The Journalism Department at California State University, Northridge, is committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and integrity. Plagiarism and other forms of cheating will not be tolerated. Anyone caught cheating will be reported to the administration and will receive a failing grade in this class. For a further explanation of the behavior defined as cheating, and a more detailed discussion of disciplinary procedures, consult the CSUN online catalog section on academic dishonesty ().
Please also remember that U.S. copyright laws protect much of the information posted on the Internet. Passing this information off as your own is a violation of CSUN’s plagiarism policy, and carries the penalties outlined above.
Students in this course are strongly encouraged to broaden their journalistic experiences, with instructor’s help, by including in their work people and subjects such as ethnic, racial and religious minorities; the elderly, disabled and poor; gay men and lesbians; and other similar groups. The intent is to ensure that student work reflects the diversity of the community.
Regarding classroom computers: Computers are for coursework only, and students are not to use them for any other purpose, such as personal e-mail, social media or surfing the Internet unrelated to assigned work. Students who violate this rule will be given a grade of F for any work done for that day. This rule also applies to use of students’ personal computers, cell phones and other electronic devices. Do not use them in class, unless you have prior permission from the instructor.
Course Requirements: Students must complete a variety of reporting and writing exercises, in a mix of in-class and out-of-class assignments. Students will also research, write and present up to eight major reporting assignments, each with about 500 words.
All stories must be turned with the original raw notes gathered during the reporting process.
The notes will include sources' names and other contact information, such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Stories will not be graded unless the notes are attached.
The stories will be written as if for print publication, unless multimedia assignments are specified. Stories will be based on “The Associated Press Stylebook”; reflect professional standards of clarity, objectivity, fairness and balance; and adhere to the specified format. Refer to the AP Stylebook “Briefing On Media Law” section on matters of libel and other legal issues.
The demands of journalism require a strong knowledge of current events, and students are expected to read at least one major newspaper (hard copy or online), listen/watch radio and television news, and read credible news websites. Unannounced current events quizzes will be given.
Grading: Course grades may include plus or minus. Each assignment and the overall result will be graded as follows:
10 = The work is professional, outstanding. A
9 = The work is professional. A-
8 = With minor changes the work could be professional. B
7 = With several minor changes the work could be professional. B-
6 = With major changes the work could be professional. C
5 = With several major changes the work could be professional. C-
4 = The work has fundamental problems. D
3 = The work has many fundamental problems. D-
2 = The work is not fit for broadcast. F
1 = The work was not turned in as required. F
Course Schedule:
*Note: Journalism is driven by events, many of which cannot be predicted. Therefore, the course schedule may be amended as events dictate. Multimedia assignments and other reporting may be required at any time, at the instructor’s discretion. The syllabus will be adjusted as necessary.
Week 1: Introduction to course, review syllabus, and discuss basic news writing.
Reading: Harrower, Chapter 2, How Newsrooms Work.
Week 2: Lessons in grammar and the structure of news stories. Introduce AP Stylebook. Writing exercises.
Reading: Harrower, Chapter 3, News Writing Basics.
Week 3: Covering stories, interviewing techniques. Writing exercises/assignment, in-class and/or out-of-class.
Reading: Harrower, Chapter 4, Reporting Basics.
Week 4: Covering public events, speeches and meetings. Exercises. Multimedia overview and training. Out-of-class assignment.
Reading: Harrower, Chapter 5.
Week 5: Covering crime and disasters (natural and man-made). In-class and out-of-class exercises. Multimedia training.
Reading: Review Harrower, Chapter 5.
Week 6: Covering the courts and police. In-class and out-of-class exercises/assignment. Multimedia training.
Reading: Review Harrower, Chapters 5, 6.
Week 7: Reporting breaking news. Reporting assignments. Multimedia training.
Reading: Review Harrower, Chapter 6.
Week 8: Review multimedia and online news reporting. Writing and reporting exercises/assignment. Multimedia training.
Reading: Harrower, Chapter 8.
Week 9: Midterm project.
Week 10: Review midterm project. Feature reporting. Out-of-class exercises. Multimedia assignment.
Week 11: Libel and other legal/ethical issues.
Reading: Review Harrower, Chapter 7. Associated Press Stylebook, Briefing on Media Law, pages 336-374.
Week 12: Spring Recess
Week 13: Broadcast journalism. Review of style, view examples (TV), writing exercises. Multimedia assignment.
Reading: Harrower, Chapter 9. KCSN Stylebook (handout). Multimedia assignment.
Week 14: Broadcast reporting (continued). View and discuss examples. Writing exercises.
Reading: Review Harrower, Chapter 6.
Final project assigned.
Week 15: Review.
Week 16: Final project due.
Week 17: Finals week. This class has no final exam.
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