Journalism 201, News Writing, Spring 2003
Instructor: Betsy Powell Mullen
Room 500, Ryland Hall
MWF, 10:25-11:15 a.m.
Phone: 270-3502 (w), 270-2499 (h)
emullen2@richmond.edu
What to expect
News Writing is a fun and fast-paced course. You will learn the fundamentals
of gathering, organizing and writing news stories. You will learn to do this
on deadline as you would in a professional setting. This is a challenging course,
but you will become a better writer.
Among the topics we’ll cover:
*what news is
*how to interview
*how to research story information
*how to write succinct leads
*how to write, and rewrite, concise and logical news stories
*how to avoid common usage and grammar problems
*how to avoid bias and libel
Texts
*Reporting for the Print Media, by Fred Fedler (seventh edition)
*The Craft of Interviewing, by John Brady
*The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White (latest edition)
*The Associated Press Stylebook
*The Richmond Times-Dispatch
*The Collegian
*A good dictionary
Attendance
ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. Journalism is a fast-paced, deadline-driven business. You can fall behind quickly, even if you miss only one class. This also means you must come to class on time. Three late starts count as an absence. Think of this as good practice for those deadline pressures.Unexcused absences mean zeroes on assignments and quizzes. Call me in advance if you know you will not be in class. It is your responsibility to find out what you missed and complete the assignments on time.As added incentive for a perfect attendance record, I will drop your three lowest writing grades if you miss no classes. If you miss only one class, I will drop the two lowest writing grades.Six or more absences mean you automatically will fail this class.
Reading
In addition to the required texts for this course, you are also expected to
read The Richmond Times-Dispatch daily and The Collegian weekly. You also should
regularly look over The New York Times and The Washington Post, both available
online. Take a look at national news magazines, such as Time and Newsweek. You
need to be familiar with what’s going on in the world and in your community.
Reading also helps make you a better writer. There will be frequent, and unannounced,
current events quizzes based on this reading.
Writing
Writing is a craft, and news writing is a skill that requires practice. Expect
to practice a lot. We will be writing almost every day, and then rewriting,
and maybe rewriting again. Do not be discouraged by this, especially in the
beginning. It sounds frustrating, but you will improve and you can expect to
have some fun along the way. I am available to coach you before all of your
assignments are due, and I encourage you to take advantage of this.
Formats for assignments
Double space all copy. On each page, write your name in the upper left-hand
corner, the slug (a one-word description of the story) and the page number.
It should look like this:
Powell
Chaos
Page 1
If the story is more than one page, write “more” at the bottom.
On the final page, use the symbol # at the end.
“F Words”
Certain infractions of the language will guarantee you an automatic “F”
on assignments, quizzes and tests. These include misspelling or misusing the
following words: accommodate, occurred, a lot, receive, its, their/there, that/who
and very. (I reserve the right to add to this list as problems arise during
the semester.) Other mistakes that guarantee an F: misspelling a name, a major
factual error in a story, using only one source in a story, missing a deadline.
Speaking of grades…
Grades are performance-based and your work will be evaluated according to professional
standards. Criteria include accuracy, clarity, correct use of language and AP
style, thoroughness, conciseness, meeting deadline and the absence of bias,
libel and editorial opinion. You also are expected to participate in class.
Grading will be more tolerant at first and become tougher. Your progress is
part of your grade. In other words, if you’re doing C or D work early
in the semester, but consistently making Bs the last month and participating
in class, you are likely to get a B.
Grading key:
A = Publishable as is; meets professional standards.
B = Publishable with minor editing.
C = Needs substantial editing or contains serious errors.
D = Requires extensive rewriting or contains multiple errors.
F = Not publishable or contains misspelled name or factual error.
Pluses or minuses will be given if you’re close - or far - from the letter
grade. They also may be added to your grade based on effort, progress, participation,
extra credit and attendance. The plus grade generally recognizes work that is
above grade level, and the minus grade generally recognizes work that isn't
quite up to grade level. However, a minus grade can also represent a boost --
for example, a student who has a C+ but has demonstrated enterprise and made
great effort at improvement could earn a B-. That also means a student with
A's could end up receiving an A- as a result of poor attendance, excessive tardiness,
poor effort and participation.
Numerically, the grades will be broken down like this:
A+ = 98-100; A = 92-97; A- = 90-92
B+ = 88-89; B = 82-87; B- = 80-81
C+ = 78-79; C = 72-77; C- = 70-71
D+ = 68-69; D = 62-68; D- = 60-61
F = 59 and below
Weight of grades:
Classwork, writing assignments - 60 percent
Midterm -- 5 percent
Final - 20 percent
Progress, participation - approximately 5 percent
Quizzes, news tips - 10 percent
News Tips
To help you learn to think like a reporter, you will turn in one campus-related
story idea each Friday at the beginning of class. You may email them to me before
class, or turn in a written copy before class gets started. Write the story
idea as if you are proposing it to your editor, including:
*a complete description of the story idea
*why it’s important
*the angle
*a list of as many sources as possible
Some of these ideas may be turned over to The Collegian for follow-up.
Quizzes
Each week there will be two short quizzes. One will be an unannounced current
events quiz. I will not schedule these because you shouldn’t study for
them. If you’re keeping up with current events by doing the required reading
each day, these quizzes should be easy. There also will be a weekly quiz based
on “The Craft of Interviewing” for the first six weeks of the semester.
Here’s the material that will be covered on those quizzes:
*Week 1 - Chapters 1-2
*Week 2 - Chapters 3-4
*Week 3 - Chapters 5-6
*Week 4 - Chapters 7-8
*Week 5 - Chapters 9-10
*Week 6 - Chapters 11-12
You can also expect several AP style quizzes scattered throughout the semester. Although you each have a copy of the AP Stylebook, I will give you an abbreviated style guide. You need to become familiar with this guide.
Final exam
Your final exam will be a campus-related news story. This needs to be a solid
story that could be published in The Collegian or elsewhere. In a professional
setting, this would be referred to as a project story or investigative piece.
You might want to consider tackling a national issue, localizing it to campus.
You will need at least eight sources, and you need to remember to tell people
you are writing for publication. You must also show evidence of library research
- from newspapers, magazines, computer databases, the Internet, or all of these.
You may start working on this project now if you’d like. By Feb. 10, you need to turn in a one-page story description. This must be approved by me, and I will return it to you with comments within a week. By March 10, you must turn in a three-page rough draft. I will also get that back to you with comments within a week. Missing these two deadlines will cost you points on the exam.
The final story is due by final exam day, but you may turn this in earlier. Remember, I am available to coach you by e-mail if you need help. Do not put this project off until the last minute.
Plagiarism
It is illegal and unethical to take someone else’s work without permission.
It is also an honor code violation. You may use material from other sources
as long as you give credit. The information must be properly attributed. If
you are involved in plagiarism, you automatically will fail this course. This
is an important topic that has taken on new significance in recent years with
the ease of obtaining information from the Internet. We will cover this topic
more thoroughly in class to make sure there is no confusion. If you have any
questions, check with me before turning in an assignment. No form of plagiarism
will be tolerated.
Honor pledge: You are expected to do your own work in this class. Failure to do so is a serious offense with serious consequences.
Class schedule:
Here is a tentative schedule of the topics we will cover during
the semester. Please read the chapters listed in advance of the class. The schedule
may change depending on breaking news events and other factors. I will keep
you posted on these changes.
Week 1 - Chapters 1 (basics) and 3 (newswriting style)
Week 2 - Chapter 4 (language of news); Chapter 5 (selecting and reporting the
news)
Week 3 - Chapter 6 (basic leads); Chapter 7 (alternative leads)
Week 4 - Chapter 8 (body of stories)
Week 5 - Chapter 9 (quotes and attribution)
Week 6 - Chapter 10 (interviews)
Week 7 - Chapter 12 (speeches and meetings); improving your writing
Week 8 - Review; midterm
Week 9 - Chapter 13 (specialized stories); Chapter 11 (obituaries)
Week 10 - Chapter 21 (ethics)
Week 11 - Chapter 15 (public affairs reporting)
Week 12 - Chapter 14 (feature writing)
Week 13 - Chapter 19 (working with PR); Chapter 20 (communications law)
Week 14 - Review; final examKicker
Think of me as your editor. I will work with you on all of your assignments
before they are due. Whether you pursue a career in journalism or not, this
course is a valuable tool in developing your communications skills. With the
right attitude, it can also be a lot of fun.