Instructor: George Kindel
Office: 419 Ryland Hall
Office Hours: 1:30-3:30PM, T-TH, and by appointment
Office Phone: TK
e-mail: gkindel@richmond.edu
Overview:
This is a writing course, in theory and practice.
Writing news for television, however, is unique in that the medium demands that its practitioners possess a working knowledge of: reporting; field production and ENG (electronic news gathering); copy and videotape editing; and, in many instances, studio and show production.
That's a lot of ground to cover in one course,
so we're going to focus on those processes that directly affect
daily TV news writing:
reporting;
basic field production;
formatting scripts;
writing to pictures and sound; and,
copy and videotape editing.
Be forewarned, however, that this is going to require a lot of out-of-class work.
The bulk of class time will be spent discussing the nuts and bolts of TV news writing, including legal and ethical issues. Lectures and class assignments will build toward constructing a "typical" daily news package. You also will critique television news programs (local and national) and locally produced news packages. Finally, you will critique each other's work.
Technical procedures:
Television is technology driven, so
you will need to master some basic skills. I expect everyone taking
this course to know by the end of Week 3 how to shoot and edit
(linear) videotape. Here are some guidelines:
Equipment: Each student will be responsible
for scheduling and attending equipment training sessions with
Hil Scott (289-8452; hscott@richmond.edu) at the Media Resource
Center. These sessions, in groups of 3 or 4, are in addition to
your regularly scheduled class time. Hil will instruct you in
basic video camera operations and in the use of the tape editing
equipment (linear). If at anytime you need help with the equipment,
just ask. Hil will keep a log of your equipment and facility usage.
Tape stock can be purchased at the MRC.
Field production: While many stations employ a "one-man
band" approach to field production, we will operate in two-person
production teams. Let me know in advance whether you prefer a
particular production partner, but keep in mind: each person's
performance can affect the other's grade. Again, Hil and his assistants
can help you if you encounter problems in field. I also will include
field production in our class work.
iMacs: While most of you have worked on the iMacs in Ryland
500, I will schedule a formal training session as needed.
Textbooks, readings, quiz and critique material:
Writing Broadcast News: Shorter, Sharper, Stronger
Mervin Block
Writing News for Television
Victoria McCullogh Carroll
The Richmond Times-Dispatch (daily)
Local and national TV news programs (daily)
Grading and attendance:
Grades are built from the bottom up,
which means you earn them.
Classroom writing assignments earn a maximum
of 30 points (no rewrites)
Three TV news packages earn up to 15 points each (45 total points)
(Note: If you and/or your production partner wish to rewrite and
re-edit a package, and it improves the work, I will replace the
original grade with the rewrite grade)
Six (6) quizzes earn up to 15 points
(Note: Quiz #6 is optional, if you think it will help build your
grade. It cannot hurt your grade.)
Viewing logs, critiques and participation earn up to 10 points
Since attendance is mandatory, I see no reason to reward coming to class. That said, here's a little incentive: miss no more than one class and I'll drop your lowest writing grade. Excused absences will not count as a missed class.
It's logical to expect a loss of points if you miss class without an approved excuse since you probably will miss a writing assignment or quiz. Therefore, assignments or quizzes missed during unauthorized absences will receive an F. I will, however, provide an opportunity to complete missed work missed during authorized absences.
Deadlines:
Working journalists operate on deadline.
News packages that don't make their assigned slot in a show do
not make air. There are no second chances. Do it enough times
and you're an unemployed journalist.
You, too, will work on deadline.
Deadline for classroom writing assignments is the end of class. Deadline for take-home assignments is the start of next class. Deadlines for video packages (and rewrites/re-edits) will be announced during the semester.
ANTICIPATE PROBLEMS! Tackle the assignments immediately. Deadlines are firm.
Integrity:
There are many forms of cheating and
dishonesty. As it pertains to this class, not fulfilling your
responsibility to your production partnership and/or submitting
work that is not your own will result in serious consequences.
I won't ask you to sign pledges or take oaths. As students at UR, you already subscribe to its Honor System. It's useful to remember, however, that journalists are not licensed or required to pass professional examination. We don't take oaths, but understand that our work is a public trust. Violating that trust carries its own serious consequences.
Proposed Class Schedule:
Week 1 Course overview; MRC and
iMac training.
Reading: Writing News for Television (WNT), Chapter 1
Writing Broadcast News (WBN), Chapters 1 & 2
Week 2 Script formats; story structure; class writing assignment
Reading: WNT, Chapters 4 & 6
*Make appointments to discuss first news package
Week 3 Quiz #1; field production; What makes good
writing; take-home assignment
Reading: WNT, Chapters 2 & 3
WBN, Chapters 2 & 3
Week 4 Matching words and pictures; class writing assignment
Reading: WNT, Chapter 8
Week 5 Quiz #2; Matching words, pictures and sound; class
writing assignment
Reading: WNT, Chapters 9 & 10
*First news package due; begin work on second news package
Week 6 Class critiques; class writing assignments
Reading: WBN, Chapter 11
Week 7 Quiz #3; Combining elements to form a package; class
writing assignment
Reading: WNT, Chapter 11
*Make appointments to discuss second news package
Week 8 Class critiques; class writing assignment
Reading; WBN, Chapter s 5, 8 & 9
Week 9 Quiz #4; Writing lead-ins and outs; "news flow";
class writing assignment
Reading: WBN, Chapter 4
*Second news package due; begin work on third news package
Week 10 Class critiques; class writing assignment
Week 11 Quiz #5; Legal and ethical issues; class writing
assignment
*Make appointment to discuss third news package
Week 12 Building a newscast: who decides the show,
and why; writing assignments
Week 13 Class critiques of local/national news programs;
writing assignments
Week 14 Quiz #6 (optional): Class critiques; all outstanding
work due
*Third news package due