Walter Brough-Stevenson
Madera High School
Summer 2011
School Profile
Madera High has served the Central Valley community of Madera, California,
since 1894. Agriculture (vineyard, fruit and nut crops) still forms the primary
economic base for the small city of 61,000 (census of 2010—up from 43,000 in
2000). Farm labor thus heavily influences the ethnic makeup of the student
population, about 70 percent Hispanic, with the remainder a mix of white, AfricanAmerican, Native-American, and Asian-American.
Advanced Journalism: Print Media and Newspaper Production
Course Format: Two semesters; grades 11 and 12; Prerequisites: Beginning Journalism.
Brief Course Description:
This course builds on beginning journalism with an in-depth exploration of all aspects of
gathering and reporting news, including background research, structured writing, and extensive
editing for publication; writing opinion, including comparative rhetorical approaches; and
current trends in news media, including Web site publications.
Students in advanced journalism will write for and exercise editorial policy for the publication of
the school newspaper.
This year-long course is divided into six, six-week training cycles. Each cycle will emphasize a
particular theme of journalism with a focus on research, writing and editing. Research methods
will include corroborating and evaluating sources. Students will read a wide sampling of the best
of today’s journalism and apply these approaches to their own writing. Students will be tested on
thematic subject areas and graded on written responses.
After-school sessions will focus on editing and newspaper production, including layout of stories
and photographs. Published work will meet standards expected of professional mainstream
media in accuracy and depth of reporting, and quality of writing. While editing, students will
focus on journalism ethics and media law, as well as the rewriting process and journalism style.
Students will practice peer editing at every level of instruction.
Each six-week training cycle will cover a major theme of journalism. Within each cycle,
instructor will lead a one-two day seminar on a feature topic related to issues relevant to
this community’s young adult. These topics will include story ideas generated by the staff
for in-depth reporting. Outside of class work will involve the editing and layout of the
paper. Inside class work will involve training in story structure and journalistic styles
through intensive reading of the professional models from mainstream publications. Peer
editing under instructor’s supervision will take place as the first and subsequent drafts are
readied for publication in the school newspaper.
Walter Brough-Stevenson
Madera High School
Summer 2011
First Training Cycle: The Principles of Journalism
In-class activities:
1. Review history of journalism in the United States and its role in society, media law and
major court cases, including English common law, and principles of journalism.
2. Read and discuss the preface and introduction of Journalism: The Democratic Craft.
3. Read and discuss chapters one and two from Elements. What do the authors mean when
they write of “journalistic truth”? Respond in essay.
4. Read Zinsser, part 1, chapters 1-8. Apply key concepts in practice sets following each
chapter. Demonstrate mastery in first stories for publication.
5. Story ideas and plans discussed, layout plan discussed, research notes reviewed and story
structures planned. Professional model stories read and used as guides.
6. First drafts peer-reviewed for accuracy, depth and breadth of coverage, with discussion of
follow-up as necessary. Testing follows each sub-unit in this cycle.
*Outside of class, students will review structure of editorial board and policy, establish beat
assignments, plan editing process, and create layout of monthly newspaper. Story ideas
generated, planned. Research planned, interviews planned, research conducted, interviews
conducted, edited stories and processed photos placed according to approved layout
schemes. Final edits before printing. *This process repeated every training cycle.
Textbooks and Readings
Kovach and Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism
Adam and Clark, ed., Journalism: The Democratic Craft
Resources
AP Stylebook and Libel Manual; Associated Press; 1999.
Second Training Cycle: Research methods: Verification
In-class activities:
1. Primary versus secondary, how to use the Web and evaluate Internet sources including
Wikipedia.
2. Read and discuss chapter 7 in Elements. Discuss the value of Wikipedia in light of its
pitfalls. Respond in essay.
3. Use of primary source documents by mainstream media explored in the history of the
Pentagon Papers. Compare with the WikiLeaks publication of the Afgan War documents.
4. Articles from mainstream media and readings related to the Pentagon Papers assigned,
discussed, and responded to in essay.
5. View and discuss The Most Dangerous Man in America.
6. Read and discuss chapter four in Elements. Respond in essay.
7. Read and discuss chapter 12, in Journalism: The Democratic Craft. What is journalism’s
role in a democratic society according to Lippmann? Respond in essay.
Walter Brough-Stevenson
Madera High School
Summer 2011
8. Read and discuss chapter 16 in Journalism: The Democratic Craft. What is the
journalist’s obligation to verify official government claims according to Halberstam?
Respond in essay.
9. Read and discuss chapter 23 in Journalism: The Democratic Craft. The writer draws a
line between fiction and nonfiction. Describe a grey area and how to approach it.
Respond in essay.
10. Read and discuss chapter 27 in Journalism: The Democratic Craft. According to
Hayakawa, how does one decide when language describes rather than interprets?
Respond in essay.
Textbooks and Readings
Kovach and Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism
Adam and Clark, ed., Journalism: The Democratic Craft
Zinsser, William, On Writing Well
Films
The Most Dangerous Man in America
Resources
AP Stylebook and Libel Manual; Associated Press. (Current edition)