Communication Studies 211A

Beginning Newswriting and Reporting

Spring 2003

Instructor: Brian Steffen

Telephone: 961-1650

Office & Hours: Daily 9-10 and by appointment in 24 McNeill Hall.

Course Web site: http://www.simpson.edu/~steffen/news.html

Email: steffen@storm.simpson.edu

Newswriting is one of the most utilitarian styles of writing you can learn once you get the knack of it. Even if you have no interest in becoming a journalist in the traditional sense, the journalistic style of writing is a basic skill for all communication professions and beyond. And even if you eventually decide to get out of the communication field entirely, this course still provides you with important critical skills. Not only does news style help you order your writing, it helps you order your thinking and ponder what is really important about your topic.

Our objectives will be to help you progress from the position of someone who knows nothing of leads and inverted pyramids to that of being an experienced writer whose stories are worthy of publication in the print media.

To help you get started, the syllabus is organized in the form of an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):

Just what am I going to have to do in this class?

And how do I get an A?

Plenty. By the time the end of the term rolls around, you should have a good idea of what it's like to be a working journalist. Students can earn up to 600 points for their work in the course. Students with no unexcused absences on their records and superior classroom participation will be rewarded with an increase of up to 1/3 of a letter grade on their final grade. Students will be penalized 1.5% of the course point total for each unexcused absence. (Special Note: All absences on Monday, March 17, will be deemed unexcused.) At the end of the course, final grades will be determined on a straight percentage basis (100-92%=A, 91-90%=A-, 89-88%=B+, 87-82%=B, 81-80%=B-, etc.).

A variety of experiences in the course will be graded:

• Quizzes: Good reporters keep up with the news, which is something too many folks don't do. You can do that by reading at least one major daily newspaper and watching the evening news. Additionally, the class Web site will provide links to many major news sources that can be consulted at any time of the day or night. Whatever your news source, you can count on getting six pop news quizzes during the term -- including one on the first day of class -- to keep you on your toes. (60 weighted points of course grade.) To help you, students will be asked to regularly update the class on current issues in the news and current issues in journalism. Click here for more details.
• Assignments: You'll complete a number of 10-point assignments both in and out of class to help you sharpen your skills. Some call on you to demonstrate your writing abilities. Others will ask you to analyze the work of others. (90 weighted points of course grade.)
• Story Ideas: Armed with your knowledge of what constitutes news and your eagle-eye powers of observation of the world around you, you will sniff out news in the Simpson College community and submit story ideas to the instructor each Wednesday. Tips picked up for publication in The Simpsonian will qualify for extra credit. (30 weighted points of course grade.)
• Examinations: There will be two 30-item multiple-choice examinations during the term. The exams will serve as a check on your reading and lecture comprehension. (120 points of course grade.)
• Stories: The typical Newswriting and Reporting course covers six stories during the term. This will give you a good taste of the basic work that journalists do on a daily basis. (300 points of course grade.)
• Readings: There are three primary texts in Beginning Newswriting and Reporting this term. Reading assignments -- and questions to help you guide your reading to get the important points and aid in class discussions -- will be given in plenty of time to complete them. The texts are:
  • The main text is Writing and Reporting the News: A Coaching Method (4/e) by Carole Rich.
  • Students also are required to purchase and use the Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, which is considered the industry bible when it comes to questions of journalistic style. Reading assignments - and questions to help you guide your reading to get the important points - will be given in plenty of time to complete them.
  • Finally, you should purchase and use When Words Collide: A Media Writer's Guide to Grammar and Style, by Lauren Kessler and Duncan McDonald, for help on these critical skills of importance to professional communicators.

What else do I need to know about grading?

All stories will be graded using an evaluation form that assigns points up to 50 points for each story you need to complete for this course. No letter grades will be assigned to stories, though you might think of them as following a rough percentage scale in coming up with how your story compares with others. My philosophy on grading papers is not to coat them in red as a means of copy editing your; after all, that's your responsibility. Rather, you will frequently find me making notations in the margins and between lines of text that are designed to force you to go back and think about your work. And there are incentives for going back over a story again: I permit students to resubmit stories for up to a 10 percent increase in points as a means of helping you further develop your writing talents.

Adherence to deadlines also plays a role in this course: During my years in journalism, I met deadlines because my job was on the line if I didn't. Deadlines set for stories in this course are final; those turned in late without cause will be subjected to a 50 percent reduction in total points earned on the story and will not be eligible for a rewrite.

Can I cheat?

Honesty is a must in this course. The College's policies regarding academic dishonesty are outlined on Page 66-67 of the 2001-03 Simpson College General Catalog. With regard to this course, acts of dishonesty include, but are not necessarily limited to, cheating on examinations, plagiarizing material from other sources, making up material or sources of information, and/or submitting work for this course originally completed for other courses without the permissions of the instructors involved.

The penalty for any form of substantiated academic dishonesty (that in which the instructor has firm evidence) is:

• Failure of the course, or
• Failure in the paper, project, test, etc., where the dishonesty occurred, or
• The requirement that the work be replaced with a suitably substituted assignment.

Students wishing to appeal charges of substantiated academic dishonesty may request a hearing before an academic appeals committee of the College.

What's the course schedule?

Topic	Read in Rich
News and Newswriting	Ch. 2
The Coaching Process	Chs. 1
Basic Journalistic Writing and Structure	Chs. 3-4, 8
News Story Structures	Ch. 10-11
Leads	Ch. 9
Bodies and Endings
Introduction to Reporting
Curiosity, Observation and Sources	Chs. 5-6
Computer-Assisted Reporting
Interviewing	Chs. 7
Event-Centered News Coverage	Ch. 20
Writing for Broadcast and New Media	Ch. 13-14