JOU 2100 Newspaper Reporting
Instructor: Gary Ghioto, 184 Communication Arts
Office phone: 850-857-6276
E-mail: uwfjournalism@gmail.com
Office hours: By appointment
Course Description
This three credit course covers the principles and procedures used to report and write
hard news, profiles and feature articles for newspapers and online news sites.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will have the opportunity to learn a variety of skills covering news, such as
summary and soft lead writing, developing news judgment, and learning interview and
research techniques. Students will learn to write on deadline, interview sources and
develop an understanding of the workings of a newspaper and online news site.
Although the course stresses writing and reporting skills, students will be introduced to
journalism issues such as ethics and libel law. Proficiency with Associated Press style
will be stressed.
Recent assessments of student writing indicated a need to give additional attention to
avoiding editorializing in news writing and providing key information earlier in an
article. Therefore, those two elements of news writing will be emphasized in this course.
Course topics
The course will cover reporting, research and interview techniques used to write hard
news, profile and feature stories. How editors and reporters make decisions about news
coverage will be discussed. Issues in journalism will be explored. The concept of
convergence in the media will be examined.
In addition, beat reporting, ethics, story idea generation, source development and Internet
research for stories will be covered.
Texts
Itule, D. Bruce and Anderson, A. Douglas, News Writing and Reporting for Today’s
Media. 6th or 7th edition.
Associated Press Style Book and Libel Manual
Recommended but not required:
Print or digital dictionary and grammar resource
Media Writer’s Handbook, George T. Arnold, McGraw-Hill Higher Education,
E-mail address
Send all assignments/quizzes and personal communications to instructor to
uwfjournalism@gmail.com.
Class Web site
Go to the interactive class Web site often for required postings, style sheets, course
information and weekly assignments. The web address is:
http://uwfnewswriting.blogspot.com/
Follow the directions on the Web site and become a “follower” on the site in order to
receive e-mail alerts when new material is posted.
PowerPoint lectures
The weekly PowerPoint lectures are a key component of your course work. The lectures
will review chapter concepts and also introduce you to information outside the text. The
lectures may contain interactive elements that require your response.
Required readings
Assigned readings are from the text, AP Style Book and Web site postings. You will also
be required to read selections from The Voyager each week and stories from PNJ.com.
Attendance for on-campus classes
Attendance is mandatory. Attendance will be taken at each class. Approach this course as
you would a reporting job. Reporters who fail to show up for work get fired.
This course emphasizes techniques to write newspaper stories and also tests your
reporting skills with graded writing exercises and quizzes on lecture points and AP Style.
If you miss class, it will be difficult to perform well on these assignments. You will also
receive a zero on quizzes or graded in-class writing assignments that you miss.
Regular attendance and participation is required. For each missed class period
beyond one (1), your final grade will be reduced by one step (e.g. B to B-).
However, in the case of sickness, jury duty or unavoidable university duty, I will allow
you to make up a missed quiz or assignment. You will need to provide written
documentation for absences caused by illness, jury duty or university duty. You must
also call my office number and leave a message before class begins.
By the way, frequent tardiness will not be tolerated. Try showing up late for a news event
and explaining why you missed part or all of a story to an irate editor.
Grading
Grades will be determined from scores on homework exercises and quizzes. In addition,
there will be story assignments and a Web site presentation.
Graded in-class and homework writing exercises or news assignments, web postings, AP
Style/current events/lecture quizzes = 50 percent of your grade.
Issues in Journalism presentation, mid-term, end-of-semester journalism test and 2-5
writing assignments = 50 percent.
Weekly quiz
Each week expect a quiz on AP Style, current events from your newspaper readings, class
lecture topics and assigned reading. The quiz will be e-mailed to you and also posted on
the class Web site. For on-campus courses, the quiz may also be taken in class.
There is no make-up for a missed quiz unless you have a written medical excuse or
documentation excusing your absence. You must notify me before the quiz by phone if
you have a valid excuse for missing deadline.
“Issues in Journalism” presentations
Students will create a presentation highlighting various issues in journalism. This
presentation will require research, at least one handout and a 425-word, double-spaced
written report.
Students are required to document all sources in a bibliography accompanying the
written report. Students must also provide the class with one handout. The topic will be
assigned by the instructor.
Deadlines and commitments
Do not bother to ask to take a missed quiz due to an unexcused absence. Do not bother to
ask for an extension to turn in assigned homework or writing assignments after deadline.
There are no retakes in daily journalism. Deadlines are sacred.
Finally, since your homework is assigned far in advance, there is NO excuse for missed
homework. Turn it what you have completed and take the hit. It’s better than a zero. Late
homework assignments that are turned in for some reason after deadline will be returned
to you with a zero grade notification e-mail.
Grading of news stories
Errors in the lead = Up to 50 points off; factual error = up to 75 points off per error;
organizational error = up to 30 points off; spelling, AP style or grammatical error = up to
50 points off; libel = up to 50 points off; plagiarism = zero and possible expulsion from
this class and the University.
Grading
Grades will be based on a percentage of points earned:
A (94-100)
A- (90-93)
B+ (87-89)
B (84-86)
B- (80-83)
C+ (77-79)
C (74-76)
C- (70-73)
D+ (67-69)
D (64-66)
D- (60-63)
F (below 59)
Note
It is strongly recommended that you retain all graded homework, quizzes and story
assignments for your records and to assist you in calculating your grade at the end of the
semester. Keeping graded work is also necessary in the event you challenge my
calculation of your grade.
About your instructor
I have worked as a reporter, bureau chief, editor and correspondent for daily newspapers
including The Boston Globe and the Arizona Daily Sun. On the wire service side, I have
been employed by United Press International and Reuters as a news editor and reporter.
I am currently the night content editor at the Pensacola News Journal.
My broadcast experience includes three years as news director at New Hampshire Public
Radio and two years as a reporter for commercial and public television stations.
I covered the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and also
reported extensively on national and New Hampshire politics.
One of my favorite jobs was covering the environment for a daily newspaper in northern
Arizona. Based in Flagstaff, I covered forest fires, the California condor and Mexican
gray wolf reintroduction programs, and issues involving the Colorado River and Grand
Canyon National Park. My beat also included coverage of the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo
Nation.
My freelance reporting credits include the New York Times, National Public Radio, E
Environmental Magazine, Richmond Times Dispatch, Pensacola News Journal and the
Rothenberg Political Report.
I came to UWF in 2003 after teaching for two years at Northern Arizona University. I
received a bachelor’s degree in English literature in 1976 and a master’s degree in 2002.
Please feel free to use me as a resource concerning journalism jobs and internships. I will
also try to answer any questions you may have about a career in journalism.
Expectations for Academic Conduct/Plagiarism Policy
As members of the University of West Florida, we commit ourselves to honesty. As we
strive for excellence in performance, integrity—personal and institutional—is our most
precious asset. Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we will not knowingly act in
ways which erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat, nor to tolerate
cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. We pledge to share community resources
in ways that are responsible and that comply with established policies of fairness.
Cooperation and competition are means to high achievement and are encouraged. Indeed,
cooperation is expected unless our directive is to individual performance. We will
compete constructively and professionally for the purpose of stimulating high
performance standards. Finally, we accept adherence to this set of expectations for
academic conduct as a condition of membership in the UWF academic community. A full
statement of the plagiarism policy is provided at http://uwf.edu/cas/docs/plagiarism.htm
Assistance:
Students with special needs who require specific examination-related or other courserelated accommodations should contact Disabled Student Services, dss@uwf.edu, (850)
474-2387. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the instructor that will specify
any recommended accommodations.
ALC
This course supports the Academic Learning Compact (ALC) that follows for the
journalism track, especially the portions in bold type.
ALC FOR JOURNALISM TRACK
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION ARTS
Mission statement:
The journalism track prepares students for media careers in which they will be
expected to practice critical thinking, factual accuracy and clear communication.
We emphasize hands-on reporting and editing experience, ethical and legal
frameworks, and an awareness of how the mass media operate and how they serve
society.
The graduate of the UWF journalism program will be able to:
CONTENT
 Demonstrate the distinction between hard news reporting and feature writing.
 Write in accordance with Associated Press style rules.
 Identify the key principles of good layout and design practices for
newspapers.
 Describe historical controversies related to the practice of journalism.
 Identify career options in journalism
CRITICAL THINKING
 Exercise news judgment, factual accuracy and proper sourcing in news
articles.
 Generate ideas worthy of journalistic treatment.
 Synthesize diverse ideas to produce coherent news coverage.
COMMUNICATION
 Demonstrate mastery of the rules of grammar and English usage.
 Demonstrate engaging and effective interviewing techniques.
 Practice aesthetically pleasing graphic design techniques.
 Use information technology effectively and efficiently to conduct research.
CHARACTER/INTEGRITY/VALUES
 Describe and adhere to ethical principles in journalism:
 protection of sources
 balance
 avoidance of plagiarism
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
 Develop and write news articles in accordance with occupational constraints.
 Design and layout newspaper pages.
 Collaborate effectively with news colleagues and news sources.
More on plagiarism policy
See: http://uwf.edu/cas/docs/plagiarism.htm
(The University of West Florida maintains a license for Turnitin, a web-based program for
analyzing students' written assignments to evaluate the originality of the work. I may utilize this
program during the semester.)