USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM



USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM

Journalism 306 Section 21090

Broadcast News Production

Fall 2012

Wednesday, noon-2:40 p.m. ASCJ 328

Jeff Wald

(213) 440-5555 Cell

jeffrey.wald@usc.edu

Office hours: Upon request, depending on my schedule.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

You will be putting together everything you have learned during the past two semesters about writing and reporting, while advancing and refining your stories by emphasizing solid production techniques. We will provide plenty of space for your own style as long as you do not violate any of the basics. We will stress clear, conversational writing; well-composed, compelling video; and creatively edited stories that make the best use of your pictures, sound bites, and natural sound – all put together in a well-paced and logical manner that makes good use of your best elements. This news production course differs from your broadcast news reporting class last semester largely in techniques, not basics.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

By the end of the semester, broadcast production students should be able to research, write, report, shoot, and edit professional television packages with graphics and special effects as appropriate. This class will emphasize reporting the context crucial to more complex stories, and will build on the basic newswriting and reporting classes. Students should have mastered professional interviewing skills to elicit strong sound bites, and to shoot interviews in a visually compelling manner. Students also should have honed their video photojournalism skills to shoot creative sequences, not simply a variety of different elements. Their editing skills on the Final Cut Pro software should match basic professional standards both creatively and technically. All students, whether interested in reporting or producing, should have a clear understanding and appreciation of the major role production plays in reporting television news, and a full understanding of the production skills and knowledge required for both reporters and producers. Class and homework exercises should emulate real-world situations to prepare students for the final upper-division capstone classes of reporting or producing.

COURSE OUTCOMES

1. Following current events and being able to find a local angle to a national or international story.

2. Writing, reporting, shooting, and editing stories under tight deadlines.

3. Advanced photojournalism: Students should have a high appreciation for the power of pictures in television news. They should have the ability to recognize and use the most memorable and compelling video to help tell the story. Students should also be able to personalize a story with at least one central character.

4. Researching stories: Students should be able to go beyond the basic information provided by their instructors, editors or interviewees. They should be able to write a story “pitch” proposal based on the information they discover. A skimpy or incomplete Story Idea Form will affect your project grade.

5. Reporter stand-ups: Students should be able to produce meaningful stand-ups that advance their stories both journalistically and visually.

6. Producing news broadcasts: We recognize that most producing opportunities, aside from on-air reporting, are in producing entire news broadcasts. Annenberg broadcast majors should understand the challenges of putting together a television news broadcast intended for a mass audience in Los Angeles. This means students should be able to start thinking in terms of news judgment, setting realistic time allotments, orderly presentation of ideas, pacing, style, and several other areas of production necessary for a journalistically sound, creative, and compelling newscast.

7. Producing specialty segments, such as sports and weather. How those segments may be changing as people get information from other sources – the Internet, ESPN, the Weather Channel, iPhones, Facebook, Twitter, text messages, etc.

8. Live reports. Students should be able to report and/or introduce a story live at the scene and interact with the anchor. This skill is critical for a television news journalist. (In-class assignment only.)

9. Graphics: Students should be knowledgeable in the types of graphics available, and be able to incorporate them into complex stories to aid understanding.

10. Ratings and Research: Familiarity with ratings and sampling techniques. What ratings can tell a producer, and what they cannot.

Students will complete two reporter packages for homework assignments by midterm. Maximum length: 1:30 to 1:45. No package (except for the final) should exceed 1:45 without the consent of the instructor in advance.

Students will complete two additional packages the second half of the semester, last of which will be a multi-faceted or complex issue, as a final exam. This final project could run up to 2 or minutes or longer, if approved in advance by the instructor.

OPTIONAL TEXTBOOKS

ISBN: 13: 978-0-07-352609-6

Title: Broadcast News Handbook, 4th Edition

Author: C.A. Tuggle, Forest Carr, Suzanne Huffman

Publisher: McGraw Hill

ISBN: 0205262589

Title: Creative Interviewing, Third Edition

Author: Ken Metzler

Publisher: Allyn and Bacon

(You should have these two books from previous core classes.)

ISBN 0967843200

Title: Power Producer

Author: Dow Smith

Publisher: Radio-TV New Directors Association

(Recommended for students interested in producing news broadcasts)

DAILY NEWS AND VIEWINGS

Watch at least one local and/or national newscast daily. Vary the newscasts each day to gain an appreciation for differing styles and news judgments.

We also urge you to view “CBS Sunday Morning” and “60 Minutes”.

CBS Sunday CBS Sunday Morning features some of the best produced

and most creatively shot news stories on television. 60 Minutes offers

lengthy reports that are issue oriented or profiles of famous people.

Also, given this era of opinion journalism, I recommend the “O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel and “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC. Also, Comedy Central’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart. These programs round out the traditional news broadcasts by providing stories influenced by the anchors opinions. These programs utilize traditional newsroom personnel to write and produce the various segments.

BROADCAST JOURNALISTS IN MOVIES AND TV

“The Image of the Broadcast Journalist in Movies and Television” is

a years-long labor of love by Annenberg Journalism Professor Joe Saltzman. He has assembled an impressive list of movies and TV shows that have portrayed journalists from 1937 to 2006. Saltzman’s

nearly two-hour compilation plus half a dozen complete movies are available to you through the Annenberg MOV system. We will assign some to discuss in class. But all are classics in the broadcast journalism field worth watching.

ETHICS DISCUSSIONS

Special guests from local newsrooms will appear to discuss current ethical issues and share their views on the changing landscape of television news.

They will also talk about their experiences as television and

web journalists. Students will be encouraged to participate in these

discussions. You will be graded both on your participation and on the logical

structure and thoughtfulness of your comments or position.

STORY ASSIGNMENTS

There will be four major packages including the final, plus several other assignments listed in the syllabus. All video assignments should be turned in on DVD. All audio and video elements – narration, sound bites, natural sound, and picture description, must be shown on a hard-copy script.

GRADING CRITERIA: ASSIGNMENTS AND VIDEO PACKAGES

A. Basic criteria - You will be graded on clarity, organization, accuracy, fairness/balance, completeness/omissions, grammar, spelling, and ability to meet deadlines. We will distribute a separate checklist showing the exact criteria we will be grading. Written story pitches (proposals) are mandatory and will be factored into the grade average for each project.

Each story will have a letter grade (A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-or F). On some assignments, we may use a point system, but the points will be translated to a letter grade.

1. “A” stories are accurate, clear, comprehensive stories that are well written and require only minor copy editing (i.e., they would air). They are also shot and edited creatively, are well paced, and include good sound bites and natural sound that add flavor, color, or emotion to the story.

2. “B” stories require more than minor editing, and have a few style or spelling errors or one significant error of omission. There may be minor flaws in the composition of some shots or in the editing. Good use of available sound bites.

3. “C” stories need considerable editing or rewriting and/or have many spelling, style or omission errors. Camera work and editing techniques are mediocre or unimaginative, but passable. Sound bites add little or no color – only information that could be better told in the reporter’s narration.

4. “D” stories require excessive rewriting and have numerous errors, and should not have been submitted. Camera work is unsatisfactory, or fails to show important elements.

5. “F” stories have failed to meet the major criteria of the assignment, have numerous errors, or both. A story that has a  factual error that is material to the story merits an F. The following are some other circumstances that would warrant a grade of F:

• Plagiarizing a script, portions of a script, or information from any source – wire copy, feed packages, another reporter’s package or story script. (See below.)

• Staging video: When the reporter tells or asks someone to do something specific, unless that is revealed or made obvious in the context of the story. (Gray areas will be discussed in class.)

• Using video shot by someone else and presenting it as his or her own work.

• Telling interview subjects what you want them to say.

• Distorting video: shooting video in one location and presenting it as being another location.

• Using the camcorder to intentionally intimidate, provoke or incite a person or a group of people to elicit more “dramatic” video.

• Having someone else shoot your stand-up (portion of story when the reporter is on-camera) or interviews – (but only in those cases when the assignment specifically calls for you to shoot your own stand-up and/or interviews).

• Promising, paying or giving someone something in exchange for doing an interview, either on or off camera.

B. Plagiarism/Academic Integrity Policy

The following is the School of Journalism's policy on academic integrity as published in the University catalogue:

S

ince its founding, the USC School of Journalism has maintained a commitment to the highest standards of ethical conduct and academic excellence. Any student found guilty of plagiarism, fabrication, cheating on examinations, or purchasing papers or other assignments faces sanctions ranging from an “F” on the assignment to dismissal from the School of Journalism. Plagiarism is defined as taking ideas or writings from another and passing them off as one’s own; in journalism and in public relations, this means appropriating the words or ideas of another without clear attribution. It is assumed that the work you submit for this course is work you have produced entirely by yourself, and has not been previously produced by you for submission in another course or Learning Lab without the approval of the instructor. All academic integrity violations will be reported to the office of Student Judicial Affairs & Community Standards (SJACS) as per university policy, as well as journalism school administrators and the school’s academic integrity committee.

C. Late assignments

Late assignments will be penalized up to a full grade, except for verified medical reasons or documented extraordinary circumstances approved by instructor. Meeting deadlines is a journalistic necessity in the real world.

D. Rewriting stories

You will be allowed to rewrite, reshoot, or re-edit assignments to achieve a higher grade.  Such rewrites must be done within a deadline to be determined by the instructor, and the two grades will be averaged. This policy does not apply to Package #4 (final exam).

COURSE GRADES

Ethics in-class discussions 10%

Package #1 (Coastal Cleanup or alternate) 10%

Package #2 (Multi-shoot preferred) 15%

Package #3 (Multi-shoot preferred) 20%

Newscast blockout and explanation 10%

Package #4 (Final Project – Multi-shoot required)   25%

ATVN Learning Lab: 10%

__________

Total: 100%

OVERALL GRADING POLICIES

The School of Journalism expects its students to maintain at least a 2.7 (B-) grade point average in all journalism classes. Those who fall below this will receive additional counseling from faculty and advisement staff. Students are required to complete each journalism class with at least a grade of C-. Journalism courses with a grade of D+ or below must be repeated. Please note that the university’s cumulative grade point average will include both grades in its calculations and students must maintain a minimum of 2.0 GPA to graduate from USC.

ATTENDANCE

You are expected to be in class every week, or obtain the instructor's approval in advance if you will miss a class – except for verified medical reasons or emergencies.

Students who miss the first class meeting without prior consent may be dropped.

You will be allowed to edit packages in the Annenberg Digital Lab only if you attend the advanced Final Cut editing workshop and complete required project.

Although the syllabi are similar, every core class is different, so you cannot make up a class session by going to another class in the same sequence, except for the Final Cut Pro Workshop.

INTERNSHIPS

The value of professional internships as part of the overall educational experience of our students has long been recognized by the School of Journalism. Accordingly, while internships are not required for successful completion of this course, any student enrolled in this course who undertakes and completes an approved, non-paid internship during this semester shall earn academic extra credit equal to one percent of the total available semester points for this course.

To receive instructor approval, a student must request an internship letter from the Annenberg Career Development Office and bring it to the instructor to sign by the end of the third week of classes.  The student must submit the signed letter to the media organization, along with the evaluation form provided by the Career Development Office.  The form should be filled out by the intern supervisor and returned to the instructor at the end of the semester. No credit will be given if an evaluation form is not turned in to the instructor by the last day of class.  

Note:  The internship must be unpaid and can only be applied to one journalism class.

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP when adequate documentation is filed. Please be sure the letter is delivered to the professor as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in Student Union 301 and is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: (213) 740-0776.

CLASS SCHEDULE

(Always subject to change)

WEEK 1 – AUGUST 29

12:00 to 12:45pm

Introductions, review syllabus, What’s expected – what you should be able to do by the end of the semester. What constitutes good production? Photojournalism: Discuss the importance of pictures and sound in news packages and the importance of “people” in television news stories. Going beyond the obvious and required elements for a memorable story.

12:45pm to 1:45pm

View and discuss Video: KTLA The First 35-Years.

12:45 to 2:00pm

BREAK

2:00 to 2:20pm

Introduction to new Tapeless Cameras that will be checked out to you.

2:20 to 2:40pm

Visit from Annenberg TV News. Requirements and paperwork.

Homework:

E-mail me a letter about yourself. Tell me anything you would like to help me understand who you are and your particular interests or goals in journalism. You may tell anything you’d like to mention. Write it in an easy, conversational style, and make it interesting. We will be making preliminary judgments about your writing and storytelling abilities from this letter. It will not be graded, but it will be answered. Due no later than Tuesday, September 4, 2012, via email: Jeffrey.Wald@usc.edu. And take a short online course provided free from the Poynter. News University:



Also read an ethics statement prepared by the Society of Professional Journalists:



WEEK 2 – SEPTEMBER 5

Final Cut Pro editing in-class workshop. Mandatory.

We will meet today in the Digital Editing Lab.

Room G40 (Garden Level), not in our regular

classroom. (Alternate training may be available

in the Digital Lab. Check the schedule.)

Homework Assignments:

Complete editing the package you started in the in-class Apple editing workshop. Students who have not completed editing on the workshop package will not be permitted to edit additional class projects on the Apple computers. Take care to balance audio levels between the reporter narration and ambient sound in the background. Use this for practice. You do not have to turn this in.

Your first package assignment is now scheduled for next Saturday, September 8, 2012. All students will cover the same story, THE LA GREEK FEST. The festival runs from 1:00pm to 11:00pm. It will take place at Normandie and 15th Street —not too far away from USC.

Although you may share transportation with other class members, I am looking for each student's own individual take on the Festival. I encourage you to go beyond just showing the festival, as colorful as it may be. Look for interesting individuals you might profile, or certain activities that would make a good story. I am NOT looking for you to just aim your camera at the events unfolding in front of you. A standup is required, use the tripod or hand hold the camera yourself.

WEEK 3 – SEPTEMBER 12

Class Topics:

Discuss the first shooting assignment and editing basics, e.g., jump cuts, etc. Shooting for the eye and ear, types of camera shots, editing in the camera.

Special Guest: Renee Sams, Award Winning Television and Online Anchor/Reporter, Writer, Producer, Brand Strategist. Renee will talk about the psychology of being a good reporter, anchor and manager in the news business of today. She will also talk about her career path and how it changed as the business changed.

Homework Assignment: Continue work on Package the LA Greek Festival Package #1. A reminder, I would like the completed story to be copied to DVD along with a printed hard copy of the script and OTS graphics. The story will be critiqued in class on Wednesday, September 26, 2012.

WEEK 4 – SEPTEMBER 19

Class Topics:

Discuss the importance of pictures and how they relate to words. Discuss and illustrate the use of a compelling opening shot, and how its choice can affect how story is told and perceived. Illustrate and discuss sequences and how they can make a story more interesting. We will also discuss the importance of sound – both natural sound and sound bites. What is the purpose of a sound bite? How long should a sound bite run? How do you decide? Personalizing your story: Try to find a “real person” to help advance your story.

Videos: Video Journalist packages from San Francisco’s KRON-TV to illustrate how to write, edit and produce your stories for J-306.

Handout: The Seven Points of Storytelling. Reading: Advanced Camera Techniques:

Reading: Chapter on photojournalism from “Write for the Ear, Shoot for the Eye, Aim for the Heart”. (Available on Blackboard)

Homework Assignment:

Complete final writing, shooting and editing of the LA Greek Festival Package #1. Deadline for the DVD is next week’s class session, September 26th! All packages will be viewed and critiqued in class next week!

WEEK 5 – SEPTEMBER 26

Class Topics:

View story packages of your first story wrap, LA Greek Festival Package #1. Bring to class your edited DVD with a hard copy of complete script and OTS graphic(s).

Reporter Stand-ups:

Discuss the purpose and value of stand-ups. We go beyond the simple stand-up and strive for motivated production values. Discuss live stand-up opens and interaction with anchors. Discuss team coverage and standup closes that “toss” to another reporter.

Homework Assignment:

Come up with an original story idea that will be your 2nd reporter package. Use the “Story idea form” available on Blackboard for this course and bring a hard copy to class for full class discussion. The story should be current, relevant and should be interesting to a general audience. This should be an original idea developed from local sources and should NOT be USC centric. It may be hard news, feature, sports, investigative, etc. As a class we will hear your story pitches next week and they must be approved by me before you begin shooting!

Reading:

Be sure to pick up a copy of the Tuesday, October 2nd Los Angeles Times to the next class on Wednesday, October 3, 2012! Please read it and be familiar with it in time for next week’s session. No other date or edition will be accepted. Bring the print copy of the newspaper with you to class.

WEEK 6 – OCTOBER 3

Special Guest: Kim Devore: Emmy-award winning television producer who has written and directed hundreds of hours of news and entertainment programs for Disney, MGM and Discovery. As a news anchor in major cities including Los Angeles and San Diego, she has covered events in Russia, China, Europe and Japan.

Currently, Kim is a Writer for the Travel Channel’s “When Vacations Attack”. She is also a Supervising Story Editor at Sand Masters Painless Productions and at Film Garden Entertainment.

Kim is also a Columnist/Staff Writer at The Malibu Times and Malibu Times Magazine. She also worked at KTLA, Los Angeles as a news writer and Producer. She attended USC here at Annenberg!

Class Topics:

Pitch your stories and Kim and I will approve them. Package #2 will be due in class on DVD in three-weeks, on October 24, 2012.

Producing a television news broadcast. Discuss what a producer does. What decisions does he or she make, and on what basis are those decisions made?

We will use Tuesday’s October 2nd Los Angeles Times to block out (paper-produce) a sample newscast in class based on a vote of your story selections and time allotments. [pic]

Video: Don Hewett Retrospective

Handout:

News Breakdown (Download from Blackboard)

WEEK 7 – OCTOBER 10

Special Guest: Steve Grad, KNX Newsradio 1070, Los Angeles

Class Topics: The evolution of sports news on television. Steve will talk about his career on TV and Radio and how sports is evolving in the digital world

Homework Assignment: Continue writing, producing and editing package #2!

WEEK 8 – OCTOBER 17

Preparing your audition reel: What are today’s News Directors and HR Managers looking for as far as skillsets are concerned?

Videos: Reporter/Anchor audition reels, Mike Wallace reporter retrospective.

WEEK 9 – OCTOBER 24

Package #2 is due today. Bring the DVD and turn in written script with OTS graphic information.

Special Guest: Jon T. Fischer, News Director, XETV, Channel 6, San Diego. Former News Director in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Palm Desert. Assistant News Director, KTLA and KCOP, Los Angeles. Executive Producer, Assistant News Director, Assignment Editor, Field Producer, Chief News Cameraman, Transmission Technician, Video Editor, Associate Director, KTLA, Los Angeles.

Class topics:

• Classroom Critiques of Package #2.

• What journalistic skills are needed to be hired by a TV Station?

• What types of stories should be on your audition reel?

Package #3 criteria and pitch session. Get instructor’s and approval for your story assignments for package #3.

Class Topics:

Critique and discuss each project. Your participation is important. Pitch you story ideas to me and Jon for Package #3 due November 14, 2012.

Homework Assignments:

Practice your stand-ups and narration techniques as critiqued in class. Utilize higher production values and incorporate more graphics. Start writing, shooting and editing of Package #3.

Purchase and skim through tomorrow’s L.A. Times, for Thursday, November 1, 2012. Bring that edition to class next week and be prepared to discuss which stories you propose including in your newscast, and why.

You may want to get a jump on the stories by watching two or more television newscasts – at least one local and one national newscast.

WEEK 11 ▬ NOVEMBER 6

Class Topics:

View the 6PM local newscasts for Thursday, November 1, 2012 of the three major network-owned Los Angeles TV stations; KCBS-TV, Channel 2, KNBC-TV, Channel 4 and KABC-TV, Channel 7, to compare and discuss. Unless there is a single, overriding story that day, you may be surprised how different they are. Discuss why there is such a difference among newscasts, since all three are vying for the same basic audience – viewers who want local news at 6 p.m. and may stay tuned for the national-international network news at 6:30 p.m.

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View the two leading National, Network Broadcasts: The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and the ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.

• Compare that morning’s LA Times with the 3 local news programs. How many stories came from the newspaper?

• Ratings and Demographics. How they affect news judgment and news production.

Homework Assignment:

Complete shooting on Package #3.

Bring Package #3 on DVD along with printed hard copy of script with OTS graphics and supers next week!

WEEK 12 – NOVEMBER 14

Class Topics:

Package #3 is due. View, discuss, and critique in class.

Homework Assignment:

Prepare for your final project, Package #4. Come with your Story Idea Form. We will give immediate feedback so that you can begin work on the final package immediately. The final project requires more thought, more research, more planning, and more shooting than the previous packages. So give yourself plenty of time to do a good job. Do not wait for the last minute.

NOVEMBER 16 – LAST DAY TO DROP A CLASS WITH MARK OF “W”

WEEK 13 – NOVEMBER 21

HAPPY THANKSGIVING CLASS CANCELLED

WEEK 14 – NOVEMBER 28

Special Guest: Jann Carl, Journalist, Writer, Producer, Executive Producer, National Correspondent, Reporter, News & Entertainment Anchor, Network Host.

Jann is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. She worked as a news reporter at WLS-TV, Chicago and KABC-TV. She co-anchored KTLA News at Ten with Hal Fishman for 8-years. From 1995 to 2008, Jann was National Correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and Weekend Anchor of the broadcast.

At Entertainment Tonight, Jann broke many celebrity exclusives and was the go-to journalist of choice for newsmakers such as Barack Obama, Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Timberlake, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Jann is an integral part of the anchor team that brings the MDA Telethon into Americas homes every Labor Day and has co-hosted other special events such as ABCs Countdown to the Oscars and both CBS and HGTVs coverage of the Annual Tournament of Roses Parade. She has also appeared on Candid Camera and America's Next Top Model.

Jann currently is a Partner of Evident Entertainment, LLC and co-Executive Producer of Sold! a reality program on the History Channel. She is also currently developing other series projects.

Class Topics:

• Discuss Jann’s successful career and opportunities for students getting into news, entertainment, documentary and sports reporting and production.

• Discuss the role of the “gatekeeper” in television news in the age of the Internet.

Homework Assignment:

Complete editing on your final project.

WEEK 15 – DECEMBER 5

Class Topics:

The “new look” in television news. How news producers are aiming at the young (18-34) audience with new production and distribution methods, and Web convergence. View and discuss examples:

Video: KTTV Local 5:00pm Studio 11 program and KTLA’s 6:00PM Newscast. Discuss breaking news and formats.

Homework Assignment: Complete editing on your final Package #4 and review the requirements.

FINALS WEEK 16 ▬ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14: 11:00am to 1:00pm

Final Package #4 is due today! Bring to class a DVD of your edited story plus a DVD of your raw video, and a complete script with all cues.

• View and Critique Package #4 in class

• Discuss the future of Broadcast News

“Wrap” party in class, hosted by instructor!

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