Course Syllabus

NEWS REPORTING

(Basic Journalism) Course Code: 1331

Fall 2001 Course Syllabus

Instructor: Alyssa Lenhoff

days: (330) 759-4155 or (330) 742-1649

evenings: (330) 759-2203

alyssalenhoff@yahoo.com

Course Description

News Reporting: A study of news reporting and writing, with an emphasis on journalistic style, development of news judgment, interviewing and coverage of special story types. Prerequisite - ENGL 155 1. Listed also as ENGL 2622.

Goals and Objectives

This course is an introduction to print news reporting and its goal is to prepare students to write accurate, concise, interesting and entertaining stories for newspapers. To reach these goals, students need to become knowledgeable about the following:

- Associated Press Style - Deadline writing

- News judgment - Basic legal and ethical concerns

- Format and tone for writing news - How newsrooms work

- Editing/rewriting - How to develop sources

- Grammar and word choice - Interviewing skills, techniques

Editing The Law News Judgment Reporting

Articles are due at the beginning of the class period. Working with me, you will select your own article topics, sources and people to interview. The articles you write must demonstrate solid news judgment and follow AP Style and "Writer's Guidelines" for YSU journalism classes. Students should select articles that may be published in YSU's student newspaper, The Jambar.

Grading Percentages:

Articles - 50 percent; quizzes - 20 percent; mid-term - 10 percent; final project - 20 percent

Grading Criteria: Articles will be judged in four basic areas: 1) Content (relevance) 2) Sources (adequacy and variety) 3) Language (AP style and grammar) 4) Format and tone. Rewrites: All articles must be rewritten. After an original version of an article has been graded and returned to you, it must be corrected and revised.

The original version will be assigned a tentative grade, which may be increased by a full letter if all corrections and revisions are completed. A second rewrite may be offered if significant progress has been demonstrated on the first rewrite. The second rewrite can earn a grade improvement up to one-half of a full letter grade. Rewrites are due one week after the day the original drafts are handed back (regardless of whether you attend that class.)

Quizzes and Exams

Quizzes/Exams will begin at the start of class. There will be a time limit to complete each quiz. You will have the opportunity to drop two of the lowest quiz grades.

Text/Materials

1. Goldstein, Norm: The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual: Fully Ui)dated and Revised (Reading, Mass., Perseus) 1998.

2. Lanson, G. and Mitchell, Stephens: Writing and Reporting the News 2nd edition (New York: Harcourt Brace) 1994.

3. Several floppy disks or a Zip disk for storing your work.

Dates of assignments will be announced in class and on the website for this course.