Gottlieb
Introduction to Journalism
History of Journalism Project
Journalism History Timeline Project
Directions: Individually or in pairs, create a product that emphasizes the major events in the
history of journalism in the United States. You will create both an outline or notes page containing
the most important information of your era AND a visual aid to accompany your oral presentation.
This product may take multiple forms including a poster, handout/pamphlet, timeline, or
PowerPoint.
You may use the Journalism Today textbook, the websites listed on the next page, your notes, or
other websites for reference sources. All sources must be properly cited (see information below and
project rubric).
You will then provide the class with a brief presentation of the information. Your presentation
should be approximately 5 minutes long and include all essential information (you do not need to
include every detail from the text). You will be required to present even if your partner is absent—
be prepared! Absent students will be assigned an alternative assignment when they return.
BOTH YOUR OUTLINE AND VISUAL SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
A. Events
 Include 10 of the most important events in journalism.
o Note: The timeline in your notes is a starting point, but you will most likely need to include
other important events. Also consider important national and international events that had
an impact on journalism.
 Must include photographs that accurately represent the events you choose to use.
 In addition to the event’s name, each event MUST include a description of what the event was,
who was involved, when and where it took place, and why the event was important (see
example below)
Events example:
Event: America’s First Newspaper
Description: The Publick Occurrence was the first newspaper published in the United States. It
was shut down after only one issue due to British Colonials disagreeing with the content.
When: 1690
Who: publisher Benjamin Harris
Where: Boston
Why is it important: It was the forerunner for future newspapers in the United States, helping
lay the foundation for the freedom of press granted to citizens in the first amendment.
B. People/contributions:
 Feature ONE person from your chosen time period who had an important influence on
journalism and a photo of them (if possible) OR an image relating to them in some way
 Include basic biographical information about the important historical figure (5 Ws)
 Explain their contributions and/or relationship to journalism (What did they do? Why do we
remember them?)
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Gottlieb
Introduction to Journalism
History of Journalism Project
C. Works Cited Page
 Properly cite all of your sources using MLA format. You may use the website
www.citationmachine.net to help you.
Remember! You are being graded on your ability to create and construct a project that follows all
of the guidelines, is accurate, informative, and visually pleasing. Don’t forget to review your rubric!
Grading:
A rubric and additional information will be provided once you choose your visual. Remember, if you
choose to work with a partner, you will both receive the same grade so choose wisely!
Resources:
Below is a list of websites to help you get started. You may use any of the events from these
sites or you may find your own. However, be aware that part of your grade is based on the
relevance of the events you choose. Be cautious of the information included on Wikipedia
if you choose to use it as a source!
http://www.historyofinformation.com/index.php?category=News+Media+%2F+Journalism - From
Cave Paintings to the Internet: Jeremy Norman’s Chronological and Thematic Studies on the History
of Information and Media
http://www.shmoop.com/history-american-journalism/ - Shmoop: History of American Journalism
http://history.journalism.ku.edu/ - History of American Journalism, University of Kansas School of
Journalism
Journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How – James Glen Stovall
 http://www.ablongman.com/stovall1e/chap20/chap20.html - Beginnings of Journalism
 http://www.ablongman.com/stovall1e/chap21/chap21.html - Journalism Comes of Age
 http://www.ablongman.com/stovall1e/chap22/chap22.html - New Realities, New
Journalism
 http://www.ablongman.com/stovall1e/chap23/chap23.html - 20th Century and Beyond
http://www.writesite.org/html/feature.html - Tracing the Story of Journalism in the U.S.
 http://www.writesite.org/html/tracing.html - Journalism Time Line
 http://www.writesite.org/html/famous.html - Creating Human Interest: Famous
Journalists and Photojournalists
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ - Library of Congress, Chronicling America: Historic American
Newspapers
PROJECT DUE DATE:_______________________
PRESENTATION DATE:_________________________
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Gottlieb
Introduction to Journalism
History of Journalism Project
Outline
JOURNALISM HISTORY TIMELINE PROJECT RUBRIC
Name(s):__________________________________________________________
Component Criteria
MLA Formatting
 Times New Roman, size 12 font ,1 inch margins
Heading Components
 Group Members’ Names
 Gottlieb
 Journalism A2
 Date Due
Formatting
 Sections are ordered in a logical way.
 For every division there is at least a second division.
 Sections are aligned correctly.
Quality of information – events and individual
 Includes correct and complete information about 10 important events in
literary history.
 Information is thorough and spelled correctly.
 Includes basic biographical information about figure (name, birth and
death dates [if applicable], hometown, educational background, etc.)
 Includes photo or image related to individual
 Thoroughly explains individual’s contribution to journalism
Works Cited
 Lists all sources in correct MLA format
Possible
5
5
5
80
5
100
TOTAL (OUTLINE)
Visual/Presentation
Earned
Preparedness & Confidence
 Maintains eye contact
 Faces audience; uses notes minimally
 Voice is audible in all areas of the room
 Body language is not distracting
 Does not use verbal fillers (“um,” “like,” etc.)
Visual Aid
 Legible font with contrasting colors
 6x6 rule followed (no more than 6 words/line and more than 6 lines/
 Animations/pictures are not distracting or covering other
 Pictures fit and are not pixilated
Quality of information – events and individual
 Includes correct and complete information about 10 important events in
literary history.
 Information is thorough and spelled correctly.
 Includes basic biographical information about figure (name, birth and
death dates [if applicable], hometown, educational background, etc.)
 Includes photo or image related to individual
 Thoroughly explains individual’s contribution to journalism
TOTAL (VISUAL)
Total Points Earned
10
10
30
50
150
Comments:
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Gottlieb
Introduction to Journalism
History of Journalism Project
HOW TO MAKE A FORMAL OUTLINE IN MICROSOFT WORD
Each major section of your paper should be labeled with a Roman numeral (I, II, III, IV, etc.).
Each subsection should be labeled with a capital letter (A, B, C, D, etc.). Each sub-subsection
should be labeled with an Arabic numeral (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.). Often papers will divided even further:
Arabic numeral sections can be divided into a, b, c, d, etc. and those can be further divided into i,
ii, iii, iv, etc. If you are dividing further than that, your outline is too specific for the purposes of
this assignment. Plus you look anal-retentive.
You cannot have a I without a II. You cannot have an A without a B. You cannot have a 1
without a 2. And so on…
Here is a sample of a formal outline, properly formatted. Notice how the line spacing looks and
how the sections are aligned:
I. Major Section
A. Subsection
1. Sub-subsection
a. One more level to go!
i. The end of the line!
ii. Remember you have to have at least two divisions to justify a division.
b. One more level b
2. Sub-subsection 2
B. Subsection B
II. Major Section II
So how to you get Microsoft Word to listen to you while you’re composing this outline—that is,
how do you keep the program from changing your font to Arial size 18 for no reason, bolding or
italicizing certain levels for no reason, or making odd alignments for no reason? Well, it isn’t
elementary, my dear Watson, but it’s not rocket science either. Here is what you do:
1. After putting your name(s) and title of your outline on your paper, on a new line, type a capital
“I” (also known as the Roman numeral “1”).
2. Title your first major section. Then hit the “Enter” button.
3. Hit the “Tab” button. You will notice that your “I” has changed to an “a.” The only problem is
you want that “a” to be a capitalized “A.” Right? Hit backspace twice.
4. Now type a capitalized “A” and a period. Hit the spacebar. Voila! Now Word has your
customized formatting…at least in the Subsections. You may have to repeat this process in the
sub-subsections if Word decides it want to stray from your formal outlining format.
5. After inserting your Subsection information, hit enter again. Notice that it automatically puts a
“B” where you want it (Yesss!). The rest of your outline formatting is merely a matter of
hitting “Tab” to indent to the next subsection or hitting “Backspace” to move back out a
subsection, depending on what you need. SIDENOTE: You can also use the increase/decrease
indentation buttons under the “Paragraph” section of the “Home” tab to indent and backspace.
6. After you’re completely done inputting information to your online, select everything in the
document. Change the font to Times New Roman, size 12.
7. Complain loudly that the format for all this formal outlining stuff is too picky and is a pain in
the behind to do. I hear ya, pal. That’s just the breaks.
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