JOUR 2310-005 Fall 2013 Media Writing

JOUR 2310-005 Fall 2013 Media Writing

Class: TU, 6:30 p.m.- 9:20 p.m., GAB 112

Instructor: Mark Donald

Lab: FRI, 11 a.m. -12:50 p.m., GAB 112

TA: Marisa Thomson

Email:

Phone: 512-757-6289 (cell)

Course objectives: To learn the basics of writing for several media, including newspapers, the World Wide Web, broadcast news and public relations. By the end of this course you should be able to research, report and write a news story for several platforms. You will learn to write in a concise, accurate and fair manner, and to work under deadline. You also will brush up your grammar, spelling and punctuation skills, and familiarize yourself with Associated Press style and broadcast writing style.

Goals: After completing the course, you should be able to:

* Define news, as it is understood by journalists and public relations professionals.

* Understand and use the AP Stylebook.

* Conduct a news interview.

* Write a news story for several media platforms under deadline pressure.

* Describe the main ethical concerns of journalists and public relations professionals.

* Describe the main legal concerns of journalists and public relations professionals.

* Learn to be sensitive about cultural, ethnic, racial and gender issues.

Reading requirements:

Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method, Seventh Edition, by Carole Rich

Writing and Reporting News Student Workbook, Seventh Edition, by Carole Rich

A digital version is available. It’s more convenient and significantly cheaper.

The Associated Press Stylebook, 2012 edition (I recommend the 2013 edition if available.)

The Dallas Morning News (dallasnews.com)

Purchase of online access is recommended.

Visit dallasnews.com and click “Subscribe” to see offers. Call to sign up and request a friends and family discount.

The NT Daily Stylebook (online at

Denton Record-Chronicle (available on campus; dentonrc.com)

North Texas Daily(available on campus; ntdaily.com)

Current Events: You should closely follow current events by reading a variety of news publications, especially local newspapers such as the North Texas Daily, Denton Record-Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. You can read them online or visit any reputable news website to get information. In addition, you should watch and listen to broadcast news on television and radio as part of your daily routine. Your quizzes will include major current events mentioned in the news.

Dropbox:We will use the file hosting system Dropbox to submit your stories and homework assignments on deadline. Within the first days of class, you will receive an email from Dropbox inviting you to the JOUR 2310 folder. If you already have a Dropbox account, simply join the folder.

First Class Day Attendance: Journalism instructors reserve the right to drop any student who does not attend the first class day of the semester.

Attendance Policies: Treat this class as your job. You are expected to arrive on time and to meet all deadlines. You must attend class and lab sessions. Lab exercises comprise 40 percent of your grade. Homework prepares you for labs. Activities during lectures, such as quizzes and other in-class assignments, also represent a portion of your overall grade. Those who miss a quiz or in-class assignment will receive a zero on that activity. Labs cannot be made up without my prior approval.

If you have legitimate reasons for an absence (illness, disaster, death, family emergency, religious holiday), email me beforehand. Other situations are subject to my discretion. Plan to provide documentation, such as a physician’s note or a note from a relative explaining the emergency. Include a phone number so I may verify the note. Documentation must be turned in during the class period immediately following the absence.

One absence in the course is the limit without penalty toward your final grade, unless you have communicated with me from the beginning about an extraordinary problem. After two unexcused absences, you may lose a half a letter grade (5 points) for each unexcused absence thereafter. I reserve the right to drop you from the class after four unexcused absences. For excused absences, I will allow work to be made up but will only accept it within four days of the date it was due.

Coming to class late or leaving early may constitute an absence for that day. If you come to class late, it is your obligation to notify me at the end of class so I can correct the roll. Failure to notify me will result in your being absent without excuse. This is a seminar course, and it requires your attendance and participation each class meeting. The key here is communication and I am more likely to excuse an absence that I know about in advance.

If you miss a lab for an excused absence, it is your responsibility to contact the TA to make up any missed work. You will have four (4) days from the date of your excused absence to make up the work done during your absence. Unexcused absences in lab will result in a “O” for that day’s work.

You must have your student ID to check in and use the lab. Lab assistants will not allow lab use absent the presentationof proper student identification. A driver’s license will not do!

Attendance at the final is mandatory.

Email communication

Communicating with students using the UNT student email account is part of the university’s contract with students. Electronic communication with students in this class will be through the students’ myunt accounts rather than personal email accounts.

COURSEWORK

Quizzes:You will have a series of open-book quizzes on AP style, grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and closed-book quizzes on news events and textbook readings. Current events items in quizzes will be based on KRLD 1080 AM, dallasnews.com, star-telegram.com and npr.org.

Lab assignments: Each week you will be assigned exercises due by the end of the lab period. You will be allowed to use your AP stylebook and textbook, so bring them to class and to lab. Always type and double-space lab assignments unless otherwise instructed. Again, you must present your student ID card to attend lab sessions.

Class assignments:You will have numerous homework assignments, three out-of-class news stories, and a number of in-class exercises throughout the semester. All drafts and homework assignments must be posted in Dropbox on the date due. Unexcused late assignments will be penalized five (5) points for every day they are late, with none accepted after four days. You will be expected to turn in publishable work on the three out-of class news story assignments. Because the news is global as well as local, you will be required to locate on a world map numerous countries that are considered global hot spots, one of which will be assigned to each student for presentation and lecture to the rest of the class.

Be prepared:For class discussions, each week you should read the assigned chapters in your textbook and any handouts provided in class. You also must read:

• The North Texas Daily and The Denton Record Chronicle, both available free.
• The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, available online.
• Also, check out The New York Times(nytimes.com) for examples of excellent reporting and writing. The local alternative weeklies, the Dallas Observer and Fort Worth Weekly, also will help you develop story ideas and make you a better writer and reporter.

Grading: The majority of your grade will be determined by lab writing exercises and your three out-of-class story assignments (see YOUR GRADE). However, if you demonstrate exceptional improvement and effort during the semester, I will consider raising a borderline grade to the next highest level, as long as all assignments were completed throughout the semester.

Source sheets: For stories that involve interviews, attach a page listing each source, the date you interviewed each person and his or her contact information (preferably both phone numbers and email addresses). Stories without source sheets will not be accepted and will be penalized one grade letter for each class session they are late. I will contact sources to verify information in your stories. All three out-of-class stories (news, speech/meeting. Profile) must have at least three human sources who are quoted in the story.

Guest speakers: Professional journalists and other relevant speakers may be invited to class during the semester. A one-page summary of the speaker’s presentation may be due at the start of the next class.

Cell phone and computer policy: Cell phones should NEVER be used in class. Computers should NEVER be used in class unless part of a class assignment.

Note: Computer technicians can see anything on your computer screen.

Saving your work: You cannot save material on the computers in the lab. Make copies of all your work on a CD or thumb drive, or by emailing finished assignments to yourself. Save all graded copies of your work so you can resolve any potential discrepancy between the grade you receive and your own calculations.

A note to advertising students: Being able to recognize big issues then thinking and writing about them are valuable for all areas of journalism, including advertising. Here’s a testimonial from a big-time advertising professional: Eric Schnabel, Vice President/Account Director at Leo Burnett in Chicago, who believes the best thing that ever happened to him “was being a journalism major and learning about Associated Press-style writing. You’re forced to think about what’s the biggest, most important thing, what’s the lead in my story here, then go from the lead to the supporting facts that are perhaps less broadly important” (Robbs and Morrison, 2008, p. 97). This class will help you think and write better, and the advertising faculty members believe that’s important, no matter what area of advertising you find yourself in — account management, media, research or creative.

JOUR 2310 Tentative Class Schedule (with the emphasis on tentative)

WEEK 1 (Sept. 3): Introduction

Intro to AP style, goals for class. Benefits of Revision and Editing, Intro to news values.

No Lab(Sept. 6)

WEEK 2 (Sept 10): What’s news? The Basic News Story; Curiosity and Story Ideas

Read Chapter 1: Changing Concepts of News; newsworthiness, news values

Read Chapter 2: The Basic News Story, pgs. 22-37. Discussion on inverted pyramid, leads, nut graphs.

Story ideas—how and where to find them. Discussion of story ideas for news story assignment.

Lab 1 (Sept. 13)

WEEK 3 (Sept 17): Structuring Stories—Leads and Nut Graphs

Read Chapter 2: The Basic News Story, pgs. 38-43. Quotes and attribution. More on AP style.

Read Chapter 7: Leads and Nut Graphs. Hard-News Leads, pgs. 120-134

Lab 2 (Sept. 20)

WEEK 4 (Sept. 24): Leads and Nut Graphs continued

***News Story proposal with three sources due in Dropbox at start of class***

Read Chapter 7: Leads and Nut Graphs pgs. 134-148; Soft-news leads.

Lab 3 (Sept. 27)

WEEK 5 (Oct. 1): Sourcing and Online Research

Read Chapter 5: Sources and online research, pgs. 86-93. Databases, library and public records research, FOIA and other sunshine laws. Guest Speaker: UNT Librarian Doug Campbell

Lab 4 (Oct. 4)

WEEK 6 (Oct. 8): Human Sources and Interviewing Techniques

***First Draft of 350 to 500-word News Story due in Dropbox at start of class. Must have three types of human sources***

Read Chapter 5: Continue with pgs. 77-86—human, anonymous, multicultural sources.

Read Chapter 6: Interviewing Techniques. Best practices regarding note-taking, taping interviews, email interviews, phone interviews, and in-person interviews.

Lab 5(Oct. 11)

WEEK 7 (Oct. 15): Story Forms and Story Organization

***News Stories returned with comments for revisions***

Read Chapter 9: Story forms: Inverted pyramid revisited, Wall Street Journal Formula, Hourglass Structure.

Read Chapter 8: Story Organization, beginning, middle and end, writing tips, the writing process.Midterm Review.

Lab 6(Oct. 18)

WEEK 8 (Oct 22): Midterm Exam; Public Relations Writing

First Half:Midterm Exam

Second Half: Read Chapter 13 Public Relations Writing. Differences between news writing and public relations writing, structure of press releases, corporate PR and nonprofit PR, crisis management.

Lab 7 (Oct. 25)

WEEK 9 (Oct. 29): Profiles and Obituaries

***Final (Revised) Draft of News Story Due in Dropbox at start of class***

Read Chapter 17: Elements of profiles and obits. How to write a news profile.

Lab 8(Nov. 1)

WEEK 10 (Nov. 5): Speeches, news conferences and meetings

***Speech/meeting proposal due in Dropbox at the start of class***

***Profile proposal due in Dropbox at the start of class***

Read Chapter 18—covering public meetings, speeches, news conferences; advance planning, post-event reaction and quotes.

Lab 9(Nov. 8)

WEEK 11 (Nov. 12): Broadcast News Writing

Read Chapter 11: Broadcast vs. news and web writing. Broadcast story structure, emphasis on the visual. Use of active verbs, broadcast jargon.

Lab 10 (Nov. 15)

WEEK 12 (Nov. 19): Online Journalism/Guest Lecturer

Read Chapter 3 Convergent Media Writing

Read Chapter 4 Social Media

Read Chapter 12: Online journalism

Lab 11 (Nov 22)

***TH (Nov. 21):Final draft of speech/ meeting story due in Dropbox byNoon ***

WEEK 13 (Nov. 26): Media Ethics and Multicultural Sensitivity/Movie

First Half: Read Chapter 15: Media Ethics—plagiarism, fabrication, privacy issues, ethical considerations. Read Chapter 16: Multicultural sensitivity—the language of multiculturalism, avoiding racial and gender stereotypes, writing about special groups.

Second Half—Lab 12 Movie—Shattered Glass: Response paper on movie due Dec. 3

No Lab onNov. 29: Thanksgiving (Happy Holidays!)

WEEK 14 (Dec. 3): Accuracy and the Law

***Response Paper on Shattered Glass due in Dropbox at start of class)**

Read Chapter 14: Media Law—Libel, public vs. private figures, accuracy, corrections, reporter privilege, invasion of privacy, online legal issues; Mopping up.Review for Final Exam. Possible student Workshop for Profile if time permits. Bring three copies to class.

***Fri (Dec 6):No lab this week but Final Draft of Profile Due in Dropbox by Noon***

WEEK 15 (Tuesday, Dec 10 @ 6:30 p.m.): Final Exam

MAYBORN SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM REQUIREMENTS & GUIDELINES

1. Textbook policy: The Mayborn School of Journalism doesn’t require students to purchase textbooks from the University Bookstore. Many are available through other bookstores or online.

2.For journalism majors, not minors:This is a foundation or pre-major class. Enrollment in this class means that you are in pre-major status, not major status. Once you have completed all pre-major requirements you will have access to upper-level journalism courses. If you have questions about what counts in your pre-major, please see an advisor.

3.Journalism Course Registration

• Registration will begin on the dates noted in the schedule of classes each semester. The system is a live, first come/first serve program.

• By registering for this course, you are stating that you have taken the required prerequisites according to your catalog year and major/minor status. If the instructor later determines that you haven’t taken and passed these requirements, then you may be dropped at any point in the semester. If you have questions about your prerequisites, please see an advisor.

• A journalism major enrolled in any restricted 3000 and 4000 level classes must have taken and passed the GSP test, all pre-major courses, and Math 1680/1681 and also have applied for major status.Students must earn and maintain a 2.5 UNT and/or overall GPA (depending upon catalog year) to be eligible for major-level courses.

4. Re-taking Failed Courses:Students will not be allowed to automatically take a failed journalism course more than two times. Once you have failed a journalism course twice, you will not be allowed to enroll in that course for 12 months. Once you have waited 12 months after failing a course twice, you may make an appeal to the professor teaching the course to be allowed to enroll a third time.

5. SETE: The Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SETE) is a university-wide online evaluation and a requirement for all UNT classes. The Mayborn School of Journalism needs your input to improve our teaching and curriculum. This short survey will be available at the end of the semester, providing you a chance to comment on how this class is taught. Prompt completion of the SETE will mean earlier access to final semester grades. You’re a critical part of our growth and success. We look forward to your input through SETE.