Journalism

Week 1: Getting Started

Week 1 is devoted to introducing the course, its requirements, and the technology to navigate it. It also will serve as a meet and greet for students, their classmates, and their instructor, and the start of a lively exchange of ideas about journalism today and going forward.

Week 2: Free Press

This week, students will explore the concept of a free press and the historical underpinnings of that institution in America. Students will also examine the limits and challenges of a free press and will reflect on how this concept and practice impact them today.

Week 3 &4: News

Week 3 focuses on rules for reporting and writing news. Students will read and comment on some exemplary news stories, study rules for interviewing and keeping reporter's notes, practice interviewing and the conventions for writing news stories, and consider the appropriate use of photography and graphics in support of a news story. They will also begin writing their first news story. In Week 4, after first considering the audience, subject, and sources, students will write their news story and share it for comment from their classmates. They will also reflect on the process of preparing and writing the story.

Week 5 & 6: Features

During Week 5, students will explore the world of feature writing. They will focus on reading, analyzing, and preparing to write a personality feature. Doing so will require them to build-on the interviewing skills they practiced in prior weeks. In Week 6, students will interview their chosen subject and record their interview. They will use the interview to write a personality feature. They will also offer feedback to their classmates.

Week 7 & 8: Opinion

In Week 7, students will read and comment on Editorials and Op-Eds from various sources. They will also prepare to write their own opinion piece, conducting research as needed, on a topic of their choice. In Week 8, students will complete their opinion piece and look at other media that are used to share opinion, such as social media or late-night comedy shows.

Week 9 & 10: Sports and Entertainment

In Week 9 the class shifts to look at another type of journalistic writing: sports and entertainment. Students will read and analyze exemplar pieces from these genres and will pick either a sports event to cover or a film, television offering, play, concert, or exhibit to review, and attend or view the event. In Week 10, they will write their sports or entertainment piece, and examine other media alternative for covering these high interest subjects.

Week 11: Whistleblowers and Investigative Reporting

This week, students will learn about a key feature of the free press: the ability of reporters to pursue investigative stories that reveal to the public information that powerful individuals and interests would like to conceal. Students will read stories from whistleblowers and consider issues concerning sources and confidentiality.

Week 12: Media Bias and Identifying Fake News

The news business has changed radically over recent decades, both in terms of media and in terms of the objectivity of coverage. In this week of the course, students will dig into how to identify fake news and use media effectively.

Week 13: The Student Press

First, students will learn about the landmark Supreme Court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier which determined rights of student journalists. Next, students will learn about the laws regarding student journalism in their own state and will develop their own stance toward the issue of the student press. Students will also choose and begin work on their final journalistic piece, which will be in a genre of their choosing.

Week 14: Careers in Journalism

This week, students will prepare for their final project by conducting necessary interviews and research and write a rough draft of their piece. They will also hear from current professionals in the field of journalism and explore their own ideas about how they may use their learning in the class in the future.

Week 15: Final Project Presentation and Review

This week, students will conclude their final project, and share their piece for comment from their peers. Students will complete a post-assessment and will reflect on the course as a whole.