106-01 - Oberlin College

10 downloads 143 Views 88KB Size Report
Boorstin, Daniel. “From News Gathering to News Making: A Flood of Pseudo- Events.” Journalism: The Democratic Craft. Ed. G. Stuart Adam and Roy Peter Clark ...
RHET 106 Syllabus

Fall 2006

Description Journalism Basics is designed to be an introduction to news writing for students with little to no prior experience in journalism. We’ll delve into the fundamentals of researching, reporting and editing, but also look at issues of ethics and change in contemporary American journalism. This course is also intended for students who want to work on college writing skills. Clear, direct writing is always helpful in academic writing, despite the appearance of some your college texts. News writing can give you the skills to improve all your writing. The goals of this course are to: 1.Increase your ability to write quickly and clearly. 2.improve your ability to conduct research thoroughly and responsibly, using a variety of methods. 3.Deepen your awareness of the complex, changing nature of modern journalism and its role in a democratic society. Instructor: Jan Cooper Office: King 141-F telephone: 775-8613 email: [email protected] Feel free to stop by or email me for an appointment. Credit hours: 3 Humanities credit hours NOTE: it is also possible to simultaneously take RHET 107: Practicum in Journalism for 1 hour of credit if you think you will be writing enough for your chosen publication to earn the additional credit. You will need to enroll for that course on PRESTO separately, and contact your publication in the first week of classes to inform the editors that you would like to work for them. It is your responsibility to stay in contact with the editors to do the work to earn that hour of credit. Class meeting time and place: Mondays, Wednesdays &Fridays from 9-9:50 am in King 235. I will also require that you meet with me individually several times during the semester to discuss your writing, and you will frequently have small group or Writing Center meetings to attend. Attendance policy: Because much of this course is based on class activities, it is imperative that you attend all meetings and individual appointments with the instructor, arriving promptly and prepared for the day’s work. I will excuse 2 absences, but after that I require that you have communication from a physician or your class dean to explain your absence. Texts: No book purchases are required; readings will be handed out in class or posted on Blackboard, and listening to assigned podcasts will also be required. Grading: Pass/ No Pass or Credit/No Entry (depending on when you entered the college). In order to earn a Pass or Credit grade, I expect you to attend all classes, submit all

assignments (and try your best to do them well) and participate in class activities. Expect to take most of your articles and analytical essays through an extensive drafting and revision process. Assignments There will be 3 kinds of assignments in this class: *readings to discuss issues in journalism or to explain skills used by journalists. be sure to check the Weekly Schedule in the Syllabus section of our Blackboard website before class to find out what you're expected to prepare *academic papers (usually 3-5 pages, except for the Paper 4, which will be a longer research paper) that will give you an opportunity to think about rhetorical issues in journalism *articles that will enable you to develop skills in basic types of journalistic writing *a midterm and final portfolio of all the work you've done in the class, including a 3-5 page reflection on what you have learned. Note: there are no exams in this course. Submit all assignments in electronic form (using Word) to the proper Groups area on our Blackboard course website. If you have trouble submitting your assignment in Groups, email it as an attachment saved in Word to [email protected]. See “Typical Formats for RHET 106 Papers” and “Typical Formats for RHET 106 Articles” in the Syllabus section of our Blackboard course website for more information on the formatting I expect you to use for assignments. Writing Proficiency Credit: I will determine whether or not your combined academic and journalistic writing qualifies for Writing Proficiency credit when final grades are due in at the end of the semester. If you are especially concerned about earning WR credit, please discuss that with me in our individual appointments. Honor Code: Please include the Honor Code, followed by your name at the end of every assignment. Because you’ll be submitting assignments electronically, please type your name and we’ll consider that an electronic signature.

RHET 106 Fall 2006

Overview Schedule Activities or readings may change as we work through the semester, according to the needs of the class. See the Weekly Schedule updates in the Syllabus section of our Blackboard course website for the most up-to-date plans. That will also be the place where you will be able to download or link to the course readings, unless they are handed out in class. It’s a good idea to check the Weekly Schedule updates before coming to class to be sure that you have prepared properly for that day’s work. Unless otherwise indicated, assignments are due by 10 pm of the due date.

Weekly topics Week 1

Monday No class-Labor Day

Wednesday

Friday

Assignments due

9/6 9/7 Thurs. 9/7: Paper 1 Introductions, Response to Paper Sun. 9/10: Paper 2 syllabus explained, 1, discuss Boorstin Day 1 writing, Paper and journalism as 1 assignment made rhetorical activity

Week 2

9/11 9/13 9/15 Sun. 9/17: Article 1 Discussion of Workshop* Paper Choose topics for and revision of What is Park and 2s Article 1, Paper 2 news? Newman; introduction to differences in reporting journalism and academic writing Week 3 9/18 9/20 9/22 Sun. 9/24: Paper 3 Basic news Discussion of Workshop Article 1s Discussion of “The and revision of reporting: Cox and results Meth Epidemic” Article 1 Interviewing, of searching for (featuring Obie grad Researching interviewing Steve Suo, view advice on online) and online http://www.poynte resources for r.org/ , journalists, pitch topics for Article 2 Week 4 Structuring the news

9/25 9/27 9/29 The 5 W’s, the Workshop Paper 3s Discussion of Inverted pyramid Ettema & Glasser and nut grafs and investigative journalism

Sun. 10/1: Article 2 and revision of Paper 3

Week 5 Fact checking

10/2 Discussion of Kovach & Rosenstiel’s “Journalism of Verification” Week 6 10/9 Copy editing Copyediting, AP style vs. academic styles

10/4 Workshop drafts chosen by class members

10/6 Discussion of readings TBA, ethical issues in working with sources,cases of manufacturing facts 10/11 10/13 turn in Choose articles for Midterm Portfolios online presentation

Sun. 10/8: Revision of article 2 and further revision of Paper 2 or 3 Fri., 10/15 Midterm Portfolio

Week 7 (10/16-22) AUTUMN RECESS—NO CLASSES Week 8 Beat journalism

Week 9 Ethical issues in community reporting Week 10 Advocacy journalism

Week 11 Current critiques of American journalism

10/23 Choose journalism specialty to try

10/25 10/27 Sun., 10/29 discuss Cooper, Midterm course Written pitch for Sims, Kramer, and appointments Article 3 due Clark & Scanlan and “literary journalism” writing styles; pitch ideas for Article 3 10/30 11/1 11/3 Sun., 11/5 discuss discuss Article 3 Discuss Umansky Progress reports on Cunningham, progress reports, and Kovach & Article 3 and http://www.reznet additional resources Rosentiel’s “Monitor proposal for Paper news.org/ , and Power,” responses 4due inclusive/expande to intimidation from d reporting authorities 11/6 11/8 11/10 Sun., 11/12 trouble shooting discuss the Discuss Miner and Article 3 and for Article 3s and traditional “con” emerging “pro” progress report on Paper 4s attitudes toward attitudes toward Paper 4 due advocacy advocacy 11/13 11/15 11/17 Sun., 11/19 discuss Workshop Article 3s discuss Carr and Revision of Article 3 Overholser and changing media of due the effects of journalism corporatization on American journalism

Week 12 Journalism as a force of national shaping

11/20 discuss Kao and history of American journalism

11/22 NO CLASS 11/24 Individual NO CLASS appointment times (national holiday) for troubleshooting Paper 4s

Week 13 Blogs, podcasts, and their observers

11/27 11/29 Discuss Afflect workshop Paper 4s and podcasts as journalism (see Weekly Schedule for samples)

Week 14 The future of journalism and starting a career in a time of flux Week 15 Wrap up

12/4 12/6 12/8 Discuss Stepp workshop papers or Discuss advice to and skills articles as needed new journalists, expected for readings tba future journalists

12/1 Discuss Lemann and samples of blogs as journalism

Sun., 11/26 Paper 4 due

Sun., 12/3 Revision of Paper 4 and any further revision of Article 3 needed due

Sun., 12/10 Any further revisions needed due

12/11 12/13 12/14 Sun., 12/17: final Workshop papers Workshop papers or Workshop papers or portfolios due (no or articles as articles as needed articles as needed final exam) needed

*Writing Workshops will be an opportunity to “workshop” classmates’ writing and listen to your classmates’ opinions of your work. These are intended to be mutually supportive, but also tactful, honest, and direct response sessions that will build your sense of audience in journalism. Before each workshop you will need to read and respond to assigned drafts in writing, to prepare for class discussion. Workshops are only valuable when readers have read—and thought about—the drafts workshopped beforehand.

READINGS Affleck, Andy J Williams. ”Podcasting: The People's Radio.” Tidbitds. 14 February 2005. 5 September 2006 < http://db.tidbits.com/index.php?tbart=07986>. Boorstin, Daniel. “From News Gathering to News Making: A Flood of Pseudo-Events.” Journalism: The Democratic Craft. Ed. G. Stuart Adam and Roy Peter Clark. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 80-98. Orig. published in 1961.

Carr, Forrest.”The Brave New World of Multimedia Convergence.” Broadcast News Handbook: Writing, Reporting, and Producing in a Converging Media World, 3rd ed. Eds. C.A. Tuggle, Forrest Carr, and Suzanne Huffman. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 257-272. Clark, Roy Peter. “How to Write a Good Story in 800 Words or Less.” Poynter Online. 26 May 2000. 5 September 2006 < http://www.poynter.org/content/content_print.asp?id=50351&custom=>. Clark, Roy Peter, and Christopher Scanlan. “The Craft of Writing Great Stories.” Chapter 10. America’s Best Newspaper Writing, 2nd ed. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. 287-313. Cox, Liz. “Interviewing: Was This Food Fight Fair?” Columbia Journalism Review. November/December 2002. 5 September 2006 < http://www.cjr.org/issues/2002/6/foodcox.asp?printerfriendly=yes>. Cooper, Candy J. “State of the Art: Gut Instinct.” Columbia Journalism Review. November/December 2005. 5 September 2006 < http://www.cjr.org/issues/2005/6/cooper.asp?printerfriendly=yes>. Cunningham, Brent. “The Latin o Puzzle Cha llenge s the Heartland.”Columbia Journalism Review. March/April 2002. 5 September 2006 http://www.cjr.org/issues/2002/2/latino-cunningham.asp?printerfriendly=yes>. Ettemer, James S., and Theodore L. Glasser. “On the Epistemology of Investigative Journalism.” Journalism: The Democratic Craft. Ed. G. Stuart Adam and Roy Peter Clark. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 126-40. Orig. published in 1984. Kao, Grace. “Where are the Asian and Hispanic Victims of Katrina?: A Metaphor for Invisible Minorities in Contemporary Racial Discourse.” Du Bois Review. 3(2006). 5 September 2006 .

Kovach, Bill, and Tom Rosenstiel. “Journalism of Verification.” Journalism: The Democratic Craft. Ed. G. Stuart Adam and Roy Peter Clark. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 170-186. Orig. published in 2001. ---.“”Monitor Power and Offer Voice to the Voiceless.” Journalism: The Democratic Craft. Ed. G. Stuart Adam and Roy Peter Clark. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 11-130. Kramer, Mark. “Breakable Rules for Literary Journalists.” Literary Journalism: A New Collection of the Best American Nonfiction. Ed. Norman Sims and Mark Kramer. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995. 21-34.

Lemann, Nicholas. “Amateur Hour.” New Yorker. 31 July 2006. 5 September 2006 . “The Meth Epidemic.” Frontline. Dir. Brent E. Huffman and Michael Kirk. PBS. 2005. 5 September 2006 . Miner, Dan. “When Students Become Teachers.” Columbia Journalism Review. July/August 2006. 5 September 2006 < http://www.cjr.org/issues/2006/4/miner.asp?printerfriendly=yes>. Newman, Maria. “Many 9/11 Workers Have Lung Issues, Report Says.” New York Times. 5 September 2006. 5 September 2006 . Overholser. “Editor, Inc.” Leaving Readers Behind: The Age of Corporate Newspapering. Ed. In Chief Gene Roberts. General Eds. Thomas Kunkel and Charles Layton. Fayetteville, Ark.: University of Arkansas Press, 2001. 157-188. Park, Robert Ezra. “News as a Form of Knowledge.” Journalism: The Democratic Craft. Ed. G. Stuart Adam and Roy Peter Clark. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 80-98. Orig. published in 1955. Russekoff, Dale. “Rosenbaum Note-Taking Method.” Committee of Concerned Journalists. 13 July 2006. 5 September 2006 < http://www.concernedjournalists.org/node/74>. Scanlon, Chip. “The Nut Graf and Breaking News.” Poynter Online. 21 May 2003. 5 September 2006 http://www.poynter.org/content/content_print.asp?id=34760&custom=. ---. “The Nut Graf, Part I.” Poynter Online. 20 May 2003. 5 September 2006 . Sims, Norman. “The Art of Literary Journalism.” Literary Journalism: A New Collection of the Best American Nonfiction. Ed. Norman Sims and Mark Kramer. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995. 3-19. Stepp, Carl Sessions. “Then and Now.” Breach of Faith: A Crisis of Coverage in the Age of Corporate Newspapering. Ed. Gene Roberts and Thomas Kunkel. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press, 2002. 89-115. Umansky, Eric. “Failures of Imagination.” Columbia Journalism Review. September/October 2006. 5 September 2006 < http://www.cjr.org/issues/2006/5/Umansky.asp?printerfriendly=yes>. jc:sept2006