Interactive News – JR 220 – Fall 2012
Sep 1st, 2012 by Maria Burns Ortiz
INTERACTIVE NEWS – JR 220 – EMERSON COLLEGE – FALL 2012
Monday, 6- 9:45 p.m.
Walker 634
Instructor: Maria Burns Ortiz
Email: maria_burnsortiz@emerson.edu, mariaburnsortiz@gmail.com
Phone: (260) 402-1172
Office hours: By appointment
FOR A COURSE SCHEDULE OVERVIEW, CLICK HERE.
FOR WEEKLY READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS, CLICK HERE.
COURSE WEB PAGES
All course readings and assignments will be posted on the course site. With the exception of “Journalism Next,” URLs to all readings and supplemental content will be available on one of these two pages.
The course blog will be a landing page where you can view the links to you classmates’ blogs as well as view many of the links for in-class examples and exercises. Bookmark these pages.
Course blog: http://word.emerson.edu/fall12jr220/
COURSE DESCRIPTION
From the Emerson Course Catalog:
Introduces students to the history and theory of the news media on the Internet and the World Wide Web and to the reporting, writing, and designing online news. In the first half of the semester, students will analyze best practices of online news publications and write their own blogs. In the second half, students will report, write and design a multimedia website.
COURSE GOALS
The Internet has undeniably changed the media landscape. Journalists – no matter their primary medium – need to have a basic grasp of multimedia skills to be relevant in this field. This course will give students an overview of the online news industry and equip them with the basic skills for reporting and creating online news content.
CLASS FORMAT
This course will focus on hands-on learning and content creation. Class meetings will include both lecture and discussion. Students will be expected to participate in these 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 required to keep blogs and are encouraged to read and comment on classmates’ blogs to foster an exchange of ideas.
Students will be expected to read/view/study the assigned materials. The vast majority of the works students will be assigned are works of journalism. Students will be expected to analyze the works as individual pieces and within the broader context of journalism.
Students will select a research topic that fits within the course’s subject matter, produce a work of online journalism (text, image, video, audio or multimedia) – that includes interviewing sources – and share their findings with the class in brief presentation at the end of the semester.
GRADING CRITERIA
Grading will be broken down as:
Participation – 20 percent
Discussion – 15 percent
Attendance – 5 percent
Blogs and other assignments – 40 percent
Homework assignments – 35 percent
Commenting on others blogs – 5 percent
Quizzes and In-Class Exercises –15 percent
Final project – 25 percent
Journalistic work – 15 percent
Presentation – 2.5 percent
Progress assignments – 7.5 percent
PARTICIPATION
In-class Participation: Students are expected to attend all classes, take part in group discussions and complete in-class exercises. Students should complete all readings and be ready to discuss them in class. Discussion is core to this course. Taking part in class discussion is essential.
Attendance: Because this course only meets once a week, attendance is crucial. Missing more than one class meeting will likely affect your final grade. Missing more than two classes may result in a failing grade.
BLOGS AND OTHER ASSIGNMENTS
Blogs: Students will be required to keep a blog and post assignments to it weekly. Blogs will be graded primarily on content – whether students adhere to the assignment and whether posts reflect informed opinion (based on research, insight gained from readings, observation).
Blogs should be concise – remember, in journalism, longer does always not equal better.
Posts should be up 24 hours before class meets.
As this is an upper-level journalism course, correct grammar (follow AP Style) and structure are expected.
Deadlines are paramount in journalism. Deductions will be taken if blogs are posted late. Any assignment posted after the Sunday deadline, but before Monday’s class will receive 75 percent credit. Blogs posted after class will receive no more than 50 percent credit. Assignments more than a week late are generally not accepted.
Students should also be familiar with classmates’ blogs and comment when warranted to foster discussion.
News track blogs: Students will choose an online news site that they will follow throughout the course of semester. Students with critique the site with an eye toward online elements and new media technology.
Reporting assignments: Other assignments – including reported pieces – will be due throughout the course of the semester. Students will be required to post/publish these assignments to their blog
Quizzes and in-class exercises: This class will feature regular quizzes that will test students’ knowledge of the readings and materials being covered. In-class exercises will complement readings and other course assignments. The ability to make up quizzes/exercises will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
FINAL PROJECT
Final project: In this semester long project, students will select a topic (to be approved by instructor) and produce a multimedia journalistic work. Students must meet progress deadlines as noted in the syllabus. At the end of the semester, students will give a short presentation to the class on their topic and their piece.
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
MATERIALS
During the semester, you will need access to:
• Journalism Next: A Practical Guide to Digital Reporting and Publishing. Mark Briggs, 2009. eBook available through Amazon.com. (If you do not have an eReader/tablet, you can download Kindle for Mac or PC.)
• AP Stylebook.
• A digital video camera (If you are planning to use the Emerson video cameras, you will need an SDHC memory card.)
• A digital camera (DLSR or point-and-shoot)
• Digital audio recorder (recommended)
• A smartphone or non-phone “smart” device with photo capability (i.e. iPod Touch)
PLAGIARISM
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.
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.
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