Instructor Information Dr. Amy Miller Email: amy.miller@bellevuecollege.edu Phone:
425.564.2235 Office Hours:
9:30-11:30 T, W, F or apt. Office:
C-206 ·
Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide
by Tim Harrower ·
Associated Press Stylebook 2010-2013 10/18: Introductory Article 10/30: News Article 11/12: Feature Article 11/19: Opinion Article 11/20: Online Article 11/27: PR Portfolio 12/6: Final Portfolio 12/10: Broadcasts 93-100%: A 90-92.9%: A- 87-89.9%:
B+ 83-86.9%: B 80-82.9%: B- 77-79.9%: C+
73-76.9%: C 70-72.9%: C- 67-69.9:
D+ 63-66.9%: D 60-62.9%: D- 59.9 and below: F
Required
Material
Major
Due Dates
Grading
Scale
Introduction
to Media Writing
Fall 2013
Course Description: This
course emphasizes observation skills and choice of language, structure, and
source material to communicate events and ideas to selected audiences. Students
learn interviewing, basic research, effective expression, and editing through
note taking, interviewing, drafting, and revision. CMST 141 meets a written
communication course requirement at BC.
Course Outcomes:
·
Describe and practice the journalistic process.
·
Gather data from various sources.
·
Write a coherent and accurate news story.
·
Understand and synthesize ideas for others
·
Refine punctuation, grammar, spelling and proofreading skills to achieve
error-free text.
·
Demonstrate an understanding of the ethics involved in interview methods,
the history of journalism and audience awareness.
·
Analyze and evaluate professional journalistic writing.
·
Demonstrate an understanding of the advertising and business components of
news publications.
·
Collaborate and communicate as a professional team to meet deadlines
Classroom Behavior: Comments or behavior disparaging another
based on race, ethnicity, religion, abilities, beliefs, appearance, or sexual
orientation will not be tolerated. Articles, including opinion pieces, must
meet this standard. Cell phones should be set to silent and laptops should be
used only for note taking and coursework. Mp3 players should not be used during
class.
Special Needs: Any student with disabilities or other
special needs who needs additional accommodation in this course is invited to
share these concerns or requests with the instructor as soon as possible. Disability
Resource Center, Library Media Center, Telephone 425.564.2498
Articles for Publication: Articles handed in as course assignments may
be submitted for publication to the BC student newspaper or other publications.
All articles must be handed in for course credit prior to submission for
publication.
Attendance Policy:
1. Articles handed in after class ends on the due
date will lose one letter grade for every day late. Articles will not be
accepted after they are four days late.
2. In-class assignments and quizzes cannot be
made up except in the cases of university-sanctioned absences. Students who
show up late to class are not eligible to make up missed in-class work or
quizzes once they have begun.
3. Students may receive one free pass to hand an
article in one day late with no penalty. This free pass will only be given once
during the quarter and covers articles late due to illnesses, forgotten
assignments, and missing class. This does not apply to class work or online work.
4. Students must notify the instructor of
university-sanctioned absences ahead of time and make arrangements for a new
due date prior to the absence in order to make up in-class work.
5. In the case of extreme circumstances
(hospitalization, family tragedy), students may make a written request for an
extension within one week of the assignment including reason for request,
extensions requested, and proposed new due date.
6. Students who miss more than six class sessions
will not be eligible for a passing grade, per Arts & Humanities policy.
Students who routinely show up late for class may also see a grade penalty
following a warning from the instructor.
Academic Honesty: “One kind of academic dishonesty is
plagiarism […]including, but not limited to, using a paper written by someone
else, using printed sources word-for-word without proper documentation, and
paraphrasing or summarizing the ideas of others without acknowledging the
source. […]Participating in academic dishonesty in any way, including writing
a paper or taking a test for someone else, may result in severe penalties.
Dishonestly produced papers automatically receive a grade of "F"
without the possibility of make-up. --- BC
Student Procedures and Expectations
Course Assignments:
1. Exercises (pt. values vary): Different
writing, group participation, discussion, etc. assignments will be given to be
completed during class or online. These exercises cannot be made up unless for
an excused absence. (See Attendance Policy)
2. Article Drafts (5/10 pts
per article): You have the opportunity to earn points through critiquing and by
bringing an article in for critique.
3. Articles (25/100 pts
per article): You will be expected to produce publication-worthy articles
throughout this semester
4. Quizzes (10 pts per
quiz): Quizzes may cover the current chapter or AP style/ grammar
5. Recent News (15 pts
per article): Four times during the quarter, you will be asked to post a
current news article related to what we are discussing in class with a detailed
explanation of why you chose the article and how it meets or fails to meet the
standards discussed in class
6. Public Relations Project (100 pts): You will asked to create all necessary PR documents
for an organization to head off an organizational crisis, manage a time of
organizational change, or promote an upcoming event. Documents will be graded on adherence to PR
principles discussed in class.
7. Broadcast Group Assignment (100 pts): You will be expected to participate in a group to
produce a news broadcast, including news, sports, and weather components. You
will be graded on individual performance, performance as a team, and peer
evaluation. This will require your attendance in class, so make your travel
plans/ work schedules accordingly to make sure you can be there.
8. Portfolio (100 pts):
You will be required to revise all your articles from the quarter and submit
the original, corrected version and the revised version. You will need to keep
the drafts of the articles that I hand back to you in class in order to receive
full credit for this assignment.
|
|
Class Today |
Assigned Today |
Due Today |
|
Sept 24 |
Syllabus & Course Intro |
For 9/25: Skim Ch. 1 & 2 |
|
|
Sept 25 |
Journalism/ Newsrooms |
N/A |
|
|
Sept 27 |
What is Media Writing? |
N/A |
|
|
Oct 1 |
News
vs Features |
For
10/4: News vs. Features Quiz (O) |
|
|
Oct 2 |
Story Generation |
For 10/4: Read Ch. 4 For 10/4: Story Ideas (O) For 10/16: Introductory News Article |
|
|
Oct 4 |
Interviewing
& Sources |
For
10/8: Sources (O) |
Story
Ideas (O) N
vs. F Quiz (O) |
|
Oct 8 |
Interviewing & Attributions |
For 10/9: Read Ch. 3 |
Sources (O) |
|
Oct 9 |
Structure
& Leads |
For
10/15: Recent News—Leads (O) |
|
|
Oct 11 |
Grammar & AP |
For 10/16:
Proofing Quizzes (O) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 15 |
Workday on Introductory Article |
For 10/16: Introductory Article |
Recent News-- Leads (O) |
|
Oct 16 |
Copyediting
& Rewriting |
For
10/18: Final Draft of Introductory News Article For
10/18: Read Ch. 5 |
Introductory
Article Draft Proofing
Quizzes (O) |
|
Oct 18 |
Covering the News |
For 10/25: Recent News- News For 10/30: News Article For 10/30: News Quiz |
Introductory Article |
|
Oct 22 |
Covering
the News |
|
|
|
Oct 23 |
NO SCHOOL |
For 10/29: News Article Draft |
|
|
Oct 25 |
Workday
on News Article |
Recent
News-- News (O) |
|
|
Oct 29 |
Peer Editing-- News |
For 10/30: Read Ch. 6 |
News Article Draft |
|
Oct 30 |
Features |
For
11/6: Recent News—Features (O) For
11/12: Feature Article For
11/12: Feature Quiz |
News
Article News
Quiz (O) |
|
Nov 1 |
Profiles |
|
|
|
Nov 5 |
Investigative |
|
|
|
Nov 6 |
Workday on Feature Article |
Recent News—Feat. (O) |
|
|
Nov 8 |
Peer
Editing-- Features |
Feature
Article Draft |
|
|
Nov 12 |
Opinion |
For 11/13: Read Ch. 8 For 11/19: Opinion Article |
Feature Article Feature Quiz (O) |
|
Nov 13 |
Online
Journalism |
For
11/20: Online Article |
|
|
Nov 15 |
Peer Editing—Opinion (Optional Online) |
For 11/19: Online Article For 11/19: Read Ch. 7 |
Draft of Opinion Article Recent News—Opinion (O) |
|
Nov 19 |
Media
Law & Ethics |
For
11/20: Read Ch. 10 |
Opinion
Article |
|
Nov 20 |
Public Relations |
For 11/27: PR Portfolio For 11/27: PR Quiz |
Online Article |
|
Nov 22 |
PR
Workday |
||
|
Nov 26 |
PR Workday |
For 11/27: Read Ch. 9 |
|
|
Nov 27 |
Broadcasts |
For
12/10: Group Broadcast |
Public
Relations Portfolio PR
Quiz (O) |
|
Nov 29 |
NO SCHOOL |
||
|
Dec 3 |
Broadcast
Workday |
||
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Dec 4 |
Broadcast Workday |
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Dec 6 |
Broadcast
Workday Portfolios
Due by End of Class |
|
Final
Portfolio |
|
Dec 10 |
Broadcast Presentations at 11:30 |
|
Broadcasts |