JOUR 2321 Introduction to Journalism (offered every semester):
Course Description
Journalism I will introduce students to the requirements, responsibilities and ethics
of journalism. Students will learn to identify news stories, to report and verify
information and to write basic news and feature stories. Students will examine the
role of the media in American society with an emphasis on the convergence of print,
video, audio and other multimedia tools. The goal is for students to learn the tools of
the trade and to introduce them to the realities of rapidly changing newsrooms.
Course Objectives
 Learn about the modern American newsroom;
 Learn to identify stories and develop story ideas;
 Learn to write stories in journalistic style;
 Learn the basics of reporting, interviewing and researching;
 Appreciate the importance of accuracy and fact checking;
 Become familiar with the ethics, legalities and responsibilities of practicing
journalism;
 Read newspapers online at least daily and make understanding current
events a priority;
 Become fluent with the basics of Associated Press style
Course Overview
The course will be divided into four sections.
In the first section, we will study the development of print media, learn about key
figures in American journalism and about the changing ways journalism has been
practiced in this country. Students will learn about how the newsroom works, with
emphasis on the growing use of multimedia resources and the revolutionizing
influence of the Internet on reporting and writing. We will review the importance of
impartiality and balance and learn the components needed for a story to be news.
In the second section, we will learn the nuts and bolts of writing news stories,
developing story ideas and AP Style. Students will be required to self-edit and to
revise their stories.
In the third section, we will study the craft of reporting and researching with special
attention to online resources - their possibilities, limits and proper use. Students
will learn the importance of accuracy and techniques of verification.
Finally, students will learn the ethics and legalities central to the responsible
practice of journalism.
Course Requirements
Students must complete three major stories during the semester, take two tests and
take news and AP style quizzes. In addition, I will assign homework and in-class
deadline exercises. Please read the attached sheet and pay close attention to the
requirements and deadlines for each major assignment.
Students will be required to read the online editions of the New York Times and
Hilltop Views. I will also assign reading from the textbook. Failure to keep up with
the reading assignments will impede your progress in this course.
Textbooks
The Associated Press Style Book and Libel Manual: The Journalist's Bible, published
by Addison-Wesley. If you prefer, you may subscribe to the AP Stylebook online at
http://www.apstylebook.com/
News Reporting and Writing, by Melvin Mencher, 12th edition.
Students must subscribe to the New York Times. We will discuss how to do this in
class.
Grading
 Three Stories: 60 percent
 Two Tests: 30 percent
 Quizzes, homework, in-class writing assignments: 10 percent
I will grade your work using journalistic criteria:
 A=90 to 100 points. Copy is publishable with little to no editing.
 B=80 to 90 points. Very good. Copy requires minor editing.
 C=70 to 80 points. Adequate. Copy needs heavy revision and additional
reporting.
 D=60 to 70 points: Marginal. Copy contains factual errors, incomplete
reporting and needs extensive editing.
 F=50 to 60 points: Unacceptable. Copy does not meet minimum writing and
reporting standards or has been handed in after deadline.
Extra Credit
Students may earn up to 10 additional points if their stories are published in Hilltop
Views. The points you earn will depend on the originality, depth and complexity of
your submission. Please note that the editors of Hilltop Views decide whether to
accept contributions. They also reserve the right to edit any contributions they
accept. You may not submit an article written first for Hilltop Views or any other
publication for extra credit in JOUR 2321. All assignments submitted for credit
(extra or otherwise) must be originally produced for this class.
Speakers
Speakers will occasionally come to talk to the class. These speakers are busy
professionals who are generous with their time. Please make sure you are in class
when a speaker is scheduled and that you are prepared to ask questions and take
detailed notes. You will be required to cover the speakers' talks as news stories.
These assignments cannot be made up. Class speakers have included Pulitzer Prizewinning editorial writer and editor Maria Henson, NPR Washington Correspondent
Don Gonyea and former New York Times and Texas Tribune reporter Kate
Galbraith.
Office Conferences
Please come by if you have questions or concerns. If my office hours are not
convenient, please schedule an appointment. I am happy to work individually with
students who want to schedule story consultations. You will find that I am very
available for outside help. E-mail, not my office voice mail, is the best way to contact
me outside of class.
Attendance and Participation
You are allowed three absences all semester. You will lose two points for each class
you miss after your three allowed absences. If you have more than six absences, you
run the risk of being withdrawn from the class.
The most important thing a journalist does is show up. If you want to do well in JI,
you must come to class on time and stay for the duration. Come prepared. Read
newspapers and the assigned materials and be ready to participate in lively
discussions. Please note that if you miss the in-class writing assignments designed
to develop your deadline skills, you cannot make them up and will earn a zero.
Likewise, quizzes cannot be made up. If you miss a quiz, you earn a zero.
PLEASE NOTE: Meeting deadline is one of the bedrock skills and responsibilities for
any journalist. Please do not ask for an extension because I won't greant it. In
addition, if you miss the first draft deadline for any of the three major writing
assignments, you will earn a zero for the entire assignment. If you fail to attach your
original draft with my comments, as well as all revisions, to the final version of your
assignment, you will receive a zero for the entire assignment.
Incompletes
Incompletes will be awarded only if a) the student's work is up to date at the time of
the request for an incomplete; b) the student provides thorough documentation of a
serious emergency; c) the request is approved by the Dean of the School of
Humanities.
Special Circumstances
If you have a medical, psychiatric or learning disability and require accomodations
in this class, please let me know immediately or as soon as you are eligible for
accomodations. You will first need to provide documentation to the Disability
Coordinator, located in Academic Planning and Support.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty includes cheating on exams as well as plagiarizing (presenting
another individual's work as your own). The St. Edward's University Student
Handbook states that, "a student who is dishonest in any work is to receive a mark
of F for that course." Students caught committing any act of academic dishonesty in
this course will be subject to the full range of penalties as described in the Student
Handbook.
Revisions
This syllabus is subject to revision. Please check your e-mail and Blackboard
regularly for announcements and updates.
Assignments
You must write three major articles during the semester. As you will see in the
Syllabus, the bulk of your final grade for the course - 60 percent - will rest with how
well you complete these two stories. You will take a midterm and a final exam, one
to assess your news understanding and skills and the other to assess your
understanding of libel and ethics. Together, these tests comprise 30 percent of your
final grade. You will take news quizzes each week and AP Style quizzes as needed.
You will also complete in-class writing exercises and homework assignments.
Together, the quizzes, in-class writing and homework comprise 10 percent of your
final grade.You must have a minimum of three primary sources, i.e. interviews in
person or on the telephone with three people. You must also incorporate
online/public records research. Please note that simply crediting an online source,
including a newspaper, magazine or news outlet's report without independently
verifying the information you find there will not count.
Writing
You will be graded on your ability to find a focus, write clearly, compose a
compelling lede and incorporate strong quotes in your copy. Proper presentation
and punctuation of quotes, proper use of AP Style and overall accuracy will also
factor into your final grade on each assignment. On the Big Stories, you will lose two
points for each AP Style error. You will lose three points for each error of fact. You
will lose 5 points for each proper name you get wrong.
Revisions
You are required to write a first draft and encouraged to rewrite your work as many
times as you wish. The first draft will equal 30 percent of your final grade for the
assignment UNLESS you fail to attach all revisions to the final version. Again, should
you fail to attach all revisions to the final version, it is a zero for the entire
assignment. Make substantive improvements to your copy. Incorporating my editing
marks and doing little else will not suffice. Failure to do additional reporting when
instructed to do so will also hurt your final grade.
Deadlines
Assignments are due at the beginning of class. Print out your work, staple or
paperclip it and have it ready to submit when you arrive. I will not accept email
submissions unless you have special circumstances and we have agreed, before the
assignment deadline, that you may email it to me (if we have made this agreement
on the final version of any of the three big stories, you must also scan and email all
versions with the final draft). I do not accept late work, which means that I will not
accept work handed in after class. You must meet the First Draft and Final Draft
deadlines or you will earn a zero for the entire assignment.
Topics
1. Your first assignment is to cover a speaker or event on our off campus. You are
looking for someone newsy who is speaking about something substantial or for an
event of substance and interest. You will need to do some planning. Check the events
listing on the SEU home page, for example, and at UT-Austin. Is anyone interesting
speaking? Any group gathering? Where? When? Tell the reader what happened,
thinking first and foremost about your lede. What is the news from this address?
Identify the most important, interesting aspects of the event, find a focus and craft
your story around it. Quote the speaker or event leader(s), quote other participants
(if this is a panel, for instance, or if audience members ask questions). Be sure to
stay after the event to get reaction and quotes from those in the audience. Be careful
with names. Make sure you have full names and correct titles in your story. Two
tips: Research your speaker or event before the event so that you have some context
when you’re listening. After the event, don’t wait to start writing. Go home, sit down
and begin crafting your story while it’s still fresh in your mind.
2. Your second assignment is to cover a governmental or quasi-governmental
meeting on or off campus. You may cover a Student Government Association
meeting or an Austin City Council meeting or a meeting of any other governmental
or quasi-governmental body that interests you. What is the news from this meeting?
Identify what is most important and interesting, what decisions this body makes
that might have an impact on the reader, and make that your lede. Quote the key
speakers, quote other participants and get reaction from audience members and
those affected by the decisions this body makes. Again, be careful that you have full,
correctly spelled names and titles in your story. Begin writing as soon after the
meeting as you can. A tip: Contact Student Life in the first week of the course to find
out when and where the Student Government Association is meeting so that you can
plan ahead.
3. Your third assignment is to write an issue story. You must identify an issue of
interest to students and develop a story about it. For example, you could write about
safety on campus, college costs, dorm life, the job market – anything you can
establish is of real concern to students here at SEU and/or elsewhere. You will need
to substantially report the issue, using human sources and thorough research. What
else has been written about your issue? Be sure to check other newspapers
(including Hilltop Views). Interview stakeholders – the students who are concerned
and the administrators and/or policymakers who can respond to these concerns
and help explain your issue. You must strive for balance and put your issue into
context. Are students at other universities also concerned about the issue you’re
exploring? Hint: An issue is not a complaint. Students who must walk 10 minutes
from the parking garage to their morning classes, for example, may have a
complaint. They do not have an issue. Students who can’t afford to pay tuition
because their parents have been caught in the unemployment spiral are
experiencing a very real issue. Perspective in this and all other things is crucial. You
can use a more relaxed style and tone – an anecdotal lede, focus-on-a-person or
narrative lede, for example, would be perfectly fine so long as you move quickly to a
strong nut graph.
NOTE: Assignments, deadlines and policies are subject to revision.