ONLINE NEWS BUREAU JOUR 529 Wednesdays, 5:45 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. 14 E. Jackson, Room 1128

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1 ONLINE NEWS BUREAU JOUR 529 Wednesdays, 5:45 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. 14 E. Jackson, Room 1128 Instructor Office phone Office location Office hours Hai L. Tran, Ph.D. htran10@depaul.edu E. Jackson, Room 1251 Wednesday: 3:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. and by appointment DESCRIPTION This course offers first-hand experience on a digital newsroom. Students should already have a grasp of basic online journalism skills through earlier classes or practical experience. The emphasis of the course is on producing high-quality stories both in terms of content and in terms of presentation. Throughout the quarter, students will work as multimedia producers, editors and reporters to create content for thewiredloop.info, a platform for news experimentation. PREREQUISITE: JOUR 503 or consent of instructor. GOALS The class is designed to provide students with hands-on learning. You will be familiarized with the workflow in online news bureaus, thereby having the opportunity to apply digital skills to real-world scenarios. You will know on a first-hand basis how to work as a team to cover news stories in innovative ways. Moreover, you will better understand professional challenges and the importance of deadlines. You will gain insight into the pros and cons of integrating multimedia, interactivity and social media into the crafting of news. OBJECTIVES At the successful completion of the course, you will be able to: 1) analyze events to generate ideas for online story packages 2) produce original content using appropriate platforms and storytelling techniques in a multimedia, interactive environment 3) demonstrate competency in working under time pressure 4) develop teamwork and project management skills in digital newsrooms 5) evaluate online story packages according to professional standards ONLINE NEWS BUREAU Structure You will run the bureau and develop content for thewiredloop.info. Teams will be formed around beats and platforms. As undergraduate students, you will primarily work as multimedia reporters and your work will be edited and fact checked by

2 graduate students. I will supervise your work as faculty advisor. For many reasons, including the need to avoid potential libel suits, nothing will go live on our website, unless I have had a chance to review it. Although you will be working hard and doing serious jobs in this class, it is my hope that we will have fun working with and learning from each other. Website Your stories on thewiredloop.info will feature seven (7) content sections: - Current (current events, hard-news stories) - Schools (DePaul, Chicago college and school systems) - Biz (local business, economy, markets) - Health (local health issues, health care, fitness and nutrition) - Sports (DePaul Blue Demons and Chicago teams/games) - Life (local trends, dining, music, arts and entertainment) - In Depth (special reports, documentaries, investigative projects) Keep in mind that you are creating a new online news outlet. Let s try to make it compelling. Mindset The online news cycle is 24/7 and any good journalist must keep her/his eyes and ears open and respond to a new situation quickly. If you encounter an unexpected news event, you should be able to take action and then contact me immediately. There may be occasions when we will break away from our routine to cover unique developments as they occur. COURSE MATERIALS The Associated Press Stylebook (available for purchase at the bookstore or Current news You should really know your beat to report for thewiredloop.info. You are required to identify media outlets covering your beat and follow them on a daily basis (details about your assigned section will be discussed in the first class.) The following websites are some examples: DePaul Chicago Nation/World

3 EQUIPMENT Digital transfer device/portable hard drive (required) Please be aware that you are responsible for backing your own work. The size of the drive should be at least 16 GB. The Digital Cinema Equipment Cage You can check out still cameras, video cameras and recording equipment from The Cage. It is located at the CDM building (College of Computing and Digital Media), 243 S Wabash Ave., Suite 930 CTI. Check-out policy handouts are posted on Desire2Learn. APPLICATIONS 1) Joomla! is used as a content management system (CMS) for publishing content on thewiredloop.info 2) Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, SoundSlides, GarageBand, Final Cut Pro, Audition, Adobe Premiere Pro are readily available in our classroom. 3) Several tools for mashups and infographics are available online. LAB TIME AND TEACHING ASSISTANT This is a hands-on class and you will spend many hours working on class projects. As much as possible, please use classroom time as lab time for production. In addition, Jakub Rudnik provides technical support for the Online News Bureau. He will hold regular lab hours to assist you with assignments and projects. The TA can address various technical questions and help you run equipment and software. So, please work with him closely. The lab schedule is posted on Desire2Learn. DESIRE2LEARN To log on to Desire2Learn, go to Log in using your username and password. Among other things, you will find: 1) Course Home: This area includes the News section, where key announcements will be posted. All announcements will also be ed to you. 2) Content: This is where you'll find course and instructor information, syllabus, class schedule, lab schedule, detailed agenda for each day, instructions for assignments, online handouts and other course materials. 3) Classlist: Here you'll find a list of all of the students in the course. You can click a classmate's name to send him or her an . 4) Dropbox: This is where you will submit assignments to and receive feedback from the instructor. Items you submit through the Dropbox as well as the instructor s feedback are not visible to other students. 5) Grades: This area contains any grades you received on class assignments. GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS Students will be evaluated on the ability to handle different types of assignments. The following is a summary of assignments and grading for this class. Brief descriptions are provided below. More detailed instructions about specific

4 assignments and grading criteria will be discussed in class and posted on Desire2Learn. Component Point value Percentage Story Story Story Inside TWL (group project) Participation and attendance TOTAL 1, Stories You will be expected to report and produce three (3) stories for thewiredloop.info. Certain stories will be assigned by me and you will be on your own for others. Throughout the quarter, you will cover a beat of your choosing and produce stories in at least two (2) different media platforms, thereby strengthening your multimedia skills. Your stories (applicable across platforms) will be evaluated on the following elements: news values, reporting, information editing, presentation, creativity and innovation. These assignments are geared toward multimedia storytelling and on-deadline experience reporting for online newsrooms. Inside TWL Group project You will work in teams to create a 3-minute multimedia project, which showcases our Online News Bureau behind the scene. The goal is to get the DePaul and local communities interested in our work. This project assesses your ability to collaborate and utilize multimedia, interactive tools to engage the online audience. Participation and attendance Participation is critical in the Online News Bureau. You will have the opportunity to discuss, share and learn from your colleagues. This will be an exciting and personally beneficial experience. For undergraduate students, participation means being fully engaged in in-class activities such as discussing news events and story ideas, planning for reporting and production, giving feedback on how to improve stories. Attendance is mandatory. Life happens, however. Each of you will be permitted one (1) absence for whatever reason. There will be no additional excused absences beyond this one. Repeated, unexcused absences will lower your grade. You will not pass this class if you accumulate a total of four (4) classes during the quarter. To receive full credit for attendance, you should arrive on time and stay for the entire session.

5 Grading scale A = % B+ = 87-89% C+ = 77-79% D+ = 67-69% A- = 90-92% B = 83-86% C = 73-76% D = 60-66% B- = 80-82% C- = 70-72% F = 59% and below POLICY STATEMENTS Deadlines All assignments are due at the start of the class session listed on our schedule. Unless you provide official proof of your excuse, I will not accept late work. You should notify extreme verifiable circumstances in advance, not after the fact. Late work with a documented reason of some magnitude will result in a reduced grade on the assignment (one letter-grade per day late.) Academic honesty Cheating will not be tolerated in this class. Violations of DePaul s academic integrity policies in the Student Handbook will result in severe consequences, including (but not limited to) expulsion from the course with a grade of F. Plagiarism (the unacknowledged use of another s words, ideas, or work) and fabrication of facts, quotations, and sources are cheating. You must do your work alone, unless it is designated as a group project. Never submit work that you did not do yourself. Do not turn in anything for this class that you did for another class or for another publication. If you are required to interview an outside source for this class, you must make it clear that you are a DePaul student who is reporting on the record, for publication. You must provide contact information (full name, address, phone, ) for anyone you interview for a story. We will check your sources. Any mistakes of substance must be corrected immediately. Please call them to my attention. Harassment Harassment of any type will not be tolerated at DePaul University. We strictly adhere to the policy as specified in the Student Handbook. This policy binds faculty, staff, administrators and students. Special needs or concerns If you have questions or needs relating to a disability/medical condition or any other area of concern that may require some accommodations to meet the academic demands of this class, please make an appointment with me at the start of the quarter. I will be happy to do whatever I can to help you. All discussion will remain confidential. Be sure to contact the following office for support and additional services: Center for Students with Disabilities, #370, Student Center, Lincoln Park campus; phone: The Dean of Students Office The Dean of Students Office (DOS) helps students in navigating the university, particularly during difficult situations, such as personal, financial, medical, and/or family crises. Absence Notifications to faculty, Late Withdrawals, and

6 Community Resource Referrals, support students both in and outside of the classroom. Additionally, DOS has resources and programs to support health and wellness, violence prevention, substance abuse and drug prevention, and LGBTQ student services. DOS is committed to your success as a DePaul student. Please feel free to contact DOS at Religious holidays If you are unable to attend class because it falls on a religious holiday, please let me know ahead of time so we can plan accordingly. Other things to note 1) The best way to reach me is via . I will answer every I receive, usually within 24 hours (weekdays). If you do not hear from me within two (2) days, you can assume that I did not get your . 2) In this class, your will report and produce stories exclusively for TWL ( If you choose to publish your work elsewhere, you need to let me know in advance. I will use some of your work in this class as materials in my future courses or post them on websites that belong to me or to DePaul University. Of course, you will be given credit. Let me know if you choose not to release these materials. 3) There are no stupid questions in this class, and no one s opinions or thoughts are privileged. I will try to maintain a classroom environment based upon open communication, mutual respect and non-discrimination. Please feel free to express your thoughts, opinions and questions. As always, however, we must agree to follow the rule of civilized conversation. To help foster an environment that promotes learning, you are expected to show respect to the class by not carrying on personal conversations. 4) Though grades are not negotiable, I give serious consideration to students concerns about grades. If you have questions about a particular grade, you will need to talk to me within a week of receiving the grade. If you dispute a grade, you will need to submit to me a written complaint also within a week of receiving the grade. 5) In-class use of cell phones and mobile devices is banned. If you need to be reached for an emergency, you should render your devices inaudible and step out of the class to receive or make important calls. No ing, Web surfing, texting during class time unless it is part of class assignments. 6) One of your responsibilities in this course is to complete an online teaching evaluation. As you may already know, as instructors, we really appreciate learning what we are doing well in the classroom and where we can continue to improve. Your feedback makes a difference. 7) With luck, we may have guest speakers. On those occasions, I expect you to come to class prepared to discuss and ask questions. 8) The class schedule specifies activities for each class session and indicates deadlines for assignments (which I will observe.) However, this syllabus is subject to change if unexpected circumstances arise. Please monitor your and announcements on Desire2Learn regularly.

7 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE Week Day Topic Assignments - Course overview - Student survey 1 04/02 - Introduction: The Online News Bureau project - Assigning beats, roles - Field reporting (story #1) - Researching for story ideas (story #1) - Discussion 2 04/09 - CMS, thewiredloop.info, social media - CAGE equipment - Discussion: Story #1 - Production: Story #1 - Required purchases due - Completing story #1-04/11: Last day to drop 3 04/ / / / / / / /04 - Review: Story #1 - Researching for story ideas (story #2) - Discussion: Story #2 - Discussion: Story #2 - Production: Story #2 - Researching for story ideas (story #3) - Overview of Inside TWL project - Planning: Inside TWL project - Discussion: Story # 2, story #3 - Review: Story #2 - Gathering materials for Inside TWL project - Discussion: Story #3 - Production: Story #3 - Guest presentation: Kofi Amoabin - Gathering materials for Inside TWL project - Discussion: Story #3 - Production: Story #3 - Gathering materials for Inside TWL project - Discussion: Story #3, Inside TWL project - Production: Inside TWL project - Review: Story #3 - Discussion: Story #3, Inside TWL project - Production: Inside TWL project - Review: Inside TWL project - Catching up, looking forward - Conclusions - Story #1 due - Revising story #1 - Field reporting (story#2) - Revisions to story #1 due - Field reporting (story #2) - Completing story #2 - Field reporting (story #3) - Story #2 due - Revising story #2 - Field reporting (story #3) - Revisions to story #2 due - Field reporting (story #3) - 05/16: Last day to withdraw - Completing story #3 - Story #3 due - Completing Inside TWL project - Revisions to story #3 due - Inside TWL due - Have a restful summer break!