Syllabus
INSTRUCTOR: STEVE FOX
How to contact Mr. Fox:
E-Mail: stevejfox@gmail.com. Phone: 545-5923 (office); (301) 524-3006 (cell); (413) 253-4656 (home) — no calls after 8 p.m., please.
Classes: Tuesday, Thursday 1-2:15 p.m., Bartlett 107.
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday: 2-5 p.m. After class. By appointment.
GOALS:
This is not a computer class or a production class. It’s a hands-on journalism course in which we’ll use computers, readings, discussions and hands-on experience to learn about online news publishing and online storytelling. The class will include:
* Learning how to report, produce and edit online packages using blogs, audio, video and photos together with text to tell stories;
* Lectures and discussions on emerging media themes, such as Internet-spawned media partnerships, mergers and technologies;
* Analysis of the business, ethical and legal implications of publishing online;
* Analysis of the characteristics that distinguish news Web sites and their stories from their print and broadcast counterparts;
* And guidelines for doing research on the Internet.
A core portion of the class will include hands-on assignments, allowing students to report and edit stories using audio, video and photos. Students will also learn about site structuring and navigation, headline and link writing. We will experiment with a variety of different storytelling and reporting methods, including Twitter and database reporting.
Obviously, staying on top of the news is an integral part of this course. I expect you to be registered on multiple news Web sites, as well as industry news sites. Following the news on television and radio is also highly recommended.
Remember, this is a journalism class and plagiarism is a fireable offense. The Web has, in the minds of many, clouded the cheating playing field. But it really hasn’t. Work that is not yours needs to be credited. It’s really as simple as that. If you have questions, ask.
When you’re working on assignments, it’s strongly recommended that you not read the coverage of other news organizations or PR operations in order to prevent any influences on your writing or reporting. If you have any question about plagiarism, ask.
CLASS BREAKDOWN:
Your final grade is based on four components:
* Assignments: (25 percent of your grade). There will be a mix of in-class and out-of-class assignments. I will drop your lowest outside assignment grade. Missed assignments cannot be made up. Your final project will be weighted double.
* Midterm: (20 percent of your grade). An in-class midterm is scheduled. There will be a mix of short answer, true/false and short essays on the exam.
* Final: (30 percent of your grade). We will discuss the Final Project more in class.
* Personal Blog: (20 percent of your grade). Starting in Week 2, you will be required to file 2 blog entries a week for 10 weeks, for a total of 20 entries. Your grade will be based upon your total piece of work, but I will provide input and guidance along the way and expect your blog to develop over time. Your blog entry period runs from Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and runs until Saturday at 11:59 p.m. If you do not have 2 blogs posted by deadline Saturday, you will lose points. You have 100 points available here. For each post that misses deadline, you lose 5 points. Don’t miss deadline!
* Class Participation: (5 percent of your grade). Class attendance is mandatory. Students will be expected to do class presentations, and read assigned readings in order to take part in class and blog discussions.
* NOTE: This class is unique in that you will be taking part in a global collaborative reporting project. Most of the multimedia project will be focused on examining the issues surrounding health care on campus and in the state and in the nation. Each of you will pick a specific focus in this area for your personal blog. News packages for the project will be a combination of text, audio slideshows and video.
The work on this project will be a combination of individual and teams. You will take part in a series of smaller pieces examining health care issues, as well as one Final Project.
GUIDELINES FOR TEAM REPORTING PROJECTS: Each team member will be responsible for one area of coverage on outside assignments. I expect coverage to be diverse and to include:
Written — whether via blogging, traditional newswriting and/or feature writing;
Audio/video/photos: I expect team members to provide sound and visuals with their text versions — audio can be standalone or incorporated with the video/photos.
* Unless otherwise specified, please follow Associated Press style for all assignments.
TEXTS/READINGS*:
(*All listed readings are to be done for the week listed.)
REQUIRED:
* “Grammar of the Edit,” by Roy Thomson and Christopher J. Bowen (Second Edition.)
* Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive: A digital literacy guide for the information age, Mark Briggs (PDF)
* Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency, Mindy McAdams (PDF)
* “Sound in the Story: Balancing the Tools in New-Media Journalism,” J. Carl Gatner and Eileen E. Gatner (PDF)
* Handouts/Tutorials. There will be tutorials for all editing software to be used in this class. You will be expected to learn all the tutorials. Almost all software questions can be answered by reading the tutorials. If I sense that they are not being read, I will issue pop quizzes to make sure they are.
* Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (for print). Please bring the stylebook to class with you to aid inlab work.
* Online Readings: This syllabus links to various required online reading assignments under the class schedule. In addition, because the field is changing so fast, you’ll be expected to do additional reading to keep up. You should on a weekly basis read relevant stories and columns in Poynter.org, OJR, CJR and other industry Web sites. This blog will also add to the reading list as the semester progresses.
EQUIPMENT:
* You are the latest class to use the “Journalism Wireless Mobile Lab.” We have Mac laptops for this class, loaded with all the necessary software. There may be occasions, hopefully few, where the wireless signal doesn’t work in 107. If that happens, we’ll pick up and move! If you have your own Mac laptop and want to use it in class, come talk to me.
* The Journalism Department has purchased video cameras, audio recorders and digital cameras. We will use that equipment in class, but if you have your own equipment, let me know –- that will help. When you use department equipment, you will sign out for it and be responsible for it.
* If you haven’t done so already, please purchase a flash drive or an “external hard drive” so that you can transfer your work from computer to computer. The raw video that you shoot takes up a lot of space and thumb drives don’t have enough space, so you’ll need the external hard drive.
GRADING:
Each assignment will be graded for:
* Accuracy – Misspelled names and factual errors will result in a letter-grade deduction. Video and audio that give an inaccurate sense of time and place will also be graded down.
* Meeting of deadlines — Missed deadlines will result in letter-grade deductions and you will lose one letter grade for every day you miss.
* Substance — each piece of a package must be able to stand on its own as a piece of journalism — whether text, photos, audio or video. Each piece should complement the other.
* Organization — Regardless of the format, stories should be organized coherently.
* Quality – should improve over the course of the semester. Part of the learning process with shooting video and collecting audio is making mistakes in collection and editing. Still, don’t submit an audio slideshow that is missing the audio. Always shoot for excellence, not mediocrity.
* Creativity — is welcome, but it has to work. Multimedia journalism is exciting because if offers so many opportunities for experimentation. But, remember, we’re doing journalism here. There are very well-defined boundaries.
* Reporting — remember that this is a reporting class and that the more reporting you do both research and interviews, the better your projects will be.
* Writing — oftentimes in this class, students forget about the importance of writing — whether it’s the text feature or the script for the audio. Don’t forget, good writing drives all.
* Time Management — you won’t be graded on this directly, but managing your time will matter. Remember, multimedia packages take time. I know you all have lots of demands on your time, so plan accordingly. Remember, for every one hour of video shot, you should allow for about 3 hours of editing time. Storyboarding is important in this class. When working in teams, lay out ahead of time who is going to do what, when. And, make sure you have a backup plan. Interviews fall through.
GRADE BREAKDOWNS:
A: 94 +
A-: 90-93
B+: 87-89
B: 83-86
B-: 80-82
C+: 77-79
C: 73-76
C-: 70-72
D+: 67-69
D: 60-66
F: 60 and under
TO RECAP:
* Associated Press print stylebook rules and rules of grammar should be followed on every assignment.
* Factual errors will result in full-letter grade deductions.
* No excuses, other than the hospitalization of the student or the death of a member of the student’s immediate family, will be accepted for late assignments.
* A full letter grade will be deducted for each day an assignment is late, except for the final project, which will receive an F if turned in after deadline.
CLASS RULES:
1. Grades. Don’t negotiate your grade. In an ideal world, there would be no grades. In this world, I don’t negotiate grades. Everyone starts at 0; everyone can finish with an ‘A.’ Your grade is what you earn. I don’t want to hear why you need a B or an A. I don’t want you to tell me why you deserve a higher grade. And, I know you all compare grades, but I don’t want questions about why Bill or Sally received a higher grade.
2. Stay in touch. If you need to get in touch with me, email me. If it’s an emergency and you need an immediate response, call me. Or – you can come to my office! Conversations in the hallway, brief 5-minute visits will help, trust me. When you email me, use common sense. E-mails may not count as part of your grade, but they count as part of your overall personality. Remember that inappropriately informal and/or unprofessional emails leave indelible marks.
3. Class Behavior. Don’t IM, Gchat, text, tweet, ping, friend or update your Facebook page during class. We are all adults. Please do not make me ask why your keyboard is clicking when a guest speaker is talking. The first time, you lose points. The second time, I’ll ask you to leave class and come back the next week.
4. Electronics. When you enter class, turn off your cell phone and all electronic accessories. No rings. No exceptions. Every semester I have to ask someone to leave class for electronic abuse. Don’t be that student.
5. Assignments. Don’t ask to make up missed assignments. If you know you’ll miss a class with an announced assignment, you may be able to do the assignment early. Otherwise, if you miss class, you miss the assignment. Assigned readings should be completed by the start of class Monday. So, yes, read ahead.
6. No extensions. Deadlines are non-negotiable. If I have to adjust a due date, I will let you know (and any adjustment would be to your advantage). Otherwise, you know exactly when an assignment is due. If you get sick the weekend before your package is due, or if your best friend is having a crisis, the deadlines do not change, and if you miss one, you lose the points specified. Aside from your hospitalization or a death in your immediate family, there are no exceptions. Plan ahead.
7. Duh. Don’t ever, ever, ever make the argument that you actually would have had a higher grade if you had not have lost so many points for misspelled words or factual errors. I hope this is self-explanatory.
8. ** Attendance. Attendance is mandatory. You have a financial investment in this class and I should not have take attendance at this point in your academic careers, but I will. After two unexcused absences, you will lose 5 percent of the points in your final grade; after four unexcused absences, 10 percent; after six unexcused absences, 20 percent, after eight unexcused absences, 40 percent.
HEALTH ISSUES FOR FALL 2009
** We face a unique set of circumstances on the health front this semester. There have been a number of reports on what could possibly happen with the Swine Flu this semester. At this point, it’s kind of tough to gauge what will happen. But, University Health Services does have a page devoted to the Swine Flu and they include the following recommendations:
• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow instead of into your hands. Throw used tissues into the trash.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, to reduce the spread of germs.
• Don’t share food, drinks, utensils and other similar items.
• If you’re sick, stay home from school or work, and limit contact with others.
I would like to bring your attention to the final point. I realize that you all want to excel in your classes and I know in past years, students have come to class sick in order to not miss important information or lose points. This semester, I want you to do three things if you being to exhibit flu symptoms:
* Get to a doctor. The UHS Triage Advice Nurse can be reached at (413) 577-5229, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; after hours, call the UHS main number, (413) 577-5000. (I will still need documentation to confirm that you were sick, so make sure you keep track of your paperwork.)
* Contact me via email or phone. Let me know what is going on and we will figure a plan for assignments and class. The key here is to be in communication with me as much as possible.
* Stay in your room/apartment/house. Or go home.
As the old adage goes, we would rather be safe than sorry with this flu, so please think about your classmates and UMass community. If you’re sick, get to a doctor and stay home.
Standards, Ethics and Academic Integrity:
The University of Massachusetts has an Academic Honesty Policy, which we follow in this class.
Journalism students are expected to adhere to the strictest journalistic and academic standards.
For this class, you must do all work yourself, without collaboration with classmates or others, except for when I assign team projects. Along with certain rights, students also have the responsibility to behave honorably in an academic environment.
Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism (including use of unauthorized photos, graphics or text from the Web) will not be tolerated. Mindy McAdams provides a good outline at her Against Plagiarism in Journalism Web site.
Any abridgement of academic integrity standards will be referred directly to the department director.
If you have a question about plagiarism, ask.
MORE ON DEADLINES:
Answers.com gives some interesting definitions/background on deadlines:
Deadline: Due date, latest time for the completion of a negotiation, project, service, or product. The failure to meet a deadline has negative consequences, such as loss of business, lack of credibility, and penalty charges. Origin: 1864
It began as a real line, drawn in the dirt or marked by a fence or rail, restricting prisoners in Civil War camps. They were warned, “If you cross this line, you’re dead.” To make dead sure this important boundary was not overlooked, guards and prisoners soon were calling it by its own bluntly descriptive name, the dead line. An 1864 congressional report explains the usage in one camp: “A railing around the inside of the stockade, and about twenty feet from it, constitutes the ‘dead line,’ beyond which the prisoners are not allowed to pass.”
Nothing could be more emphatic than dead line to designate a limit, so we Americans happily applied the term to other situations with strict boundaries. For example, the storyteller O. Henry wrote in 1909 about crossing “the dead line of good behavior.” But it was the newspaper business that made deadline more than just a historical curiosity. To have the latest news and still get a newspaper printed and distributed on time requires strict time limits for those who write it. Yet many are the excuses for writers to go beyond their allotted time: writers’ block, writers’ perfectionism, or just plain procrastination. (Perhaps the writer is a deadbeat (1863)–another dead word invented by Americans during the Civil War.) Seeking the strongest possible language to counter these temptations, editors set deadlines, with the implication that “Your story is dead–You are dead–if you go beyond this time to finish it.”
Our urgent twentieth century has made such deadlines essential not just for reporters and other writers but in every kind of activity; there are deadlines for finishing a job or assignment, for entering a contest, for ransoming hostages, or for buying a product at the special sale price.
SO, TO RECAP:
For our purposes, All deadlines are hard deadlines.
If you miss a deadline, you lose one full letter grade.
Late assignments will be reduced by one full letter grade for each day late.
Unless otherwise specified, please follow Associated Press style for all assignments.
