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JOUR 352: Online Journalism, Spring 2004

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   Instructor: Chris Harvey

   E-mail: charvey@jmail.umd.edu; phone: 301-405-6256 (office) or 301-314-2696 (Maryland Newsline lab on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays). 

   Classes, Section 0101: Wednesdays from 1 to 3:45  p.m., Room 3103 Journalism Building

Goals: This is not a computer class or an art class. It's a journalism course in which we'll use computers and readings and discussions to learn about online news publishing. The class will include lectures on new-media themes, such as the implications of Internet-spawned media partnerships and mergers; the business, ethical and legal implications of publishing online; the characteristics that distinguish news Web sites from print and broadcast operations; and guidelines for doing research on the Internet. In addition, a core portion of the class will include hands-on Web assignments: Students will be introduced to basic html, and to Web-editing and photo-editing tools. And they'll learn about site structuring and navigation, hypertext linking, Web editing and basic page layout, while building a multi-page biography and news and feature reports. 

Prerequisites: JOUR 201 and 202.

Assignments/Tests: More detailed instructions on all of these assignments will be supplied in class by your instructor. Assignments are due at the start of each class, unless otherwise noted.

• Feb. 25: (5 percent of your grade): One-page Web resume due, with text, subheads, internal (anchor) links, an e-mail address link and at least one bulleted list. Your resume should also include a horizontal rule. Background colors are optional, as are changed link colors. Each factual mistake will result in one letter-grade deduction, as will each broken link. Unreadable resumes (because of bad color choices for fonts or backgrounds) will result in an automatic F.
• March 17: (20 percent of your grade): Midterm
• April 7: (20 percent of your grade): Three-page Web biography package due. This is an expansion of your resume assignment. You will create a narrative home page and a third page and link both to your resume to create a package. The nonfiction narrative on the home page should be 300-600 words and include a photo or graphic on the page. The narrative must be compelling and concise and be written in journalistic, Associated Press style. The third page could link to writing  samples (news clips or press releases). Or it could be a photo montage of friends, a page describing trips, or a page of personal likes and dislikes. The three pages, when linked together, must include lively text, external links, at least two photos and one graphic. All links must work; all navigation must be consistent; all text must make sense and be written in AP style. Each factual mistake will result in a full letter-grade deduction, as will each broken link and broken image. Projects turned in late will lose a full letter grade for each day that they're late. This should be something you'd be proud to show a prospective employer. Here are examples of student work from previous semesters: Grad students: Lisa Tossey, Penny Bender Fuchs and Patrick Boyle. Undergrads: Daina Klimanis, Sarah Mesa, Karlene Hibbard, Patrick Grzanka, Andrea Cohen, Trish Willard and Jeff Davis.
• April 28: Packaging news for the Web: (15 percent of your grade): Due at the start of class in the lab's x drive (and the paper portion is due in my hands). Projects turned in after this time will lose a full letter grade for each day that they're late. Projects with factual mistakes will also lose a full letter grade for each mistake. Projects with broken links will lose a full letter grade for each broken link. You will package a  news project written by CNS students and supplied to you by the instructor.
• Friday, May 14, 3:30 p.m.: (20 percent of your grade): Final Paper: Web site analysis due. This is a 1,500-word paper analyzing and comparing/contrasting a traditionally based news site (such as usatoday.com, cnn.com or abcnews.com) with a Web-only news site (such as Salon, Slate or Jim Romenesko's Media News). You will pick the two sites from a list I circulate in class. You will discuss how well each site uses navigation; how clean its design is; how well it uses photos and graphics, broadcast features (audio and video) and interactive elements (such as chats, polls, quizzes and databases); how much (if any) original reporting appears to be done by the online staff; and how well stories are written and presented. You will tell me what you loved and hated about each site, and why! Please type and double-space your paper, putting your name and word count at the top. Factual mistakes--including misspelled proper names and faulty URLs--will result in a full letter-grade deduction. Projects must be turned in on paper and by e-mail to me. Projects turned in after this time will receive an F; no exceptions will be made.
• Verbal class participation (5 percent) and written in-class assignments: (15 percent.) Class attendance is mandatory. You must participate in discussions. Missed class assignments cannot be made up. Only one in-class written grade will be dropped.

Grading: Each assignment will be graded for accuracy, meeting of deadlines, substance, presentation/navigation/links (for Web projects), quality of writing (headlines, story blurbs, photo captions and other text), usability and style. Associate Press print stylebook rules and rules of grammar should be followed. Factual errors will result in grade deductions, as noted on each assignment. Letter-grade deductions also will be taken for broken links, including for photos, and for navigation that doesn't work. All written and Web assignments are due at the start of class, unless specifically instructed otherwise. No excuses, other than the hospitalization of the student or the death of a member of the student's immediate family, will be accepted for lateness. A full letter grade will be deducted for each day an assignment is late, except for the final paper, which will receive an F if turned in after deadline.

Standards, Ethics and Academic Integrity: Students are expected to adhere to the strictest journalistic and academic standards. For this class, you must do all work yourself, without collaboration with classmates or others, unless I tell you otherwise. 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 (including use of unauthorized photos, graphics or text from the Web) will not be tolerated. Any abridgement of academic integrity standards will be referred directly to the campus judiciary. Confirmation of such incidents will result in the earning of an "XF" grade for the course and may result in more severe consequences, such as expulsion. Students who are uncertain as to what constitutes academic dishonesty should consult the university publication called "Academic Integrity."

Books & Materials: We will be using a combination of textbooks and handouts (printed and online) in this course:

• Required texts: Carole Rich's "Creating Online Media" and an Associated Press Stylebook. Please bring the stylebook to class with you to aid in lab work.
• Recommended text: Any beginner's skills book on FrontPage, the Web editing tool we will be using in class.
• Readings: This syllabus links to various required online reading assignments under the class schedule. In addition, because the field is changing so fast, you'll be expected to do additional reading to keep up. You should on a weekly basis read relevant stories and columns in the Online Journalism Review. 

Computer Access: WAM labs are not equipped with Microsoft FrontPage, but JOUR 352 students may access software for this class from this lab and from Rooms 3102 and 3111, when classes are not in session. 

Students with Special Needs: Should talk to the instructor at the end of the first class. 

Class Schedule:

(The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this to fit the needs of the students and to accommodate the schedules of guest speakers.)

Week 1:

Seminar Jan. 28: Course and syllabus overview and student introductions. Also, an overview of why newspapers are on the Web, and a bit about the unique features news Web sites offer readers.

Readings Week 1: Chapter 1 in the Carole Rich book, "Gutenberg to Gigabytes." Plus "Fear.com" by Chip Brown in the June 1999 issue of American Journalism Review.

Week 2:

Seminar and lab Feb. 4: , A brief history of the Internet. Then: Search engines and evaluating online information. How do you differentiate between reliable sources and junk on the Web? Plus a tutorial from John R. Henderson, a reference librarian at the Ithaca College Library. And a short class surfing exercise.

Readings Week 2: Chapters 2 & 3  & 12 ("Browsing Basics," "Searching Skills" and "Online Reporting and Research") in the Carole Rich book; Wired News' "Dot-com Still the Main Domain," from May 6, 2002. And a Web research handout that I'll give you in class.

Week 3:

Lab Feb. 11: Introduction to html, with a discussion of font sizes and faces and instructions on creating horizontal rules, headlines and background colors. Plus: Changing link colors, creating hyperlinks, e-mail links and bulleted lists. Plus: Adding graphics and photos to a Web page. Please bring a printed copy of your resume to class. 

Readings Week 3: Chapter 6 ("Basic HTML") in the Rich book plus a basic html handout from me that I'll give you in class. 

Week 4:

Lab Feb. 18:  Intermediate html: Creating anchor (internal page) links. An introduction to FrontPage and to table building, for photo and caption boxes and page layouts. Plus: A basic introduction to photo scanning, sizing and cropping in PhotoShop. Bring in some photos of yourself for your bio package, to scan and size.

Readings Week 4: I'll have photo scanning and table-building handouts for you in class.

Week 5:

Seminar Feb. 25: Ethics, taste and restraint in new media. Just because a news organization can publish something doesn't mean it should. A look at how the speed of the 24-hour news cycle has affected news judgment; whether or not online sites are properly differentiating between editorial and advertising content; corrections and linking policies, and more. Also, complete an ethics assignment in class, working in teams but writing up your own reports. PLUS: Legal issues in cyberspace. Among the legal questions to consider: Can news sites be held liable for comments posted on bulletin boards? Is it OK to copy source code from another site? What about republishing someone else's text, photos and graphics? Can you get in trouble for forwarding a published story to a friend?

Readings: Chapter 14 in the Rich book ("Legal and Ethical issues"); Tracy McNamara's "Defining the Blurry Line Between Commerce and Content" in the July/August 2000 issue of Columbia Journalism Review; Barb Palser's "Charting New Terrain" and Michael Oreskes' "Navigating a Minefield" in the November 1999 AJR; plus Howard Kurtz's "Dallas Paper's Story: A Scoop That Wasn't," in the Jan. 28, 1998, Washington Post, and Larry Pryor and Paul Grabowicz's "Privacy Disclosure on News Sites Low," from the June 13, 2001, Online Journalism Review. Plus a handy online guide: "10 Big Myths about copyright explained," new-media publisher Brad Templeton's wise-guy analysis of a complicated subject.

Assignment: Due at the beginning of class Feb. 25: Turn in to the x drive a one-page resume, with text, subheads, internal (anchor) links, an e-mail address link and a bulleted list. Your resume should also include at least one link to another page and a horizontal rule. Background colors are optional, as are changed link colors. (Please do not put photos or graphics in this version of your resume. Comment them out for now. )

Week 6:

Lab/Seminar March 3: Writing succinctly and conversationally for the Web, Session I: Narrative nonfiction. I will give you handouts of several nonfiction narratives written by others. We'll discuss them, then you will rough out the text for a personal, nonfiction essay for your bio package. You'll turn it in to me at the start of the next class. Your essay should be on a topic that reveals something about your background or character: A relative or teacher who had a great impact on you; an incident that came as a turning point in your life; an anecdote about why you ended up in journalism heading toward a career as a writer. Please try to avoid being too negative or flip; this is intended to be the opening narrative on the home page of your biography package. Potential employers may be reading it. The draft will count as an in-class grade; it will be edited and returned to you for a write-through.

Readings: Chapter 13, "Writing for the Web," in the Rich book; Judith Silverstein Gray's "Turning Personal Experience Into Narrative"; Walt Harrington's "How Memories Become Memoirs"; and Poynter.org's Chip Scanlan on "Writing the Personal Essay" and "Tips for Writing the Personal Essay."

Week 7:

Lab/seminar March 10:  Begin discussing online design and navigation issues, and the importance of folder structure to Web building and Web addresses. Also, sketch out the page layouts for your three-page bio packages. These hand-drawn sketches will show where your navigation bar will go on each page and where photos, headlines and story blurbs will go. Navigation must be consistent on all pages. Also, in a Word document, type a brief description of the content and art that will go on each page, and be explicit about the color schemes you will use to tie the pages together, along with the font styles for headlines, photo captions and text. This will count as an in-class grade. Plus: Review for midterm.

Readings: Chapters 9 ("Media Site Planning") and 11 ("Web Site Design") in Rich book. Plus Web design and navigation handouts from me.

Week 8:

March 17: MIDTERM, to be taken during the first half of the class. Then: Continue scanning photos for your bio packages; ask questions about navigation and construction of your bio packages. 

NO CLASS MARCH 24. WEEK OF SPRING BREAK.

Week 9:

Lab: March 31: Review midterms. Go over bio package check list, for projects due April 7. Get assignment for paper due during finals week. Finish scanning photos. Ask any questions you may have about navigation and construction of your bio packages. Then: Writing for the Web, Session II: Begin discussing headline and caption writing

Readings: Check out these headline writing tips from John Schlander, Joel Pisetzner and Wayne Countryman on www.copydesk.org. Also, read Harvey's Writing for the Web handout.

Week 10:

Seminar and Lab April 7:

Writing for the Web, Session III: Discuss different storytelling structures that work on the Web--including nonlinear ones such as photo galleries and interactive ones such as news quizzes and chats. More discussion/work on headlines and blurbs.

Readings: Please read Jonathan Dube's page on "Online Storytelling Forms," on CyberJournalist.net. Mr. Dube is an editor at MSNBC.com and a former reporter for ABCNews.com. 

Assignment: Due at start of class April 7: Turn in your Web bio/resume package, with internal and external links; at least two photos and one graphic; and text. All links must work; busted links result in letter-grade deductions. Any factual mistakes in your text will result in a full letter-grade deduction; any packages turned in late will lose a full letter grade for each day that they're late.

Week 11:

April 14: More discussion/work on headlines and links. Plus: An introduction to using story templates to build stories and story packages on the Web. Expect an in-class assignment that focuses on production, headlines, and links. We'll also review building tables (for charts) in FrontPage.  

Week 12:

Lab April 21: We'll incorporate edits of student Web bio packages, then review them as a class. And students will be given an assignment for the news project due April 28.

Week 13:

Seminar and lab April 28: Writing for the Web, Session IV: We'll  take a look at Weblogs: Is this journalism or personal ranting?  Plus: Interactivity: Databases on the Web, a graded in-class assignment. Students will be given time to read Jeff South's story in the April 2000 AJR, "No Secrets." Students will then lead discussions pointing out worthy databases they've found on the Web, on news sites such as washingtonpost.com, philly.com, acessatlanta.com and charlotte.com. There should also be a discussion of privacy vs. the public's right to know. Is it OK to Web publish the salaries of low-ranking public employees, coaches, etc.? How about property records? Divorce and death notices? Where should the line be drawn? 

Readings: Readings: Handout: Read Jeff South's story on online databases and privacy issues, "No Secrets," in the April 2000 AJR. Plus Chapter 5 ("Online Communities") in Rich book. PLUS: Aly Colon's "Blogs and Ethics" in the April 22, 2004, edition of Poynteronline. Cynthia L. Webb's "Blogging the Recall" in the Sept. 12, 2003, edition of washingtonpost.com; Leslie Walker's "New Kids on the Blog" in the Feb. 6, 2003, edition of The Washington Post, and her Web Watch on "Picture Diaries", in the Jan. 19, 2003, edition of the paper; J.D. Lasica's "When Bloggers Commit Journalism," in OJR's Sept. 24, 2002, issue;  Catherine Seipp's "Online Uprising," in the June 2002 issue of AJR; Erin Joyce's "NYTD Blogs Itself With RadioUserland," on Jupiter Research April 10, 2002; Dan Gillmor's "Here Comes 'We Media': Tech-Savvy Readers Want in on the Conversation" in the January/February 2003 issue of CJR; Staci D. Kramer's "The Perfect News Incubator" in the Dec. 18, 2002, issue of OJR. See also photoblogs.org and photobloggies.com.

Assignment due April 28: Packaging news for the Web: (15 percent of your grade): Due at the start of class in the lab's x drive (and the paper portion is due in my hands). Projects turned in after this time will lose a full letter grade for each day that they're late. Projects with factual mistakes will also lose a full letter grade for each mistake. Projects with broken links will lose a full letter grade for each broken link. You will package a  news project written by CNS students and supplied to you by the instructor.

Seminar and lab May 5:  We'll discuss media convergence. Must news operations merge or form partnerships to survive in the era of the Internet? We'll discuss the implications of content-sharing agreements or mergers, such as The Washington Post Co./ MSNBC deal; the Tribune Co. and Times Mirror; AOL and Time Warner. Plus: The future of online journalism and your future in online journalism. Besides selling advertising, how else can Web sites make money? And should we be worried about the Web sites that have gone belly-up or laid off employees? Plus: I'll explain how you can move your bio packages from the journalism server onto the university server (see "transferring to server"), so you can keep updating them even after you leave this class. And you will need a working wam account to participate. Plus: Class evaluations.

Readings: Cynthia Gorney's "Superhire 2000"  in the December 2000 issue of AJR. Plus Alicia Shepard's "Get Big or Get Out" in the March 2000 AJR and her "Tribune's Big Deal" in the May 2000 issue of AJR. "' Hello, Internet?' Talking Web Sites Next Challenge," by Peter S. Goodman, The Washington Post, Oct. 16, 2000; "Resurgent Radio: Satellite and Internet radio are about to jump-start a medium that has lagged behind the information explosion," by Marc Fisher, in AJR's December 2000 issue; "Immersive News Technology: Beyond Convergence," commentary by Larry Pryor, Online Journalism Review, Web posted Oct. 11, 2000; "What the New Media Research Labs Tell Us," by John Pavlik, for Online Journalism Review, Dec. 1, 2000. "Showdown at the Digital Corral: Internet-Based Single-Number Plan Starts a Global Tug of War Over Control," by Ariana Eunjung Cha,  The Washington Post, April 22, 2001; "Does Fast Internet Need a Push?" by Jonathan Krim, The Washington Post, Jan. 15, 2002, page A1; with "Broadband's Flavors." Barb Palser's "Not Quite Ready for Prime Time" and Deborah Potter's "Behind the Curve" in the July/August 2000 issue of AJR. Plus: Chapter 10 ("Web Advertising") in Rich and Paul Farhi's "Surviving in Cyberspace" in the September 2000 AJR and his "Tough Sell" in the June 2000 issue of AJR. Plus: Farhi's "Can Salon Make It?" in the March 2001 AJR and Kathryn Wenner's "Downsized Dotcoms" in the same issue.

Friday, May 14, 3:30 p.m.: (Finals week): Turn in on paper (under my office door) and by e-mail to me a 1,500-word paper analyzing and comparing/contrasting a traditionally based news site with a Web-only news site. Factual mistakes will result in a full letter-grade deduction; late papers will receive an automatic F. (See fuller description in "Assignments," at top of syllabus.)