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SYLLABUS (GREEN SHEET) REVISED 10/08/06 Journalism 134: Fall 2006 In-Depth Online Reporting TTh 10:30-11:45 a.m. DBH 225 |
Dr. Richard Craig Office: DBH 108; 924-3240 E-mail: profcraig@profcraig.com Office Hours: Tuesday 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. and by appointment |
Class home page: http://www.profcraig.com/134f06.html
SYLLABUS SUPPLEMENT:
You are required to read all information on this syllabus and
on the syllabus supplement, which lists policies that apply to
all my classes. A copy should be attached to this document;
if it is missing or you need another copy, it is available on
the Web at http://www.profcraig.com/syllsup.html.
CONTENT:
This course is designed for the experienced journalism major who wishes to learn
about reporting for the online medium. The main goal is to teach reporters
how to approach stories for online publication, but students will also learn to
write basic HTML, to generate useful story ideas, and to make use of various
sources and resources for Web news. Students will post stories on a class
Web site, as well as pitching them to the Spartan Daily for publication
online or in print.
TEXTS:
Richard Craig, Online
Journalism: Reporting, Writing, and Editing for New Media (1st Edition).
Yes, that's me. Since I wrote it specifically for this class, we'll be adhering to it pretty closely. It's available at the Spartan Bookstore and assorted online outlets. Please note that other outside readings will be assigned periodically throughout the semester, and that you will be responsible for these readings in addition to the text.
LAPTOPS:
This course is part of the SJSU Laptop Initiative, which means that all
students are required to have a laptop computer and bring it to class.
Many assignments will depend on this, so if you don't already have a laptop,
you'll need to get one ASAP. It can be either a PC or Mac, as long as it
has Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe GoLive installed.
A wireless card is also recommended to take advantage of the building's wireless network. The Spartan Bookstore has laptops available at student rates, and both Microsoft Office and the Adobe programs available. For more information on the Laptop Initiative, go to the JMC school's page about the project or the SJSU Laptop Initiative Web site. Check out this article on Apple's Web site about our participation in the project.
DIGITAL CAMERAS:
To complete some of the assignments for this class, you'll need to take
digital photos to accompany your stories. I don't particularly care about
the quality of these photos as much as getting you used to providing images for
your stories. As such, any digital camera or camera phone should serve the
purpose.
STRUCTURE:
This class includes lectures, discussion and reading assignments, and also lab instruction.
Lectures are designed to provide students
with information and material useful in the reporting work throughout
the course, and may occasionally be conducted by guest
speakers. Since this is a writing class with a great deal of work done in
the classroom, regular class attendance and showing up on time are a
must -- repeated absences and/or lateness will be noted and will hurt
your grade. Assignments are weighted as follows:
| Lab work and exercises | 15 percent |
| News tip stories | 35 percent |
|
In-class exams |
25 percent |
|
Final exam |
15 percent |
|
Class participation |
10 percent |
See syllabus supplement for other grading policies.
EXAMS:
There will be four in-class exams during the semester that will test
your knowledge of Web-related topics, language usage and material from reading
assignments. The final exam is
designed to measure overall mastery of the online medium.
COPY PREPARATION:
News copy and all papers prepared for this course must be word-processed or
typed directly into a Web site. All printed stories must be double-spaced,
edited only in soft-lead editor's pencil, with appropriate story
heading style, and margins. You are required to keep copies
of all assignments, both in electronic format (hard drive, CD, flash
drive, etc.) and
paper.
ERRORS:
Please also note that since this is an advanced writing class, it
is expected that you will not make many errors in your assignments. You
will be expected to keep minor style errors and typos to a minimum.
Mechanical errors -- style, spelling, punctuation, minor grammar
errors, copy preparation -- will lower your assignment grade by .25 for each error.
This includes the same error made more than once. Misspelling the
name of a person, an institution or position in your stories is a
major error and will result in a failing grade on the assignment.
This is not meant to scare you, just to make sure you check out the
facts before you write. Stories with any other factual errors will
also receive a failing grade.
Stories submitted after deadline will not be accepted and will receive a failing grade.
Any student who fabricates a story will receive a failing grade in the course.
Any student who plagiarizes a story will receive a failing grade in the course.
Please note that I'm not in the business of giving failing grades -- as long as you understand and adhere to these rules, I won't have any problem with you. Above all, if you have questions about any of these rules and how they might apply to a given story, please contact me before the due date.
See syllabus supplement for information on attendance, deadlines, academic honesty and other issues not covered here.
THE ONLINE NEWS TIP FORM
For every major story written in this class, you'll need to submit a "news
tip" -- a
detailed, written explanation and proposal for a news story. This will be done
via an online form
available on the class Web page, which means you can do it from anywhere with an
Internet connection.
NEWS TIP STORIES
Students will write several stories developed from news
tips. The last one is a final project and will count double. All will be
due in class according to the schedule below. News tip stories must
run a minimum of 500 words (about a page and a half) at the beginning of the semester,
increasing throughout the semester. The final
project should be 1000-1200 words, and will count as two news tip stories.
OUT-OF-CLASS STORIES TO AVOID
Your instructor will not accept: (1) advance stories; (2)
reviews; (3) stories involving members of your family, friends or
organization with which you are affiliated; (4) play-by-play coverage
of an athletic event; (5) speech stories (other than those assigned);
and (6) first-person accounts.
INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS OF JOURNALISM 134:
Given the upper-division standing of this course, you should know the basics
of news writing and reporting. Journalism 134 is a course designed to
polish and enhance those skills and master the essentials. Specifically, by the
end of the semester you will be expected to:
SCHEDULE: (Subject to change, with notice):
Subject matter of each day's class is in plain type.
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| Aug. 24 |
Intro to course -- How do journalism and the Web coexist? |
| Aug. 29-31 |
The job of the online journalist |
| Sept. 5-7 |
Generating and focusing story ideas |
| Sept. 12-14 |
Personality Profile News Tip Story due Sept. 12 |
| Sept. 19-21 |
Campus Quirk News Tip due Sept. 19 |
| Sept. 26-28 |
Tuesday, Sept. 26: EXAM 1 |
| Oct. 3-5 |
Online writing styles |
| Oct. 10-12 |
Writing leads, continued |
| Oct. 17-19 |
Tuesday, Oct. 17: EXAM 2 |
| Oct. 24-26 |
Editing for online media Follow-up stories Reading: Craig, Chapters 10-11 Controversy News Tip Story due Oct. 26 |
| Oct. 31-Nov. 2 |
The in-depth story |
| Nov. 7-9 |
Tuesday, Nov. 7: EXAM 3 |
| Nov. 14-16 |
In-Depth Feature News Tip Story due Nov. 14 |
| Nov. 21-23 |
Final Project News Tip due Nov. 21 |
| Nov. 28-30 |
What is an online journalist? |
| Dec. 5-7 |
Course review In-class lab work on final project Final Project News Tip Story due Thursday, Dec. 7 |