Maria Burns Ortiz

FOUNDATIONS OF JOURNALISM – JR 102 (Sec. 2) – SPRING 2013
Tue. & Thu., 8 a.m.- 9:45 p.m.
Walker 638
Instructor: Maria Burns Ortiz
Email: maria_burnsortiz@emerson.edu, mariaburnsortiz@gmail.com
Phone: (260) 402-1172
Twitter: @BurnsOrtiz
Office hours: By appointment

FOR WEEK-BY-WEEK READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS, CLICK HERE.

FOR SEMESTER SCHEDULE OVERVIEW, CLICK HERE.

Required texts:

• Writing and Reporting the News by Jerry Lanson and Mitchell Stephens, Third Ed., Oxford Univ. Press, 2008 (about $80)
• Associated Press Stylebook, 2012 Ed.,Perseus Publishing,(about $20)
• Elements of Style by Strunk and White, 2011 Ed., Pearson Educ. Books,(about $20)

Also required:

• Daily, read The New York Times. You must subscribe to receive the actual newspaper delivery.
• Regularly watch network and/or local newscast.
• SD card

Recommended:

• Digital audio recorder
• Smartphone

COURSE WEB PAGES

All course readings and assignments will be posted on the course site. URLs to any additional readings and supplemental content will be available through this page. Bookmark this page for reference throughout the semester.

Course site: www.mariaburnsortiz.com/syllabus/jr102

COURSE DESCRIPTION

From the Emerson Course Catalog:

Students appraise and apply the fundamentals of reporting, writing, and producing news. They cover stories in the Greater Boston community and learn how to develop story ideas, define the focus, and identify and evaluate sources. Students also examine and implement reporting strategies for print, broadcast, and online news stories. They incorporate journalistic standards and practices in all newsgathering and news story presentation. Students write and organize basic news stories with skill, accuracy, and clarity and develop a disciplined use of form and style in news writing.

So you want to be a journalist? Congratulations, it’s a great calling. This course will immerse you in the basics of the reporting and writing that are at the core of the profession. It will teach you how to recognize a story, how to evaluate it, how to go about reporting it, and how to write your story, how to interview with a notebook, recorder and camera in hand. These are basic skills you will need whether you eventually go into print journalism, broadcast, multimedia or—more typically now—use all of these outlets. You cannot write a script without knowing how to write a news story. You cannot commit journalism without knowing how to report. You will learn these skills in the context of ethical standards that will set you apart as a professional: accuracy, fairness, honesty, integrity, work ethic, and an understanding of the background and value of these standards.

You will learn by doing. We will have frequent exercises in class, and regular assignments in and out of class to develop your skills. You will be dispatched to cover stories in the street. You will get over your nervousness about interviewing by doing it. You will stretch your resourcefulness by figuring out how to track down the story and sources. You will start to focus your writing skills with practice, practice, practice. You will learn to embrace the value of editing and rewriting. And, if you have journalism in your heart, you will have fun.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

You will learn to recognize and find a story. You will learn how to find sources of information and how to mine them for your story. You will learn how to interview, and techniques of interviewing. You will learn how to write a lead, how to organize the 5-Ws of a story, and how to frame the story. You will learn to meet professional standards for grammar, punctuation, syntax and spelling. You will learn about alternative forms of stories. You will learn how to interview with recorder and video camera, and write scripts for broadcast. You will learn to edit and improve your work. You will learn the differences and similarities of newsgathering for print, broadcast and the web. You will learn how to post text, audio and video on the web. You will learn the necessity of fairness, balance, objectivity and truthfulness. You will learn to abhor plagiarism. You will learn the necessity to uphold professional standards. You will learn to meet deadlines. Though not measurable, the hope is you also will learn to love the work.

CLASS FORMAT & EXPECATIONS

This course will combine lecture, class discussion and real world experience. In-class exercises, quizzes, readings and reporting assignments will supplement to the learning experience.

Students will be expected to participate in class discussions – using assigned readings, personal observations and existing knowledge to contribute to the dialogue. Students will be expected to ask questions as well as form and share opinions.

Students will be expected to read/view/study the assigned materials.

Writing assignments should use standard AP style.  Poor grammar, sloppy writing, repeated typos and misspellings will require rewrites and/or drop your grade.

GRADING CRITERIA

Grading will be broken down as:
In-Class – 20 percent
Discussion – 10 percent
In-class Exercises – 10 percent
Quizzes – 25 percent
Homework Assignments – 45 percent
Reporting Assignments – 35 percent
Other Homework Assignments – 10 percent
Final Assignment – 10 percent

GRADING SCALE

Grading will be done on a 10-point scale. Grading breakdown is as follows:

A – 10-8.1

B – 8-6.1

C – 6-4.1

D – 4-2.1

F – 2-0

PARTICIPATION

In-class Participation: Students are expected to attend all classes and take part in group discussions. Students should complete all readings and be ready to discuss them in class.

Readings: Readings should be done before coming to class on the date listed.

Quizzes and In-class assignments: This course will feature two types of quizzes: news quizzes and course knowledge. Students are expected to closely follow what is going on in the news. News quizzes will gauge a student’s knowledge of this information. Course knowledge quizzes will gauge whether a student grasps the course’s core principles. This course will also feature regular in-class exercises to build upon and reinforce what students are learning. Missed quizzes CANNOT be made up. The lowest two quiz grades will be dropped. In-class assignment make ups will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Homework: Homework assignments are due at the beginning of class. Written assignments must be printed out. Video and audio assignments must be posted before the start of class. (Assignments more than 15 minutes late due to student tardiness will be docked one letter grade.) Any late assignment will automatically receive no more than 50 percent credit. Assignments more than three days late will not be accepted.

Attendance: Because this course covers fundamental skills that you will use throughout your education and as professional journalists, attendance is crucial. Missing more than two class meetings will likely affect your final grade. Missing more than four classes may result in a failing grade. Repeat tardiness will be addressed on an individual basis and may result in a lower grade.

DEADLINES

Deadlines are inviolate in journalism. Meet them. Any late assignment will automatically receive only 50 percent credit. Assignments more than three days late will not be accepted.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism will earn a student an automatic F on an assignment. Repeated plagiarism will result in failing the course. We will talk regularly about plagiarism, about how it ruins careers and undermines the credibility of journalists.

From the Emerson College Policy on Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is the use of the words and ideas of another as if they were one’s own and without acknowledgment of their source.  Plagiarism is stealing, and constitutes a serious offense against any ethical code, be it scholastic, artistic, or professional.  Plagiarism can be committed intentionally, or it can happen inadvertently, due to careless note-taking, or to a lack of knowledge of the conventions by which sources are credited, or even because of a misunderstanding on what constitutes original thinking.

Plagiarism is unethical in any context, and especially so in college, where the development of personal integrity and original thinking are the primary goals.

Read the entire policy: http://www2.emerson.edu/academic_affairs/policies/Plagiarism-Policy.cfm

From the Emerson Department of Journalism statement:

There is nothing more central to the credibility of journalism and to the trust of readers, listeners and viewers than the implicit promise that every journalist makes to the public that the information provided is accurate, original and truthful. Journalists who fabricate stories or portions of them, or who steal the work of others and pass it off as their own, undermine not only their careers, but the careers of other journalists, the public’s trust in the Fourth Estate, and the credibility of the entire profession. This department will not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication and/or cheating. If you have a question about attribution, ask.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

If you have a disability that may impact your performance in this class, please register with the Disability Services Coordinator so that you can work together to develop methods of addressing needed accommodations.

This page has the following sub pages.

• Readings and Assignments
• Semester Schedule Overview