MCOM 407 Writing for New Media Syllabus

Spring 2012
MCOM 407/507.001 | Tuesdays, 3:30-6:10 p.m. | VB 209
MCOM 407/507.002 | Thursdays, 3:30-6:10 p.m. | VB 209

Dr. Stacy Spaulding | office hours | email | @drspaulding

Welcome to MCOM 407. This is a multimedia reporting capstone course intended to be taken during senior year as your final reporting and writing course.You’ll be producing a three-part series of multimedia stories that will demonstrate the breadth of the reporting, writing and multimedia skills you’ve learned during your college experience. Additionally, you’ll be critiquing the work produced by your peers, giving them feedback on how their work will stand up in the real world. In return, you’ll receive their feedback on your work. My role will be to facilitate this process and to guide you to appropriate readings, standards and practices.

Course description

Research and create multimedia news and feature articles incorporating hypertext, graphics, photographics, audio and video elements. Prerequisites: MCOM 356 and MCOM 341 or consent of instructor.

Objectives

• Conduct sustained research and reporting on a topic in an interactive environment.
• Structure content to attract and sustain an interactive audience.
• Apply ethical and legal standards to content.
• Identify and use the elements of effective multimedia storytelling.
• Select the most appropriate media for a given purpose.
• Develop and maintain a professional online presence using current and emerging technologies.

Our theme this semester: Anniversary journalism

A few recent anniversary stories–the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, and the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Phylicia Barnes–have me thinking: what makes anniversary stories so compelling?

Readers sometimes complain such stories are “lazy and pointless.” Scholars often point out that such stories are filled with myth, not fact. These stories are often forced into a predetermined story formula–either the tearjerker or the inspirational piece– glossing over real struggles, obstacles and problems that ought to be discussed.

So here’s our challenge for the spring semester:

Can we produce anniversary journalism that succeeds in examining the ongoing cultural and social impact of a past event on today’s urban cityscape?

I’ve got lots of potential stories for you and can’t wait to hear your ideas.

Sample projects

During the fall 2011 semester, I assigned students to cover examples of urban renaissance. A few of the semester’s best included:

• Hamilton Agriculture and Sustainability
• Baltimore Community Groups
• Loch Raven Mountain Biking
• Baltimore Urban Agriculture

During the spring 2011 semester, I assigned students to pick a specific government program to investigate during the semester, such as Baltimore City’s progress on its 10-year plan to end homelessness or end blighted, vacant housing. A few of the semester’s best included:

• Biking Baltimore
• Improving Food for a Better Baltimore
• B’more Clean
• Reducing Bay Pollution
• Homelessness in Baltimore County

Package elements to note:

• Reporting. Each package features three distinct stories, each with a strong news hook (often with an anecdotal lead) and a range of sources: government officials, the citizens being impacted, government documents, experts who can explain data.
• Multimedia. Each story features a strong main photo and is accompanied by at least one element of multimedia, such as a map, video or slideshow.
• Clean site. Each site features a custom header, sidebar navigation, a clean table of contents, internal navigation, and SEO friendly headlines.

Reporting assignments

After you pick your beat, you’ll produce three short “starter” stories to refresh your skills and give you a sense of my expectations, followed by three in-depth stories and your custom project website.

• Backgrounder. You’ll research your beat, posting and reviewing at least five pertinent news stories on NewsTrust. The purpose of this assignment: 1) to help you get a handle on what’s been published on your beat–and what hasn’t, and 2) to help you understand how to critically review journalism. Due Week 2. Deliverable: Email the instructor the link to your NewsTrust profile.
• Story memo #1 You’ll write a one-page summary of the beat you’ve chosen. What’s been written about? What hasn’t been written about? What are the key sources? What significant issues will your three-part project address? Here’s a good example of this memo. Due Week 2. Deliverable: A one-page memo, typed and printed out by the beginning of class.
• Starter #1: the news brief. The purpose of this story is to 1) get you started making contacts and understanding the issues of your beat early in the semester, and 2) to demonstrate your writing skills and give me an idea of what we’ll work on throughout the semester. I’m looking for a short news article with a strong news angle in the lead and at least two sources, 300-400 words. Due Week 3. Deliverable: typed, double spaced, printed and handed in at the beginning of class.
• Story memo #2. Now that you’ve researched your beat and interviewed at least two people on it, you should have an idea of what your project will be about. I’m looking for a succinct summary of your series, along with an outline of your stories, sources and multimedia for the semester. Due Week 3. Deliverable: typed, double spaced, printed and handed in at the beginning of class. Here’s an example of what this memo should look like.
• Starter #2: photo/video composition. We’ll review basic composition, particularly the rule of thirds, framing, and the five-shot sequence. The assignment: Find someone on your beat physically doing something. Shoot and post photo slide show that exhibits good composition on the following six shots: close up of hands, close up of face, wide shot, over-the-shoulder view, creative angle, interview shot. For a review on photos, read: The Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency 7, 8, 9. Due Week 4.
• Starter #3: You’ll keep practicing photo/video composition, this time creating a slideshow with audio or a short video feature. Due Week 5.
• Project story #1: At least 750 words, and at least four sources, one main photo and one piece of multimedia. Story draft due Week 6, final draft with photo, multimedia due Week 7.
• Project story #2: At least 750 words, and at least four sources, one main photo and one piece of multimedia. Story draft due Week 8, final draft with photo, multimedia due Week 9.
• Project story #3: At least 750 words, and at least four sources, one main photo and one piece of multimedia. Story draft due Week 12, final draft with photo, multimedia due Week 13.
• Project website: custom header, sidebar navigation, a clean table of contents, internal navigation, and SEO friendly headlines. Due Week 15.

Reading assignments

Required readings include:

• Class blog posts
• The AP Stylebook (available for Blackberry, iPhone and soon as a Microsoft Word app)
• Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency (free PDF)
• Aim for the Heart by Al Tompkins ($23.49 used on amazon.com)
• Writing as Craft and Magic by Carl Stepp ($19.43 used on amazon.com)

Reading assignment: TBA, due Week 14

Expectations

I expect you to:

• Find the action: Your best journalism will come from direct observation of and interaction with people in action. Look for action on your beat. Then put yourself in the middle of it. I guarantee you’ll be inspired to write.
• Be persistent in tracking down information and sources: We all know how difficult it can be to get in touch with sources. So get a head start. Try a multi-pronged approach: email, voicemail and the occasional office visit. Be persistent. Don’t be afraid to call back again. And again. And again.
• Be a problem-solver: If you’re having a technology problem, Google it! Search the help docs and forums, or contact the department’s equipment manager.
• Read: Read all your assignments for class so that you’ll be prepared to talk intelligently on the issues we’ll discuss in class. Read the newspapers: I read the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, the City Paper, Urbanite, Baltimore Magazine and the Baltimore Brew. Read any and all material you can find on your beat so you can talk intelligently with your sources. Read good journalism that inspires you to be a better reporter.
• Be honest, supportive and kind to your classmates: You’ll be depending on each other for feedback all semester long. Practice giving them the support and feedback you’d like to receive.
• Act professionally: Meet deadlines, attend and actively participate in classroom meetings, allocate an appropriate amount of time outside of the classroom for assignments and consultations with the professor, refrain from texting and Facebooking during class and refrain from interrupting class by leaving for water or bathroom breaks.
• Be sure you have the experience needed for this class: You should already have studied the best practices for writing news and features and producing digital media. The pre-requisites for this course are MCOM 356 and MCOM 341, as well as MCOM 257 and MCOM 258. I will not be focusing on equipment or software basics in class.

It is my goal to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the subject and explain concepts clearly: I want to be sure you have as much support as you need to meet the requirements of this challenging reporting project. So I’m happy to answer your questions, review concepts and skills, or provide material to help you grow in new directions.
• Encourage you to do your best. In this class, I think that means encouraging you to get off campus and observe your sources in action, which will take your reporting and writing to the next level. As one of our guest speakers said: “Challenge your ways of seeing. Go out on the street, get on the bus, walk through the town. Trust your impulses.” –Tom Nugent, December, 2010
• Assign grades according to the criteria stated in the syllabus. We’ll be using a peer grading system in this class to help you learn to better critique your own work and the work of others. I understand that this system of grading may be a little difficult to adjust to at first, but in the long run I believe you’ll become a better editor and writer because of it.
• Provide helpful feedback: You’ll receive feedback on every assignment from me and from your peers. I will also be sure your assignment is returned in a timely fashion, usually within 10 days of the due date.
• Be available for consultation: I answer email promptly during business hours on business days, generally Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I will also post and keep office hours. This is the appropriate time to discuss personal matters such as missed deadlines and class absences, questions regarding grading or missed coursework. This is also a good time to get my feedback on rough drafts.

Grading

We’ll be using a class-wide peer grading system in this course. Why? One problem with grades is that getting As or Bs doesn’t always tell you exactly how your work stands up in the real world. What editor or reader will send you a note at the end of the month congratulating you on your A+ work? None. But they will tell you whether or not your work was in-depth, compelling, interesting or fair. These are the some of the professional standards you’ll be judged by in the real world, and I’d like you to start applying them to your work. This means letting go of the A, B, C mindset for now.

Here’s how it will work: We’re going to build on the NewsTrust rating system and bring it into the classroom so that you’ll be reviewing and grading the stories of your colleagues. The goal of this grading system is to provide you with concrete feedback on your work from peers critically applying community and industry standards. These reviews will help you to become a better reader and editor by requiring you to apply these standards to the work of others. This process will also help you become a better writer by building an understanding of how your own work is read.

Most of your assignments will be anonymously peer-graded in class using real world news values. We’ll use one of the rubrics listed here, which will provide you with definitions of these values and help you apply them. I’ll review the grade and offer you my own comments on each assignment as well. For every peer grade you give, I’ll ask you to identify specific reasons to justify your assessment. For every peer grade you receive, I’ll ask you whether or not you think the assessment is fair.

Each assignment will receive a numerical score between 3 and 5 from your peer evaluators. During the semester, I’ll track your cumulative point total. To convert the professional content standards we’re applying to your work into student-appropriate grade averages, I’ll apply a curve after evaluating class performance statistics. I will do this by either selecting a high grade in the class as 100% or setting the median grade as 85%, whichever is fairest to everyone. This curve will mean your final grade will be determined by your overall performance as compared to your peers.

At the beginning of the semester, you’ll complete three Starter Stories to help you understand this evaluation system and give you a chance to dig into your beat without being penalized for mistakes. These stories will be assessed by your peers, but the points will not count towards your final grade.

Other grading notes

• Students may receive upper-level elective credit with a D, but this course will not count among MCOM credits.
• According to the Registrar’s Office, an I or incomplete can only be given “verifiable medical reasons or documented circumstances beyond their control.”
• A course grade of FX is given for non-attendance or failure to withdraw. If you stop attending class but do not withdraw, this is the grade you will receive.
• If you receive an F or FX, you may only repeat the course once. After repeating the course, students will only receive credit for the course once and the highest of the grades will be calculated. The lower grade will remain on the transcript with an “R” before it to indicate the course was repeated. For the transcript to reflect the repeated course, students must submit a Repeated Course Form to the Records Office. Transcript adjustments are not automatic.

Course Policies

Attendance: It is the policy of the university to excuse absences for illness, injury, religious observance, participation in university activities and compelling, verifiable circumstances beyond your control. If you are requesting an excused absence, you must provide documentation. Graded assignments, quizzes, tests, etc., may be made up in the case of an excused absence. All other absences are unexcused. Students are allowed one unexcused absence per semester. Graded assignments, quizzes, tests, etc., may be not be made up in the case of an unexcused absence. If you know you will be absent, it is your responsibility to do the following: 1) Email any homework to me before class starts. 2) Check with classmates and the course website to keep up to date on readings and assignments. 3) Meet with me during office hours if you have questions.

Students with disabilities are encouraged to register with Disability Support Services, 7720 York Road, Suite 232, ext. 4-2638 (voice or TDD). Students who suspect that they have a disability but do not have documentation are encouraged to contact DSS for evaluation information. A memo from DSS authorizing your accommodation is needed before any accommodation can be made.

Plagiarism: Please familiarize yourself with the MCCS plagiarism policy. All cases of plagiarism will be handled according to this policy. The best way to avoid plagiarism in this course: (1) Do your own, original reporting. (2) Be clear in your notes. Know what is a quote or paraphrase and what you wrote yourself. (3) Quote and attribute anything that you did not write yourself. (4) Don’t procrastinate. Get a head start so you can avoid making mistakes.

Civility: MCCS is committed to cultivated a collegial atmosphere in which we can all enjoy mutual respect and the creative pursuit of knowledge. Please familiarize yourself with our civility code and practice respectful behavior in the classroom and throughout campus.

Legal liability: In all assignments, students must comply with all laws and the legal rights of others (copyright, obscenity, privacy and defamation) and with all Towson University policies (academic dishonesty). Towson University is not liable or responsible for the content of any student assignments, regardless of where they are posted.

Repeating classes: Towson requires me to remind you that you may not attempt a class for the third time without prior permission from the Academic Standards Committee. Information regarding this policy can be obtained through Enrollment Services.