JRN 385: Web Journalism SAMPLE SYLLABUS

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1 Prof. Mary D Ambrosio Tel: mary.dambrosio@ccsu.edu Office: DiLoreto Office hours: Tues. 2 p.m. 5 p.m. Wed. 4:15 p.m. 5:15 p.m. Thurs. 9:45 a.m. 10:45 a.m. JRN 385: Web Journalism SAMPLE SYLLABUS Prerequisite: JRN 235 or JRN 336, or permission of instructor. Course Overview: You ll transfer the fundamental journalism skills of reporting, writing, critical thinking and ethics to create stories combining text, images, sound, and other features of digital journalism. You ll work individually and in groups, and be encouraged to experiment. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to: Write web articles following professional standards for style, linking, and search optimization Enhance information-gathering with web tools Tell stories with digital tools, such as Google Maps and timelines Build audiences and research by using social media Research, report and promote your work via Twitter, mobile platforms and the web. Record and edit audio Grasp the basics of photojournalism and videography Create audio slideshows in Soundslides Plan and complete a multimedia news package What We ll Do This Semester: We ll tackle both in-class and out of class assignments, and post them on a group website, which you should see an extension of our classroom. Here, you ll have a chance to see, and constructively critique, your colleagues work. The site will also offer you a platform for trying out and evaluating various features and experiments of digital journalism, such as linking, SEO techniques, mapping, audio slideshows and video. Graded Assignments: Analysis of a publication s digital efforts 5%

2 Cover an event, and write a story of up to 800 words that includes appropriate links, and at least five captioned, credited publishable photos. Create a #hashtag for your story, and publicize it on Twitter 10% Develop an audio slideshow profiling a person or business (ideas: the experiences of a newcomer; an immigrant with an unusual story to tell; a business with a new product or approach; the story of someone affected by recession). Be sure to choose a theme suitable for audio and visual coverage 10% Election coverage: audio slideshow plus text story, with a timeline or map 10% In-class assignments (such as a photo scavenger hunt; a slideshow of a process; exercises employing SEO and interactivity; and use of Twitter, Storify and Google maps) 25% Class participation 15% A final multimedia package that incorporates many of the techniques you ve learned this semester. Your package must 1) include a reported story or text of appropriate length 2) incorporate an audio slideshow OR a video 3) demonstrate use of links and SEO techniques 4) invite commentary 5) use maps or interactive techniques as appropriate 5) incorporate Twitter for either reporting, promotion or both 25% Readings: Readings and resources will be posted on Moodle, and occasionally circulated in class. You should check in regularly with blogs, websites and tutorials that offer cutting-edge multimedia examples and insights, such as: Mediastorm Journalism 20 (by Mark Briggs, author of Journalism Next ) Interactive Narratives A Multimedia Journalist s Notebook, by Cliff Etzel Multimedia Shooter Knight Digital Media Center tutorials Reporters Guide to MM Proficiency, Mindy McAdams 10,000 Words Newser

3 This is not a web design course. I will introduce some elements of web design; however, web design and the mastery of software are too all-encompassing for the purposes of this course. By the end of the semester, you should have produced at least: -Several stories -One Google Map or timeline -Several audio clips -Several audio slideshows -At least 40 publishable photos -At least 20 tweets And have worked with several of the leading online journalism tools, such as: Coveritlive UStream and Storify Get in the habit of Tweeting regularly about your and your classmates projects. Required Materials: A camera. Your pocket point-and-shoot will do in a pinch, though I encourage you to check out, and use, our professional SLRs. Your own Twitter and LinkedIn accounts Please The Your classmates The journalism program Facebook page at CCSUjournalism You ll need: -A gmail account, to access certain tools -A headset/microphone for in-class computer work -To register on Moodle, to access readings and resources posted there Recommended Materials: A digital recorder, such as: The Tascam DR-07 ($150), good for recording interviews REG/Tascam_DR_07MKII_DR_07mkII_Portable_Digital_Audio.html

4 OR The Zoom H2 ($120) REG/Zoom_H2_H2_Ultra_Portable_Digital_Audio.html good for picking up both natural sounds and voices Soundslides or Final Cut Pro. The two main ways of creating audio slideshows are in Soundslides Plus ($69), for Mac or PC, and the for-mac-only Final Cut Pro. If you own a Mac, have taken COM 330 or would like to experiment with learning Final Cut Pro on your own, either Final Cut Express (about $70 with an academic discount; discontinued but still available), and Final Cut Pro X ($300), are good tools for creating slideshows, and editing video. You can download free demos of both Soundslides and Final Cut, if you d like to experiment before buying. If you buy Final Cut, and would like to use it for assignments, you must have your own Mac (preferably a laptop, as this class is being taught in a PC lab, which cannot accommodate Final Cut software). If you ve never shot or edited video before, use may want to experiment with freeware, such as imovie and Windows Moviemaker, the video editing programs that come bundled with Macs and PCs. Journalism program equipment available for checkout, in the Willard Hall Media Center : Six Olympus digital voice recorders; 20 Tascam DR-07 digital recorders (about half available for checkout) Two Zoom H2 audio recorders Eight SLR cameras Olympus and Nikon Two Flip ultra HD cameras Video cameras Soundslides is available on the PC computers in our lab. Students who borrow equipment must renew each week with the media center. If you plan to buy your own video camera (not required): -A widely-accepted entry-level photography/videography tool is the Canon Rebel 3Ti (about $750), an SLR that also shoots video. While there s nothing wrong with buying an inexpensive video camera, such as a Canon Vixia (about $300), many editors prefer, and multimedia journalists are turning increasingly to, devices based more concertedly on still camera functions, rather than video cameras that make screen grabs.

5 -A pocket HD video camera (about $100), such as the Kodak Zi8, which can accommodate a microphone, or the Flip, which cannot Attendance Policy: We ll do some of our most important work in class, so attendance is key. A death in the immediate family or a severe illness (doctor s note required) are the only excuses accepted for absences. If you miss a class for any other reason, you ll be assigned an F for the day. If you miss more than two classes, your final grade will drop by one letter. Publishing your work raises your grade: Publishing two class-produced stories in a professional newspaper, magazine or digital publication bumps your grade up by a half letter (these must be news, feature, video or audio stories -- not opinion pieces, reviews or blog posts). Please submit evidence of publication to me. Academic Misconduct: Disruptive classroom behavior, cheating, and plagiarism can jeopardize your standing in this class. Plagiarism, the use of work (ideas, words, images, tables, code, and mathematical formulas) other than your own without appropriate attribution, will result in an automatic F for the course, and possibly further disciplinary action. Do your own work. If you do not know what plagiarism is, educate yourself. Ignorance of the rules is not justification for plagiarism. Make sure you understand how to attribute work for printed and online sources.

6 Provisional Calendar Week 1 Aug Intro to Multimedia Journalism Overview: Digital Transition/Media Convergence reporting in 3D The rhetoric of text, images and sounds Examining cutting-edge digital efforts: New York Times multimedia/one in Eight Million; The Atavist; MediaStorm; Huffington Post; Politico; Big World Magazine; CNN ireport. Assignments due Tuesday, Sept. 2, by 3 p.m.: Analyze a publication s web content, in about 500 words. Post your analysis, with a few sample links and pics, on the class Wordpress site (or in Moodle, until site is ready) If you don t own it yet, buy your name domain. GoDaddy, at is a likely vendor. In this class, you ll learn how to showcase your portfolio, or to host a blog, digital magazine or other project you might launch Week 2 Sept The Digital Story How digital journalism differs from print and broadcast journalism Web-first protocols Intro to search engine optimization (SEO) Vocabulary (links, html, chunking) Links curation Using RSS feeds and Google Alerts for research Downloading Wordpress and designing a site. Using a content management system. Readings: Shirky, Clay, Newspapers and thinking the unthinkable The expense of printing created an environment where Wal-Mart was willing to subsidize the Baghdad bureau. This wasn t because of any deep link between advertising and reporting, nor was it about any real desire on the part of Wal-Mart to have their marketing budget go to international correspondents. It was just an accident. Advertisers had little choice other than to have their money used that way, since they didn t really have any other vehicle for display ads. Carr, David, The Fall and Rise of Journalism Cliff Etzer Assignment due by Week 4, Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m.: Cover an event, then write a story of up to 800 words that includes several links. Submit at least five ready-for-print captioned photos. Post your work on the class Wordpress site. Create a #hashtag for your story, and Tweet it, and

7 post some pix on Twitpic. If others are tweeting about your event, join the conversation. Careful not to scoop yourself. Week 3 Sept The Reporter as Photojournalist Photojournalism for reporters: principles, practices and equipment. Bring at least a consumerlevel camera to class [or check out an SLR] for a photo scavenger hunt exercise. Week 4 Sept Review of Photo Assignment [Event assignment due] Week 5 Sept Intro to Audio Sound is one of the most powerful online tools. We ll listen to great audio clips, learn to use a professional audio recorder, and practice gathering sound. Assignment due by Week 7, Oct. 9, 3 p.m.: Profile a person or business, via an audio slideshow. Week 6 Oct. 3 - The Audio Slideshow Marrying pictures and sound: the audio slideshow Working with Soundslides Fieldwork on audio slideshow packages Week 7 Oct Intro to Video Videography basics. Shooting principles. What kinds of stories are best told through video? [Audio slideshow due; post your work to the class website by Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 3 p.m.] Week 8 Oct The uses and misuses of Twitter, and other social media Using Twitter, Storify, Pinterest and other social media to gather information, build communities and publicize your work Week 9 Oct Other forms of interactivity, and Search Engine Optimization Mapping and other data visualization tools SEO The audience arrives: The comment pages of Patch, the New York Times and the Courant Trying out and analyzing web tools, such as: Coveritlive UStream Storify Storyful [Begin election assignment: Due Week 11, rolling deadlines] Week 10 Oct Covering the Elections We ll participate in program-wide election coverage. Week 11 Nov. 7 More Election Coverage Creating your online portfolio. [Election audio slideshow with story due this week (rolling deadlines). Post your work on the class website.]

8 Week 12 Nov Pitch your multimedia package to the class. Choosing a suitable subject or story. What kinds of media will help you tell your story most effectively? Managing time and resources. Week 13 Nov 21 THANKSGIVING WEEK No class (Work on your final multimedia package, and post some interim versions, for in-class critiques) Week 14 Nov Multimedia package revisions due today Week 15 Dec Digital Entrepreneurship Web economics and new news forms Mobile journalism low resource and third world approaches Multimedia Shooter and Richard Koci Hernandez Voices of Africa. The Atavist Spot.us Student and recent graduate efforts Latin Dispatch Week 16 Dec Multimedia Presentations. We ll use the exam period for presentations and critiques. [Final multimedia project to be posted on the class website by Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 3 p.m. ] Congratulations, you ve passed a tough class! Let s celebrate with a visit to a local café.