jour 1345-005 writing for mass media€¦ · web viewstudents need to contact the center at...

J1345-006 syllabus spring 2011

JOUR 1345-006 Writing for Mass MediaThis syllabus is tentative and subject to change

11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday Engineering Lab 256Instructor: Kim Pewitt – JonesOffice number: FA Building 2120 (second floor balcony)Office telephone number: 817-272-7039 E-mail address: [email protected] hours: Tuesday and Thursday 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and by appointment

Description of Course Content: This course is an introduction to basic theories and techniques required when writing for the print media, (newspapers, magazines) the Internet, broadcast media, (radio, television) public relations and advertising with much emphasis on writing and practice in research.

Course Prerequisite: The UT Arlington Department of Communication requires students who began as a freshman or transferred from an out-of-state college to take and pass a grammar, spelling and punctuation test. This policy became effective in fall 2008. Students who began taking classes at UTA or another Texas college before fall 2008 are not required to take the test.

Students must pass the test with at least a 70 percent score. The UTA Testing Center, 201 Davis Hall, will administer the test. Students need to contact the center at 817-272-2363 at least 24 hours before taking the exam. The cost is $20. Students may attempt the test three times. If students do not pass after three attempts, they must wait a year before taking the test a fourth time. Students who have not taken the test must take and pass it, or they will be administratively dropped from the course—see a Communication Department adviser for the deadline.

Student Learning Outcomes: This prerequisite course will give you a sampling of several exciting professions and introduce you to the fundamental skills required by them. This class will provide techniques about how to make your writing more readable and to use the Associated Press Stylebook, which is the basic style guide for the media industry. Upon completion, students should be able to write basic news and feature stories, press releases, broadcast and advertising copy as well as gain stronger grammar and word usage skills.

Objectives: Students will be able to discuss ideas involved in the freedom of speech and the press including

media’s role in today’s society. Students will be able to discuss and apply basic components of media law and ethics to fact

gathering, research and writing to produce clear, accurate work. Students will be able to use basic research methods to gather accurate information necessary for

media writing. Students will be able to locate and discuss current local, national and international events through

various news venues. Students will be able to use creative, critical and independent thinking skills to conduct interviews,

conduct research and to discover all aspects of issues to write objective media stories.

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Students will be able to produce creative ideas for feature stories and advertisements through various presentations for media stories using images, graphics, visual communication and written word processes.

Students will be able to use fundamental number and statistic methods to report and write media stories.

Students will be able to use basic technology and software prevalent in today’s media. Students will be able to construct quality news and feature stories appropriate for print and

broadcast media; advertisements; press releases; other types of media writing styles. Students will be able to use Associated Press style, correct spelling and grammar in constructing

media stories. Students will be able to produce accurate media stories on a deadline. Students will be able to improve their skills by receiving constructive critiques concerning their

work and by performing constructive critiques by using the guidelines of media accuracy, fairness, conciseness, clarity, word usage, AP style, spelling and grammatical correctness.

Required Textbooks and Other Course Materials:

“Writing for the Mass Media,” Seventh Edition by James Glen Stovall. (beginning the first week

of class)

Associated Press Stylebook latest edition (beginning second week of class)

“When Words Collide: A Media Writer’s Guide to Grammar and Style by Lauren Kessler and

Duncan McDonald. Seventh edition. (beginning second week of class)

An attitude of success, the determination to attend all class meetings and the willingness to

work hard with a positive mind-set.

Supplies:

An appropriate size thumb/flash drive, compatible floppy disk or CD.

Notebook for taking notes in class.

Class Policies/Behavioral Expectations:

1. This class is an upside-down mouse and cell phone-on-silent class, which means that all

computers will remain off and each attached mouse will remain turned upside down until the

instructor indicates that it is time to use the computers.

o This means no Web surfing, e-mail reading or writing, or any computer activity during

lecture time, guest speaker presentations or discussions.

o It also means that no one should use a cell phone orally, as a camera, to surf the Web or to

receive/send text or e-mail messages during class work time or lectures.

o Phones need to be turned off or in the “silent/meeting” mode during class.

o Failure to comply could result in the student being asked to leave class.

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2. For every class students will need to bring the following items:

o The AP Stylebook

o The Media Writing textbook

o Notebook and writing utensil

o Your MavID to print work.

o A thumb/flash drive, CD or floppy disk to save your work:

Problems with disks, saving and computer crashes will not count as an excuse

for not turning in assignments on time.

You are responsible for having your work saved in different places in case of

accidents.

3. Arrive on time for every class ready to participate.

o Each student is responsible for signing the attendance/participation sheet during the first

15 minutes of each class meeting—it will not be available after that time—therefore

participation grades will not be earned for that day, and participation is worth 25 percent

of your grade.

o Participation grades begin the first day of class.

o AP style quizzes will be given at the beginning of class one day a week.

o Students arriving after a quiz begins will only be allowed to participate for the rest of the

time allotted for the quiz.

4. Good communication and attendance are crucial in this industry and will be expected for

this class.

o Class instructional lessons are comprised of material from many sources, not just the

textbook and missing instructional time prohibits a student’s success.

o It is your responsibility to contact a classmate concerning missed lecture notes and

assignments given during an absence including students with excused absences.

o College instructors are not responsible for compiling a list of missed and/or due

assignments for any student—that is each student’s responsibility—including students

with excused absences.

o Students need to arrange schedules to be present for every test and quiz—makeups will

not be allowed for out-of-town pleasure trips, vacations or other unexcused absences.

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Documented proof of excused absences will be required before a makeup test will be

scheduled—Students should stay in touch with the instructor by e-mail or telephone

concerning a possible absence.

o An excused absence means you are seriously ill, there is an emergency such as a car

accident, a serious illness in your immediate family, or a death in your immediate

family. Immediate family means parent, sibling, spouse, grandparent and your

children

o Most situations will require you to bring authentic proof such as a doctor’s note, funeral

program or police report.

o Absences will be excused for required attendance of official UTA-sponsored events or

activities and religious holidays recognized by UTA. Documentation will be required for

these absences as well.

5. Respect: Communication professionals should show respect for others regardless of whether

they share the same opinion as a coworker, supervisor, instructor or source. If someone should

show disrespect in any way for a classmate, a guest speaker or me, I will address that

person’s behavior appropriately—possibly asking the student to leave the classroom.

You can avoid problems by following these guidelines:

o During class listen closely and disagree calmly with others’ opinions in discussions.

o Please listen attentively when someone is speaking to the class.

o Do not surf the Web, text and use other electronic devices (other than for typing notes)

while someone is speaking during class including a classmate.

6. Authorized attendees: Only enrolled students are permitted to attend the class. Visitors such as

family members, friends or children are not allowed in the classroom.

Work Expectations:

This course is intensive.

You may often be working on a project and/or class assignments at the same time plus with

reading chapter material or other materials for class and studying for quizzes.

Lectures cannot cover sufficiently what you need to know about media writing, therefore

You are expected to be prepared for class discussions and assignments by reading your

textbook and completing classwork and homework assignments—many exam questions will

come from the book as well as class lecture information.

You will need to begin projects in enough advance time to turn in quality work and not start

working on them the night before they are due.

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If you are struggling with the material or workload, I expect you to come see me during office

hours to discuss it. Do not wait until the last month of class — see me as soon as you sense the

struggle.

Assignment Expectations:

Writing journalistic-style stories involves lots of practice and may require you to attend on-

campus and/or off-campus events.

You will be given advance notice of this so you can arrange your schedule accordingly.

When possible, you will be given a choice of days and times to attend the required event.

Substitution for a required event can only be made with the instructor’s approval in advance.

You are responsible for reading and understanding each assignment’s requirements and carefully

following instructions—otherwise assignments may not be accepted—ask questions if you do not

understand the instructions.

Late Work: o Hard copies of in-class assignments are due at by the end of class the day they are assigned unless

specified otherwise.

o Out-of-class assignments are due at the beginning of class (within five minutes of the class start

time).

o Any out-of-class assignment turned in later than the beginning of the class period on the due date

could receive a lower grade.

o An assignment turned in a week late will receive one letter grade lower and will continue

to receive point deductions for each day it is late unless a grade deduction is waived by the

instructor.

o Grade deduction waivers may be given due to an extended confirmed illness or confirmed

emergency situation.

o Approved late work due to illness or emergencies must be turned in on the date specified by the

instructor to avoid a grade penalty.

o No work will be accepted later than a week beyond the original due date unless approved by

the instructor with documented proof of an emergency or illness situation provided by the

student at the time of the request.

Rewritten Work:

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Some work will be returned to students with instructions to rewrite and submit for a higher grade.

The work needs to be rewritten and submitted by the next class period unless the instructor

specifies otherwise or the grade will become a 50.

The original work needs to be turned in with the rewritten work.

College-Level Assignment Responsibility

College-level work requires college-level responsibility, so you must keep up with assignment

due dates, instructions and your grades.

Grading Policy:

Class participation+ = 25 percent

AP style quizzes = 15 percent

Current event journal = 15 percent

Major projects/stories* = 25 percent

Exams (a midterm and a final) = 20 percent

Total 100 percent

* There will be six major assignments : One assignment will involve interviewing people and/could

require attending an event to complete the assignment.

+ Participation includes attendance, note-taking, listening involvement, discussion involvement, concept

involvement and class assignments/homework. Lack of attendance = zero for a participation grade for

that day.

Overall Grading Scale:

A = 90 to 100 percent

B = 80 to 80 percent

C = 70 to 79 percent

D = 60 to 69 percent

F = below 60 percent

Grading Typed Assignments: Typed assignments will be graded according to presence of all required elements, publishable

quality, which includes all the required elements such as: qualified sources, thoroughness, quality

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of quotes, objectivity (lack of opinion/bias), accuracy, story focus, grammar, AP style, leads, story

organization, pacing/flow and clarity.

Grading is ultimately subjective . In the media world, editors and supervisors edit stories and

press releases according to AP style, organizational guidelines and their preferences. Consider me

your editor. Following the journalistic writing guidelines learned in class and comments written

on your assignments will earn higher grades. Always double-check all facts, spellings of names,

titles and places.

An automatic “F” will be given for misspelling a name, plagiarism and/or a factual error. A

grade of zero may be given for plagiarism.

o The grade of zero or an “F” will be either for the assignment or for the class

depending on the severity of the plagiarism incident.

Someone making these errors can be fired.

Most of these errors open the door to lawsuits against the individual and/or the

organization

Grading key for written assignments:

A = Publishable quality

B = Publishable with little editing

C = Substantial editing needed

D = Marginal quality

F = Unacceptable

Class instruction/assignment turn-in: This is a classroom instructional course, which means that you must be in the classroom for

lectures—they are not given online generally.

THIS IS NOT A WEB-BASED CLASS. We will only use the Blackboard learning system

(replaces Webct) in conjunction with classroom instruction.

Assignments are NOT to be uploaded to Blackboard unless instructed to do so for a particular

assignment.

Assignments ARE to be turned in as hard copies—not through Blackboard or e-mail unless

otherwise instructed.

Basic assignment format:

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The following is a list of requirements to follow with every assignment unless otherwise specified:

All assignments need to be typed, printed and a hard copy needs to be submitted to the

instructor unless otherwise specified. All assignments for print media stories and exercises need to

be typed in this format, no handwritten assignments will be accepted:

o Use Microsoft Word only and set the font to Times New Roman or Arial 12 point,

paragraphs need to be double-spaced (after the heading).

o Indent all paragraphs.

o In the top left side place the heading (single-spaced): -- Student name, course #, section #,

date and assignment name (not a title for the story). You can use the header/footer option

in Microsoft Word for this.

Example: Your Name 1 JOUR 1345-005 Sept. 21 Crime story

o Hit the Enter key twice and begin the assignment.

o Insert numbers in the top right side of each page on assignments longer than one page.

News story requirements/instructions: The News Story Major assignment story must have at least three qualified sources:

o Sources are people interviewed and quoted for a story. They must be used in the story

and the sources must be relevant to the story topic.

o Sources are not family members, friends or classmates. They can help you find

sources but cannot be used as sources.

o Sources do not include you. Stories will be written in third person, objectively. Keep

yourself and opinions out of the stories unless specifically assigned an opinion piece.

o Sources need to be appropriate to the story subject — no random interviewing to

meet the required number of sources for a story. Example: If you are writing a story

about a new treatment for a disease, talk to health professionals and researchers involved

in treating that disease. You may also interview people afflicted with the disease and their

family members. Members of support organizations for that disease may also be

interviewed.

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o All sources must be identified by first and last name as well as by title and/or job

description . People without titles or job description are to identified as either a city

resident (Arlington resident Lindsey Lohan) or school major with class rank (biology

junior Zac Efron). These are attributed as shown above.

o Stories will not be accepted and/or graded without a source list . List only the sources

quoted and cited in the story.

o You will submit a source list as the last page of your assignment to include the name,

title and contact information for each source you spoke with and quoted in the story.

o Interviews/conversations via text messages, online chats, e-mail or other text

technology ARE NOT acceptable.

o If I cannot confirm a source through the information you provide, the source will not

be counted.

o Interviews with sources need to be conducted in person or via telephone unless the

instructor gives prior approval.

o The following do not count as source substitutes : Information from the Internet,

information printed in books, newspapers, newsletters, magazines, other reference books or

information broadcast on TV or radio. These may only be used as sources after you have

acquired the three qualified sources.

o If you want to use information from a government database, news release or any research

studies, you must obtain prior instructor approval .

Extra Credit:

Accepted only if all assignments for the semester have been completed and turned in on their

deadlines. All extra credit work must be turned in by the last day of class (the week before final

exams).

1. *Working with a college or a professional newspaper/magazine:

a. If you get a story published in a major publication, The Shorthorn or another college

newspaper or magazine this semester, you may receive as many as four points for each

published article in the current event category of class. There is a limit of four published

articles.

b. Articles published before the spring 2011 semester start date will not be accepted.

i. Articles should be attached to a typed page with the article name and date published.

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ii. This should be done in the typed format style to include your name, course and

section number.

c. * If you work as an editor, page designer, photographer or advertising copywriter for

a college or professional publication, you may receive as many as 16 points in the current

event category of class during the fall semester as detailed below:

i. Photographers should submit pages containing your published photographs.

1. The publish date must be shown on the page.

2. The photo credit line must be present with your name.

3. The limit is four photos.

ii. Editors, designers and copywriters need to submit three different published pages

with the staff box.

1. The page must show the publish date and your name as staff.

2. The pages cannot all be within the same week.

3. The limit is four staff boxes.

2. * If you apply for and obtain an internship with a media company during this class, you could

receive as many as 10 points in the major assignment category of the grading policy. Internships applied

for and/or started before the spring 2011 semester start date are not eligible for the bonus points. A

copy of the internship approval with the date on the organization’s letterhead is required before the last

day of class (the week before final exams) for the semester.

3. * The first person to bring in a specific spelling, grammar, AP style or factual error from a

professional newspaper, textbook or magazine, not a college or high school newspaper, will earn two

points of extra credit for each error in the AP style category of the grading policy. The newspaper errors

need to be in issues published during the spring 2011 semester. A maximum of eight points for

finding errors may be earned during the semester.

To get extra credit for finding an error, use the typed format to include a one-sentence

description of the mistake. Attach the article or a photocopy of the article with the error

circled — just the page with the error on it — not an entire magazine or newspaper

section.

* Extra credit points will not be given unless all assignments are completed and turned in by the

deadlines specified by the instructor—no exceptions.

Current Event Journal entries:

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This assignment will be posted in the Current Event journal on Blackboard by each due date as listed on the class schedule.

Students are required to be aware of current events (within seven days of the assignment due date)

through reading newspapers such as the Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning News, The New

York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal

and for campus news, The Shorthorn. All are available online.

o Journal entries containing information from newspapers other than the ones listed

above will not be accepted.

o Entries missing the required elements will be given a zero.

Required Elements:

The current event journal entry will consist of your choice of five current news events, which

must include one campus news story, one local news story, two national news stories and one

international news story.

Articles are to come from at least three different newspapers. Example: one article from the Star-

Telegram, one from The Dallas Morning News, two from The New York Times and one from The

Shorthorn.

This assignment will be due as an entry in your Blackboard class journal approximately every

other Tuesday by 11 a.m. –first one is due Feb. 1.

The articles are to be current news events, NOT editorials, briefs or columns.

200 to 300 words total using the required typed format.

A very brief summary of each article’s content.

The most prominent news values other than timeliness and audience.

Questions raised in the article but not answered by the writer.

Each article’s headline and date.

The writer (s)’ name.

The publication’s name.

Correct grammar usage, as well as AP style, spelling and punctuation need to be used in all

assignments including current events. (I will deduct points for AP style usage beginning with the

third entry.

An example of this assignment is attached to the syllabus.

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AP Style Quizzes: Students are required to study the AP Stylebook, the AP Stylebook guide and the correct

editing marks to be prepared for a weekly quiz. The first few weeks of quizzes will be open-

book style.

The quiz will require students to identify and correct AP style mistakes, spelling and grammar

errors using correct editing marks.

There will be a separate vocabulary section and a separate spelling section on each quiz—a list

of words to study will be distributed. The vocabulary words’ definitions and usage information

are found in the “AP Stylebook.”

The quiz will be given Thursday of most weeks.

Department, College and University PoliciesDrop/Add Policy: It is the responsibility of the student to process the official class drop and add forms. Faculty cannot drop students from any class. Students need to go to his/her "major" department to drop a class. For example, if you are a HISTORY MAJOR, and you want to drop a MATH class, you need to go to the HISTORY DEPARTMENT to drop your class. (This is a new rule as of summer 2006). The last drop date for this semester is April 1 (no kidding). Students can drop classes until 4 p.m. CST on that date. After classes are unavailable online, to add a course, you need to get the signature of an adviser in the department of your major, AND then go to an adviser in the department of that course to add it (this is a new rule as of summer 2010).

Americans with Disabilities Act: The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 92-112 - The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens.As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide "reasonable accommodations" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate based on that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty of their need for accommodation and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels. Information regarding specific diagnostic criteria and policies for obtaining academic accommodations can be found at www.uta.edu/disability. In addition, you may visit the Office for Students with Disabilities in room 102 of University Hall or call them at 817-272-3364.

Academic Integrity:

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is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. "Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts." (Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Series 50101, Section 2.2)

As communicators, your professional reputation is your greatest strength. o Honesty and ethical behavior build a positive professional reputation. You are expected to model

the ethical behavior in this course that you would be expected to follow as a professional communicator.

o Examples of cheating, plagiarism and collusion are provided in your student handbook.o The following behaviors also constitute academic dishonesty:

o Making up sources, information or quotes except as explicitly specified for certain class assignments.

o Failing to properly attribute quotes and ideas to sources.o Asking someone to say you interviewed them when you did not.o Getting other people to write or edit class assignments for you.o Lying to a source or misrepresenting yourself to get information.o Copying a story or any part of a story from a published news account, Web page or press

release.o Using information from any sources without proper attribution.o Turning in a story you’ve already written or published for another class.

I take academic honesty seriously. At the very minimum, violating the university or class standards for academic honesty will result in a zero on any class assignment, quiz or exam. Depending on the severity of the violation, I may assign an “F” for the course. I will report any violations to the Office of Student Conduct and will pursue hearings there if necessary. Anyone receiving a zero for violating academic honesty policies will not be eligible for extra credit points.

Student Support Services Available: The University of Texas at Arlington provides a variety of resources and programs designed to help students develop academic skills, deal with personal situations, and better understand concepts and information related to their courses. These resources include tutoring, major-based learning centers, developmental education, advising and mentoring, personal counseling, and federally funded programs. For individualized referrals to resources for any reason, students may contact the Maverick Resource Hotline at 817-272-6107 or visit www.uta.edu/resources for more information.

Librarian to Contact: Rafia Mirza, Communication Department liaison; [email protected]; 817-272-7428

E-Culture Policy: The University of Texas at Arlington has adopted the University e-mail address as an official means of communication with students. Through the use of e-mail, UT-Arlington is able to provide students with relevant and timely information, designed to facilitate student success. In particular, important information concerning registration, financial aid, payment of bills, and graduation may be sent to students through e-mail.

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.uta.edu/resources


The university assigns an e-mail account to all students. Information about activating and using it is available at www.uta.edu/email. New students (first semester at UTA) are able to activate their email account 24 hours after registering for courses. There is no additional charge to students for using this account, and it remains active as long as a student is enrolled at UT-Arlington. Students are responsible for checking their e-mail regularly---at least once daily. I am required to accept student e-mail through the UTA e-mail system only. I will use it regularly to communicate with students concerning updates, changes in assignments and/or class schedule and tips to help with assignments. E-mail sent to faculty from outside IPs are sometimes placed in a quarantine file — instructors don’t get regular notification of quarantined items.

Grade Grievance Policy: In attempting to resolve any student grievances regarding grades, first it is the student’s obligation to make a serious effort with the individual with whom the grievance originated. to resolve the matter. Individual course instructors retain primary responsibility for assigning grades. The instructor’s judgment is final unless compelling evidence shows discrimination, preferential treatment or procedural irregularities. If students wish to appeal, their request must be submitted in writing—on an appeal form available in departmental or program offices—to the department chair or program director. The student has one calendar year from the date the grade is assigned to initiate the grievance. The normal academic channels are department chair or program director, academic dean and the office of the provost. However, before considering a grievance, the department chair or program director (dean) will refer the issue to a departmental or program (college/school) committee of faculty. If the committee cannot reach a decision acceptable to the parties involved, the matter will follow the remaining academic channels. The decision of the provost is final. Information specific to the procedures for each academic unit is available in the office of the academic dean.This syllabus is not a contract, expressed or implied, and may be amended by the instructor as deemed necessary.

Tentative scheduleA class schedule of activities and assignments will be available the

first week of class during the spring 2011 semester.

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http://www.uta.edu/email

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