Day-by-Day

(**Subject to change at discretion of instructor)

WEEK I:

Sept. 8: Review syllabus. Introductions and begin Overview/Goals of semester.

Assignment: Write a one-page analysis on how/why you will use multimedia in your journalism. DEADLINE: Start of next class.

READINGS:

* HANDOUTS: Chapters 2 and 3 in “Telling the Story” (”The Nature of News,” and “Reporting Tools”).

* Journalism 2.0: Chapters 1-3.

*  Sen. Kennedy’s Life and Career (Washington Post audio slideshow)

*  Facebook Conversations Used as Evidence in Exam Cheating Case, TechCrunch

*  A Breach of Trust, The (Colorado Springs) Gazette

Sept. 10: Finish Overview/Goals of semester.

DISCUSSION: Plagiarism/Copyright/Cheating in journalism and in the online world.  Also:  A brief look at the history of online journalism.  Analyze some of the general concepts behind convergence and online journalism. Blogs, Wikis, RSS feeds, Twitter. The tools/delivery is changing but is the journalism? How do readers get their news today? A brief overview of some of the ethical issues involved with New Media.

Assignment: Set up the following accounts by the start of next class:

* A blog, using either Blogger or WordPress;

* A gmail account (email via Google);

* A Facebook account:

* A delicious account;

* A Twitter account;

* A Flickr account;

* A vimeo account.

EXTRA CREDIT:

Attend and write about NENF meeting in Amherst Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Jones Library.  1-2 points available to be added onto your final grade.  You can either tweet about it or do a 1-2 page analysis.

WEEK 2:

Sept. 15: Continue discussion on the history of online journalism. How do readers consume online news? One Way:  Blogs.  We’ll talk a little about blogs:  Are they journalism or something else? We’ll discuss the difference between ‘professional’ and ‘independent’ blogs and talk about what makes for a good news blog.

LAB:  I will allow you each some time to work on constructing/designing your personal blogs for class.  We’ll have brief one-on-one meetings in class to talk about topics you are following for your blog. By the end of class, your personal blog should have ‘About’ page filled out, at least 5 links on your blog roll and a readable design.

* ASSIGNMENT: Register for the following news sites (if you haven’t already): boston.com; nytimes.com; washingtonpost.com; bbc.com. Also, pick an issue to follow (all issues are open except for sports) and begin setting up your own personal blog (if you don’t have one already) on WordPress.

Also, set up times for 1-on-1 conferences next week.

READINGS:

* Journalism 2.0: Chapters 4-6.

* Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages,” The Washington Post

* Web startup to offer foreign news as papers cut, AP

* Experimentation (Not Stagnation) Should Flourish At J-Schools, MediaShift

* “5 Tips for Blog Beginners,” by Mindy McAdams.

Sept. 17: No class (physically.)  We will, however, have a virtual class.  I will be attending (and taking part in a panel) at the Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop.   The morning sessions will be streamed live over the Web.  Please pick one morning session to follow/watch (let me know beforehand which session you will be watching.)  Please enter at least three (3) entries on the Workshop’s Twitter feed and do a blog entry on what you hear/see/discussion.  Your blog entry should be 300-500 words and have at least three (3) links.

WEEK 3:

Sept. 21: Last day to Add or Drop with no record

Sept. 22: A brief examination of the unique features news Web sites offer readers. Consider the following: personalization, multimedia, searchable databases, around-the-clock updates, interactive chats, blogs and in-depth special reports.

Discuss EPIC Video: Is this a realistic look at the future? Why? Why not?

ALSO: What elements make for a good news Web site? How are Web sites changing? How do news Web sites handle breaking news/features/projects? What about the role of advertisements? Blogs? Audio? Video? Slideshows?

READINGS:

* Watch “EPIC 2015” and read this article on the 10-year anniversary of The Washington Post Web site.

* “Sound in the Story: Balancing the Tools in New-Media Journalism” (PDF)

* Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable, Clay Shirky

* Jay Rosen on “The People Formerly Known As The Audience.”

Sept. 24: Audio: An Introduction. Also, we will break out the recorders, familiarize ourselves with them and interview each other in class.  ALSO: a look at ethics in audio, audio slideshows and video storytelling.

DISCUSSION: Does Rosen help us understand the concepts behind convergence? Also, how do blogs factor into the equation?  How do you distill good information from bad on the Internet?

LAB: Each student will set up their own RSS feed in class. Also, in-class blogging assignment.

Assignment:

1: Writing for the Web exercise: (This will be posted to your blog but will NOT count as a blog entry.)

Create an FAQ on Obama’s Health Care package. In other words, summarize the basic facts and current state of the package. Your job is to simplify a very complicated subject for your readers.

Step 1: Read up on the issue. Read from a variety of sources, including news Web sites, blogger, governement Web sites, magazine, periodicals. Check out educational Web sites and see what economists have written about the current plan as well. This is a political issue as well as an economic issues so make sure you cover both sides.

Step 2: You have some questions as you start this process and you read and learn, come up with 5 questions you think your readers would be interested in having the answer to. Keep the questions simple and on one topic.

Step 3: Write a narrative with links out to your different sources. Each bullet point should be no more than three sentences with at least 2 links.

DEADLINE:  Start of next class.

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you will have at least two blog entries.

WEEK 4:

Sept. 29:  Audio Editing / Soundslides: An Introduction. More on how audio is used with images in slideshows and video.  We’ll take a look at some good and bad slideshows out there.  Also, what makes for a good weather feature?

OUTSIDE ASSIGNMENT: Pick out one news package that uses multimedia (audio, audio slideshows, video, interactive graphics) that you think is effective and write a 300-500 word review on your blog. How/why is the package effective? Also, be prepared to give a short (5-8 minutes) presentation for class on Oct. 6.

TEAM ASSIGNMENT #1:  Weather Feature. Teams will produce a Soundslides project plus a text piece.  Is there a health care angle you can take with this?  The slideshow should be 1-2 minutes in length and the text piece should be 500-700 words.

DEADLINE: Due by end of class on Oct. 8.

READINGS:

HANDOUT: WeMedia, Chapter 1.

* Read this tutorial from John R. Henderson, a librarian at Ithaca College, on how to recognize reliable Web sites vs. junk.

* Read the links in the Audio section of Tutorials.  Also, read Soundlides tutorial.

* OJR’s “How to Write for the Web” primer and Tips for Writing for the Web, by Mindy McAdams.

* Writing for Twitter — Good Journalism in 140 Characters, Jim Stovall

* Video: A Good Weather Story

Oct. 1:  LAB: Report and edit weather story.

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 4 total entries

WEEK 5:

Oct. 6: Multimedia presentations.
DISCUSSION: What makes for a good multimedia package?

READINGS:

* Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency, Mindy McAdams (PDF)

* Grammar of the Edit, Ch. 1-2.

Oct. 8:  In-class editing.  Soundslides project due by end of class.

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 6 total entries

WEEK 6:

Oct. 13:  NO CLASS, Monday schedule because of Columbus Day.

READINGS:

* Journalism 2.0: Chapters 7-8.

* “Grammar of the Edit,”  Ch. 3-4.

Oct. 15: Video:  An Introduction.  The Basics of shooting.

DISCUSSION: Ethics and new media. Also, MIDTERM REVIEW.

Also, set up times for 1-on-1 conferences next week.

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 8 total entries

WEEK 7:

Oct. 20:  IN-CLASS MIDTERM.

READINGS:

* “Grammar of the Edit,”  Ch. 5-6.

* Journalism 2.0: Chapters 9-11, epilogue

* “Against Plagiarism in Journalism,” Mindy McAdams.

Oct. 22: Last day to drop with “W”

TEAM ASSIGNMENT #2:  Speaker Feature. Teams will produce a short (2 minutes) video on a speaker of your choice.  Pick a speaker to cover this week. More details in class.  DEADLINE: Due by the end of class on Oct. 29.

Oct. 22:  MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE PRESENTATIONS.

DISCUSSION:  We’ll spend some time talking about the speaker project as well as the Final Project.   1-on-1 meetings after class.

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 10 total entries

WEEK 8:

Oct. 27: Video Editing: An introduction to Final Cut Express.  NOTE:  We’ll have this class in A210 at Laederle.   Please bring footage from your Speaker assignment.  You can begin importing/editing during this class.

Readings:

* “Grammar of the Edit,”  Ch. 7-8.

Oct. 29: In-Class editing.  Speaker projects due by the start of class on Nov. 10.

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 12 total entries

WEEK 9:

Nov. 3: Hopefully, we will have Final Cut Express loaded for class and you will be able to edit.  You will spend class finishing the edits on your speaker project and hand in your Speaker Projects at the start of class on NOV. 10.  Your initial proposals for your FINAL PROJECT are also do.

Set up 1-on-1 meetings .

Nov. 5: Reporting/Writing for the Web, continued.

DISCUSSION: How do headlines, “blurbs” factor into Web writing? What about Twitter? How does social media factor into reporting/writing?  ALSO: We’ll take a look at Newsgarden feature on Amherst Wire.

If time, work on speaker projects.

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 14 total entries

Week 10:

Nov. 10: Team Meetings on Final Project.

Nov. 12: Working Class.

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 16 total entries.

Week 11:

Nov. 17:  TBD

ALSO: Set up times for 1-on-1 conferences next week.

Nov. 19: TBD

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 18 total entries

Week 12:

Nov. 24: TBD

Nov. 26:  NO CLASS. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

PERSONAL BLOG: By midnight Saturday you should have at least 20 total entries

Week 13:

Dec. 1: TBD.

Dec. 3: TBD.

Week 14:

Dec. 8: FINAL PROJECTS DUE.

Dec. 10: LAST DAY OF CLASSES.