JRN 300: Public Affairs Reporting
SPRING 2016
SECTION 1 (12:40-2:30 PM, TU-TH)
SECTION 4 (8-9:50 AM, TU-TH)
SECTION 5 (10:20 AM-12:10 PM, M-W)
CAS 237
Instructor: Omar
Sofradzija (so-FRAD-zee-uh)
Office: CAS 360
Office hours: 9-10 a.m.
and 2:30-4 p.m., Mondays and Wednesdays
10 a.m.-1 p.m., Tuesdays; and 10
a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursdays
Email:
omars@msu.edu
Cell Phone: (702)
271-7983
On Facebook:
facebook.com/omars81
On Twitter: @omars81
On LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in.omars81
Class blog: jrn300isprettycool.blogspot.com
A NOTE: While the
syllabus accurately describes the content that will be discussed and acted upon
this semester, the sequence and dates are subject – and likely – to change.
This is a departmental syllabus that will be tweaked to best fit the needs of
this class section while adhering to class goals and grade outlines. Please
carefully take note of assignments and due dates as these are announced during
the course of the semester, and PLEASE READ THIS SYLLABUS CAREFULLY AND IN
ITS ENTIRETY. You will be responsible for knowing the content and course
structure from the time the semester begins. “I didn’t know we had to do that”
will NOT be an acceptable excuse, if the subject matter is contained within
this syllabus.
Let’s make this one of the most
fulfilling courses you’ll take. Few careers offer the excitement and the chance
to really make a difference in people’s lives. That is just what we will do
this semester.
Journalism is in its greatest time of
change since the invention of the printing press. Now everyone can publish. But
the skills to do powerful journalism belong to just a few. You are becoming one
of those few. You will help invent the new journalism.
The School of Journalism continuously
reviews JRN 200, 300 and 400 to be a progressive sequence. The ideas and experience
of many professors stand behind your instructor. Using the skills and values
you have learned, you will now create multimedia news sites for communities.
This will build on what you learned in 200 and prepare you for 400.
We design and tested JRN 300 to help
you learn to gather news from real sources and to disseminate it in writing,
photos, video and graphics through websites and social media in the most
effective combination. You will tell stories for and about communities that are
hungry for coverage. Pay attention to the diversity of your community and look
for it on many levels. Gender? Race? Religion? Age? The best sites reflect the
total community. Success lies outside of your comfort zone.
We will focus on:
* Writing (a career building block
for all)
* Reporting (the fundamental skill of
interviewing that makes your work unique)
* Critical thinking (the ability to
analyze and to question)
* Digital skills (to find, gather and
convey information)
* Storytelling (powerful
communication)
Success now will qualify you for
freelancing, internships and jobs.
Required
* “Associated Press Stylebook &
Libel Manual,” 2013 or newer
* A camera or cellphone that shoots
photos and video
Suggested
· Read The New York Times, the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit
News or the Lansing State Journal daily. Also follow The State News. Seek
stories about how journalism is changing, as it is occurring quickly.
ACADEMIC & JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY
The School of Journalism’s Code of
Ethics and Standards is required reading in your first week. The ethics policy
is also in our online course folder. You must do your own work on all
assignments. If you cheat, fabricate or plagiarize, you will receive a 0.0 on
the assignment and the instructor will file an Academic Dishonesty Report about
the incident with the Dean’s Office. You will be required to complete online
training in ethical practices before receiving any grade in this course.
Dishonesty reflects poorly on the person who does it but, worse, it hurts
others MSU students, faculty and the School of Journalism. The professor can
check stories for originality by using TurnItIn software. You can check your
writing, to, by posting a draft of your story in D2L. There is a folder there
for this.
FORMAT
Our first meeting each week will be
largely reserved for lectures, discussions and planning. The second will
be a deadline day for editing and production. This will give you time to cover
Monday or Tuesday meetings and have them in. Expect schedule changes for
opportunities including breaking news, but our objectives, grading plan and
focus will not change. At the start of Wednesday classes, have your story for
the week in the Google Drive folder you share with the professor. Google Drive
is not for notes or unfinished stories.
ASSIGNMENTS
Because we are organized into teams
that cover communities, we will not all be doing the same stories in the same
week. While one team member might be covering a school board meeting, another
might be covering the city council or township board. Over the course of the
semester, everyone will cover the same range of work. Stories must have at
least two media (writing, photo, chart, graphic, video, audio) to earn the
highest grade. Even a perfect story can earn only a 3.0 if it uses only one
medium. If you wish, you may make writing your secondary emphasis behind video,
audio or photo.
Source lists accompany each story. Include phone numbers and emails for
sources so the professor may contact them. Do not post these to WordPress.
After your story is edited you will
receive a provisional grade. You will get credit for the grade if you post your
story on WordPress with the proper categories plus links to it from your
team’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. Stories must be posted within three days
of the returned edit or the grade will decline.
These are our assignments:
· Write about for three organizations, companies or groups
locations for our community directories.
· Then there will be seven weekly stories. One must be a
government meeting. Another must be a school board meeting. A third must be a
local economy story. Other stories can be to localize state or national issues,
cover local politics, or features on profiles. Sports stories, entertainment,
fashion and opinion writing are important, but do not submit them for this
course. Everything we do will help you get better in those fields, but we do
not cover them.
·
A 300-word job shadow report.
This should help you build your network. Write as an essay, not a news story.
Write about whom you shadowed, what they do, what they like and do not like
about their job, your thoughts on which parts of the job you would and would
not like. We do not shadow relatives, students or campus media such as The State
News, WKAR of The Impact. This is not due until late in the semester but we
highly recommend you get this done early.
· The final project, an issue-oriented
multimedia news-feature or trend story. Broad subject areas include education,
transportation, law enforcement, the environment and growth. Local leaders in
government, schools, business, volunteerism and the like will be some of your
sources. Human interest or a character-driven story will be essential to
carrying it along, so you will need a couple of grass-roots people. One or more
sources should be outside experts such as state officials or professors who
have perspective on the issue. Do something that is issue-oriented rather than
a one-time event, an advancer or something that is merely descriptive and lacks
a news angle. You can start thinking right away about what you'd like to do.
Choose something you're really interested in to make this a great project.
Accuracy is so important to our
professionalism and credibility! Please, please learn to be careful.
Triple-check names, dates and numbers. Major fact errors, especially an error
in the name of a person, business or place, can result in a 1.0 on an
assignment. Every semester people disappoint themselves by working hard on
stories but making careless mistakes. If the name is capitalized, any
misspelling can be a fact error. Check those especially. Persistent problems
with style, punctuation and grammar will lower your grade. Learn from the edits
I give you.
GRADING
Stories are judged on news value,
reporting, accuracy, clarity, writing, mechanics and use of
multi-media. Stories are not accepted after deadline.
Seven public affairs
stories
49 percent
Major-issue feature project
25 percent
In-class exercises and quizzes (4) 5 percent
Midterm
5 percent
Community directory
3 percent
Job shadow report
5 percent
Class participation and teamwork 8 percent
Work will be evaluated on a 4.0
scale.
If you consistently invest time and
effort you will succeed. Start with intensity and keep it up. This is what we
are looking for:
4.0: A newsworthy story told clearly and cleanly with four or more
varied, knowledgeable sources employing at least three media. These might be
text, photos (with original captions and a map or graphic, slideshow, video or
audio, depending on what best tells the story. Uses elements like subheads and
block quotes to hold readers. Completely accurate, well-organized, solid
grammar, punctuation and style and links to relevant resources.
3.5: A clear, well-written story with three good human sources and,
in addition to the text, links and visual elements—either your original photos
or graphics—high up on the Web page. (You may incorporate handout photos with
permission from the owner, but these typically cannot count as your original
work Get in the habit of shooting or making a visual element—even a good head
shot—with everything you do. Elements like subheads and block quotes are
included to good effect. Consistently good mechanics.
3.0:
Better-than-average report based on solid reporting with three relevant
sources. Story answers questions readers want to know. Writing is accurate, but
copy needs rewriting and polishing before it can be published.
2.5: On time and a little above average. Story has some problems
with organization, focus and sentence structure. Uses only one medium or has
fewer than three named, human sources. Problems with writing mechanics have
caused .25-point deductions.
2.0: Average. Basic organizational writing and reporting
deficiencies. Mechanical difficulties. Story lacks minimum sources or has weak
ones; used only one medium. The story is not of the type required in this
class. (For example, a story about a game or something that is not from your
beat.)
1.5: Weak. The lead does not state the news. Insufficient sourcing.
There are problems in news interpretation. Weak mechanics. Story goes off track
or is incomplete. Needs substantial rewriting and editing.
1.0: Major fact error. Or, lacks fundamental reporting and writing.
Problems might include omission of key facts, several deductions for errors in
AP style, spelling or punctuation. Poor news judgment. Weak sourcing. Needs
substantial rethinking. Cannot be published.
0.0: Story misses deadline or contains plagiarism or fabrication.
Extra credit:
·
You may earn .25 toward a story grade each week by posting
a tweet and a Facebook post on your team’s sites about a current or upcoming
news or event.
·
You may also earn half the grade of a weekly assignment
(2.0) by attending an outside lecture approved by the instructor. Limit of two.
·
You may do an eighth story for extra credit. It will be
graded like your seven weekly assignments and added to your total.
Deductions
Errors in the name of a person, place
or business or number will result in a 1.0 grade with further deductions
possible. If it starts with a capital letter or is a number, check twice.
Each mechanical error in spelling,
grammar, style, punctuation, or in formatting your byline will reduce the
assignment grade by .25 up to a full 1.0 off for that assignment.
Put stories into WordPress within 48
hours after they are edited, or get a 1.0 deduction.
Deadlines: Stories must be in by deadline. This class is run like a
newsroom. Late stories can mean a zero on that assignment.
Rewrites: You may rewrite two stories for re-grading. A rewrite must
reflect additional content such as new sources or information, not merely
correcting mistakes or edits. A rewrite might also mean restructuring your
story. Grades on the original and rewritten stories will be averaged to
determine the final grade on that assignment. Rewrites and a copy of the graded
original must be submitted within one week after the instructor grades the original.
To receive full credit, work must be posted on our news sites within three days of
when it is returned. There is a 1.0 deduction per story for not posting
promptly. Final packages must be posted by the time of the final exam.
There is no final exam.
ATTENDANCE
We need you for peer edits and for
your ideas. Much of the material we cover in class is not duplicated online,
and we are not using a textbook, so you need to be in class and engaged. Do not
schedule interviews or work during class time. They will typically be treated
as unexcused absences. There is room for emergencies, but that is all. Two
late arrivals or early departures equal one absence. Three unexcused absences
may lower your final course grade by 0.5. Four unexcused absences lower your
final grade by 1.0. Five unexcused absences may result in course failure.
Absences may be excused with a doctor’s note or the death of a loved one.
TEAMS
Your team will cover a community with
extensive fieldwork. You should visit your community in person each week. The
only way to get to know a place and its people is to be there. People will
invite you into their homes and offices, tell you about their biggest hopes,
dreams and disappointments and they will trust you with their stories. This is
an honor and a responsibility. Use initiative to find stories by talking to
people, reading, listening and watching. If you say, “I can't find (the source,
a copy of the budget, etc. …)” you probably need to spend more time on your
beat. Students who do stories one at a time invariably run into a problem and
might miss a deadline. Successful reporting cannot be done online or by phone.
Success requires a sustained time commitment from the beginning of the
semester. Make sure you have the time to succeed.
Although we will work in teams,
grades are based on individual work. We work in teams because that is how most
places of business work. We are graded individually because that is how
employers evaluate and determine raises.
Teamwork is part of individual
evaluations.
THE KEYS TO SUCCESS
•
Be organized.
•
Talk to people.
•
Find some super sources early.
•
Work on more than one story at a
time.
SOURCING
Our goal is to get you good at
finding and interviewing sources. For that reason, each story should have three
sources who have heartbeats and names we can publish. (A web page does not have
a heartbeat; we do not use unnamed sources.) Here is an example of three well-distributed
sources: The mayor or a council member, an expert who knows about the issues,
people who will be affected by the decision. Interviews should be in person or,
as a second resort, by phone. Email and texts are discouraged. Someone whose
quote you hear at a public meeting is not a source. Interview them after or
outside the meeting. Something you read online or in a book may be used, but it
is not a source. Do develop good sources whom you can interview more than once
during the semester. They can save you time.
To maintain journalistic
independence, do not use relatives, roommates, classmates and friends as
sources. This includes your Facebook friends. We don’t interview friends
and family because ethical journalists maintain independence. If a friend is
the best source for a story, talk to the professor to see if you should even be
doing the story. If you use sources without revealing that you have close ties
to them, this could be treated as a violation of trust.
EXCLUSIVITY (NO DOUBLE-DIPPING)
Work for other classes or campus
publications cannot be used for a grade here. Professional newsrooms have
similar rules. It would be unfair for one student to use campus activities for
grades when others can’t. However, if another news outlet wants to republish
work you do for our newsroom, talk to the professor.
PARTICIPATION AND CONDUCT
This is 8 percent of your grade, more
than any individual story. Come to class job-ready: on time, alert and engaged.
Show respect to all. This is basic workplace professionalism.
MSU's Code of Teaching Responsibility
says appropriate conduct involves “the right of faculty members to conduct
classes, and of students to participate in those classes, without interference
or disruption.” If a student's behavior interferes with teaching and learning,
the student may be required to leave the classroom and could be referred to the
student judicial affairs office for a disciplinary hearing.
Silence your phone before you come to
class and put it where it will not distract you or others. There is a break
halfway through each class where you can attend to your phone and social media.
Don’t e-mail, text or surf in class unless it is part of our work. Otherwise,
you might be asked to leave or you might be counted as absent. The professor is
not inclined to stop class because you are engaged with your devices, but will
see it and note as a lack of participation. Absences are not figured into this
grade.
Engage in discussions. We want to hear
you. This is how you contribute. We value students who help others by showing
them how to do things or offering contacts and ideas. This helps in class, just
as it would on any team.
When interviewing, be courteous and
respectful. Introduce yourself as an MSU journalism student working for an
online news site, informing the source of how much time the interview will
take, that your intend to publish and thanking them.
DISABILITY POLICY
Michigan State University is
committed to equal opportunity in all programs, services and activities.
Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities may be made by
contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, rcpd.msu.edu. If
you have a Verified Individual Services Accommodation form, please give it to
the instructor at the start of the term or two weeks prior to the date of the
test, project, etc.
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
We respect and value the diversity
that each of us brings to MSU. If religious holidays require alternative
arrangements to do your work, speak to the instructor in advance.
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