When we do work, we need to make sure we follow directions and take the good reporting habits we learned in 200 and apply them here. Between my two JRN 300 sections we didn't consistently do that in this exercise. To-wit:
* We fataled. In one case, we said the bus service runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A quick phone call to the service confirmed that is not correct. Either we assumed or we got bad information we didn't double-check.
In another case, we spelled the name of a town as Dewitt, with a little w. It's DeWitt, with a capital W and no space between De and Witt.
In yet another case, we referred to someone as the head of a local news bureau. Problem is, that person was fired a while back and now has another job, so it's clear to me you didn't actually talk to a human being, like you were supposed to. Talking to someone at the place you were writing about would have tipped you off that your background info was out-of-date.
(BTW, the posts with fatal fact errors have been unpublished.)
There's no such thing as a little mistake. Why would a reader trust your credibility of the name of the town we're covering isn't exactly right?
* We didn't examine information and fact-test it. One person wrote that rumor was a business wasn't expected to last much longer. As journalists, we should listen for rumors. But our job then is to check it out and detail what we can prove, not simply share the rumor.
We talked about the difference between reporting and repeating; this was the latter. And that's not what we do. Even for directory items.
* We missed deadline. A few people didn't post in time. As we've spoken about, that can't happen in journalism.
* We didn't file three posts, as required. Again, in journalism one of the worst things were can do is not turn in what is expected. On a real-world deadline, that's calamitous to a news operation, when they're counting on you to fill the required space.
* We didn't follow AP Style. Despite the cheat sheet, many people made basic errors with how to use addresses, names, titles, etc.
* We didn't follow directions. Several people posted their work as posts, not pages. (We had a TON of people who filed in the wrong place!) For this assignment it was pages; for all future work it will be posts. Some didn't use hyperlinks. Some left out attribution. Many didn't offer all the info sets they were supposed to, especially range of prices and parking details. A few people never emailed me that their work was done.
Still, many of you are getting a huge break on this assignment: as long as you met deadline, turned in three items and had no fatals, you're getting a 4.0 on this assignment. Fatals can expect a 1.0; there will be a 1.0 deduction for each missed post (or if a post was so inadequate I can't say it filled the basic parameters of the assignment); and missing the deadline will be a 0.0.
If you do not receive a grade email from me by the end of the week, that means you 4.0'd the assignment. Those who get a different grade will have it emailed, along with a brief explanation.
I don't want to forget the people who did well on this assignment, and there were many. That's great. Thank you. But I am very troubled by the lack of attention to detail on what should be a simple assignment for us to do, especially when we're about to start more challenging assignments here.
I urge everyone here to pay careful attention to detail. Double-check your facts by talking to knowledgable people. Don't just report what people say; fact-check their accounts by talking to other people and cross-checking statements against the word of others and examine documents and talk to neutral experts.
Know your deadlines and expectations and meet them, to the letter. Adhere to AP Style rules, especially the most basic ones. If you don't know something, ask somebody. If you don't know who to ask, start with me and we'll go from there.
The tim to figure this out is now. Practice time is over. From here on out, it's the real deal.
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