Catalog Description

Hours: 72 (36 lecture, 36 activity)
Description: Media practicum that produces journalistic stories for campus, community, and online audiences. Students take on professional roles as various kinds of journalists and editors to report and publish work on digital platforms. Includes weekly news assignments, publication, and distribution through social media and audience engagement strategies. Practical experience in layout, writing or scripting news and feature stories, integrating original visuals and audio, multimedia journalism, and emerging mass communication technologies. Student-produced with student leadership. (C-ID JOUR 130) (CSU)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Create journalistic stories for diverse public audiences.
  • CSLO #2: Collaborate on story construction as a contributing team member.
  • CSLO #3: Apply news values and ethics from pitch to publication.\\n

Effective Term

Fall 2024

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

72

Outside of Class Hours

90

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

Lecture Objectives: 

  1. Define relevant news content in context

  2. Research to develop pitches, support stories, and fact-check claims

  3. Assess legal issues affecting media 

  4. Assess ethical issues affecting media 

  5. Develop effective design/layout for story presentation

  6. Determine the best format –print, multimedia, visual, etc.—for telling basic and in-depth feature stories

Activity Objectives: 

  1. Gather news information weekly using journalistic methods. 

  2. Edit basic news, information, and feature stories into publishable form with attention to accuracy, equity, clarity, thoroughness, fairness, AP style, and media law and ethics

  3. Develop journalistic stories through writing and visual, audio, video and/or other multimedia formats

  4. Build a digital portfolio of student-produced media projects that demonstrates a range of storytelling formats

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
      • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
        • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)

          Articulation Information

          • CSU Transferable

          Methods of Evaluation

          • Classroom Discussions
            • Example: Students discuss legal issues affecting media, journalistic ethics, and pertinent media law after a lecture on the topics. They apply legal perimeters and ethics to stories they hope to cover and discuss them in small groups and as a whole class. Student editors give feedback and then the faculty advisor weighs in. Students are assessed by speaking and sharing how media law and ethical questions intersect with their stories, listening to feedback from editors and the faculty advisor and applying feedback to their story ideas. Listening to each other and collaborating as a team of professionals committed to journalistic standards that include abiding by media law and ethics is also integral to assessment. Stories must abide by legal and ethical standards to be approved.
          • Objective Examinations
            • Example: Through a quiz, students would be asked questions such as: 1. What is it to "attribute" in journalism? A. Say who said it and where the information comes from in a story. B. Include publisher information. C. Use parenthetical citations. D. Write a reference page. Answer: A. 2. Choose the best answer that describes the potential audience for online journalism. A. Your instructor. B. Anyone who has access to wifi and screens. C. Locals. D. Geographically distant people. Answer: B. 3. Name at least three ways a smartphone can be used in reporting. Answer: To record audio, video, take digital stills, write notes, edit, etc.
          • Skill Demonstrations
            • Example: 1. Choose the best tools to tell a given story and then demonstrate effective use and care for the tool(s). The tools or gear may include digital still and moving image cameras or audio recording devices necessary for documenting and reporting. Evaluation based on quality of recordings and condition of returned equipment. 2. Perform a professional role over the course as a journalist, editor, and collaborative team member to produce a publication. Various roles may be taken on based in student interests and the publication's needs. In terms of professionalism, practice mutual respect and a commitment to shared work. Be on time and let those you're collaborating with know if emergencies arise. Practice and perform your journalistic role as if you were on a journalistic production team reporting, writing, photographing, podcasting, editing, etc. for a digital magazine. Critically reflect on your work in this capacity at the end of term in a written reflection.

          Repeatable

          No

          Methods of Instruction

          • Activity
          • Lecture/Discussion
          • Distance Learning

          Activity:

          1. The instructor will introduce and support peer-to-peer collaboration that will allow students to actively participate in the learning and production process. Students in roles as reporters develop pitches for story ideas, share them with the group, and get feedback from student-editors and the instructor. Then launch reporting plans and work independently and collaboratively. Students collaborate as reporters, copy-editors, and photojournalists for instance to produce one story as a multimedia package. The instructor coaches and guides the process to foster a positive environment for collaborative learning and to keep the team moving within professional journalistic practices.

          Lecture:

          1. The instructor will lead a lecture and discussion on publishing stories on digital platforms with multimedia tools as a student publication. The process of taking on journalistic roles, collaboration, leadership and applying ethical practices to produce stories will be explained and discussed. This will set the stage for students to actively collaborate, co-produce stories, and distribute media via online, podcast, and/or print. Students will discuss making stories, share production and leadership interests, and elect areas in which to focus and support the team over the term. The instructor will give students an application through a Google form or similar to convey their interests, experience, and collaborative skills and appoint a team.

          Distance Learning

          1. In the online modality, the instructor will present a lecture on story-gathering through discerning news events, identifying sources, doing interviews, research, and descriptive writing. A discussion board assignment will be given that allows students to engage the lecture and discuss ideas with peers relevant to story-gathering.
          2. In the online modality, the instructor will group students to collaborate through whole class and as appropriate, group discussion boards. The instructor will layout ground-rules for respectful and inclusive collaboration and a process for leadership roles to emerge. A discussion board assignment will be given for students to share the kinds of stories they’re interested in and reply to each other to coalesce shared interests. Students may be grouped by areas of foci for story development such as news, culture, sports, or creative expression; and/or by beginning skill-sets as copy-editors, photographers, writers, videographers, podcasters, cartoonists, etc. Within groups they will pitch ideas and choose stories to take on together, discussing and discerning the best mediums through which the story should be told. This activity will allow them to develop news stories through written, visual, audio, video or other multimedia formats.

          Typical Out of Class Assignments

          Reading Assignments

          1. Read an online journalistic story related to a news assignment you've been given to gain insight into how others are writing about the topic and deepen reporting and the final product. Consider the headline, how the lead is crafted, how many interview sources are included and how they differ, how voices and integration of quotes are handled, subheadings, and force of story to frame and contextualize the event. 2. Read and listen to a script from an exemplar journalistic podcast in a series and analyze how the producers crafted the story with attention to title, intro, lead, interview structure, story arc, and outro. May apply to listening and reading a script for a short, exemplar documentary video.

          Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

          Do research to prepare for an interview, draft interview questions, and conduct the interview. Draw on reporting, research, and the transcription to write a profile feature story. Work with a partner in a role on the team as a photojournalist, or independently, to take photos of the interviewee to caption and use in the story. Also consider video, audio, illustrations, or graphics that may add to your story as a multimedia package. Use two mediums at minimum in each story, text and image, and one more if working with a collaborative partner or independently allows.

          Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

          1. Assemble student-produced work in a digital portfolio that highlights beginning skills in different storytelling formats over the term. 2. Conduct an interview by researching to prepare, crafting questions to gather information, discussing consent for publication and documenting whether or not it’s gained on recording, and listening and asking follow up questions. 3. Record voice for podcasts with clean audio and a scripted intro and outro. Edit story to fit within time constraints and for clarity while maintaining accuracy.

          Required Materials

          • Associate Press Style Guide
            • Author: Associated Press
            • Publisher: Associated Press
            • Publication Date:
            • Text Edition: most recent
            • Classic Textbook?: Yes
            • OER Link:
            • OER:
          • Be Credible: Information Literacy for Journalism, Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing Students
            • Author: Bobkowski, Peter and Karna Younger
            • Publisher:
            • Publication Date: 2018
            • Text Edition:
            • Classic Textbook?: No
            • OER Link:
            • OER: CC-A-NC
          • The Mobile Journalism Manual: The Guide for Reporters and Newsrooms
            • Author: Corrine Podger and Vivian Goetz, primary authors
            • Publisher: KONRAD-ADENAUER-STIFTUNG LTD.
            • Publication Date: 2023
            • Text Edition:
            • Classic Textbook?: No
            • OER Link:
            • OER: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
          • Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship
            • Author: Michelle Ferrier and Elizabeth Mays
            • Publisher: Open Textbook Library, American University
            • Publication Date: 2019
            • Text Edition:
            • Classic Textbook?: No
            • OER Link:
            • OER: CC by 4.0
          • Tools for Podcasting
            • Author: Jill Olmsted
            • Publisher: Open Textbook Library, American University
            • Publication Date: 2019
            • Text Edition:
            • Classic Textbook?: No
            • OER Link:
            • OER: CC-NA

          Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.