Tuesday, January 31, 2017

As we'll be attending the environmental reporting panel on Feb. 9, we'll adjust the schedule a bit. See below.

JAN 31 TOPIC: The Interview: In groups of 3-4, one student will interview another on a subject of his/her choice while a third student videotapes it using a phone or camera. Keep it around 3 minutes or under. We’ll upload them to YouTube and analyze them. ****Your first assignment (500-word mini-profile about a classmate WITH photo) is due Thursday*****.

FEB 2 TOPIC: We'll continue to talk about different kinds of stories, such as the speech story, profile etc.

Analyze interviewing videos
TURN IN HARD COPY OF FIRST ASSIGNMENT: 400-500 written piece with photo based on your interview of a classmate. (5 percent of final grade) NEXT: READ: Chapter 16 on speeches.
NEXT: MOVED UP FROM NEXT WEEK Write a brief profile pitch to present in class Tuesday. Tell us who you plan to write about, what the angle likely will be, who else you can interview about your subject. It should be about a local person and NOT a family member or friend.

FEB 7 Continue to analyze interview videos. Discuss Speech chapter, speech paper requirements.

Present profile pitch
AND, NEXT, TO BRING IN on FEB 14 FOR PEER EDITING a 500 word “pre-first draft” profile with lead, nutgraph and quote(s).
NEXT: Read Chapters 2 & 3 (be able to answer questions about these chapters on the blog, under worksheets tab)

FEB 9 Attend environmental reporting panel in Journalism lounge

FEB 14 TOPIC: Cliches, stereotypes, euphemisms, conscious and unconscious bias

SPEECH PAPER DUE (10 percent of grade)
PEER EDIT hard copies of profile pre-first drafts.
NEXT: read Chap. 7 on the Writer's Art and be able to answer questions on worksheets on blog.

FEB 16 In-class, deadline writing assignment: In pairs, interview 4 people on campus on subject TBA; write 500 word story on-deadline with quotes from each of your sources. (5 percent of total grade) NEXT: Read Chap. 8 on Features.

FEB 21- TOPIC: Attribution, quotations, summary

FIRST DRAFT PROFILE DUE (1,000 words, INCLUDE WORD COUNT) PEER EDIT. Discuss feature stories.
CLASS VISITOR at 5

NEXT: Read and complete worksheets for Chapter 18 on Accidents and Disasters and Chapter 19 on Obituaries. Write Feature Pitch for next class.

FEB 23 FEATURE PITCH If time, work on blogs. NEXT: write 500-word feature PRE-first draft to peer edit next class. Read Chapter 21 on Courts

First major assignment: Speech story about environmental panel

To read more about the panel, Click HERE
Here's an excerpt from the Journalism webpage:

The Changing Landscape: Environmental Journalism in the Age of Trump

Event date/time:

Thursday, February 9, 2017 - 4:00pm

Place:

Ziff Gallery, S414 Integrative Learning Center

Both the environment and journalism face new challenges under the Trump Administration. Amidst these challenges, there are still as many opportunities to report on the environment as there are reasons to do so. Staff members of the global conservation news service Mongabay.com, which has been publishing since 1999 and now reaches 2 million readers per month in nine languages, will share how they developed careers covering this important beat. The staff will also discuss how they see the landscape changing during this pivotal period and the role of nonprofit and entrepreneurial journalism in 2017 and beyond.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Video interviews and mini-profile assignment with photo

Jan. 26 class

We’ll pick a speech/event to attend and write about. Click HERE for a description of the assignment.
We’ll review the leads from your first day pieces in groups of 3
The same group of 3 will arrange among yourselves which of you will interview each other and who will film it using your camera or phone camera. Figure out the subject you’ll interview each other about and prepare questions in advance. Upload the finished videos to Youtube and email me (at maryelizacarey@gmail.com) a link. Remember, the purpose of the interview is to have a meaningful conversation that will elicit the most vivid information that you can use when you're writing a mini-profile. It does not need to look like a televised interview.
- Plan your interview so that you are asking your classmate questions that will provide you concrete, specific information to write a 500-600 word piece that gives your reader an idea of what makes your classmate "tick." (You can ask follow-up questions that are not part of the video interview.)
- The angle likely will be determined by the topic you and your classmate decide the interview will focus on, for instance, your interviewee's love of a certain sports team, travel or their experiences working for the campus radio station.
Written assignment: Write a 500-600 word "mini-profile" that is focused on the topic that you discuss in your video interview but also helps your reader get to know classmate -- where he/she is from, his/her interests, aspirations and experiences. See profile tips below. INCLUDE A PHOTO.
CLICK ON THIS LINK and PHOTO BELOW FOR INTERVIEW TIPS
- Class interview example; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pj9wprzZsM&feature=youtu.be

PROFILE TIPS

1) CONTENT

Should include

--basic information including family, home town, education, occupation, likes-dislikes, hobbies, successes-failures

--brief physical description

EXAMPLES: "His mannerisms slightly resemble those of Woody Allen, although he is much taller and has much more hair."

--anecdotes, scenes

--telling quotes

--verification of claims. If a person claims to be a popular, well-respected professor, check with students, other professors.

2) STRUCTURE

-- Direct or delayed lead followed by a nutgraph summing up significance of profile then story.

--Should be organized thematically -- not in the order you discussed things with your subject in an interview.

--Avoid using questions in place of a strong transition. For example, instead of saying something like, "So why did he decide to join the Army?" Say something like, "After paying close attention to the news following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, he felt a growing sense that he should DO something. Within weeks, he had approached the Army recruiter who often sits at a table in a far corner of the Campus Center."

3) WRITING

--Keep the reporter OUT of the story. Don’t use first person.

--Avoid empty, generic, cliched, abstract language. Remember, SHOW, don’t TELL. Rather than describe a person as being a good leader, for example, relate an anecdote in which the subject of your profile is SHOWN to be a good leader. If a subject says something like, "I learned a leadership skills in the Army," ask him or her to give you an example of when he or she thought she demonstrated those skills. Ask someone who knows your subject to try to think of an example that demonstrates your subject’s leadership skills.

Instead of saying something like, "She was always interested in nature." Describe how your subject used to hunt butterflies as a child.

--Don’t be hagiographic – that is, don’t write the life of a saint or a public relations puff piece. Your reader wants to get to know your subject as a human being and doesn’t want to be “sold a bill of goods.”

--Use only QUOTEWORTHY quotes. A quote should be colorful or otherwise give your reader an idea of how your subject talks. Don’t quote run-of-the mill answers to your questions. Don’t use slang like “Wanta,” coulda,” “gonna,” etc.

NOT good quotation material:

"I grew up in Pittsfield and went to the University of Vermont," Carey said.

GOOD quotation material.

"Heath Hatch had a philosophy when he was going through schooling as a kid. "I knew to pass a course, you had to accumulate a grade of 50 percent, and if I got a 51 percent, I felt like I was wasting energy." (This also makes a good lead.)

4) MECHANICS

--Remember -- after you mention your subject by full name, use last name only for the rest of your story.

--Commas and periods INSIDE quotation marks.

AP STYLE TIP

AGES: Always use figures. When the context does not require "years" or "years old," the figure is presumed to be years. Ages expresses as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun use hyphens. A 5-year-old boy. The boy is 5 years old. The boy, 7, has a sister, 10. The woman, 26, has a daughter 2 months old. The law is 8 years old. The race is for 3-year-olds. The woman is in her 30s. (NO apostrophe.)

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

SPRING 2017 Schedule

SPRING 2017 Schedule
JOURN 300/CAREY — Tuesday/Thursday 4 – 6 p.m. - Integrative Learning Center S407
This is a tentative schedule of topics, assignments and assignment deadlines subject to revision to accommodate the news, campus goings-on that we’ll attend and classroom visitors. Check the blog (Journ300.blogspot.com) for updates and changes. Note: Each day two or more students will bring in an article to discuss and share an AP Style tip. One person will also bring in a news quiz. We’ll develop a schedule for these. Note at end is a list of assignments and percentage of final grade each is worth.

JAN 24 - Introduction - discuss leads, effective interviewing, AP Style and (briefly) the nutgraph. Email to me
at maryelizacarey@gmail.com TONIGHT 500 words about the first day of class. Should have a good lead and at least one direct quotation.
FOR NEXT CLASS: To hand in next class, a WRITTEN list of three potential speeches/presentations we can visit on campus, ASAP in the next couple of weeks preferably during class time. (We will be writing the 650-word SPEECH paper about whichever speech we attend.) In the written list that you bring into class on Thursday, include 1) who is giving the speech and 2) the topic, where/when it is being held, a brief couple of sentences of background information about the speaker and, if possible, the topic. We’ll pick one of the speeches you’ve identified to attend. READ: Chapter 5 on Leads and Chapter 15 on Interviewing Principles
JAN 26 - TOPIC: The Lead and the Nutgraph Review leads, Chapters 5 and 15, class blog; determine where and when we can go to a speech; determine which classmate you will interview on what subject and prepare questions.

JAN 31 TOPIC: The Interview: In groups of 3-4, one student will interview another on a subject of his/her choice while a third student videotapes it using a phone or camera. Keep it around 3 minutes or under. We’ll upload them to YouTube and analyze them.
FEB 2 TOPIC: Kinds of Stories Analyze interviewing videos, FIRST ASSIGNMENT DUE: 400-500 written piece with photo based on your interview of a classmate. (5 percent of final grade) NEXT: READ: Chapter 16 on speeches.

SCHEDULE UPDATES:
FEB 2 TOPIC: We'll continue to talk about different kinds of stories, such as the speech story, profile etc.

Analyze interviewing videos
TURN IN HARD COPY OF FIRST ASSIGNMENT: 400-500 written piece with photo based on your interview of a classmate. (5 percent of final grade) NEXT: READ: Chapter 16 on speeches.
NEXT: MOVED UP FROM NEXT WEEK Write a brief profile pitch to present in class Tuesday. Tell us who you plan to write about, what the angle likely will be, who else you can interview about your subject. It should be about a local person and NOT a family member or friend.)

FEB 7 Continue to analyze interview videos. Discuss Speech chapter, speech paper requirements.

Present profile pitch
AND, NEXT, TO BRING IN on FEB 14 FOR PEER EDITING a 500 word “pre-first draft” profile with lead, nutgraph and quote(s).
NEXT: Read Chapters 2 & 3 (be able to answer questions about these chapters on the blog, under worksheets tab)

FEB 9 Attend environmental reporting panel in Journalism lounge

FEB 14 TOPIC: Cliches, stereotypes, euphemisms, conscious and unconscious bias

SPEECH PAPER DUE (10 percent of grade)
PEER EDIT hard copies of profile pre-first drafts.
NEXT: read Chap. 7 on the Writer's Art and be able to answer questions on worksheets on blog.

BACK TO ORIGINAL SCHEDULE:

FEB 16 In-class, deadline writing assignment: In pairs, interview 4 people on campus on subject TBA; write 500 word story on-deadline with quotes from each of your sources. (5 percent of total grade) NEXT: Read Chap. 8 on Features.

FEB 21- TOPIC: Attribution, quotations, summary FIRST DRAFT PROFILE DUE (1,000 words, INCLUDE WORD COUNT) PEER EDIT. Discuss feature stories.
NEXT: Read and complete worksheets for Chapter 18 on Accidents and Disasters and Chapter 19 on Obituaries. Write Feature Pitch for next class.
FEB 23 FEATURE PITCH If time, work on blogs. NEXT: write 500-word feature PRE-first draft to peer edit next class. Read Chapter 21 on Courts

FEB 28 TOPIC: accidents, obituaries and courts Peer edit PRE-first draft Feature stories. Discuss chapters on accidents, obituaries and courts.
MARCH 2 In-class deadline assignment/(5 percent of total grade) Next: Read Chaps. 11 on layered reporting and 14 on sources.

MARCH 7 TOPIC: “Layered” reporting FINAL DRAFT PROFILE DUE (1,000 words, INCLUDE WORD COUNT, 10 percent of total grade)Discuss Chapters 11 and 14. In-class work on features.
MARCH 9 Discuss potential Issue paper topics & interviews with 2-3 "experts."

*****SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS MARCH 14 and 16*****

MARCH 21 Review for MID-TERM QUIZ. If time, work on features and blogs
MARCH 23 NO CLASS: Take Home mid-term quiz

MARCH 28 TOPIC: Massachusetts Open Meeting Law FIRST DRAFT FEATURE DUE (1,000) words. Firm up issue story ideas. NEXT: Write issue pitch to present next class. Read and complete worksheets for Chap 20 on police, Chap 24 on Government and 25 on Reporters and the Law. Review Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.
MARCH 30 Issue pitch. Discuss chapters. WRITE: 500-word Issue PRE-First Draft to peer edit next class.

APRIL 4 Peer edit Issue pre-first drafts. Final FEATURE DUE (1,000 words, 15 percent of total grade)
APRIL 6 FIRST DRAFT ISSUE (1,000 words with 4 voices, 2 of whom are "experts") due. Discuss chapters, Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. NEXT: Read and complete worksheets on Chaps. 26 on Taste in Journalism and 27 on Morality.

APRIL 11 TOPIC: Ethical reporting Discuss Chapters 26 & 27; in-class work on issue paper, blogs
APRIL 13 FINAL ISSUE PAPER DUE. (1,000 words 20 percent of total grade) Review for FINAL QUIZ.

APRIL 18 NO CLASS (UMASS follows Monday schedule due to Patriots Day)
APRIL 20 END OF SEMESTER QUIZ Discuss summary/analysis writing.

APRIL 25 In-class deadline assignment: Watch film and write SUMMARY/ANALYSIS (10 percent of final grade) on deadline, due at end of class.
APRIL 27 - Wrap-up

MAY 2- LAST DAY OF CLASS/ recap/ Final blogs presentations

*************** GRADED ASSIGNMENTS AND FINAL GRADE CALCULATION ***************

Articles/AP tips/worksheets/blogs 5 percent – You will be responsible for all information on the chapter worksheets posted on the blog. Several times a semester you will present an article to the class as well as an AP Tip. A written summary of these is due on the day you present them. Classmates will create blogs in Wordpress.

Interviews with your classmate (video and written) 5 percent – You will interview a classmate and the class will analyze a videotape of the interview. A short written piece is due using material from the interview and other reporting.

Speech paper – 10 percent – A well-organized 650-750-word speech story based on a presentation that the class attends, including comments from 2-3 audience members. Must have a strong lead, nutgraph and direct quotes from the speaker.

Deadline assignment 1– 5 percent – Pairs of classmates will conduct interviews on campus on a topic to be determined and write a 600 word piece with photos on deadline. Due by the end of class.

Deadline assignment 2– 5 percent – Topic TBA. Due by the end of class.

Profile – 10 percent – A well-researched, multi-voice, 1000-word profile of a local person. Mandatory pre-first draft and first draft in addition to the final draft.

Midterm – 5 percent

Feature – 15 percent – A lively 1,000-word piece, most likely with a scenario lead about a place, group, trend or event with four voices minimum and photos. Mandatory pre-first and first draft in addition to the final draft.

Issue – 20 percent - A well-researched 1,000 word piece on an issue of concern to the public. Must have a minimum of four voices, two of whom are “experts” on the subject, for instance a doctor, researcher or professor.

Film Analysis/deadline assignment – 10 percent – You will watch a short film and write an analysis of in on deadline. Not a simple summary. Due by the end of class.

Final - 10 percent

SPRING 2017 syllabus

JOURN 300: NEWSWRITING and REPORTING, SPRING 2017 Tues/Thurs 4-6 p.m. Integrative Learning Center S407

Open to sophomore, junior and senior journalism majors. Required for major. Fulfills junior year writing requirement.

Description and Learning objectives: Journalism 300 is a hands-on, nuts-and-bolts news writing and reporting class. Upon completion, you should be able to:

• Determine what is news

• Identify and pitch a good story

• Report and conduct interviews

• Use the news story "formula," especially leads and nutgraphs

• Have an understanding of the kinds of stories there are and how to tell them

• Write original, logically organized narratives free from clichés, euphemisms and unexamined assumptions

• Edit your peers’ pieces according to news writing standards

• Uphold journalistic principles of fairness, accuracy, telling the truth and serving the public good

Email me anytime at maryelizacarey@gmail.com, 413-588-4274 (cell)

Syllabus, schedule and assignments are posted on the class blog: Journ300.blogspot.com

REQUIRED TEXT: Melvin Mencher, News Reporting and Writing (latest edition) - McGraw Hill

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READING

AP Style Guide online, assigned readings TBA and daily newspapers and news magazines. Try to scan online and/or in print at least one of the local newspapers including the Collegian, Daily Hampshire Gazette or Springfield Republican every day. Each class, one or more students will bring in a newspaper article and comment on news coverage, structure, style, choice of stories or contrast between coverage. Being conversant with what is in the news is essential to writing it.

GRADES

Grades are based on timely and thoughtful completion of in-class and out-of-class writing assignments and quizzes, multi-media blog, attendance and in-class participation. Writing criteria include news judgment, clarity of writing, grammar, accuracy, organization, spelling, conciseness, use of AP style, and meeting deadlines. Although the big picture things like news judgment and solid reporting are important, misspelling names and other seemingly minor shortcomings can ruin a story and your reputation, so they will count. Numerical equivalent of grades: A=95, A-=92, A-/B+ =90, B+88 etc. Explanation of how grades are calculated is in the course schedule/calendar.

ATTENDANCE

Not making appointments or missing the action will also undermine your career and the class. You MUST tell me BEFORE class if you are going to be absent for a legitimate reason. (I read my e-mail regularly and you can call my cell anytime.) Otherwise you will receive zeroes for the day’s assignments. Please do not be late or leave early. More than three absences and/or repeatedly being late or leaving early will result in a significantly lowered final grade, with the grade being lowered by a full half grade for each absence over three. CELL PHONE RINGERS MUST BE TURNED OFF. NO TAPING WITHOUT ASKING FIRST. NO READING ONLINE DURING CLASS!

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

In-class writing assignments usually won’t be longer than 2-3 typewritten pages. Most major assignments are 1,000 words or 4 pages. First drafts must be in turned in on-time for credit. Not turning in a first draft or turning in an insufficiently complete first draft will result in a zero for the first draft and a significantly lower final draft grade. Among your assignments are a profile, feature, coverage of a speech, issue piece, deadline assignments, blog, minor assignments, quizzes.

HONESTY

Any instance of plagiarism or any other form of cheating is cause for course failure.

Journ 300: A UMass Journalism Newswriting and Reporting blog

Pages

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Student interviews

Monday, January 30, 2017

Schedule tweaks to accommodate Feb. 9 panel/speech story assignment