JRN 200: Welcome To The Fall 2015 Edition!

Seriously, welcome. I'm glad to have you here. Let's talk about this class in greater detail.

First, a little about me. You can just call me Omar, since (as you can see from the syllabus) my last name is a mess. I've been at MSU for the past eight years, formerly advising at The State News and currently teaching JRN 200, 300 and 400. Before that, I was a professional journalist for 17 years, most recently in Las Vegas, and I've covered everything from car crashes to Hurricane Katrina.

And in those 17 years I learned a lot, namely this: in journalism we learn by doing. That is, we report and write, then we review what we did well and what we could have done better, then we put those lessons in practice the next time around. Each day in those 17 years I got better, some days more than others. You don't learn journalism passively.

To that end, during this semester we will have many writing assignments called practice stories. In these assignments, we will work on a particular area of news writing (which will always be preceded by a text reading assignment and an online lecture or lecture summary) by giving you a set of facts, and then asking you to write a story based on those facts (using the techniques mentioned in our readings and lectures).

Then, we will learn from those practice stories in two ways: first, you will get a personal evaluation of your individual work, where I will go over key points, both good and bad. Second, we will look at prime examples of each others' work via the blog (with names stripped out to protect the innocent), where you will benefit two ways: first, by seeing how your peers handled the exact same assignment; and second, by the blog highlighting good techniques and common mistakes and ways to avoid such errors.

Because we do learn by doing, practice stories will be weighed relatively minimally as to your final course grade. And that's by design. We want you to have the opportunity to make mistakes without seeing a serious dent to your final grade. So if you feel you didn't do well in a few practice stories, don't fret.

What we're building up to will be out-of-class stories, which will be a big part of your final grade. But the goal is to use the practice stories to build good habits and identify and weed out bad ones, so that by the time we get to out-of-class stories you are in a position to kick ass.

With all these writing assignments, we are going to be strict in two particular ways. First, ANY factual error -- even just one misspelled name or incorrect number! -- will automatically result in an assignment grade of 1.0, no matter how well you otherwise did the work.

That's not an arbitrary thing because I'm mean. Rather, it's to emphasize an important point: journalism isn't about writing, it's about getting it right. We write in journalism not for personal expression, but to share information that is relevant, interesting and/or useful to your audience. And if the purpose is to share information, it must be accurate. Wrong info is hardly interesting, relevant or useful to anyone.

Also, errors can be dangerous to your career. When I was working in Vegas, my paper had a five-error-per-year rule. After the first error, you'd get a verbal reprimand. The second one got you a letter in your file. After the third, you had to outline a corrective plan of action. The fourth got you an unpaid suspension. And the fifth got you fired. And this was while I was writing over 200 stories a year! Gulp.

I'm not saying this to scare you; rather, it is to motivate you to have good fact-checking habits in place so it never gets that drastic. (I was never fired during my professional career and I'm not a genius, so I know it can be done, and done easily), and to impress upon you that truth is the cornerstone of what we do.

Odds are you're going to have a few "fatals" (as we call 'em) in your practice story. That's okay; virtually everyone who has taken my JRN 200 class has had multiple fatals, especially in the first half of the semester when everything is new and good habits are still being built. Don't be scared of 'em and don't fret; just learn how you can do a better job of fact-checking, and become aware of some common traps that lead people into fatals.

Second, we are going to enforce deadlines to the second. So, let's say an assignment is due at 9 a.m. sharp, and it's time-stamped on my email as having been received at 9 a.m. and four seconds. I will unmercifully grade that assignment as late, and late assignments automatically get a 0.0.

Again, I'm not doing that to be a jerk. There's a journalistic reason for that. And that this is a deadline business in which we can NEVER miss a deadline. Ever. If you're writing a script for the 11 p.m. news, the scripts have to be in before 11 p.m., each and every time. After all, you've never flipped on the news and hard the anchor say, "Welcome to the 11 o'clock news. Just give us a minute and we'll get back to you." It's because people who blow deadlines are immediately exiled, so we have to start building a habit of never missing deadlines.

I'd rather have you learn that lesson here than during your first (or would it be, last?) job.

Okay, I know all of this can sound intimidating. And I can't promise that you won't have frustrations, especially early on. But these things I can guarantee you: first, YOU CAN DO THIS! I'm not asking you to lift a two-ton truck over your head; I'm asking you to master skills that have been mastered before. And I know you can master them because you are a student at a Big Ten school. That tells me all I need to know about whether you have the talent. You do.

But that doesn't mean that you'll come out firing on all cylinders on the first day. Starting something new is hard, even when it's something you have the talent in which to shine. I mean, the first time Michael Phelps ever went swimming, he probably needed floaties and such. It didn't mean he wouldn't eventually become the greatest swimmer of all time. It just meant that he had to learn how to bring his skills out. That's what we'll do here, too.

Second, I AM NOT ASKING YOU TO DO THIS ALONE! I'm here to help. I'll offer you tricks and techniques on how to avoid fatals and get assignments in on time and structure your stories properly and do kick-ass reporting. We're in this together, and I've shepherded plenty of people through this class before. I know we can do this.

So if you have a day that's frustrating, don't get frustrated. Don't punch a wall or drop the class. Just learn the lessons on how to do better the next time, and then do just that.

Again, that's how we learn in journalism. And that's how we'll learn this semester. Just stick with it, and I'll be there for you.

JRN 200: The Fall 2015 Syllabus

JRN 200: News Writing and Reporting 1

FALL 2015, SECTION 2, 3-4:50 P.M. MONDAY/WEDNESDAY, CAS 242

Instructor: Omar Sofradzija (so-FRAD-zee-uh)

Office: CAS 360

Office hours: 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays; 10 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 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: http://jrn200isfunblog.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.

OUR GOALS

Journalism matters. In their greatest times of joy or need, Americans have turned to reporters for illumination and explanation. You should be proud you have chosen this path. Journalism is an honorable profession and gives you the opportunity to make a difference in the world.

Journalists are storytellers and learn to tell stories through visual images and the written word. Journalists create stories that make people want to read, watch, communicate or listen. The goal is to provide accurate information, compelling images, sound bites and quotes from the best possible sources. This is an exciting time to be a journalist because the way we report news and convey information is changing every minute.

Besides reporting, there are so many professions you can be successful in with this degree. Many possible professions include public relations, law, copyediting, producing, magazines, investigative reporting, social media, publishing, multimedia, blogging, graphic design, documentary filmmaking, travel, photography, environmental journalism, or foreign correspondence. Just to name a few….

There is a high value on individuals who:

• have critical thinking skills;
• write well;
• know what THE news is;
• can determine the audience;
• gather the most pertinent information from the most credible sources;
• convey information in a way that people want to read, hear or view it;
• perform all these tasks on deadline.

We want you to be the kind of journalists whose professional work matters because of your credibility.  Perfection is the standard that we strive for. The goal is that when your name or image is attached to a story or information – your readers or viewers know that information is the best and most accurate it can possibly be.

We’ll start with basics.  JRN 200 first focuses on reporting in text because the thinking and organization skills required by good writing are the foundation to all good communication. You will learn to assess the needs and interests of audiences for stories; to use basic reporting methods such as observation, interviewing and documentary records to do those stories.  You’ll also learn to shape print stories for online and video.  Always, you will learn to write stories accurately, concisely and clearly, in vigorous, grammatically correct English on deadline.   

OBJECTIVES

Congratulations as you begin the transition from journalism major to journalist! Think of this course as your first job in the news business. JRN 200 will help you to begin to develop professional habits and skills.   

Specific objectives include helping you to:

·        develop news judgment by recognizing essential news values;

·        gather information through observation, interviewing and documents;

·        organize information effectively;

·        write stories on deadline that are accurate, clear and in AP style;

·        produce stories for the appropriate media;

·        attribute information fully and accurately in stories;

·        use grammatically correct attribution for direct and indirect quotations;

·        revise print stories for electronic platforms and video;

·        understand legal and ethical issues in reporting;

·        incorporate appropriate diversity in stories;

·        report controversy with fairness and balance;

·        understand the journalism business and industry changes.

As in most jobs, your work ethic affects how well you master these objectives. Showing up punctually, meeting deadlines unfailingly and following instructions competently maximize your success.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Textbooks and Readings:

•  Daily reading of news is essential.  Read at least one newspaper and online news sites a day, as directedby the instructor.

•  Reporting for the Media, 10^th ed. Bender, Davenport, Drager, and Fedler (Oxford University Press, 2012).

•  The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, 2011 or later ed. (NY: The AP).

Recommended Reading:

•  Journalism 2.0 by Briggs (http://www.kcnn.org/resources/journalism)

•  The Elements of Journalism. Rosentiel and Kovach. (NY: Three Rivers Press, 2007).

•  The Elements of Style. Strunk and White.  Current edition (also available online).

COURSE ORGANIZATION

JRN 200 will have you thinking about good news writing and reporting each day!  During class, you write stories on deadline, take quizzes, discuss journalistic issues and current events, review course readings and other assignments. Between classes, you report stories, prepare news tips and complete assigned readings.

Central to learning this course will be the class blog, located at http://jrn200isfunblog.blogspot.com/ online. Through the class blog we will get assignments and homework, discuss work, review readings and past assignments, go over strategies on reporting and writing well, and do other activities. YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK THE CLASS BLOG ON A DAILY BASIS IN ORDER TO KEEP CURRENT ON ASSIGNMENTS AND READINGS, so please make this a daily habit every weekday, Mondays through Fridays.

Much is expected in this class, but I do not expect you to do this alone. With this being an online class, communication is critical. If you have any questions or concerns, DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT ME by email, phone or in-person during the hours listed above. Contact information is provided above. You cannot contact me too much, so please take advantage of that offer as you feel is needed.

Feedback is also critical to this class. Almost all graded written assignments will include considerable comments from the instructor on what you did well and why, and what you can do better and how. In addition, we will review the work of individuals (with names removed) as a class, via the blog, so we can get an idea of how others are doing similar assignments, and learn from their mistakes and/or successes. PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO FEEDBACK VIA INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS AND THE BLOG, as such feedback is central to how we learn in this class. In journalism, we learn by doing, then reviewing, then learning lessons from the review, and then applying those lessons going forward.

For the vast majority of assignments, you will turn in your work via email to omars@msu.edu. Please make sure that you get that address correct – omar with an s at the end – as there is an omar@msu.edu address that’s incorrect but active. If your work is not correctly sent to omars@msu.edu, it will not be graded.

For such assignments, please write your work in a Word document, and put the following in the upper left-hand corner:

Your name (for example, Joe Schmo)

The assignment date (Sept. 1, 2015)

The assignment title, as indicated in the blog (writing exercise)

Assignment pages, numbers from the text (p. 230-31, #1-2)

Here are the types of exercises we’ll be doing over the session:

Lede and Story Exercises: These acquaint you with the professional style, structure and conventions of news writing and reporting. They are “skill building” exercises designed to prepare you for out-of-class stories by honing your ability to write under deadline and to interview sources.

Quizzes:  These focus on AP style, grammar, spelling, punctuation, quotations, accuracy, reading assignments and current events.

Out-of-Class Stories:  Four out-of-class stories culminate your learning experience in JRN 200. They integrate the writing and reporting skills you acquired earlier in the course.  Your fourth story will only count if it helps your grade. The research (interviewing, etc.) for each story takes about 10 hours.  Note, however, that interviews usually are conducted during the Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. work period of your sources.  So make sure you have enough time during this period available in your schedules.

You generate your own ideas for these stories on assigned topics, submitting and getting approval from your instructor for each story using the course news tip form--before beginning the reporting process. The best way to get ideas for stories is the read and watch as much news from as many different mediums as possible.

These out-of-class stories include localizations, public affairs, profiles or features.  The final story is a story that you choose with the permission of your professor.

The stories include at least three interviewed sources each, but the more credible sources you have, the better the grade. You may not use secondary sources from the Internet or news releases. If you believe such sources are helpful or necessary, get approval to use them from your instructor.   You also MAY NOT use anonymous sources.

Stories should be at least two pages in length (700-800 words). Stories should use AP Style – double-spaced with indented paragraphs and quotes that stand alone.

You should attach a source list where you identify by name, title and telephone number or email address…the interview sources you’ve used.

Interested in raising your grade? You may revise your out-of-class stories. To earn credit for a revision, you must do additional reporting involving additional sources or information, as suggested by your instructor and provide a new source list. The grades from the original and rewrite are averaged, although instructors may increase the grade even further if they believe the student went the extra mile to produce a much improved story, thanks to continued reporting. Deadlines for each rewrite are no later than one week after your instructor returns the original story.

Online Stories: At least two of your out-of-class stories will be revised and posted online. Online stories are 200-400 words in length and incorporate at least two hyperlinks to sources appropriate for the story. Additional “points of entry,” such as photos, videos and slideshows, are encouraged and positively impact your grade.

A print version may be submitted, but the posting and links must also be accessible on-line at an electronic address you provide or at the site your instructor specifies.

Multimedia: Two assignments are videos or audio slideshows. These stories also will be revisions of the out-of-class story assignments.  

A script is written and submitted for each story if you are doing a video stand-up; the whole video itself is no more than two minutes in length. The script and the video must follow special stylistic conventions appropriate for broadcast or Web casts. 

Job Shadows:  Within the first weeks of class, seek out a professional who is working in a journalism occupation you believe you might wish to pursue. Spend half of a day on the job with that person. Interview that professional about keys to success. (Especially what they wish they knew in college!)  You will write a 600-word report on your findings and may even present those findings in class to help other students be successful.

GRADING

Lead and Story Exercises                                                  25 percent

News Tips                                                                              10 percent

Quizzes                                                                                    5 percent

Out-of-Class Stories                                                             40 percent

Online Stories                                                                         5 percent

Multimedia Stories                                                                10 percent

Job Shadow                                                                            5 percent

 Several opportunities exist to raise grades in JRN 200:

                        Allowable out-of-class story revisions can help your grade.

                      Meet with your professor to discuss extra credit opportunities.

BUT:  grade reductions result from absences, tardiness and unprofessionalism.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Course material and readings build from one topic to another. Homework is due the week in which it appears.

Weeks 1-2:  Introduction to JRN 200

Journalism today; the basics; format, copy editing and AP Style; grammar and spelling; newswriting style; the language of news

            Homework: Course Syllabus; Bender: Chapters 1-4

Weeks 3-4: Audience Orientation, News Values and Story Ledes

Lede Construction and Audience Orientation; Citing News Sources: quotation and paraphrase; AP style and copy editing

Homework: Bender: Ch. 5, 8-12, 16-17

Weeks 5-7: Story Organization

            Story Organization; Body of a News Story; Specialized Stories

Homework: Bender: Ch. 15, 18-19 

Weeks 8-10:  Putting It All Together

Story organization types; Public Affairs Reporting; Advanced Reporting; First Out-of-Class Story Due

Homework:  Bender: Ch. 13-14

Weeks 11-13:  Online and Multimedia Story Telling

            Writing for Online Platforms; Video; Second Out-Of-Class Story Due

Week 14-15: Libel and Ethics

            Covering Conflict; Fairness and Balance; Advocacy and Partisanship’ Legal Issues in News Coverage; Moral and Ethical Issues in Journalism; Third Out-of-Class Story Due, Extra Credit Out-of-Class Story Due

Homework: Bender: Text Ch. 6-7

Out-of-Class Story Schedule

Deadlines for news tips and out-of-class stories may be altered by instructors depending on the semester and university holidays. 

The stories based on approved news tips will be on a date specified by your instructor.  Revisions of the print stories are also due at a day and time specified by the instructor.   Online and/or video versions of these stories are also due by deadlines specified by instructors   

Instructors may specify particular types of stories to be completed.  The 4^th optional story will only be counted if it helps improve a student’s grade. In that case, the student’s grade will be the average of the four – rather than three stories.

The story types and deadlines noted below are meant to provide examples of how the deadline scheduling may occur.  Assignments may be turned in earlier than the specified deadline but a missed deadline will result in an assignment grade of zero.

Story Type                              Tip                   Story               Revision                    

Localization                           Sept. 30         Oct. 9            Oct. 21

Public Affairs                         Oct. 14            Oct. 28            Nov. 6            

Profile or feature                   Oct. 30            Nov. 18           Nov. 25

You Pick Story                      Nov. 11            Nov. 25           Dec. 4            

YOUR INSTRUCTOR WILL SET YOUR DEADLINES REGARDING YOUR MULTIMEDIA STORIES AND ONLINE STORIES.
SYLLABUS APPENDIX

GRADING SCALE

All work is evaluated on the 4.0 grading system. Listed below are the criteria for evaluating assignments and computing a final grade. 

Evaluation: Instructors assign a subjective grade based on the general guidelines below. Your instructor may give subjective grades between those specified (e.g., 2.75) to make finer distinctions among stories.  

4.0: Story could be published virtually as is. It shows superior command of the facts, news judgment, story organization, reporting and writing.

3.5: Story could be published with very minor revisions. Generally well-written, accurate copy containing all relevant material, but requires minor editing for maximum precision and clarity.

3.0: Better-than-average story. The story was handled well. Copy needs some rewriting and polishing before it could be published.

2.5: Story is a little above average. The story might have a significant problem with reporting, organization, completeness, etc. Certainly needs rewriting.

2.0: Average story. Not a story most readers would read unless they really needed the information. The story may have reporting, organization or writing problems.

1.5: A weak story. The story may have a buried lead; problems in news interpretation; problems in story organization; omission of some important fact or source.  The story needs substantial revision.

1.0: A non-story. The story lacks news judgment; displays major flaws in reporting and writing; omits important facts. The story needs substantial rethinking. 

0.0: Story is late or failed to receive instructor’s approval. Story is misleading or unethical. Organization or writing flaws make the story incoherent.

Fact errors: Inaccurate information, misspelling a proper name, a misquotation or an error that changes the meaning of a story automatically drops a grade to a maximum of 1.0 (e.g., President “Barack Obamma” or “Department of Transport”).          

Each error in spelling, grammar, style or punctuation will reduce the assignment grade by .25 up to a full 1.0 off for that assignment. 

Help: Students who need help with fundamental writing problems may contact the MSU Writing Center, 300 Bessey Hall (phone 432-3610).

Grading Example: Your lab instructor evaluates of your story, determining that with a little rewriting it could be published and assigns a grade of 3.0.  Further review, however, reveals an instance of subject-verb disagreement (-.25), a misspelled word (-.25) and a typo (-.25).  So the story earned a final grade of 2.25.

Extra Credit:  Your professor will offer opportunities for extra credit. Some of those opportunities may include writing extra stories or attending events on campus or in the Comm Arts building. Please meet with your professor if interested in doing approved extra credit.

COURSE POLICIES

Deadlines: Your stories must be turned in at the start of class on the date specified by your professor. They may not be emailed in. Late stories earn a 0.0 grade. Editors, online producers and news directors do not make exceptions for late stories.  Your professor serves as your first boss and editor.

Attendance.  Your enthusiastic participation in class helps you and your classmates to learn!  Conversely, absences seriously degrade that opportunity to learn.  Two absences are acceptable, but a third unexcused absence drops your final grade by .5, a fourth absence by 1.0. A fifth absence means you missed 15 hours of class–and you fail the course. If you fail the class because of absences, you will be dropped from the major. Missed assignments, quizzes or deadlines on a day you are absent earn a 0.0. 

Tardiness: Coming late to class or leaving early is unprofessional.  If you are continually disrupting class by coming late, your professor may count two tardy arrivals as an unexcused absence. 

Other: Inattention in class for any reason (e.g., a ringing cell phone, email use, web surfing, sleeping, etc.) is unprofessional.  Two such instances will equal one absence. It is really awful and unacceptable when these things happen when we have class speakers.

Etiquette: Make sure when you are communicating with faculty or sources, that you use proper etiquette in your emails or in person. Address your source by their proper title.

PLAGIARISM, CHEATING, FABRICATION AND STUDENT CONDUCT

Plagiarism is presenting another person’s work as your own. Cheating is also stealing another person’s work. Fabrication is making up a source, putting words in a source’s mouth and/or other sorts of faking.

Student Integrity:  Students who cheat, fabricate or plagiarize may fail this course.  Falsification, fabrication or plagiarism results in a 0.0 for the offending assignment as a minimum consequence. Follow the J-School Code of Ethics and Standards.

The School of Journalism also adheres to the policies on academic honesty specified in General Student Regulations 1.0, Protection of Scholarship and Grades, and in the all-University Policy on Integrity of Scholarship and Grades, which are included in current Spartan Life: Student Handbook and Resource Guide and on the MSU Web site. If you engage in academic dishonesty, IT WILL BE REPORTED.

Professionalism: Professional behavior is the invariable standard for personnel in any of the communication fields when they interact with one another or with others. 

In class, professionalism means alertness and attention to the task at hand and unfailing respectfulness in word and behavior. Such professionalism is among the core requirements for success in this class and in any communication field.

Out of class, professionalism means courteous, respectful and honest interaction with sources. Address your professors or sources by the proper title. Introduce yourself to sources as a journalism student, but emphasize that you are gathering information for stories you expect to publish. It is not professional to tell sources that their information is “just for a class.”

Disability Accommodations:  If you need or want to request an accommodation for a disability, call the Resource Center for Persons With Disabilities at  517-884-7273. You will be required to provide instruction from RCPD to your course instructor.

Dropping the Course: For information, visit the MSU Registrar’s Web.