Sports Journalism in the Internet Age – Tufts – Fall 2010
Jul 31st, 2010 by Maria Burns Ortiz
Maria Burns Ortiz
E-mail: mariaburnsortiz@gmail.com
Phone: (260) 402-1172
Office hours: Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m. (By appointment.)
FOR A FULL SEMESTER SCHEDULE, CLICK HERE.
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Internet has undeniably changed the media landscape, but sports journalism may be feeling the effects greater than any other sphere. Sports enthusiasts have the ability to watch every game on television or their laptops. Fans can find streaming stats on the Web, read instant recaps and catch post-game press conferences on various sports networks.
So, how do sports journalists maintain their relevance now — and in the future? Through analyzing the current landscape and studying works of sports journalism, this course will seek to answer this question.
COURSE GOALS
This course will challenge students to think critically about media and examine works of sports journalism both in terms of writing mechanics and as literature.
A number of questions will be posed: How has sports journalism adapted to the evolving media landscape? Where is the field still struggling? What is the key to creating work that transcends the 24-hour news cycle? What constitutes quality sports journalism? Can these lessons be applied to the larger media landscape? The aim is that students will be able to develop well-formed and insightful responses to these questions as a result of the readings and in-class discussions. Ideally, this course will also change the lens through which students view sports journalism so that they are able to view the role it plays in a broader media context and also realize that good journalism transcends genres.
CLASS FORMAT
Classes will be discussion based. 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 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 with the occasional academic piece. Students will be expected to analyze the works as individual pieces and within the broader context of sports 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 – 40 percent
Discussion – 25 percent
In-class exercises – 10 percent
Attendance – 5 percent
Blog – 35 percent
Completing blog assignments – 30 percent
Commenting on others blogs – 5 percent
Final project – 25 percent
Journalistic work – 15 percent
Presentation – 5 percent
Meeting progress deadlines – 5 percent
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.
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). Correct grammar and structure are expected. Deductions will be taken if blogs are posted late. Students should also be familiar with classmates’ blogs and comment when warranted to foster discussion.
Final project: Students will select a topic relating to sports journalism and produce a “journalistic work.” The final piece must be a work of multimedia journalism (either text, images, video or audio). Students must meet progress deadlines as noted in the syllabus. Students will give a short presentation to the class on their topic and their piece.
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