Course Description
A practical introduction to journalism for incoming students with limited journalism experience. Students will learn the foundations of journalism as a public service, analyze and compare print, broadcast and online media, learn basic multimedia skills, and report and write publishable news stories in a simulated newsroom environment.
Athena Title
GRADUATE NEWSROOM
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will understand: * The nature of journalism in the 21st century: the fundamentals remain the same even as news delivery evolves. * Audience characteristics, tailoring content. * Why journalism is not the same as other information, the role of journalism in a democracy, professional ethics. * How reporters use documents, interviews, social media, sound and pictures to gather information and shape stories. * How to tell stories on paper, on the Web and in podcasts. * Basic story forms (news, feature, profile, opinion). * Beats and specialized reporting.
Topical Outline
PART I: Foundations of Journalism What is journalism? Introductions and definitions of journalism, AP style primer, reporting and writing exercise News values: Analyze Athens Banner-Herald, discuss news values, discuss proportion and relevance in the news Reporting: Analyze The New York Times, discuss finding stories, interviewing, the "discipline of verification" News writing: Analyze a television newscast and news Web site, discuss story pitches, basic print story structures/examples, leads; writing exercises Deadline story: Report and write a story on deadline PART II: Skills and Concepts for the Web Multimedia I: Publish it: HTML, CSS, CMS, blogging Multimedia II: Audio for the Web: How to record, what to record, editing audio Multimedia III: Photojournalism for the Future: How to shoot, what to shoot, basics of Photoshop and image editing Multimedia IV: Online Video: How to shoot, what to shoot, basic video editing PART III: Newsroom Lab Beat reporting and writing for publication: Students spend the final weeks of class developing a public affairs or topical beat -- interviewing sources; attending meetings; reviewing documents; and producing, pitching and publishing news stories under the guidance of the instructor.
Syllabus