News Writing

Journalism 231A

Section A04; Index 04384

Winter 2010

Class: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:10 to 5 p.m. in Scripps 211

Professor Hans K. Meyer

o E-mail: meyerh@ohio.edu

o Phone: (740) 597-3084

o Cell: (573) 864-4949 (please use with discretion)

o Office: Scripps Hall 206

o Office Hours: T, TH from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. or by appointment

Course Overview:

The media landscape is rapidly changing, and everyone is scrambling to keep up. Traditional media outlets, such as newspapers and televisions stations, have switched much of their focus to the Internet. Online, they compete against upstart bloggers and citizen journalists who have created their own outlets and their own brand of news.

Even as the media and the writers have changed, the content of a good news story hasn’t. In fact, one of the goals of this course is to help students realize that strong news writing skills can translate to any medium. First, we need to learn the basics. Next, we’ll focus on applying these basic tools to different media. Finally, we’ll start expanding on the basics to make news writing better accomplish its objectives.

Course Learning Outcomes

The learning objectives of this course are as follows:

· Define news

· Understand how this definition applies across different media, especially online.

· Identify the basic elements of a news story, including the who, what, where, when, why, how and what’s next

· Distill a story or event into its most important elements

· Create news stories using the basic forms, such as the inverted pyramid with a summary lead

· Prepare a foundation of skills that can expand with different writing forms and media

· Test new media technologies and how news writing skills apply

· Familiarize ourselves with online video, hypertext and graphics

Required Texts

· The Associated Press Stylebook

You can purchase this online or in the bookstore.

· A good dictionary

Required Equipment

During the quarter students will complete at least two video assignments. The J school will supply the cameras and lab computers for editing. Students, however, will need to buy the following:

· An SD memory card (at least 2 GB, but 8 GB recommended)

· An SD card reader. Bring it to class on video editing days.

Course Expectations

The main focus of this class is writing as the title implies, and we will try to mix in-class and outside of class projects to ensure students understand the writing concepts and feel confident applying them. So much of the coursework will be completed in class that the attendance is mandatory.

Attendance Policy

Students are expected to attend class regularly and on time, to participate in class discussions, and to complete reading assignments prior to class. Attendance will be taken through in-class writing exercises, pop quizzes or presentations. If you miss class, you miss the points. You will not be allowed to make-up the in-class exercises, unless you missed class because of a death in the family, a university-approved activity or a physician said you were too ill to attend class. All three instances require some form of documentation.

In addition, this course will meet Monday with the other sections in a large group setting. These Monday lectures will supplement the class by providing insight on the changing nature of journalism and its integration on the Web. Attendance at all of these presentations is expected. To check attendance, the instructor will base part of the Tuesday quiz on the lecture.

Course Activities

Grades in the class will come from the following activities:

1. In-class writing assignments: Students will complete five in-class exercises that will each be worth 50 points. The goal is to learn together. They will be graded, but I will take the timeframe into account. I’ve listed them on the schedule, so please make sure you attend those days. If you cannot attend the day the assignment is given, contact the instructor, and you can complete the assignment on your own, but you must turn it in BEFORE it is given in class.

2. Editor Memos: These are two simple assignments that will ask students to tell the instructor the topic for their personal and group projects. What is required is a brief explanation of the topic and at least three sources you plan to contact. I will give you feedback. They will each be worth 25 points, and students who complete them will receive full credit.

3. News Analysis: Once during the semester, each student will lead the class a 10-minute discussion about a news story. The student will select the story at least two days before he or she is to present and will post a link on the class discussion board on Blackboard. During class, the student will dissect the story for how it relates to the concepts the class covers, such as the lead, the news content, and the writing or presentation style. The instructor will hand out a rubric that will describe how this presentation will be graded. It will be worth 50 points.

4. Style Presentation: Once during the semester, each student will take 5 minutes to walk the class through a section of the AP Stylebook. Sign-up sheets with the assigned chapters will be available the first day of class. The student should read the section and highlight elements in the stylebook that he or she thinks writers should know. A one-page handout of the style guide points discussed is also required.

5. Three-Minute Interview: At the beginning of the semester, students will select a potential news source, whose information they could use for either their personal or group project, and videotape an interview with him or her. Then they will edit the interview into a no more than two-minute-thirty second clip. The instructor will review and grade the clip based on a rubric, which he will distribute later. The class will also watch and discuss most of the interview clips together.

6. Personal Project: This writing project will represent a culmination of the activities of the course and 20 % of the students’ grade. This will be an inverted pyramid story on a topic of the student’s choosing. It will have at least five people quoted as sources. It will be at no more than 500 words. Students will be required to submit a rough draft of the story, which students will review with two of their peers. The final story will also include at least one multimedia element, which will be described on the assignment rubric and uploaded to Blackboard. This could be a short video, a photo slide show with audio, or a graphic. It must also include at least three hyperlinks. This project will be completed on Blackboard

7. Final Group Project: Instead of a final examination, students will be asked to form groups of three to write and report a larger news story. This group project will also give students some experience working with multimedia. A 90-second video is required for this project. Teams will also have to provide at least five hyperlinks. This will be due on the date scheduled for our final exam. This project will be completed on Blackboard.

8. Quizzes: During the quarter the instructor will give eight 10-point quizzes at the start of class on Tuesday. A quiz will not be given on the first Tuesday or last Tuesday. The quizzes will cover current events, the news analysis piece for that day, the AP style presentations and the Monday lectures. You will NOT be allowed to make up quizzes if you miss them. However, you will be able to drop one quiz grade.

The following is a point breakdown of all the assignments for the class.

Projects	Description	Requirements	Points	Total Points
In-class writing				250
	News values		50
	Inverted Pyramid No. 1		50
	Inverted Pyramid No. 2		50
	Event coverage No. 1		50
	Event coverage No. 2		50
Personal Project				200
	Story	(750 words, at least 5 sources)	100
	Multimedia / Links		50
	Rough Draft		25
	Peer Review		25
Group Project				300
	Main Story	(500 words, 4 sources)	100
	Video	(90 seconds)	100
	Sidebar		50
	Links		25
	Class Presentation		25
News Analysis				50
Editor Memos				50
	Personal Project		25
	Group Project		25
3-minute interview				50
Style Report				30
Weekly Quizzes	7 (given randomly)			70
	Total			1,000

Course Policies

1. Class time: We’ve already discussed attendance, but showing up isn’t enough. Please participate in discussions. In addition, avoid activities that will distract you. This includes the following:

a. Cell Phones: Please turn them off or set them to vibrate.

b. Web surfing: Please pay attention to the instructor and students who are talking. Do not check your Facebook page. We are in a computer lab, so I know this will be a temptation. Please avoid it.

Every time the instructor has to remind students to pay attention or a cell phone rings, I will add a question to the AP Style Exam.

2. Camera checkout: Panasonic Lumix cameras, that shoot 12 megapixel still photos and high definition video, will be available with Sharon Case, the administrative assistant in the director’s office. If the entire class will be using the cameras, the instructor will bring the cameras to class. If you would like to check one out on your own, you must contact Ms. Case at least 48 hours before you would like the camera. Her contact information is as follows:

Office: 105 Scripps

Phone: (740) 593-2539

E-mail: cases1@ohio.edu

Students can check out cameras for a 48-hour period. If they are not returned within that time frame, the student’s instructor will be notified, and the instructor reserves the right to decide how this will affect the student’s grade. In addition, if a camera is ever lost stolen or broken, the student should contact Sharon and his or her instructor immediately.

Each camera a student checks out includes the following:

A Lumix Camera with an identification number

A Battery

A Battery charger

A fabric case

Cables or SD cards are NOT provided. A card reader for editing is also NOT provided.

3. Blackboard: This class will extensively use Blackboard. The instructor will make periodic announcements online. He will post additional readings on the site. In addition, all syllabus and schedule materials on the site are the official documents for the course and will be on file with the Journalism School Director’s Office. If you do not have access to Blackboard, please contact the Ohio Instruction Technology Office to get signed up. The instructor will provide some instruction on how to use the site in class, but students are responsible for submitting their own work online.

4. Deadlines: This course is modeled on what working for a real world news organization would be like. Therefore, deadlines are extremely important. Late work will NOT be accepted, unless there is a special circumstance similar to what is described in the attendance policy. Deadlines for assignments are as follows:

a. In-class writing: Uploaded to Blackboard before the end of the class period

b. Outside of Class Writing (Rough drafts, 3-minute interview): Uploaded to Blackboard before the START of class on the day they are due

c. Memos: Before midnight on the day they are due

5. Style / Grammar: All written work in this class should follow the AP Style guide and accepted rules of grammar and punctuation. All style and grammar errors will receive a 2-point deduction from the final grade. If you don’t know the style for a particular phrase, look it up.

6. Video Uploads: The potential exists for students to include a short video on their personal and final projects. To do this, students must upload the videos to YouTube. To do that, they’ll need a YouTube account.

7. Source Identification: In addition, all names of people or places must be correctly spelled. Any error of this nature will receive an automatic 5-point deduction. In addition, for all outside of class exercises (the three-minute interview, the personal project, and the group project) students provide an e-mail address link for EACH source they used. The instructor will randomly contact some of these sources to ensure students are being honest.

8. Your Identification: When talking with sources, students should identify themselves ONLY as students of this class. Do NOT identify yourselves as reporters for the Post, News, or Messenger.

9. Academic Dishonesty: Failure to properly identify yourself, making up sources, or downloading and copying any portion of a class assignment from the Internet will be considered academic dishonesty. The Ohio University Student Code of Conduct prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty. If an instructor finds any form of cheating occurring, he will notify the Director of University Judiciaries for further action. In addition, the assignment in question will receive NO points.

Emergency Information

In the event of a major campus emergency (such as an H1N1 influenza outbreak), course schedule, requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised calendar or other circumstances beyond the instructor's control.

Here are ways to get information about changes in this course:

The CDC has advised universities to instruct students not to attend class if they experience flu symptoms (high fever, combined with a cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills or fatigue). Students will be encouraged instead to limit contact with others and may be advised to ask their parents to take them home or to seek assistance from Student Health Services so that they can be cared for in a setting that does not put others at risk (see also below, Attendance Policy).

Please be advised that the CDC may consider asking colleges to suspend classes if flu outbreaks are more severe among college students this fall than they were in the spring and summer.

For current information on the H1N1 flu situation, see http://www.pandemicflu.gov/

For general H1N1 information for this campus, see http://www.ohio.edu/h1n1/index.cfm

For OU emergency messages see http://www.ohio.edu/emergency/

Schedule

Finally, here is the tentative schedule for the quarter. The instructor reserves the right to alter it to better meet the course learning objectives at any time.

Date	Topic	In-class Exercise	Due
Jan. 5	Course Introduction / What is news?	Sign up for presentations
Jan. 7	Media Advantages
Jan. 12	Online News: Seeing the Big Picture	IN-CLASS Writing: What is news?
Jan. 14	Sourcing	Camera / Editing Basics
Jan. 19	Interviewing	IN-CLASS Writing: Profiles
Jan. 21	Quotes and Attribution	IN-CLASS: Video Editing (Three minute clips)	Three-minute Interview BRING your CARD READERS!
Jan. 26	A journalist’s job: Deciding What’s Important The Lead	Review interview clips
Jan. 28	The Lead	IN-CLASS Writing: Summary Leads
Feb. 2	The Inverted Pyramid
Feb. 4	The Inverted Pyramid	IN-CLASS Writing: Inverted Pyramid	Editor Memo: Personal Project
Feb. 9	Covering a Beat
Feb. 11	Event Coverage	IN-CLASS Writing: Event Coverage
Feb. 16	Beyond the Inverted Pyramid
Feb. 18	Telling the Big Story
Feb. 23	Storytelling online (basics of Web design)	Peer Review	Personal Project Rough Draft
Feb. 25	Other story forms
March 2	More on story forms		Personal Project
March 4	Web news innovations		Editor Memo: Group Project
March 9	Why use the Web?
March 11		Video Editing
March 18	Final Group Project Presentations		Group Project

The final exam for the class is scheduled Thursday, March 18 at 2:30 p.m. Instead of a final exam, students will present their final group projects on this day. In addition, all projects must be complete before this time. If students do not attend this final exam period, they will not receive credit for the presentation component of the final project (25 points).