University Loyola Chicago Fall 2008 CMUN 315/Advanced Reporting
John T. Slania Lewis Towers 930 Office Phone: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Course description Advanced Reporting is designed for more experienced journalism students to utilize their reporting and writing skills by engaging in the community and exploring social justice issues. Students will learn how to write with flair, precision and clarity, they also will spend time learning how to conduct research and interviews. Students will learn to tell stories for print, broadcast and new media, and will be involved in a media convergence experience that will produce a print magazine and a Website, both under the title Mosaic. The goal of this course is to teach students the fundamentals of Advanced Reporting, including developing news judgment, understanding ethical and legal issues, writing with objectivity and accuracy and telling a story in a compelling and organized manner. This course also will emphasize the importance of journalism as a catalyst for social justice: how journalism can change the world for the better. Students will learn through lectures, reading the textbooks, writing assignments, and producing the magazine and Website. This is a Writing-Intensive Course. By its very nature, Advanced Reporting requires a significant number of writing assignments. Students will be writing in the weekly labs in addition to outside assignments. The key to writing well is to keep writing. Homeless Project For the Fall 2008 semester, we will be reporting on homelessness in Chicago. Our course is part of Loyolas Engaged Scholars Program and our community partner is StreetWise, the weekly publication produced and sold by the homeless. StreetWise Editor Suzanne Haney will be a guest lecturer in the course and will be accepting some of your articles for publication. The theme of this years Mosaic magazine will be homelessness in Chicago and you will be reporting and writing articles on the issue and produce a print magazine on the topic. Course Learning Outcomes You will learn about homeless issues through course readings and guest lectures. You will research homeless issues and go out to neighborhoods in Chicago to conduct interviews on various homeless topics. You will write a series of articles on homeless issues. You will write a first-person column reflecting on your work in this course and your understanding of homelessness. You will blog on homeless issues as a further reflection component. Blog site: http://blogs.luc.edu/mosaic2009/
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University Civic Engagement Learning Outcomes Learning Outcome: Promote leadership development and civic engagement. A significant element of Loyola's Jesuit Catholic heritage is a focus on developing within each student the capacity for leadership expressed in service to others. Consistent with that heritage, the curriculum should provide students, regardless of major, with the knowledge, skills, and abilities that will prepare them to become ethical and innovative members of the workforce; to assume leadership roles in their chosen organizations; and to make a positive difference in the work place and their communities through civic engagement. Competencies: By way of example, Loyola graduates should be able to:
Identify models of leadership and civic engagement, both current and historical. Demonstrate an understanding of the ethical responsibilities of leadership and its relationship to the Jesuit tradition. Apply analytical and reflective tools to assess situations and recognize leadership possibilities and opportunities for civic engagement. Articulate a vision that can empower and inspire others. Demonstrate effective team-building skills. Evaluate the leadership style of self and others. Engage in the community through activities effecting positive change in society and the environment.
How Advanced Reporting Addresses University Civic Engagement Learning Outcomes Leadership: Students develop leadership skills, as each student is assigned a position to produce Mosaic magazine. There is an editor-in-chief, managing editor, assistant editors, photo editor, art directors, etc. As the semester develops, the editor-in-chief and managing editor assume greater leadership roles by leading their peers in the editing of articles, the selection of photographs and offering direction on layout and design. It is a true peer-to-peer leadership relationship. Teamwork: The course also promotes teamwork, since the 20 students in the class are working together to produce a magazine. Each student writes stories, and those stories are edited by me, the instructor, with the assistant editors and the editor-in-chief and managing editor also editing the stories. There is a true team spirit that develops as the semester progresses and the magazine gets closer to production. Civic Engagement: The research and reporting effort, in which students go into Chicago neighborhoods and interview homeless people and those who help the homeless is true civic engagement. Inspiring Positive Change: We hope the magazine tells the story of homelessness to the world and inspires people to volunteer, contribute funds, or other efforts to affect positive change. Reflection: The writing of news and feature articles, opinion columns and a blog are examples of students reflect on their experiences and encounters with the homeless and those whom help the homeless.
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Texts and Course Materials
The Art and Craft of Feature Writing, William E. Blundell The Associated Press Style Book Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America, Jonathan Kozol Various articles as course handouts related to homeless issues StreetWise weekly homeless magazine Students also must read the Chicago Tribune or the Chicago Sun-Times on a regular basis to follow the latest on homeless issues in Chicago. You will need a digital camera, or some electronic device to take photographs Access to a digital audio recorder and video camera also would be helpful
Instructor Hours Office Monday, Wednesday: 9-10 a.m. Wednesday: 1-2 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday by appointment
Grading Students will be expected to know material covered in lectures and the textbooks, and this will be measured through outside writing assignments, quizzes and in-class writing and editing exercises. Grades will be determined in the following manner:
News Brief: 100 points Profile: 250 points Trend Story: 300 points Column: 100 points In-class writing and editing exercises, 50 points News quizzes: 50 points Professionalism: 150 points
Grading Criteria A: Publishable work with no spelling, grammatical, punctuation or AP Style errors and the proper information and sources written in a lively, well-organized manner. B: Minimal spelling, grammatical, punctuation and/or AP Style errors. Minimal missing information and sources; minimal problems with the lead and organization. C: Notable number of spelling, grammatical, punctuation and/or AP Style errors. Noticeable missing information and sources; problems with the lead and organization. D: Significant number of spelling, grammatical, punctuation and/or AP Style errors. Significant missing information and sources; Problems with the lead and organization.
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F: Misspelling of proper names. Other major spelling, grammatical, punctuation and/or AP Style errors. Almost total lack of information and sources; Severe problems with the lead and organization. Academic Dishonesty Policy Plagiarism of any form will be reported to the university and the student will automatically receive a failing grade for the course. Cheating on exams or producing forged or manufactured documents also will result in the same punishment. Please refer to this site for more detail about the universitys academic dishonesty policy: http://www.luc.edu/academics/catalog/undergrad/reg_academicintegrity.shtml Submit your articles to www.turnitin.com before turning it in to the instructor. Style and Spelling It is important that you learn proper newspaper style, so refer often to your Associated Press Stylebook. Spelling and grammar are equally important, so use a dictionary. Your grade will suffer if your copy contains style and spelling errors. Deadlines Deadlines are important in journalism, and you will be required to file assignments on time. Late assignments will drop one letter grade each class they are filed past deadline. The instructor does not accept assignments by e-mail without prior approval. If you are late or miss class, deliver hard copy to instructor the following class. Professionalism This class is run like a newsroom, and you should treat it as if it were your job. Therefore, you will be expected to display a respectable level of professionalism by attending class regularly, arriving on time, being prepared for class, paying attention during lectures and participating in discussions. Frequent absences will result in a lower grade. Showing up on time also is crucial, since much material will be covered in lectures and writing labs. It is important to be on time. Tardiness will be taken into consideration when computing your final grade. If youre expecting to be absent or late, please call or email me before class, the same practice as if you were holding a job. Performance on your assigned duties for the magazine also will be evaluated.
Rewrites If you receive a grade of B- or below on an Outside Assignment, except the column, you have one week to rewrite the story for an improved grade.
Friday, October 31 is the last day to withdraw from class without penalty. Individual Assignment Grade Scale A: 100-94 A...