Syllabus Formobile and Social Media Journalism( Ipadjournos )

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richard T. Robertson School of Media & Culture

Syllabus forMobile and Social Media Journalism(“iPadJournos”)

MASC 496●Section 001 ● Fall 2015 (August 27 – December 1)

Service-Learning Course

Dr. Marcus Messner, Associate Professor

Office: Temple Building, 901 W. Main St., Room 1110

Office phone: (804) 827-0252; E-Mail:

Website:

Office Hours: Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (online); and by appointment

Class Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Location: Temple 2222

Class Website: and

Course Description

MASC 496 – Mobile and Social Media Journalism (also known as the “iPadJournos” project) is a capstone course for all print-online journalism students as well as an elective course for broadcast journalism students. The class integrates journalism skills and concepts from previous writing and reporting classes and adapts them to mobile and social media. Students work in a newsroom environment to utilize mobile devices and social media platforms to identify compelling story ideas, effectively break news and report on important news events and issues while applying theories and concepts of online social networking to journalism. Students develop their own professional social media portfolios and build online communities.

This class is a seminar in every sense of the word: You will talk, think, argue, disagree, probe and defend. All of these elements are essential for a deeper level of understanding of online social networking. Taking part in class discussion is not optional; it is required. We must all agree to do our best to make sure all students feel comfortable expressing their opinions. Class time is precious. Class will start promptly and you are expected to be on time and prepared.

Because this is a service-learning course, you will work for a media client, WTVR-CBS 6 in Richmond. Most of the assignments in this class are news reporting assignments about the UCI Road World Championship as well as the fall 2015 elections in Virginia that will be published on the website WTVR-CBS 6. The goal of this service-learning project is to better inform the public about important news topics. Throughout the semester there will be regular reflection on all of your assignments and your learning achievements in this class through group discussions and meetings with your instructor.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Apply networking theories and concepts to practical social media projects in journalism
• Utilize mobile technologies as learning and reporting tools
• Analyze and research social media needs and uses of news audiences
• Build online communities around social media platforms
• Produce multimedia news content for social media
• Develop and implement personal and professional social media strategies
• Produce a journalistic social media portfolio

MASC 496 also will also attempt to assess your mastery of each of the learning objectives required by the school’s assessment plan and the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. These objectives include: Laws & Freedom of Speech; Media History; Diversity; Use of Images; Ethics; Critical & Creative Thinking; Research & Information-Evaluation Skills; Writing Abilities; Editing Abilities; Numbers & Statistics; and Tools & Technologies.

Pre- or Co-requisite

To enroll in MASC 496, students must have successfully completed 303, 363 and 367, each with minimum grade of C, or obtain the permission of the instructor. This course may not be taken simultaneously with MASC 403, MASC 404 or MASC 475 without permission from the instructor.

Service Learning

We have received Service Learning designation for MASC 496. You will fulfill the Service Learning requirements of this course in carrying out news reporting assignments for our media partner WTVR-CBS 6. During the course of the semester, you will be expected to contribute at least 20 hours of service (individually and/or working with your team) developing story ideas and carrying them out. This service will include attending at least two meetings with representatives of our media partner and weekly contact with them via e-mail and our Facebook group.

During the semester, we will conduct peer-evaluations on your work. At the end of the semester, you will present your entire social media reporting portfolio to representatives of our media partner and journalists from other news organizations. This will help you and our media partner to reflect on the work accomplished during the semester.

VCU Statement of Service-Learning: Service-Learning at Virginia Commonwealth University is a course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets community-identified needs. Students reflect on the service activity to increase understanding and application of course content and to enhance a sense of civic responsibility.

Mobile Technology

This class is part of an innovative technology project at the School of Media and Culture. Each student in the class will receive an iPad as a learning and reporting tool for the duration of the semester. The iPads will be handed to each student on the first day of class and will be returned on the last day of the semester. Each student needs to sign a release form to receive an iPad.

Students are also expected to use their mobile phones for social media reporting purposes. Mobile reporting equipment will also be available to be checked out.

Textbook and Other Required Materials

Readings for this class will be posted every week through online social bookmarking. Follow the news about the fall elections every day on news websites such as WTVR.com, Timesdispatch.com, and Washingtonpost.com as well as our own news curation sites.

The following is a recommended textbook for this course:

Mark Briggs (2015): Journalism Next: A Practical Guide to Digital Reporting and Publishing, 3rd Edition. CQ Press (e-book).

You can buy the e-book and have it directly delivered via wireless to your your iPad. Additional instructions will be provided upon request.

Every student will also be expected to buy iPad apps throughout the semester (approximately $40) as well as additional equipment and batteries as necessary (approximately $40).

Class Website and Facebook Group

All class material is available on our class website at will use the Blackboard course management system [ only for grading purposes. After you log in to Blackboard, you will have access to your grades.

Please also join our Facebook Group at

Important Rules about E-Mail

Electronic mail or "e-mail" is considered an official method for communication at VCU because it delivers information in a convenient, timely, cost effective and environmentally aware manner. Students are expected to check their official VCU e-mail on a frequent and consistent basis in order to remain informed of university-related communications. The university recommends checking e-mail daily. Students are responsible for the consequences of not reading, in a timely fashion, university-related communications sent to their official VCU student e-mail account. This policy ensures that all students have access to this important form of communication. It ensures students can be reached through a standardized channel by faculty and other staff of the university as needed. Mail sent to the VCU e-mail address may include notification of university-related actions, including disciplinary action. Please read the policy in its entirety:

VCU gives each student an e-mail account, and that is the address Blackboard uses (and we will use) for this class. We will communicate frequently in this class by e-mail. Therefore, you should check your e-mail regularly for messages about MASC 496. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are receiving e-mails from the instructor.

When you send me an e-mail, begin the subject line with “MASC 496:”. Otherwise, my spam filter may delete your message.

Class Attendance Policy

Attendance is mandatory at all class meetings. Attendance will be taken at the start of each class. If you are more than 10 minutes late, you will be counted absent for that day’s attendance.

The attendance policy for this course is strict: If you have two unexcused absences, I will lower your final grade by one letter and by two letters for three unexcused absences. If you have four or more absences (excused or unexcused), you will automatically receive an F in the course. You would be able to avoid the Fby withdrawing from MASC 496. Decisions over whether an absence is excused or unexcused are solely made by the instructor. Written certification (e.g. doctor’s note) might be required.

Assignments, Deadlines and Late Work

This course will help prepare you for a career in journalism: You’ll build your portfolio and position yourself for newsroom jobs. The class requires a substantial investment of your time in the semester. At times it will feel like being in a newsroom and in a full-time job.

Much of your work in the class will focus on the UCI Road World Championship and the fall 2015 elections in Virginia. You will cover issues and events related to these two events. You will produce multimedia news packages (written stories and multimedia elements) for our media partner WTVR-CBS 6. It is the goal of this class to publish all of your packages on the website of WTVR-CBS 6. This is anawesome opportunity – and a tremendous responsibility. You will have to write stories and produce multimedia content with impeccable accuracy, quality and fairness under tight deadlines.

Please see all assignments descriptions on our course website at

For communicators, an essential skill is the ability to work against a deadline. Therefore, in this course, you must turn in work on time. Plan ahead, organize your time and do not procrastinate. If you miss a deadline, you will receive a zero for that assignment.

Grades

Your final grade will be based on the following assignments and exams:

Component of final grade

Percent offinal grade

Total

Details on all assignments, including deadlines, are available on the class website.

Wewill use the following grading scale:
A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 60-69; F = below 60

Assessment Objectives for News Packages

It is the goal to publish all news packages on the website ofWTVR-CBS 6. If time allows, stories will be rewritten and grading will be based on the second draft. Only stories that are fully reported and have all multimedia content readily produced will be eligible for a rewrite. A story that is not sent out for publication to WTVR-CBS 6 due to quality issues will not be eligible for a grade better than “D.” Excellent stories that are considered publishable without further editing will receive an “A-” before they are sent to a news organization and the grade will be changed to an “A” if the story is published. Solid stories that can be published with relatively little editing effort will receive a “B.” Acceptable stories that include the basics and can be published with fairly heavy editing will receive a “C.” Stories that miss something important and are not acceptable for publication will receive a “D.” A story that is not turned in or that shows no sign of effort will receive an “F” and cannot be rewritten.

Making a factual error (e.g. misspelling a name) in a story will also automatically result in an “F.” This will also be the case, if an error is detected after publication. If you hand in a rewrite, it is expected that you do more than “cosmetic” corrections (e.g. correcting spelling errors). Rewrites have to fundamentally improve stories and will be due two days after an assignment is returned. There are no exceptions to these rules. Late rewrites will not be accepted.

Extra-Credit

Extra-credit work must be approved by us. It must be completed by December 1, 2015.

Incompletes

No incompletes will be given in this course, except for dire emergencies. All assignments must be completed by the end of the semester to pass.

Student Conduct in the Classroom

According to the Faculty Guide to Student Conduct in Instructional Settings (, "The university is a community of learners. Students, as well as faculty, have a responsibility for creating and maintaining an environment that supports effective instruction. In order for faculty members (including graduate teaching assistants) to provide and students to receive effective instruction in classrooms, laboratories, studios, online courses, and other learning areas, the university expects students to conduct themselves in an orderly and cooperative manner." Among other things, cell phones and beepers should be turned off while in the classroom. Also, the university Rules and Procedures prohibit anyone from having "in his possession any firearm, other weapon, or explosive, regardless of whether a license to possess the same has been issued, without the written authorization of the President of the university..." For more information, visit the VCU Insider online at

Cultural Diversity and Free Expression
It is vital that students in this course broaden their mass communications experiences, with guidance from the instructor, by including in their course work people and subjects such as ethnic, racial and religious minorities, people with disabilities, gay men and lesbians, and other groups. The intent is to ensure that students are exposed to diverse ideas and perspectives.
In this class, it is the responsibility of the instructor and students to foster an environment that supports free expression. Under VCU policy, you may not harass or intimidate any person or "interfere with the lawful freedom of other persons, including invited speakers, to express their views."

Campus Emergency Information

What to Know and Do to Be Prepared for Emergencies at VCU:

• Sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts ( Keep your information up-to-date. Within the classroom, the professor will keep his or her phone on to receive any emergency transmissions.
• Know the safe evacuation route from each of your classrooms. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms.
• Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities. Within the classroom, follow your professor's instructions.
• Know where to go for additional emergency information (
• Know the emergency phone number for the VCU Police (828-1234). Report suspicious activities and objects.
• Keep your permanent address and emergency contact information current in eServices.

VCU Honor System: Upholding Academic Integrity

The VCU Honor System policy describes the responsibilities of students, faculty and administration in upholding academic integrity, while at the same time respecting the rights of individuals to the due process offered by administrative hearings and appeals. According to this policy, "Members of the academic community are required to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity." In addition, "All members of the VCU community are presumed to have an understanding of the VCU Honor System and are required to:

• Agree to be bound by the Honor System policy and its procedures;
• Report suspicion or knowledge of possible violations of the Honor System;
• Support an environment that reflects a commitment to academic integrity;
• Answer truthfully when called upon to do so regarding Honor System cases, and,
• Maintain confidentiality regarding specific information in Honor System cases.”

The Honor System in its entirety can be reviewed on the Web at

More information can also be found on the Division of Student Affairs website at

Students with Disabilities

SECTION 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as amended require that VCU provides "academic adjustments " or "reasonable accommodations" to any student who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. To receive accommodations, students must request them by contacting the Disability Support Services Office on the Monroe Park Campus (828-2253) or the Division for Academic Success on the MCV campus (828-9782). More information is available at the Disability Support Services webpage: or the Division for Academic Success webpage at

Any student who has a disability that requires an academic accommodation should schedule a meeting with the instructor at the student’s earliest convenience. Additionally, if coursework requires the student to work in a lab environment, the student should advise the instructor or a department chairperson of any concerns that the student may have regarding safety issues related to a disability. Students should follow this procedure for all courses in the academic semester.

Statement on Military Short-Term Training or Deployment

If military students receive orders for short-term training or deployment, they should inform and present their orders to Military Student Services and to their professor(s). For further information on policies and procedures contact Military Services at 828-5993 or access the corresponding policies at

Excused Absences for Students Representing the University

Students who represent the university (athletes and others) do not choose their schedules. Student athletes are required to attend games and/or meets. All student athletes should provide their schedule to the instructor at the beginning of the semester. The Intercollegiate Athletic Council strongly encourages faculty to treat missed classes or exams (because of a scheduling conflict) as excused absences and urges faculty to work with the students to make up the work or exam.

Important Dates

Important dates for the Fall 2015 semester are available at:

VCU Mobile

The VCU Mobile application is a valuable tool to get the latest VCU information on the go. The application contains helpful information including the VCU directory, events, course schedules, campus maps, athletics and general VCU news, emergency information, library resources, Blackboard and more. To download the application on your smart phone or for more information, please visit

Schedule of Class Topics

The detailed schedule for MASC 496 is available online at

I hereby acknowledge that I have received a copy of the syllabus for MASC 496(Mobile and Social Media Journalism) in the Fall Semester 2015. I have read and understood the course policies, including the policies on class attendance and grading.