SYLLABUS:Writing and Reporting for Media (TuesThurs)

Writing and Reporting for the Media
Instructor: Nomi Morris
Contact: nmorris@vcccd.edu


COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OVERVIEW

Course Goals: At the end of the semester, students know how to conceive, report, write and produce basic news, features and opinion stories in appropriate formats for print, online and broadcast.

Course Overview: Through weekly assignments, together with in-class exercises, lecture, review and critique, student newsgathering and writing skills will improve quickly. Students will write stories from exercises as well as from facts they have gathered about community news and events.

Texts: “Writing and Reporting News” Fifth Edition, by Carole Rich
Supplemental required text: Associated Press style guide. The AP stylebook is the guide of daily news writing and must be brought to class each meeting.

Class Policies: Assignments must be submitted in hard copy format. Save copies of original, as well as any marked work in case of disputed or missing grade. Clip all published copies of your stories and save with date to include in a portfolio due the final week of classes.

Grading: Course grades will be assigned according to college structure, using the A-F scale. Late papers accepted up to one week lose a full letter grade. The course grading structure is as follows, but may vary slightly during the course of the semester:

Writing assignments 150

Stories submitted to VOICE 25

California Primary Assignment 25

Class attendance and participation 50

Class exercises and quizzes 150

(These are timely and must be done on
time as the class progresses. No make-ups.

Final Exam 100

Total 500

BONUS POINTS: bringing in examples of published news stories for “what works and what doesn’t work.”


NOTE: Students must demonstrate competency of the Inverted Pyramid writing format on the final with a ‘B’ or better in order to earn an ‘A’ in the course, regardless of cumulative semester points.

Class procedures: Students must attend class and, if absent, find out what the assignments are. Assignments cannot be made up beyond the week grace period. Late exercises and quizzes are not accepted beyond the posted expiration time.

Class Etiquette: Students who behave inappropriately in class will be warned once before they are excused from the class for good.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are not tolerated. Anyone caught cheating will be reported to the dean and receive a failing grade for the course.

Diversity: Students in this course are encouraged to make every effort, with the instructor’s help, to include people in their assignments who have been traditionally overlooked by mainstream media.

Students with Disabilities: Students who may need accommodations in this
class are encouraged to contact ACCESS at 378-1461.
tudents with disabilities, whether physical, learning, or psychological, who believe that they may need accommodations in this class, are encouraged to contact ACCESS as soon as possible to arrange for these accommodations. Authorization, based on verification of disability, is required in the form of a "Confidential Memo" before any disability accommodation will be made in this class. The phone number for ACCESS is (805) 378-1461 and their office is located in the building just to the right of the Campus Center. Drop-in hours are available.


Students enrolled in this course are encouraged to use The Learning Center, The Math Center, and the Writing Center services to support their efforts in this class. The Learning Center, Math Center, and Writing Center, located in Library 322, will provide tutorial services and supplemental instruction based on course goals. When using these services, students need to state their instructor’s name for tracking and reporting purposes. Students will also need to provide their student ID numbers when receiving tutorial services. For further information call The Learning Center (805) 378-1556 or the Writing Center (805) 378-1400 ext 1696.


Smoking Policy: Moorpark College is a non-smoking campus.



Weekly Syllabus: Writing and Reporting for the Media, Jour M02

NOTE: The weekly summary printed here is a guideline open to change as we go. Most important are the textbook reading assignments, particularly the pages listed. Writing assignments will be posted separately.


Week I Introduction. Review course requirements,
Sources, assumptions, attributions, ethics and fairness
Read Text: Ch. 1: Changing concepts and media
What makes news? Get familiar with Associated Press Styleguide A-F

Week II Text: Ch. 5 Interviewing
Interview class exercise
Accuracy & neutral reporting, Pages 277-279; Plagiarism Pages 296-297
Text, Ch. 2: Tell a Friend. Writing to be read: The focus, lead, the backup, the nut
Using Quotes; Read Pg. 93

Week III More on Ch. 2: Finding Focus
Ch. 8: Inverted Pyramid
Using quotes. Attribution, background, elaboration
It’s not about You: Keeping yourself out of the story.

Week IV Writing a news story: Ch. 7: Leads and NutGraf
Hard and soft leads/more on inverted pyramid
Active and Passive Voice /Story organization
Special session on California Primary assignment


Week V More on story structure
Ch. 6: grammar
Ch. 20: Covering crime Robbery exercise
Lead types: soft, hard, summary, mystery; Attributions

Week VI Choose meeting to cover; plan to attend a student government or city council meeting
Writing a story pitch: Pitch 1st story for publication

Week VII Ch. 18: Covering Campus meetings, speeches and events
Council exercise
Covering meetings, writing the advance; getting to know the agenda
Agenda exercise and quiz

Week VIII Ch. 18 Covering meetings; writing the story

Week IX Ch. 9: Storytelling and Feature Techniques: Writing a feature story; Choose topic for feature; write story, coordinate art

Week X: Feature writing

Week XI: Feature Writing cont'd
Week XII: Media Law and Libel Lecture and Quiz Ch. 13, Media Law on Public Figures (Pg. 282), Fairness (Pg. 288) Use of name or picture without permission (Pg. 289)


Week XIII Ch. 11: Writing for broadcast. Rewrite story for broadcast. Ch. 12: Writing for web.

Week XIV Ch. 21: Writing opinion stories. Finalize feature stories; Student Voice submissions.

Week XV: Guest speaker. Ch. 22: Writing a Profile. Receive material for final exam.

Week XVI: Review, grade check, Present portfolios

Week XVII: FINAL EXAM