Journalism 2320: News Reporting and Writing
Fall 2007
Section 1
Tuesdays and Thursdays 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. GAB 112
Lab: TuTh 1-2:50 GAB 112
Dr. Tracy Everbach
Office: GAB 102J Office phone: 940-369-7446 Home: 972-317-1253 (don’t call after 10 p.m.!)
Office hours: Tuesdays 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment
e-mail: Everbach@unt.edu
TAs: Wendy Moore: 469-231-4008 wendy.moore@charter.net
Stephen Bollich: 940-595-6835 stephenbollich@yahoo.com
Books and required reading:
North Texas Daily newspaper
Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method, Fifth Edition, by Carole Rich (the same book used in JOUR 2310).
AP Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. You should always have this book with you.
North Texas Daily stylebook (provided in class).
A book of your choice to review (list provided later in semester).
Objectives: In this practical class, you work as a beat reporter for the North Texas Daily, the student newspaper of the University of North Texas. You will further develop the reporting and writing skills you learned in Journalism 2310 (or its equivalent). You will apply these skills by finding, reporting and writing your own news and feature stories for the Daily and its Web site. You will be assigned a mentor/editor with whom you will work closely. Part of this class is learning how to work with others, which is an important component of the professional world. You will learn about various reporting techniques, sources, databases, state and federal open records laws, journalism ethics and legal issues, multiculturalism and diversity, online journalism, specialty reporting, feature writing, narrative journalism, explanatory journalism and investigative reporting. You will develop your critical thinking skills, 1. By learning to evaluate the credibility of sources; 2. By honing your news judgment skills; and 3. By learning to gather information quickly on deadline, even when sources are uncooperative.
Major requirements: This is a pre-major course. Since you are in the class, that means you are classified as a pre-major in journalism, not as a journalism major. When you have completed this course and the others in your pre-major, then you must apply to become a major and therefore have access to upper-level journalism courses. Each semester, you should print your transcript, highlighting all of the journalism courses that you have taken. You'll use this transcript to obtain codes in the journalism office before registering for classes. By registering for this course, you are stating that you have taken the required pre-requisite course of JOUR 2310 or its equivalent. If the instructor later determines that you have not taken and passed these requirements, then you may be dropped.
If you receive a D or an F in this class, you cannot proceed in the major until you pass the class.
The Department of Journalism does not allow students to take a course more than twice unless the professor approves a third attempt.
Lab Format: The lab is MANDATORY. It is an extension of the NT Daily. Some story assignments will come directly from the newspaper editors, but students are expected to find their own stories. Student reporters will be assigned a beat and an editor/mentor (a TA or the 2320 professor). Mentors will help students come up with story ideas and shape story proposals (a one-paragraph summary of the story). Your mentor also will set deadlines and edit final versions of your stories. You are expected to keep in close communication with your mentor about your work.
During the lab sessions, mentors meet with their student reporters to discuss story assignments or story ideas and will establish dates, places and times to edit the assigned stories, whether in person or by e-mail. Meeting deadlines is crucial and failure to meet deadlines will affect your grade. You can use labs to write your stories, or you can write them on your own time, as long as you meet deadlines. However, lab attendance and communication with your mentor are MANDATORY.
Several times during the semester, we will invite working journalists and PR professionals to discuss their work with during lab. You will have the opportunity to ask these professionals about their jobs, career paths and get valuable advice on reporting, writing and journalism jobs. Attending these sessions is MANDATORY. Do not schedule interviews during this period. You will be required to submit one-page speaker summaries/responses of these talks, for which you will receive points toward your grade.
Attendance: Treat this class as if it were a job. You are expected to be present for every class and lab, unless otherwise instructed. If you have legitimate reasons for not attending (illness, disaster, death), contact the professor and your mentor beforehand (by phone or e-mail) and present a note from a physician or other official at class. If you have a religious holiday, please let the professor know beforehand.
Grading Criteria: You will be required to produce a portfolio of at least 12 high-quality stories, six of which must be on your beat. To get an A, you must publish at least six stories in the North Texas Daily or in another reputable publication. Two of your six beat stories will be in-depth news features, investigative pieces or profiles on your beat that will serve in place of midterm and final examinations. The emphasis is on producing high-quality, publishable stories.
You also must write proposals and/or memos describing your plans for each story you report and write, and submit these to your editor/mentor. You may not proceed with a story until your mentor approves it. You will create a professional portfolio of your stories in this class to use in the future when applying for internships, jobs or freelance work.
Don’t procrastinate because meeting the minimum quota of 12 stories will be difficult if you do. You’ll need to develop sources on your beat and conduct numerous interviews before you’re able to generate quality stories for the Daily.
Deadlines will be strictly enforced, especially since this is a journalism class. Your grade will be reduced one letter grade for each day your assignment is late.
Requirements for stories:
·The news stories on your beat should be approximately 250 to 750 words long (one to three pages, typed and double-spaced). They must use a minimum of two sources.
·The midterm and final pieces should be in-depth stories 1,000 to 1,500 words long, and must contain at least four people sources. These stories should not focus on event coverage.
·For each story, you must submit a list of your sources and their contact information (phone, e-mail). Failure to submit a source list will reduce your score on that paper by one letter grade.
Grade criteria: Earning an A means the quality of the work is superb, showed excellent effort and you completed it on time. A B means the quality of the work is good, on time and showed effort. A C means the work is adequate but has room for improvement. A D means the work needs a lot of improvement and you did not show much effort. A failing grade either means you did not complete the work or that your work is not acceptable. All stories should be written using Associated Press style and NT Daily style. Read your stylebooks! Spelling, grammar, punctuation and style errors will count against your grade.
Honesty and Conduct: Academic misconduct includes some of the following: use of materials from another author, including information from publications, Web sites, e-mails, newspapers, magazines, books or any other copyrighted or non-copyrighted material that someone else wrote, without giving credit to that author. Plagiarism constitutes not only use of verbatim materials from other authors without attribution, but also words or ideas that are very similar. You must attribute every source you use in your stories. You may NEVER fabricate quotations, facts, sources or any other information in your stories, nor may you misrepresent any sources or information. Plagiarism and fabrication are major offenses in journalism and other professions; if you use them for an assignment in this class you will receive a ZERO on the assignment. All work in this class must be original. You may not use assignments you turned in for other classes previously or that you are working on for current classes without permission from the instructor. I reserve the right to give you a failing grade for committing any of these offenses and to refer any academic dishonesty or misconduct to UNT’s Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Remember, you are representing the school and the NT Daily in this class. Anything you do that is unethical will reflect not only on you, but also on the newspaper and on the University of North Texas. These are grave offenses and will have serious consequences.
I suggest you read the University of North Texas Code of Student Conduct at: http://www.unt.edu/csrr/student_conduct/index.html
Disabilities: The Journalism Department, in cooperation with the Office of Disability Accommodation, complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act in making reasonable accommodation for qualified students with disabilities. Please present your written accommodation request before the 12th class day.
Assignments: In order to come prepared for class discussions, each week you should read the chapters listed in Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method and any handouts provided in class. You also are expected to read the North Texas Daily and The Denton Record Chronicle, both of which are available free of charge. You also should read either The Dallas Morning News or the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (or both, if you are ambitious), which are available online. You are encouraged to read The New York Times for examples of excellent reporting and writing. Other publications that might be helpful are the local alternative weeklies, the Dallas Observer and Fort Worth Weekly. Reading these will help you develop story ideas and make you a better writer and reporter.
Your assignments are:
·Twelve high-quality, publishable stories, six of which must be on your beat. For a grade of A, at least six of these must be published. Portfolio of stories counts for 60 percent of the grade.
·Two of the six stories on your beat will be longer pieces that will serve as a midterm and a final. Each counts as 10 percent of your grade.
·Book review and presentation. Book will be chosen from a list handed out in class mid-semester. 10 percent.
·Attendance and assignments related to in-class activities in lectures and labs, including speaker responses, film responses, critiques and other assignments. 10 percent.
Class Schedule (subject to change at instructor’s discretion):
Week 1, Aug. 28 and 30: How do I cover my beat? Read Chapter 17 on beat reporting in Writing and Reporting News. We will assign beats and mentors in lab this week.
Week 2, Sept. 4 and 6: Objectivity, accuracy and fairness. In-depth reporting, interviewing and research techniques. Class assignment: Critique. GUEST SPEAKER IN LAB.
Week 3, Sept. 11 and 13: Six paths to a story. Searching public records. Open records, open meetings, FOIA letters.
Week 4, Sept. 18 and 20: Computer-assisted reporting, online resources, background checks. Read Chapter 19, “Government and Statistical Stories,” in Writing and Reporting News. GUEST SPEAKER IN LAB.
Week 5, Sept. 25 and 27: Writing features and profiles. Reading assignment to discuss in class. Read Chapters 9, “Storytelling and Feature Techniques,” and 22, “Profiles,” in Writing and Reporting News.
Week 6, Oct. 2 and 4: Crime and courts reporting. Read Chapter 20 “Crime and Punishment,” in Writing and Reporting News. Class assignment: Field trip to the courthouse.
Week 7, Oct. 9 and 11: Interviewing techniques, getting sources to talk to you, dealing with difficult sources. Read Chapter 5, “Interviewing Techniques” in Writing and Reporting News.
Week 8, Oct. 16 and 18: Film, “The Paper.” Class assignment: Response paper to film. GUEST SPEAKER IN LAB.
Week 9, Oct. 23 and 25: Investigative reporting.
MIDTERM STORY and PORTFOLIOS DUE Thursday, Oct. 25, IN LAB
Week 10, Oct. 30 and Nov. 1: Multimedia reporting. Read Chapter 12, “Web Journalism” in Writing and Reporting News. GUEST SPEAKER IN LAB.
Week 11, Nov. 6 and 8: Law and ethics; sensitivity and diversity. Read Chapters 13, “Accuracy and Media Law,” 14, “Media Ethics,” and 15, “Multicultural Sensitivity,” in Writing and Reporting News.
Week 12, Nov. 13 and 15: Film, “All the President’s Men.” Class assignment: Response to film. GUEST SPEAKER IN LAB.
Week 13, Nov. 20: Book review presentations. (You are expected to come to others’ presentations; attendance will be taken!) NO CLASS THURSDAY--THANKSGIVING
Week 14, Nov. 27 and 29: Book review presentations. GUEST SPEAKER IN LAB.
Week 15, Dec. 4 and 6: Jobs, internships, careers in journalism. LAST WEEK OF CLASS.
FINAL STORY IS DUE BY 2 p.m. ON MONDAY, Dec. 10, IN THE LAB. PORTFOLIOS ALSO ARE DUE TO YOUR MENTOR THAT DAY.
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