|
201.01 MW 4 - 5:15 p.m.
Murphy 106
Office
hours:
Monday through Thursday
12:30 - 2 p.m.
or by appointment
Murphy
210
375.2511
dwilkins@sbu.edu
J/MC program
goals
FINAL EXAM
201.01:
Saturday,
May 9
3:45 - 6:15 p.m. M106
Catalog
course
description:
The basic course in
the principles and
practices of news
writing and reporting.
Writing for newspapers
will be stressed, but
included will be a unit
devoted to the differences
in writing for non-print
media. Prerequisite:
Successful completion
of writing and language
skills tests or with
permission; 3 credits.
A
journalist's job is to go
right to the heart of the
matter and say, 'This is what this story is about.' And be clear about
it. And be direct about it. That's increasingly where I think the best
jobs will be because the news
providers are going to say,
'I am different because
I have judgment, I have knowledge, I know how to
speak, I know how to write,
and I know how to convey
what is going on in the world.
—
Matthew Winkler,
editor-in-chief,
Bloomberg Business News
Tell the truth as you
understand it. ...
Truth is always subversive.
—
Anne Lamott, writer
Comfort the afflicted
and afflict the comfortable.
—
Finley Peter Dunne
It is a newspaper's duty
to print the news
and raise hell.
—
William Storey
Part of fighting censorship
is urging everyone to think
for themselves, even
before they're 18.
—
Bennett Haselton
First Amendment activist
The motto for many people
these days is 'Don't get
mad, get a Web page.'
—
Carey Heckma
legal scholar
Reality is being canceled
due to lack of interest.
—
Bill Schmitt
journalist
A good newspaper,
I suppose, is a nation
talking to itself.
—
Arthur Miller
playwright
A book is a version of
the world. If you do not
like it, ignore it; or offer
your own version in return.
—
Salman Rushdi
novelist
We accept the risk that
words and ideas have
wings we cannot clip
and which carry them
we know not where.
—
Joseph T. Sneed
federal judge
Academic freedom,
it turns out, is anything
but academic for
the student press.
—
Dale Harrison
journalism educator
Writing has laws of
perspective, of light
and shade, just as
painting does, or music.
If you are born knowing
them, fine. If not, learn
them. Then rearrange
the rules to suit yourself.
—
Truman Capote
novelist, 1958
Too often journalists
climb up on a stack
of facts and fall asleep.
—
Eric Newton
The Freedom Forum
Show it all.
Tell it all.
Put it out.
—
Sam Donaldson
ABC News
The nerds have taken
over the newsrooms.
—
Phillip Knightley
author
Consumers of news
are turned off by an
overdose of superficial
coverage of a world
increasingly hard to
comprehend.
—
Arnaud de Borchgrave
president and CEO
United Press International
... we do not develop
a mind by giving it more
facts but by helping it
to judge relevance.
—
I.A. Richards
All words are pegs
to hang ideas on.
—
Henry Ward Beecher
clergyman, 1887
Words form the thread
on which we string
our experiences.
—
Aldous Huxley, 1937
English novelist
Good reporting is about
nailing down facts,
not publishing
secondhand suspicions.
—
Howard Kurtz
media critic
The Washington Post
All journalists need basic
math skills. Government
budgets, crime reports
and research statistics
form the backbone of
daily journalism. Figuring
out percentage change, calculating basic
time/distance equations
and understanding real
estate tax assessments
are all part of a
journalist's daily job.
—
Kathleen Wickham, author
Math Tools for Journalists
The newsroom can no
longer function as a refuge
for the mathematically phobic. The reporter today
has to be both a
social scientist and a poet.
—
J.T. Johnson
Institute for Analytic Journalism
I hate this word 'spinning.'
It's a nice, uptown way
of saying 'lying.'
—
Benjamin C. Bradlee Jr.
former executive editor of
The Washington Post
In Market Land we talk
about products instead of newspapers, ... customers
instead of readers, price
instead of value,
shareholders instead of
owners. And sometimes
journalism is never mentioned.
—
Reese Cleghorn
journalism educator
Don't be the first paper
to write the story; be
the best paper to write
the story. And I, in turn,
will play better parts and
do less-stupid movies.
—
Sharon Stone, actor
He who speaks the
truth should have one
foot in the stirrup.
—
Hindu proverb
1. Good journalists check
and doublecheck information.
If a story appears too good
to be true, it usually is.
2. Good journalists attribute information to sources
or documents.
3. Good journalists learn to discriminate between
reliable
and unreliable sources.
4. Good journalists separate
facts from opinions,
assumptions, wishes
and fantasies.
5. Good journalists publish corrections if they
make errors.
—
Jim Detjen
professor,
environmental journalist
Journalism is not a science.
It is a craft ruled by
the iron law of 'It depends.'
—
Richard Cohen
syndicated columnist
That's what I find most encouraging about the
writing trades: They allow
mediocre people who are
patient and industrious
to revise their stupidity,
to edit themselves into
something like intelligence.
—
Kurt Vonnegut Jr., novelist
People are irritated by
journalists who put on
their frowny and concerned
faces while obviously
giddy with the heady
joy of running full gallop
with the pack.
—
Mike Hoyt
senior editor
Columbia Journalism Review
Journalist: a person
without any ideas but with
an ability to express them.
—
Karl Krauss
Austrian satirist, 1912
Our secret is to tell
people things they don't
know. It's so simple it
sounds stupid at first,
but when you think about
it, it is our fundamental advantage. We've got to tell people stuff
they don't know.
—
Tim McGuire editor,
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Nothing but a newspaper
can drop the same thought
into a thousand minds
at the same moment.
—
Alexis de Tocqueville
French historian, 1840
More crime, immorality
and rascality is prevented
by the fear of exposure
in the newspapers than
all the laws, moral
and statute, ever devised.
—
Joseph Pulitzer, 1878
Journalism is a vexing,
difficult, damned
inconvenient enterprise.
—
Neil L. Perry
editor, political journalist
To survive in the real
world, you have to learn something new every day.
—
Carol Schumacher
Kerr-McGee senior
vice president for
corporate affairs,
lecture at St. Bonaventure University, 9.26.03
This 'country [is]
threatened much more
by conformity than dissent.'
-- Bill Maher
Politically Incorrect
Want to know more
about Dr. Wilkins?
|
Clear
writing the key to competent communication
Welcome to the course that can help you continue your journey toward acquiring
the knowledge, skills, values and behaviors of those who precede you in
the best preparation for living I know — working in journalism and
mass communication.
This course will be useful for those who do not plan to become working
journalists, because journalism teaches you how to observe,
record, analyze,
organize and present
information — skills needed in any profession. Journalism training
prepares you to lead useful, productive and satisfying lives.
Bring an open mind, a love of precise language use and an appreciation
of the importance of reporting and writing in the act of communication.
But be prepared to learn how to deal with the frustration that the demands
of the profession bring to its practitioners.
The knowledge this course offers begins, most importantly, with learning
how to learn. Professional communicators such as journalists
must be Jacks and Jills of all trades: They know a little of this and
a little of that. But each story reporters undertake represents new material,
new knowledge ... all of which must be mastered by
a deadline. Focus on how you learn. Knowing how you learn best
is crucial to success as a communicator.
Master the skills of spelling, punctuation, grammar, Associated Press
style, sentence and paragraph structure, racial and gender sensitivity
and other basics of language use. That's Job
No. 1: learning to write clearly, accurately and credibly.
Develop journalistic values, specificially the most useful attribute a
journalist needs — good judgment.
That underlies achievement in any career path. You'll be exposed to your
instructor's values and attitudes about the need for ethical sensitivity
in the practice of journalism and mass communication. You're encouraged
to challenge and debate those values and attitudes. But
you will be expected to adopt and exhibit ethical values appropriate for
professional practice.
Certain behaviors are expected. These
include attending class, being on time for class, meeting deadlines,
showing respect for each other and your instructor and demonstrating a
work ethic appropriate for the profession for which you're training. Such
an ethic stresses attention to detail, common
sense and disciplined effort. Master these and you will prosper.
Not practicing these behaviors has consequences, as explained later in
this syllabus.
You should expect appropriate behaviors from your instructor as well —
a professional attitude toward the subject material, clarity in its presentation,
fairness in grading and respect for you and your ideas.
Here are the learning objectives
for JMC 201. (The numbers in parentheses refer to J/MC
program goals.)
• to understand the importance of simple language — short
words, short sentences and clear subject-verb-object sentence structure.
(1, 4)
• to increase your understanding of the importance of the reporter’s
fundamental questions — who, what, where, why, when, how and “why
are you telling me this?” The latter question is one reporters should
ask themselves while pretending to be the reader. (3, 4)
• to understand the concepts of accuracy, attribution, objectivity,
neutrality and fairness. (4, 6)
• to achieve competency in grammar, punctuation, spelling and use
of The Associated Press Stylebook. (1, 4)
• to write an effective summary lede. (1, 2, 4)
• to understand the journalist’s critical role in our society
and the journalist’s relationship with readers, viewers and listeners.
(2, 3, 4)
• to cultivate responsibility, accountability and appropriate and
ethical professional behavior. (4, 6, 7, 8)
• to learn the importance of quickly acquiring basic, accurate information
when reporting and writing about an unfamiliar subject. (3, 5)
• to understand the importance of numbers in story-telling. (2,
3, 4, 5)
• to understand the importance of deadlines. (4)
Don't be intimidated by that list. It's a big chunk of work, but we'll
try to get through as much of it as we can.
Here's the course work on which you
will be evaluated:
• at least eight quizzes primarily
on grammar, spelling, punctuation and AP style. Each quiz will include
percentage calculation questions and other problems relating to numbers.
(20 points each).
• at least four or five out-of class news
stories based primarily on mock press conference situations.
(20 points each).
• one
story covering a speech or public presentation — one draft only.
(20 points)
• a
final exam (10 points).
Consider this course as set in a working newsroom and expect the
unusual occurrence. Be sure to bring your AP Stylebook
and a calculator to each class. And, of course, be sure to bring
easily carried and weather-resistant
notetaking materials. You, too, should be weather-resistant: Always
be prepared for out-of-class excursions.
A syllabus is a plan for a course. It cannot be considered as cast in
stone. Circumstances may warrant change, and good journalists must always
be prepared for change. However, any changes will not be intended to make
the course harder: i.e., I won't decide to add a mid-term or double the
number of quizzes, for example.
A word of encouragement: This course operates on the assumption that there's
no such thing as a dumb question. If at any time
you do not understand something, ASK.
Stuff you'll need
You'll need the following:
• The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing
on Media Law 2007 or newer.
Recommended: Media Writer's
Handbook, 4th ed., by George T. Arnold, McGraw-Hill, or a good
language-use handbook of your choice.
• maps of Olean and Allegany.
• an inexpensive calculator
with, at minimum, addition, multiplication, subtraction and division functions.
• appropriate technological means
for saving and archiving work produced in the lab.
Consider acquiring other books and materials that may offer help in this
course and others to come. Get a good pocket dictionary and a thesaurus
and bring them to each class. Carrying a flash drive with bookmarks
of reference Web sites would be wise.
Understand the technology in your writing lab.
Know how to use your lab's computers for word-processing, browsing the
Web, printing stories and creating backup copies of your work
in myriad ways. Being able to use the writing lab's computers is your
responsibility. Be aware of the university's policy on printing in
labs.
Don't depend on one method of backing up
your work. Use several.
You are responsible for keeping back-up copies of your work.
I will create an e-mail distribution list using your university e-mail
addresses for passing on information and notices pertinent to the course.
Check your campus e-mail frequently, please.
RECOMMENDED:
I'm
an e-mail meanie [advice on e-mail etiquette
from Joe Grimm of the Detroit Free Press]
RECOMMENDED: E-mail
Interview Advice [the pros and cons from Jonathan Dube of MSNBC.com]
Review basic math. If you don't know
how to calculate percentages or use a percentage to find an old or a new
number, find out how. Without that knowledge, you'll be unable to report
and write stories involving comparisons of numbers. We'll tackle stories
based on numbers in the last third of the semester. Every
quiz will have percentage-related questions.
It would be wise to derive three formulas — percentage,
old number and new number — and
write them on the flyleaf of your stylebook. This simple, 10-minute task
— deriving and saving the formulas — will save you from endless
grief on quizzes and stories involving numbers.
We will look into other areas in which journalists need to understand
mathematical concepts — such as tax rates, municipal budgets, stocks
and bonds and others.
RECOMMENDED: Statistics
Every Writer Should Know
RECOMMENDED: Sporadic
Exponent [from 'Innumeracy' author John Allen
Paulos]
RECOMMENDED: The
Quest for Accurate Numbers [from Malcolm Gibson of the University
of Kansas]
BE PREPARED. Sound preparation begets
good performance.
Again, be prepared for out-of-classroom excursions
at any time in any weather.
Intelligent
effort = good grades
This course follows a straightforward format: You write, I critique, you
rewrite. The workload for this course is heavy, but most of that is in
reporting and writing, actually doing journalism.
I'll calculate your final grade this way: If you earn 90 percent of all
possible points, you'll receive at minimum an A-; 80 percent of all possible
points, B-, etc. (assuming no unexcused absences).
Here's how I will evaluate and grade your written work (in the interest
of attribution, I appropriated this from Prof. Ray Chavez of the University
of Colorado at Boulder).
A (20 points) — Story is publishable
as is; needs only very light editing, if any. Story shows mastery and
completeness of facts, news judgment, language use, narrative flow, proper
style, writing, fairness and balance. Only one
or two grammar, punctuation, spelling and AP style errors.
Has the news in the lede.
A-/B+ (19, 18) — Well-written,
accurate copy. Contains relevant material but may lack completeness. Needs
light editing. Has a few Associated Press style,
grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. Has
the news in the lede.
B (17) — Handled assignment
fairly well although left out some essential facts. Lede needs strengthening.
A few errors in style, spelling, grammar and
punctuation. Copy needs some rewrite and polishing before publication.
B-/C+ (16, 15) — Significant
problems in writing, structure, syntax, completeness and accuracy. Contains
several grammar, punctuation, spelling and style errors. Weak
lede.
C (14) — Several organizational
and writing problems. Contains inaccuracies or lacks many essential facts.
Many style, spelling, grammar and punctuation
errors. A half-hearted effort that produces a cursory story.
Needs considerable editing.
C-/D+ (13, 12) — A weak story
marked by carelessness. Cannot be published without major editing. Needs
extensive rewrite and additional reporting. Poorly proofread; many
spelling, grammar, punctuation and style errors.
D/D- (11, 10) — A poor story
that demonstrates only minimal ability to acquire, organize and present
facts. Needs complete rewrite and shows carelessness in editing and proofreading
due to numerous repeated grammar, punctuation,
style and spelling errors.
F (9 and below) — An unacceptable
story due to the total number of errors and inaccuracies. OR failure to
complete assignment. OR contains errors with
proper names, including misspellings and mistakes with capitalization.
OR contains libel. OR
missed deadline.
Journalism requires accuracy. Each error in fact will result in,
at minimum, a full letter-grade deduction from your grade on any assignment.
Failure
to satisfactorily complete any two out-of-class writing assignments by
assigned deadlines may result in a failing grade for the course.
Rewrites are required on all out-of-class stories
save for the speech assignment. They are due at the beginning
of the next class following the class in which first drafts are returned
unless otherwise specified. Your grade will be the average of the first
draft and the rewrite. Each rewrite must be accompanied by a "lessons
learned" memo.
READ THIS: Follow
this format to submit stories, rewrites
READ THIS: the
intolerable "no-no's."
RECOMMENDED: The
Elements of Journalism [from Journalism.org,
a Pew Center site]
READ THIS: The
'rules': Attend class; meet deadlines; don't cheat
READ THIS: 'Everything
I know I plagiarized in high school'
Know Associated Press style
If you intend to work in the mass media industry, accept the following
as a fact of professional life: You must know the AP Stylebook.
Journalism requires uniformity in matters of style. Some stylistic differences
exist among different news outlets, but in general, the industry conforms
to AP style.
We'll talk in class about reasons for consistency and uniformity in style,
but for now, understand that inconsistencies in style within a newspaper,
web site or broadcast report serve to hinder the reader or viewer and
erode the credibility of the news organization's presentation of news.
You will need to know AP style in subsequent journalism courses you take.
Potential employers will expect you to demonstrate knowledge of AP style.
You are responsible for following AP style in your copy.
READ THIS: the
list of AP Stylebook entries journalists and mass communicators ought
to know cold. Quizzes will cover entries from this list.
Where's the rest of the syllabus?
A syllabus usually contains a class-by-class outline to let you know what
you'll be doing and when. This one doesn't, and you're entitled to an
explanation.
As pointed out earlier, we'll try to create a class atmosphere that resembles
a working newsroom in which you play the role of a general-assignment
reporter. Such reporters do not know from day to day what stories, issue
or events they will cover.
When general-assignment reporters arrive at work, they get a handful of
assignment slips and may be expected to write five or six unrelated stories
in their eight-, nine- or 10-hour shifts. That's what your life may be
like in this class — not knowing exactly what comes next.
Be prepared. Be flexible. Expect the unexpected.
Here's what we'll cover and when we'll try to cover it:
Topics: Week 1
• introduction to basic journalistic notetaking, interviewing skills
• the importance of correct use of grammar and punctuation. Quizzes
will begin in Week 2, so consult the first-day handout regarding the content
of quizzes. This is a journalism course, not
a remedial language-use course. If you have problems with grammar, punctuation,
spelling and syntax, address them immediately.
Note: Try the interactive
student quizzes based on Media
Writer's Handbook. For
additional grammar and punctuation practice, see Ron Hartung's
interactive Newsroom
101.
RECOMMENDED:
The Tongue Untied: A guide
to grammar, punctuation and style
[by Kellee Weinhold of the University of Oregon. Used with permission.]
About.com also has excellent grammar
and punctuation explanations. And, of course, there's the "Guide
to Punctuation" in the back of the AP Stylebook.
Topics: Weeks 2-3
• acquiring AP style.
• defining "news."
• the importance of verbs as building blocks in stories.
• understanding summary news leads.
• understanding chronological organization through "mapping"
• more focus on the importance of grammar, punctuation, syntax and
AP style.
• attacking wordiness and redundancies.
Topics: Weeks 4-9
• increased focus on reporting skills via mock press conferences.
• discussion of public affairs reporting.
• discussion of stories that rely on numbers.
This will take us past mid-semester. The rest of the course is principally
the application of the skills introduced in the first half. Far more writing
will be done in the second half of the semester.
RECOMMENDED: Guide
to the hard-core basics
[From Bob Baker's Newsthinking web site.]
RECOMMENDED: The
XII Commandments of newswriting
[From Pat Vecchio]
RECOMMENDED: Reporter's
Desktop [Duff Wilson's coordinated search page]
RECOMMENDED: Making
Friends With A Clock: Time Management for Writers [one of several
discussions from Poynter; see also a
trio of tips and the Orlando Sentinel's top
20 time management tips]
Bibliography: The bulk of
what you will learn will be based on the 20 years of professional experience
of your professor in writing more than 2,000 editorials and commentaries
and 10,000 news stories and editing nearly 50,000 news stories. Nevertheless,
the university requires a bibliography for this course. These readings
are appropriate for students in a beginning newswriting course:
• Baker,
Bob. Newsthinking: The Secret of Making Your Facts Fall into Place. New
York: Allyn & Bacon, 2001.
• Cappon, Rene J. The Associated Press Guide to News Writing, 3rd
edition. Lawrenceville, N.J.: Arco, 2000.
• Scanlan, Christopher. Reporting and Writing: Basics for the 21st
Century. Fort Worth, Texas: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000.
• Wicker, Tom. On The Record: An Insider’s Guide to Journalism.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002.
• Zinsser, William. On Writing Well, 6th edition. New York: Harper,
1998.
posted
1.10.09 |
