Session 1 Journalism Defined and Redefined
So what is journalism? Or what is journalism FOR? Too many believe that “journalist” applies to people who promote opinions or push their personal agendas on cable news or in the blogosphere. But reporters play a different role: that of gatherer of evidence, unbiased and unvarnished, placed in a context of past events that gives current events weight beyond the ways opinion leaders or propagandists might misinterpret or exploit them. This session will focus on the reporter's fundamental responsibilities, such as journalists' obligation to the truth, their loyalty to the citizens who are their audience and the demands of their discipline to verify information, act independently, provide a forum for public discourse and seek not only competing viewpoints but carefully vetted facts that help establish which viewpoints are grounded in evidence. We will do an interview with classmates about news consumption. This is a lot of work for our first session, but we frontload this assignment, since it will build a shared basis of understanding for all of us.
• Exercise • MATERIAL
Session 2 Basic Building Blocks Objectivity and Fairness
Objectivity was, and remains, an ideal, a method for guarding against spin and personal bias by examining all sides of a story and testing claims through a process of evidentiary verification. Practiced well, it attempts to find where something approaching truth lies in a sea of conflicting views. Today, objectivity often is mistaken for tit-for-tat journalism, in which the reporters only responsibility is to give equal weight to the conflicting views of different parties without regard for which, if any, are saying something approximating truth. This definition cedes the journalist's responsibility to seek and verify evidence that informs the citizenry. How do you deal with these challenges? • Exercise • MATERIAL
Session 3 Looking For Stories, Setting the Hook
You know what looks like news, do you know how to write it? Newswriting has its own sentence structure and syntax. Most sentences branch rightward, following a pattern of subject/active verb/object. Reporters choose simple, familiar words. They write spare, concise sentences. They try to make a single point in each. While reporters generally avoid formal or fancy word choices and complex sentence structures, they do not write in generalities. They convey information. Each sentence builds on what came before. Nothing counts more than a story’s first sentence. It takes practice to build the right lede for the right story! We will start working on writing ledes, with an in-class lede slam.
Guest lecturer
• Exercise • MATERIAL
Session 4 Cracking the Nutgraf
Information doesn’t arrive at a reporter’s desk in a tidy package. There are many questions to ask, people to interview and at the end, you often find yourself sitting at the computer, with a huge stack of notes, asking “HOW am I going to write this?”
We talk about the challenges of finding a story idea, looking for original angles and approaches and then focusing an article. How do reporters tell readers why they should be reading a story – why it’s important, why it matters to right now. How can context guide the reporter and the reader?
• Exercise • MATERIAL In this class, we will take apart a news release and choose which story to write.
We begin our first discussions of the wonders of the AP Stylebook!
• Exercise • MATERIAL
Session 5 Please Quote Me On That
This is our first chance to workshop stories! And take look at a style quiz
Quotes are pivotal for great stories. “Great quote” ranks right behind “great lede” when reporters praise each other. But what makes a great quote? When should you paraphrase?
How do you attribute what you know when you don’t quote? What does AP say – and leave out? Should you “clean up” a quote? The national news media was in an uproar over “pre-approval” of quotes during last year’s presidential debate? Where do you come down?
• Exercise • MATERIAL
Session 6 I Have One More Question
We finish up our discussion of quotes.
Then we move to interviewing, one of the key skills needed for great reporting and writing. How do you prepare, research and conduct the great interview? We talk about how to start an interview — and a story — with an angle. We will look at some formulas for structuring different kinds of stories and we will talk about when to throw away the formulas.
GUEST LECTURER
Session 7 Building a Story “Bird by Bird”
We will look at some formulas for structuring different kinds of stories and we will talk about when to throw away the formulas.
GUEST LECTURER
• Exercise • MATERIAL
Session 8 Edit Thyself
We take the first part class to workshop your feature story.
As Red Smith said, “Writing is easy. You just sit down and open up a vein.” Many days, it isn’t easy to start writing but there are ways you can jumpstart the process and actually look forward to being edited. (Editing is an opportunity and a challenge way too many journalists dread!) How can you become a better writer and editor? What are the tricks of “transitions and movers” that can ease your pain – and make your reader happier?
• Exercise • MATERIAL Session 9 It’s Not About the Technology – Or Is It?
We explore the ways that reporters are using social media tools, like Facebook and Twitter, to get information and attract readers. We’ll explore how technology has changed the jobs of reporters and photographers: where are the challenges versus the opportunities. What will the next wave bring?
How are you using technology to research your stories? What are the dangers? And how can you quickly globalize your research today?
Homework
• Read ethics debate package and cast study • Read Chapters Three and Ten, Elements of Journalism • Keep working on your project • Post on class blog: Where should comments be edited, removed or prohibited on news sites?
Session 10 Investigative Journalism
Key tools used by investigative journalists. Typical places to get data and how to understand that data, calling representatives, etc: • Annual Budget • Reports put out by various government entities • Contact lists for senators and representatives • Other sources
Homework
• TBD
Session 11 Ethics in a Changing World: Wrong, Right and Ongoing Questions
As journalists, we are faced with ethical choices every day in how we pursue the news, how we write about the news and how we choose to display it. We have responsibilites to our sources and our readers. We’re pushed to have the story first, to make sure we have the biggest, hottest story of the day – and get the most page views. What tensions do we face?
Sources for material: Investigative Reporters and Editors: http://www.ire.org/ Center for Public Integrity: http://www.publicintegrity.org/projects/ ProPublica: http://www.propublica.org/ National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting: http://data.nicar.org/uplink/ International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/icij/
10 Universities Offering Free Writing Courses Online: http://education-portal.com/articles/10_Universities_Offering_Free_Writing_Courses_Online.html
List of Free Online Journalism Classes and Courses: http://education-portal.com/articles/List_of_Free_Online_Journalism_Classes_and_Courses.html
Writing for the web (BBC Academy) http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/journalism/skills/writing/article/art20130702112133610
BBC Style guide http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/journalism/news-style-guide/article/art20130702112133530
http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k105901&pageid=icb.page688729