Journalism 8 ab

Gary Graupman                                                                                    office: 763-7726

ggraupman@taftcollege.edu                                                                             home: 834-1839

Total Hours per Week: 3 hours lecture

Catalog Description:  This course provides a discussion of news sources, techniques of news gathering, and approaches to handling news are combined with practice in writing different types of news stories.  Students must be members of the college laboratory newspaper staff.

PREREQ AND PREREQ KNOW/SKILLS APPROVED BY CURR & GEN ED 11/20/95 Prerequisite: Eligibility for English 1A and typing ability

Prerequisite knowledge/skills: Before entering the course the student should be able to

            1.         organize written expression in formal, courteous, clear language appropriate to the college classroom,

            2.         understand the mechanics of current sentence structure, the place of punctuation as an aid in advancing thought, and the necessity of correct usage,

            3.         recognize levels of language,

            4.         use a college level vocabulary and understand the denotation and connotation of words in context,

            5.         read and comprehend at the college level and to think critically

            6.         be aware of observation, experience, and literature as sources of ideas,

            7.         use basic techniques for self evaluation of written work,

             8.         compose essays on abstract subjects,

            9.         analyze the fundamentals of term paper techniques and library use,

          10.          utilize study techniques, and

          11.          type.

Text:         Stovall, James. Journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. New York, Peason:2005.

The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manuel.

Reporters Handbook on Media Law. California Newspaper Publishers Association, 1995.

Academic Honesty: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any student who plagiarizes will receive an "F" on that assignment and may be dropped from the class. We will discuss plagiarism in class. If you are not sure if you are plagiarizing or not, please ask me.

Student Learning Outcomes

demonstrate skills in news and feature writing,

evaluate assigned stories to determine the best approach to completing the task,

differentiate between hard and soft news and opinion pieces,

identify and solve problems that arise during news‑gathering,

deduce valid conclusions based on information gathered from sources,

demonstrate sound interviewing techniques,

justify news judgments made during completion of assignments,

evaluate information gathered for stories,

apply principles of sound news judgment,

demonstrate the ability to meet story deadlines,

construct effective story leads,

demonstrate skill in editing copy,

write effective headlines,

demonstrate skill in editing copy,

identify what constitutes libel,

distinguish between rights and responsibilities of reporters, and

recite the canons of journalistic ethics.