Department: Mass Communications

Course: MC 309 Reporting
Prerequisites: MC 210 Media Writing and MC 220 Desktop Publishing

Professor: Shelton Gunaratne, Ph.D.
Office: FR 255I
Office Hours: MWF 10 a.m.-11 a.m.; 1p.m.-3 p.m.; W 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Phone: 477-4035
Classroom: FR 252
E-mail: gunarats@mnstate.edu
Website: www.mnstate.edu/gunarat/

Semester: Spring 2004

Course description: Reporting is designed to achieve the following outcomes: proficiency in writing both hard news and soft news; experience in integrating writing, editing and design through teamwork; competence in using Associated Press style, grammar and syntax; as well as on-line and off-line research sources; skill in interviewing; and acquire an understanding of the theory and contemporary practice of journalism (The Bulletin 2003-2005).

Note: This course outline is available on-line. The instructor reserves the right to revise it. Students should access it via WebCT, where I will regularly post the grades for required tests and assignments.

Objectives:

a. The expert views on news reporting and writing (laid down in the prescribed text)
b. The news practices of the U.S. and worldwide news media
c. The sources and types of local news stories
d. Legal and ethical implications for news writing
e. Racism, sexism and other prejudices that media may reflect
f. The implications of the Information Superhighway
g. Current affairs

2. To improve skills relating to:

a. Gathering information and writing all types of local news stories
b. Use of the Associated Press style, including punctuation
c. Use of correct grammar and ability to use active voice
d. Use of the Internet research tools, as well as cyberspace publishing
e. Interviewing
f. Employing the narrative (storytelling) style of news presentation, as well as the inverted pyramid style
g. Experimentation with WEDiting

3. To develop professional attitudes relating to:

a. Ethical behavior in news reporting and writing
b. Importance of deadlines
 

Textbooks:

Mencher, M. (2003). News Reporting and Writing. 9th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill. (The textbook comes with two CD-ROMs, which students must bring to all class sessions.)

The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law with Internet Guide and Glossary.  New York: The Associated Press. (If you see any inconsistency between your textbook's "Stylebook"  (in Student CD-ROM) and the AP Stylebook, the latter prevails.


Supplementary (on-line and other) references:
:
American Journalism Review

Bartlett's Quotations

Brooks, B.S., & Sissors J.C. (2001). The Art of Editing, 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 

Columbia Journalism Review . 

Darling, C. (2000). Guide to Grammar and Writing. Hartford, CT: Capital Community College.

Garcia, M. (1993). Contemporary Newspaper Design: A Structural Approach. 3d ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
(Chapter 1 "WED: the importance of writing, editing and design," pp. 10-37, is compulsory reading before Week 9.) OVERSIZE Z253 .G27 

The Journalist's Toolbox

Merriam-Webster Online

Metzler, Ken. Creative Interviewing: The Writer's Guide to Gathering Information by Asking Questions. 3d ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. 1997.

News Researcher's Page, compiled by Barbara Gellis Shapiro.

The New York Times Navigator

Online Newspapers Worldwide

Roget's Thesaurus. 

Strunk, W., & White, E. B. (1979) The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan.
(This is a classic handbook that all must read before getting into the grammar component of the course. Access it on the Internet.) .

Writing and Editing Links
 

Appendices
Active Voice writing
Copy Preparation
Dow Jones Internships tests
NYT's Daily News Quiz
Standards for Writing Classes
 

Assessment of Objectives:

• Objective 1 (knowledge and understanding ): Acquired through prescribed readings, exposure to news media and class discussions. Assessed through a midsemester examination (including a report on WEDiting), a final examination (including a book review or an assessment of online newspapers worldwide), class participation and news quizzes.

• Objective 2 (skills ): Assessed through style, punctuation and grammar quizzes; four stories (at least two written in inverted pyramid format with summary leads); one team-produced WEDited story written in narrative (storytelling) style; and a test on ability to use the Internet research tools.

• Objective 3 (attitudes ): Assessed through the ability to meet deadlines and adherence to ethical behavior in producing class assignments.

• Four stories--at least two hard news:                                 300 points
• One WEDited narrative-(storytelling) style story:                100 points
• Style, punctuation, grammar, news and Internet tests:         300 points
• Midsemester examination:                                                 100 points
• Final examination (including analytical reports on NYT):     200 points
• Attendance [An incentive grade of up to 50 points]                                                                  
                                                                              Total: 1,000 points

Normally, A= 900+  B=800+  C=700+  D=600+ and  F=<600. However, the overall class performance may determine the final distribution of grades. I may add bonus points for regular class attendance.

Note: This course requires that you Laser-print all written assignments using the 12-point Times font (except the W.E.D. assignment, which should follow the format of the target publication). You will have to re-edit copy on-line when you transmit the same by e-mail.

• Plan your stories for a Tri-College publication--The Advocate, The Spectrum or The Concordian-- (because The Forum and other community newspapers do not normally publish student copy), and clearly state the name of that publication in the header of your story. (Follow the guidelines in the handout on copy preparation.) You must show your news sense by showing awareness of the deadlines of those publications. For instance, you cannot cover a speech on Tuesday and target it for publication in the following Thursday edition of The Advocate.

• Your stories should show balance by including interviews with two or more sources with different views. Anonymous sources are unacceptable.

• Use the campus directories and the local telephone directory to check spelling of names. Fact errors -- misspelled names, incorrect job titles, etc. -- will be returned to you with an F grade. (You can eliminate the F grade for an upgrade up to a C by resubmitting a revised copy within a week.) Spelling and grammatical errors will lower your grade.

• Use active voice in all your writing assignments.

• Read the MSUM mass communications department's handout on standards for writing classes for further details.

• Read the two chapters on interviewing in the Mencher text (chapters 14 and 16) quite early.

P.S.: Each story should reach me as an online document as well as hard copy. Once you word-process your story in the required format, "Select All" using the "Edit" menu. Then open your e-mail account's Pine mail program, click the "Compose" command, write my e-mail address, and "Paste" the story in the the message area. Re-edit your copy online using the Pico editor. Your story must reach me not only before the deadline but also before it appears in print in your target publication. I shall not accept published articles for grading. However, I will raise the grade (up to one full grade) of the assignments you publish.

   Teams of three students will do the project. Read the following:

--The four principles of artistic design (elaborated in pp. 278-283 of Brooks & Sissors' The Art of Editing) that distinguishes traditional (sans design) layout from contemporary modular design/layout

--The six tips for better editing and design  that elevates contemporary design to the W.E.D. level by attracting the audience to the story through multiple entry points (pp. 13-20) plus Don Fry's five tips for W.E.D. implementation (pp. 21-23)  in Chapter 1 WED: the integration of writing, editing and design in Mario Garcia's 1993 book.

--Other tips on W.E.D. concept available from Poynter Institute Web site: 
           How W.E.D. works
           W.E.D.: The integration of writing/editing/design
          

ATTENTION: After reading the above material, each student should be able to explain the differences between the the traditional approach and the W.E.D. approach providing clear answers to the following:
     1. What distinguishes traditional layout from contemporary layout/design?
     2. What features elevate a story/page from mere contemporary design to the W.E.D. level?
     3. How would  your team follow Don Fry's five tips for W.E.D. implementation?

Your  W.E.D. story will reflect your ability to implement the W.E.D. concept. Thus each team will have to brainstorm for story ideas that will suit the editorial needs of the target publication, usually in consultation with the editor of that publication. The team members should designate the writer, editor and designer of the story before venturing into each project. Each of them is equally responsible for the final output. Well before you meet as a team to decide on the ideas for W.E.D. projects, each student should have read the following three chapters from Mencher (2000): "The Lead" (pp.139-161), "The Writer's Art" (pp.162-199) and "Features, Long Stories and Series"(pp.200-235).

-- The team's W.E.D. stories should be laser-printed and adhere to the usual format of the target publication in relation to column width, headline type, text type, byline style, paragraph indentation, etc. Use contemporary design to place the text, photos and graphics with appropriate headlines and cutlines. This should produce a rectangular format encompassing all the story elements. Caution: Do not lift pictures or illustrations from the Web without permission from copyright owners. Borrow the digital camera from the mass comm. department to take your own news photos.

-- The W.E.D. story idea is due on March 12  (Week 9). It must specify the role of each team member and the sources to be interviewed, in addition to the story idea. The Laser-printed story is due on April 2. (Week 12)

Grading: writing, editing and design components of each story will receive separate grades. The overall grade will be the average of the three. (The required reading in Garcia and Brooks and Sissors should help you to understand the significance of these three aspects.)

-- The guidelines relating to story assignments, specified in the preceding section, apply to the W.E.D. story as well.
 

3. Style, punctuation, grammar, news and Internet tests will be given regularly as specified in the schedule. Study the grammar and style CD-ROM that comes with the Mencher text. Read The Elements of Style for further help. Please study the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund tests to get a sense of the skills in grammar and usage and current affairs knowledge journalists ought to have. To answer current affairs quizzes, students should regularly read national and international news in an online newspaper like The New York Times (see NYT's Daily News Quiz) and local news in The Forum. Please note that this course requires you to read the national newspapers, available online, regularly. (You will have to memorize the major AP guidelines relating to capitalization, abbreviations, punctuation and use of numerals.)

4. The midsemester examination (March 26) will include readings and lectures up to the scheduled week. It will also contain a section on usage/grammar/style and sections on current affairs/geography/newsmakers similar to those in the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund tests. You will also have to supply short answers on the W.E.D. approach.

5. The final examination will be a comprehensive exam based on all your readings and class discussions. The take-home component (see below) will account for about 25 percent of the exam.

  NYT Story Critique (Length 1,000 words; due in Week 15): The final exam will include, as a take-home component, an analytical report of a story written by a New York Times reporter (due in Week15).Use the following guidelines:

• Cite the article: Writer/Headline/Publication/Date/Section and page number. [e.g., Barbara Crosette, India goes to war, NYT, 4-12-03, A1]. Attach a printout of the article to your submission.
• Type. Identify the type of news [soft news or hard news?] and the type of story [straight news, news feature, or feature?]. Give your reasons.
• Lead. Identify the type of lead [direct/summary or indirect/delayed?]. If it's a direct lead, is it single-element, two-element, or multiple-element? If it's not single-element, do the elements appear in order of newsworthiness? Is the lead complete [who, what. where, when, why, and how], and does it begin with the correct feature of the lead. What's the length of the lead. If it's an indirect lead, in which paragraph does the theme of the story appear, and does it follow the Zimmerman style [an anecdote preceding the theme]?
• Structure. In straight news stories, does the body of the story adequately document all elements in the order mentioned in the lead? Does it follow the inverted pyramid format? In soft news stories (features), does the body adequately elaborate on the theme? Does the writer present colorful quotes and anecdotes to document the main points of the theme?
• Sources. List the sources the writer has interviewed for the story. Do the sources represent all points of view? Are they authoritative from the audience's point of view? Are there more sources associated with one point of view than with others? Other than the sources cited in the story, what other background sources has the writer used?
• Writing Skills. Particularly in the case of features, does the writer show rather than tell? [Does he/she use the elements of drama--man v. man, man v. nature, man v. self--to present the story graphically? Are the background details woven skillfully into the moving narrative? What transitional devices has the writer used to move from one point to another? Does the writing style [sentence length, selection of verbs, use of voice, paragraphing, etc.] match the nature of the story? Provide an abundance of examples to make your analysis clear.    

6. Attendance is required (Up to 5 percentage points added to final course grade to reward good attendance). Students are expected to attend all class meetings. In case of absence due to health, military obligations, emergencies or official university activities, students must provide satisfactory documentation. I shall not give make-up quizzes or tests for frivolous reasons such as hunting or car problems. Students should avoid committing themselves for activities on days scheduled for tests and quizzes.

I shall follow the guidelines on attendance policy and academic honesty spelled out in the Student Handbook.

Special Accommodations: Students with disabilities who believe that they need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg       Toutes, coordinator of disability services at 477-2652 (phone) or 477-2047 (TTY), CMU 222, as soon as possible.

Class Schedule:

Jan. 16
Activity: Lab: Exploring e-mail and searching MSUM Web site for campus reporting
               Mencher, Stylebook: pp. S1-S4
 

Week 2

Jan. 19  (Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday)

Jan. 21
Lecture/Discussion: Ch. 2: Components of the Story
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

Jan. 23
Recommended reading: Callahan, Ch. 7: Strategic searching: Web research tools
Quiz: Style quiz #1 (based on Mencher, pp. S1-S4)
Assignment: Practice story writing from CD-ROM
 

Week 3

Jan. 26
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 14: Interviewing Principles
Required Reading: Mencher, Stylebook: pp.S4-S7

Jan. 28
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 15: Interviewing Practices
Required Reading: Metzler, Ch. 3: The Ten Stages of the Interview

Jan. 30
Recommended reading: Callahan, Ch. 4: Basic reporting resources and references: Internet journalism resources
Quiz: Style quiz #2 (based on Mencher, pp. S4-S7)
Assignment: Practice story writing from CD-ROM 

Week 4

Feb. 2
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 3: What is news?
Required Reading: Mencher, Stylebook: pp.S7-S10

Feb. 4
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 4: The Tools of the Trade

Feb. 6
Activity: Working with CD-ROM. Accessing Internet writing & editing resources
Quiz: Style quiz #3 (based on Mencher, pp. S7-S10)
Assignment: First story deadline (earlier deadline for event-oriented stories)
 

Week 5

Feb. 9
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 5: The Lead
Required Reading: Mencher,  Punctuation: pp. S10--S14

Feb. 11
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 6: Story Structure
 Activity: Working with CD-ROM

Feb. 13
Activity: Working with CD-ROM
Quiz: Punctuation quiz #1 (based on Mencher, pp. S7-S10)
 

Week 6

Feb. 16
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 7: The Writer's Art
Required Reading: Mencher, Student CD-ROM Grammar appendix

Feb. 18
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 8: Features, Long Stories and Series

Feb. 20
Quiz: Grammar quiz #1 (based on CD-ROM Grammar appendix)
Assignment: Second story deadline (earlier deadline for event-oriented stories)
 

Week 7

Feb. 23
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 9: Broadcast Writing
Required Reading: Mencher, Student CD-ROM Grammar appendix

Feb. 25
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 10: Digging for Information
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

Feb. 27
Quiz: Grammar quiz#2 (based on CD-ROM Grammar appendix)
Activity: Lab: Computer Assisted Research
 

Week 8

March 1
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 11: Making Sound Observations
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

March 3
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 12: Building and Using Background
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

March 5
Required Reading: Mencher, Appendix C: How to Use the FOI Act (CD-ROM)
Quiz: News quiz #1
Assignment: Third story deadline (earlier deadline for event-oriented stories)
 

Week 9

March 8
Required Reading: Garcia, Ch. 1: WED: the integration of writing, editing and design

March 10
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 13: Finding, Cultivating and Using Sources
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

March 12
Required Reading: Poynter Institute's on-line articles on W.E.D: (a)  W.E.D. (b) How W.E.D. works
Assignment: Plan and design for W.E.D. story due
 

Week 10

March 15  (Spring Break)

March 17 (Spring Break)

March 19 (Spring Break)
 

Week 11

March 22 (Advising Week)
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 16: Speeches, Meetings and News Conferences
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

March 24 (Advising Week)
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 17: Hunches, Feelings and Thinking Patterns
(racism, sexism, stereotyping and other biases)
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

March 26 (Advising Week)
Midsemester Examination (including News Quiz #2)
 

Week 12

March 29
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 18: Accidents and Disasters
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

March 31
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 19: Obituaries
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

April 2
Activity: Lab: Accessing local Web sites for public affairs reporting
Activity: Lab: Using Internet tools to locate addresses
Assignment: W.E.D. story due in printed form
 

Week 13

April 5
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 20: The Police Beat
Activity: Working with CD-ROM  Crime reporting links

April 7 (Withdrawal deadline)
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 21: The Courts
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

April 9 (Non-instructional day)

Week 14

April 12
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Chapter 22: Sports
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

April 14
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Chapter 23: Business Reporting
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

April 16
Activity: Working with CD-ROM
Assignment: Fourth story deadline (earlier deadline for event-oriented stories)
 

Week 15

April 19
Lecture/Discussion: Chapter 24: Local Government and Education
Assignment: NYT Newspaper Report due

April 21
Lecture/Discussion: Local Government and Education (contd.)
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

April 23
Activity: Lab: Practice Internet skills test (practice)
Assignment: All supplementary/make-up stories due
 

Week 16

April 26
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 25: Reporters and the Law
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

April 28
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 26: Taste -- Defining the Appropriate
Required Reading: Mencher, Appendix D: Code of Ethics (Student CD-ROM)

April 30
Assignment: Hands-on test (Show your Internet skills)
Note: Submit clippings of stories published during semester
 

Week 17

May 3
Lecture/Discussion: Mencher, Ch. 27: The Morality of Journalism
Activity: Working with CD-ROM

May 5
Lecture/Discussion: Revision
Required Reading: Mencher, Appendix B: Public Opinion Polling Checklist (CD-ROM)

May 7
Final exams begin
 

Week 18

May 11
Final Examination: 9 a.m.: MC309 Reporting