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JOUR 652: Online Journalism, Spring '08

Chris

Instructor: Chris Harvey

E-mail: charvey@jmail.umd.edu; phone: 301-405-6256 (4th floor office) or 301-314-2696 (Maryland Newsline lab, Room 3117, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays). 

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

Office hours: 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the new-media lab in Room 3117 -- or by appointment.


 

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 emerging media themes, such as the ethical and legal implications of publishing online in a 24/7 environment; the characteristics that distinguish news Web sites and their stories from their print and broadcast counterparts; guidelines for doing research on the Internet; and the impact of blogs, wikis and other citizen journalism on mainstream media. In addition, a core portion of the class will include hands-on assignments: Students will be introduced to basic html and to Web-editing, photo-editing and graphics-creation tools (Dreamweaver and Photoshop). And they'll learn about site structuring and navigation, headline and link writing, and basic Web page layout, while building a resume package and a news feature package.They'll also participate in a class blog (using blogger.com) and learn how to create their own blogs.

Prerequisite: JOUR 502, 503 or the equivalent. For journalism majors only.

Assignments & Tests: More detailed instructions on some assignments will be supplied in class by your instructor. Assignments are due at the start of each class, unless otherwise noted. Please follow Associated Press style for print on all assignments in this class.

  • Feb. 27: (5 percent of your grade): One-page Web resume due at the start of class in the x drive, with text, subheads, internal (anchor) links, an e-mail address link, at least one external hyperlink, a photo and at least one bulleted list. Background colors are optional, as are changed link colors. Each factual mistake will result in one letter-grade deduction, as will each broken link or nonfunctional image tag. Unreadable resumes (because of bad color choices for fonts or backgrounds) will result in an automatic F. Assignments lose a full letter grade for each day that they're late.
  • March 26: (10 percent of your grade) Two-page resume package due at the start of class in the x drive. This is an expansion of your resume assignment. You will create a second page and link both to each other. You may use the Web-editor tool Dreamweaver when building this assignment, but you must work independently. You may not take layouts from other students. The second page could link to published writing or broadcast samples --news clips, press releases, audio or video clips. Please do not link to unpublished work. Or the second page could be a montage of photos you've taken of friends, family or travel. The two pages, when linked together, must include external links and at least one photo. All links and navigation on your pages must work; 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 (students were previously required to build four pages; this semester, I've added a feature-writing assignment and cut this resume package to two required pages.): Michelle Williams, Chris Hannas, April Chan and Lisa Tossey.
    Undergrads (previously required to build three pages, including a home page narrative):  Zak Garner, Kathy Park, Lisa Seaman, Jorge Valencia, Lisa Rassenti, Damon Curry, Lindsay Smith, Mark Pak, Kendra Nichols, Jacqueline Sauter and Yulia Khabinsky.
  • April 2 : (20 percent of your grade): Test
  • April 16: (5 percent of grade): Text-only version of a news feature story is due at the start of class. (See next item). This is an originally reported story of 600 to 800 words, on a topic previously approved by the teacher. It should be in journalistic style and be worthy of publication. Stories must be original work and must not have been previously published elsewhere. Stories with factual mistakes will be given an automatic F (55 percent). Stories must be accurate, fair and fully reported, and include strong feature leads, nut graphs and transitions. Assignment should be turned in on paper, doublespaced, with a word count at the top.
  • May 7: (10 percent of grade): Web feature package due at the start of class in the x drive. Please copy the whole folder for the package from h to x, with the story page(s) and photo folder inside. This project must include an originally reported text story of 600 to 800 words (see above), packaged in an html template (using Dreamweaver); at least two photos (either shot by you or acquired by you); photo captions; at least one graphic (such as a banner), a headline; and at least two related Web links. In addition, at least two complementary interactive or explanatory elements are required: They could include a blog you've created and linked to to encourage comment; a table of information you've compiled and linked to; a google map you've created and linked to; or an interactive quiz you've created and linked to. They could also include a short, basic video clip, which you've shot for this story and uploaded to YouTube (as explained in class). You could either link to the video from your page, or embed the video player from YouTube on your page. Please be sure to include a copyright line and a back to top link at the bottom of your story.
  • May 16, 3:30 p.m.: (25 percent of your grade): Final due: This is a 2,200- to 2,400-word research / analysis of a news Web site, selected from a list I will circulate in class. You will discuss how well the site uses navigation; how clean its design is; how well it uses photos and graphics, broadcast features (including audio and video and podcasts) and interactive elements (such as chats, blogs, polls, Google map mashups, quizzes and searchable databases); how much (if any) original reporting appears to be done by the online staff; and how well stories are written and presented and make use of the medium. You should tell me about any other features you loved or hated and why. And you should tell me what changes editors and publishers might consider to better position themselves for the future.  I recommend that you include an introductory paragraph or two at the start of the paper and a summary paragraph or two at the end. Subheads throughout may help you organize your thoughts. Comments should be supported with facts. The analysis should be based on your observations of the site throughout the semester and on research you've conducted on the site, using search engines and directories and other tools. I recommend that you do a brief Lexis/Nexis search of the site, to see if you can find background stories about it that may help explain some of its idiosyncrasies. Interviews with at least one high-level designer or editor are required to answer questions that may arise as you are trying to explain why a site is designed the way it is, or why it focuses on a particular type of content, etc. Factual mistakes--including misspelled proper names and faulty URLs--will result in full letter-grade deductions. Information quoted from other sources should be attributed in the text and further identified in end notes. Papers must be double-spaced and numbered. They must be printed out and slid under my 4th floor office door, AND e-mailed to me, so I get the time stamp. Assignments turned in after deadline will receive an F.
  • Class participation (verbal and on the class blog) (5 percent) and written in-class assignments: (20 percent.) Class attendance is mandatory. You must do the assigned readings and participate in discussions to do well on the participation grade. Missed written class assignments cannot be made up. Only one in-class written grade -- your lowest-- will be dropped.

Grading: Each assignment will be graded for accuracy, meeting of deadlines, substance, presentation/navigation/links (for Web assignments), 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 on every assignment. Factual errors have serioius consequences, as noted on each assignment. Letter-grade deductions 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 late assignments. 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, text or layout 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 could 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 "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.

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

Online Journalism book cover

Richard Craig's "Online Journalism: Reporting, Writing and Editing for New Media"-- available at the campus bookstores and at online bookstores, such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble

Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual (for print). Please bring the stylebook to class with you to aid in lab work.

Additional 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. 

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

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Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Chris Harvey. Published stories, tutorials or personal bios linked from this page are the property of their respective copyright holders. Latest version written Jan. 8, 2008; last updated May 6, 2008.