JRN 300: Our Summer Publication Schedule

So we're about to start our out-of-class story cycles, where you will have about 8 days per story, per week to go from approved idea to to final version.

Basically, every Tuesday you will have a story idea pitch for your next story due no later than 9 a.m. (The exception will be your first pitch deadline.) And every Wednesday, your story that you pitched the previous week will be due by 9 a.m. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING UP WITH YOUR DEADLINES, SO PLEASE USE A DAY PLANNER OR WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU TO KEEP TRACK!

Any story that misses a deadline is an automatic 0.0 for that assignment. Even if it is 5 seconds late, as time-stamped by the email I receive. That's how it is in the real world; ever turn on the 11 o'clock "SportsCenter" on ESPN and see them say, "Welcome to SportsCenter! Give us a minute; we're just finishing a script"? 

Of course not. That's because in journalism, anybody who misses deadlines or even gives hints of being that type of person is fired right away, or never hired in the first place. That's the standard we have to get used to -- we will never miss our deadlines. Ever. Period.

Here's our out-of-class story schedule for the summer:

Story 1:

Pitch due: Mon. 6/13, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Pitch OKd: Mon. 6/13 by 6 PM
Story due: Wed. 6/22, 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Story posted: Thu. 6/23 by 6 PM

Story 2:

Pitch due: Tue. 6/21, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Pitch OKd: Tue. 6/21 by 6 PM
Story due: Wed. 6/29, 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Story posted: Thu. 6/30 by 6 PM

Story 3:

Pitch due: Tue. 6/28, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Pitch OKd: Tue. 6/28 by 6 PM
Story due: Wed. 7/6, 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Story posted: Thu. 7/7 by 6 PM

Story 4:

Pitch due: Tue. 7/5, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Pitch OKd: Tue. 7/5 by 6 PM
Story due: Wed. 7/13, 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Story posted: Thu. 7/13 by 6 PM

Story 5:

Pitch due: Tue. 7/12, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Pitch OKd: Tue. 7/12 by 6 PM
Story due: Wed. 7/20, 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Story posted: Thu. 7/20 by 6 PM

Story 6:

Pitch due: Tue. 7/19, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Pitch OKd: Tue. 7/19 by 6 PM
Story due: Wed. 7/27, 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Story posted: Thu. 7/27 by 6 PM

Story 7:

Pitch due: Tue. 7/26, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Pitch OKd: Tue. 7/26 by 6 PM
Story due: Wed. 8/3, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu

Story posted: Thu. 8/3 by 6 PM

We also have our final project story, which should be your most elaborate, ambitious trend-and-issue story of the term. This story will also require a mandatory story draft you'll need to turn in ahead of the final version. Please note the idea is due at the start of July, even though the draft isn't due until late April. That's to give you a lot of time to work on this. Please don't wait until the last minute. 

While your weekly story grades will be entirely based on your final story, your final project grade will be split between your pitch (25 percent), your draft (25 percent) and your final story (50 percent). Here is the schedule:

Final Project:
Idea due: Tue. 7/5, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Idea OKd: Tue. 7/5 by 6 PM
Draft due: Mon. 7/26 by 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Draft returned: Wed. 7/27 by 6 PM
Final version due: Mon. 8/15 by 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Final version posted: Wed. 8/17 by 6 PM

Plus, you will also have the chance to do up to two optional weekly stories that would replace the grades of up to two earlier weekly stories, giving you a chance to improve your final grade. Here are those deadlines:

Optional Stories 8 and 9:

Pitch due: Tue. 8/2, 9 AM to omars@msu.edu
Pitch OKd: Tue. 8/2 by 6 PM
Story 8 due: Wed. 8/10, 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Story 8 posted: Thu. 8/10 by 6 PM

Story 9 due: Wed. 8/17, 9 a.m. to omars@msu.edu

Story posted: Thu. 8/18 by 6 PM

Questions? Please ask me. And good luck, everyone!