Online Journalism, Spring 2008
Overview • Texts • Grading • Assignments • Guidelines • Ethics • Class Calendar
Class Section 0201: Monday, 7-9:45 pm; Room 3103
Instructor: Jason Thompson
Email: jasoncraigthompson@gmail.com
Phone: 202-491-7336
Office Hours: By appointment only
Overview
This is not a computer class, an art class or a lecture class. It's a journalism course in which we'll use computers, readings and class discussions to explore the basics of online news publishing. In this class, we will discuss, among other issues: the business, ethical and legal implications of publishing online; the characteristics that distinguish news Web sites and their stories from their print and broadcast counterparts; the changing roles and job markets for journalists; guidelines for doing research on the Internet; the impact of blogs and citizen journalism on mainstream media; the use of multimedia in storytelling; and the new age of media convergence. A core portion of the class will include hands-on assignments, and students will be introduced to basic HTML and to Web-editing tools. We will also cover site structuring and navigation, headline and link writing, and basic page layout, while building a multi-page online package (with photos and graphics).
Texts/Readings
We will be using a combination of required textbooks and handouts (printed and online) in this course:
- Richard Craig's "Online Journalism: Reporting, Writing and Editing for New Media"
- Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (for print). Please bring the stylebook to class.
Please Note: There is not a heavy reading load for this class; the text is a very easy and swift read. The majority of your "homework" for the first half of the class will be learning and familiarizing yourself with HTML. We will not be spending a lot of class time on this. There are certain benchmarks to hit with the major assignments, so it's your responsibility to make sure you are learning what you need to know at the right pace.
Grading
Students will have the opportunity to earn 500 total points in assignments, projects and exams for the semester. Grading, therefore, is straightforward:
- 500-450 total points will result in an A
- 449-400 total points will result in a B
- 399-350 total points will result in a C
- 349-300 total points will result in a D
- 99 total points and below will result in an F
Assignments & Coursework
This course will include a mixture of assignments given during class time as well as outside of class. Some of these assignments will be announced ahead of time, some of them will not. These assignments cannot be made up. If you know will be miss class ahead of time and know that you will be missing announced in-class work, you can talk with me about doing the work early. In-class assignments will not be accepted after their announced deadline. Period. Aforementioned hospitalization or death in the immediate family are the only exceptions.
For the major assignments detailed below, the following standard practices apply. Again, there are the two exceptions. No others.
- Associated Press style should be followed for all written assignments.
- Each spelling and grammatical error in a major assignment will result in a predetermined loss of points. Your future employers will not expect to correct spelling, style or grammatical errors in professional work that you produce; now is the best time to get in an error-free habit.
- The deadline for all major assignments is 7 p.m. on the due date, unless otherwise noted. The penalty for late assignments will vary.
MONDAY, Feb. 25: One-page Web resume due
(25 points)
Your preliminary resume should be built without the aid of any Web-editing short-cut tools, with text, subheads, internal (anchor) links, an e-mail address link, at least one external hyperlink, and at least one bulleted list. Background colors are optional, as are changed link colors and horizontal rules.MONDAY, March 10: Midterm exam
- Each spelling & grammatical error will result in the loss of 2 points each.
- Each broken link will result in the loss of 5 points each.
- Any late assignment will lose 10 points.
(100 points)
The midterm exam will include basic HTML coding as well as short answer and essay questions. The midterm cannot be made up or taken at a different time.MONDAY, April 14: News feature story due
(50 points)
This is your first draft of an originally reported news feature story which will serve as the anchor of your Web package as described below. The story should be between 1,000-1,200 words, written in traditional journalistic style and worthy of publication. While the topic is of your choosing, you must submit your story pitch to me for approval ahead of time. Your feature must be an original piece of work. Stories written for publication elsewhere, such as the Diamondback or any freelance work, will not be accepted. Variations of stories written for publication elsewhere will not be accepted.Please Note: While you can go back and add to your story after it's due, or flesh it out with additional quotes or research or reporting, this assignment should be a completed, ready-to-publish story. First draft does not mean partial story or outline.
- Each spelling & factual error will result in the loss of 5 points each. Appropriate deductions will be taken for grammatical errors.
- Late assignments will lose 10 points for each day that they're late.
MONDAY, May 5: Web package due
(100 points)
Now for the fun part. You will create a (minimum) four-page online news package by linking your news feature and your resume with newly created third and fourth pages of your choosing and design. You may (and should) use a Web editing tool, such as Dreamweaver, to build this assignment, but you must work independently. You may not take layouts from other students and you should not lean on friends or associates to turn in a package above your means. Your package must included multimedia elements such as photo galleries, graphics, audio or video. You will get a specific checklist to follow later in the semester. Your package may include additional pages (such as an intro page).MONDAY, May 12: Final paper due
- Each spelling & factual error will result in the loss of 5 points each. Appropriate deductions will be taken for grammatical errors.
- Each broken link will result in the loss of 5 points each.
- Late assignments will lose 15 points for each day that they're late./li>
(100 points)
This is a 2,000-word (1,950 minimum, 2,050 maximum) essay/research paper on a topic relevant to online news and media. You will be given a choice of topics on which to write in the second half of the semester. Your paper should be written in traditional academic narrative form, with an introduction clearly outlining your thesis and a summary wrapping up your conclusions. Papers must be double-spaced, with your name, date and word count at the top. You should include a bibliography; style is your choice -- just be consistent. Method of sourcing throughout is also your choice, but again, be consistent. I'm looking for your own original insights and analysis but also how thoroughly you make your argument and how well-researched your paper is. You don't need to cite 30 sources, but any number under 10 is probably too few.ONGOING: In-class assignments
- Each spelling & factual error will result in the loss of 5 points each. Appropriate deductions will be taken for grammatical errors.
- Late assignments will not be accepted for the final paper. Papers turned in after 8 p.m. on May 12 will receive an automatic F.
(100 points)
These will range from brief writing and research exercises to longer essay or analysis topics. Some will be done during class, while others will be done outside of class. Exercises could vary from 5 to 20 points. Spelling, factual and grammatical errors will count against the grade. These cannot be made up. We may finish the semester with more than 100 points worth of in-class work; if so, your lowest grade would be dropped.ONGOING: Class blog posts & responses
(25 points)
Consider this a form of class participation. Throughout the semester, I will post relevant articles, ideas, or thoughts to the class blog. I expect you all to do the same. Some of these we may discuss in class, some we may not. But I expect everyone in the class to enter into the discussion, through posting your own thoughts (on the readings, on your own opinions) and/or articles related to the class topic that you come across. I don't want to see YouTube videos of some nitwit crying over Britney Spears. Or a link to the inevitable inappropriate photos that emerge for some poor "American Idol" contestant this year. I want to see that you're reading, thinking and learning about online journalism. This is a way to immerse yourself in the subject and stay engaged for a class that only meets once per week. There is no set number of posts and responses. You'll know if you doing a good job or not.
Class Guidelines
Congratulations on making it this far. As a reward, this is where I give you 10 free points. You may scoff at 10 points in the grand scheme of 500. But last semester, for instance, an extra 10 points would have made the difference of a letter grade for three students. Every point counts! Of course, there's a catch. All you have to do is follow these basic guidelines. Follow the guidelines, get 10 Free Points. Sadly, there is a zero tolerance policy for the Free Points, so even one transgression will wipe them away. (Don't worry; repeated transgressions will not cost you more than the 10 Free Points, but surely you don't want repeated transgressions on your Permanent Record.)
- Don't negotiate your grade. Jack Bauer doesn't negotiate with terrorists. I don't negotiate grades. Everyone starts at 0; everyone can finish at 510. Your grade is what you earn. I don't want to hear why you need a B or an A. I don't want you to tell me why you deserve a higher grade.
- Don't IM me, Gchat me, text me, ping me, friend me or put me on your Facebook page. If you need to get in touch with me, email me. If it's an emergency and you need an immediate response, call me. When you email me, use common sense. Emails may not count as part of your grade, but they count as part of your overall personality. We don't have a lot of time to get to know each other, and inappropriately informal and/or unprofessional emails leave indelible marks.
- Don't IM, Gchat, text, ping, friend or update your Facebook page during class. We are all adults. Please do not make me ask why your keyboard is clicking when a guest speaker is talking. The first time, you lose your Free Points. The second time, I'll ask you to leave class and come back the next week.
- Don't forget to turn off your cell phone. No rings. No exceptions.
- Don't ask to make up missed assignments. If you know you'll miss a class with an announced assignment, you may be able to do the assignment early. Otherwise, if you miss class, you miss the assignment.
- Don't ask for an extension. Deadlines are non-negotiable. If I have to adjust a due date, I will let you know (and any adjustment would be to your advantage). Otherwise, you know exactly when an assignment is due. If you get sick the weekend before your Web package is due, or if your best friend is having a crisis because he or she happens to be the poor "American Idol" contestant with inappropriate photos on the Internet, the deadlines do not change, and if you miss one, you lose the points specified. Aside from your hospitalization or a death in your immediate family, there are no exceptions. Plan ahead.
- Don't ever, ever, ever make the argument that you actually would have had a higher grade if you had not have lost so many points for misspelled words or factual errors. I hope this is self-explanatory.
Ethics & Academic Integrity
Along with certain rights, students also have the responsibility to behave honorably in an academic environment. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Adhering to a high ethical standard is of special importance in the world of journalism, where reliability and credibility are the cornerstones of the field. Therefore, the college has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy on academic dishonesty. Any abridgment of the university’s academic integrity standards in a College of Journalism course will be referred directly to the dean. The dean will send all confirmed cases to the university's Office of Judicial Affairs with a recommendation of expulsion from the university for any violation of the code. To insure this is understood, all students will be required to sign an academic integrity pledge at the beginning of the semester that will cover all assignments in the course. Students who are uncertain as to what constitutes academic dishonesty should consult the university publication called "Code of Academic Integrity," administered by the Student Honor Council. This code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. For more information on the code or the council, please visit http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html.
Class Calendar
Week 1: Jan. 28
Week 2: Feb. 4
Week 3: Feb. 11
Week 4: Feb. 18
Week 5: Feb. 25
Week 6: March 3 ** WEB RESUME DUE **
Week 7: March 10 ** MIDTERM **
Week 8: March 17 ** SPRING BREAK **
Week 9: March 24
Week 10: March 31
Week 11: April 7
Week 12: April 14 ** NEWS FEATURE DUE **
Week 13: April 21
Week 14: April 28
Week 15: May 5 ** WEB PACKAGE DUE **
Week 16: May 12 ** FINAL PAPER DUE **
