Friday, May 1, 2009

A Tale of Two Journalism Models

More on the future of journalism.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Journalism schools still popular

Journalism may be under stress, but students are still enrolling. Read about it here.

Monday, April 27, 2009

What we learned!

The TOP SIX things we learned this semester (suitable for framing):

--How to tell a story (vs. dry facts)
--How to orchestrate the process (Writing isn't magic; there is a structure and process to go about doing it)
--Reporting is 50 percent time management and 50 percent luck (with a bit of talent thrown in!)
--There is a revolution going on in journalism and no one has the answers right now
--How to find and engage an audience
--Journalism affects people and has a responsibility to the public

Congratulations on completing a challenging class!

Monday, April 20, 2009

New deadline for final project and other info!

Lots of important information here:

--A reminder that there is a new deadline for our final projects -- Monday, April 27. Everyone should be ready to turn in their projects, and groups should be ready to give about a 15-minute presentation about them, with visuals to show the class. There will be no contest for best project -- just all final presentations on Monday.

--Remember that your contribution needs to meet the criteria I have laid out in two documents -- the suggestions for possible project contributions and the final project rubric. Your contribution needs to have original content -- not just be taken from another web site. Do the best you can in turning it in -- if it's an online visual, describe what it would look like or make a drawing, Indesign, Photoshop, Powerpoint or other type of page, and print out the printed material that would go on it. Spell it out for me so that I know what your concept is. Make it easy for me to give you a grade. Don't forget to grade yourself - and including references to your original content will help, and don't forget to grade your group.

--On Thursday, we will have the journalism division director in class with us, and perhaps other students and professors, to talk about the state of the business and your suggestions for the journalism curriculum. Please read the handout, which can also be found here. If you have not given an SOB presentation, you may turn in a paragraph on a topic related to the article, for extra credit. One place to get more info is on Journchat. There is also lots of information on this blog, including links. These handouts are available in a folder taped to my office door.

--If you missed class on Monday, we did an in-class, breaking news reporting assignment and turned it in for a grade. You may do the assignment as homework with the loss of a letter grade. The info is in a folder taped to my office door.

I will see everyone on Thursday. Attendance is mandatory. Please be prepared for our discussion on the NYT article and your own research, and be prepared to talk about your hopes/fears for the industry as well as your suggestions for the journalism curriculum.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

A good example of a meeting story in The Washington Post

A good example of a meeting story can be found here. Thank you for pointing this out, Ethan!

Rubric for final project

Final project rubric

Reporting – Dr. Walker – Spring 2009

20 points – Your contribution to the overall project meets the general criteria in the list of possible projects, or is the equivalent in terms of work/effort (Generally, this means your part includes writing, research and/or finished visuals such as a cut video or narrated slideshow.)

20 points – You use proper journalistic writing techniques for headlines, blurbs, news summaries and sidebars/interviews

15 points – You and your group have an overall conception of the package that hangs together well and presents the information in the most effective and creative way

15 points – You include original material in each aspect of your project, including original photos/videos/interviews

10 points – You include a half page description of your contribution and a sentence or two on the group, and you grade yourself and the group