JOURNALISM
360: Broadcast News Writing and
Reporting
Sections 0101, 0102
Fall 2006
Lecture:
Journalism Room 1105
Lab:
Journalism Room 3103
Audio Lab: Tawes
0234
Instructor:
Sue Kopen Katcef
Work: Room 0230 Tawes (or
check the newsroom at Tawes)
301-405-7526
Home:
410-269-5676
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
Teaching Assistant: Eric Schaffer, (516)375-5119
santanues@yahoo.com
ADDITIONAL CLASS MATERIALS CAN BE FOUND AT: www.jclass.umd.edu/j360/
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE:
JOUR 360 is designed to provide professional skills
training in the reporting, writing, editing, delivery and production of broadcast
news.
PREREQUISITE:
Grade of C or better in JOUR 201.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Each student must turn in a MINIMUM of 4 ORIGINAL
REPORTING story packages (including copy and CD with the story recorded on
it). No more than ONE story PER CD is to be turned in at any time (with the
exception of your final project). Each
package is to be submitted according to the schedule outlined. CD’s should be burned in an AUDIO format.
It is YOUR responsibility to make certain your
project is burned onto the CD you are submitting. If there is nothing on the CD when you turn
it in, you will receive an “F” for that project.
Also, ALL projects MUST be handed in on a
CD…no exceptions.
2. Your reporting assignments should include a mix
of stories. Two of them MUST be off-campus. There should be no more than two stories of any
one particular kind. You MUST find ORIGINAL
news stories to report on. That means,
you MUST go out TO the story—a council or budget meeting, a rally or event—and
get the story FIRST-HAND with original,
first-hand sources and eyewitnesses.
This means YOU must determine the lead…what to include and, more
importantly, what will be left out. YOU
will have to determine what makes the story—instead of relying on a wire
service or newspaper to tell the story for you.
There are to be NO reaction-ONLY stories.
There are to be NO restaurant, band, movie or show
reviews or reporting on sports competitions. This is NOT a sports reporting class, it IS a NEWS
reporting class. Also, there are to be NO profiles. You MUST go out and cover an event that
has real NEWS value. Or, you can
enterprise a story. That means, YOU go after a story that has not appeared anywhere else.
Your minimum of FOUR packages/stories
may include:
·
coverage of a
meeting or speech
·
feature
·
general news
stories
·
enterprise story
·
spot news (when
possible)
Also,
every student is required to turn in a nat sound/soundbite ONLY 1:30 package (that’s
one-minute-30-seconds). Details later in class.
All stories/packages handed in must include soundbites
(actualities). There are NO exceptions. ALL of your interviews for these stories must be conducted in
person.
Grades for these packages will be based
equally on a combination of writing and production
skills
2. Each student
is required to make arrangements for an interview with a local or national broadcast journalist (can be a
reporter, photographer or producer….a sports reporter or producer is also okay)
for a paper not less than 5 pages nor more than 10. The person you interview MUST have
been in the broadcast news business a MINIMUM
of five years. You are also required
to read the Ken Lindner book
(Broadcasting Realities
listed below) before conducting your interview to come up with questions for
your interview subject. You are required to cite or make specific references to
the Lindner book throughout your paper.
More specifics on this assignment will be discussed in class.
FINAL PROJECT/Multi-part series (30% of grade):
There will be no final exam in this class. Instead, each student is required to prepare
a 2 or 3 part series on a topic of your choosing. Each segment should run a minimum
of 90 seconds but not exceed two minutes. Your final project needs to involve
some research and include a multitude of voices. This is a
Scripts for the final
project, along with the recorded series on ONE CD, are due in my office by 3p Tuesday,
Dec. 12th. Final projects will be
returned (with critiques and evaluations) on the day of our scheduled “final
exam,” TBA.
NEWS MONITORING:
It goes without saying that
if you are to report the news, you must know what’s
going on in the world around you. It is
your responsibility to keep informed on the news of the day—local, state,
national and international. You should
read AT LEAST one daily newspaper
(other than the Diamondback), listen to the radio and watch a local and
national evening newscast. THERE WILL BE REGULAR CURRENT EVENTS
QUIZZES!
CLASSROOM ATTENDANCE:
Classroom attendance is
required and will be checked. More than 2 unexcused absences
will result in a letter drop in your OVERALL grade.
**ON CALL (10% of grade):
All of you will serve on a rotating basis as the ON CALL
reporter of the week. That means, you are responsible for reporting on the TOP news stories
of the week for that week’s “Terp Weekly Edition”
(more on that in the “Extra Credit” section).
You will be
assigned your story (or stories) by TWE’s executive
producer Meghan Clarke. You are also
welcome to “pitch” a story to your executive producer. A schedule of the on call rotation will be
issued later. These stories are expected
to be written and produced for TWE by no later than the THURSDAY before the
show tapes. Missing an ON CALL assignment
will result in an “F.”
COURSE STRUCTURE:
Lectures will feature a
specific topic with frequent guest speakers.
There may also be at least one on-site visit during the course of the
class.
Laboratory work will include the use of minidisk digital recorders, newscast
preparation and delivery and field assignments.
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT:
Students can reserve and
check-out mini-disk recorders and microphones from the equipment room outside
the UMTV newsroom in Tawes. The equipment MUST be reserved through the equipment desk in the UMTV
newsroom (301-405-2404). There is a
maximum 6 hour time limit on equipment check-out. However, you may check equipment out
overnight but ONLY with prior permission from the instructor.
In addition, editing time in
the Audio Editing Lab in Tawes must also be reserved,
IN ADVANCE, at the equipment desk.
Failure to reserve either the minidisk or editing time means you are subject
to being bumped by someone who HAS reserved that time.
NOTE: FAILURE
TO ADHERE TO THE RULES FOR EQUIPMENT/EDITING ROOM CHECK-OUT WILL RESULT IN A
REVOKATION OF YOUR PRIVILEGES.
Each recorder comes with ONE
mini-disk to record on. You are encouraged
to purchase your own supply of mini-disks to keep a record of your work. You
should also purchase recording CD’s upon which to burn all of your projects to
be handed in .
CLASS GRADE:
Your grade will be based on
the following:
1. Lab
(in class
work/homework) 20%
2. Field exercises
(packages) 15%
3. TWE On
Call 10%
4. Quizzes 5%
5. Paper 10%
6. Final Project/Series 30%
7. Instructor’s Evaluation 10%
EXTRA CREDIT:
I will be looking for volunteers to help
with the reporting/anchoring of our award winning program, “Terp
Weekly Edition,” that we produce for WMUC.
As mentioned earlier, Meghan Clarke is the Executive Producer for the show, Eric
Schaffer is the production manager. Meghan’s
responsibilities include making assignments, reviewing scripts, writing the
show and overseeing production. I will
be also reviewing scripts and will clear the entire program before it’s
produced every Friday.
Working for TWE serves two
very useful purposes: you get out to
cover stories (which you must do anyway for class) AND you get on the air. In order to get FULL extra credit, you MUST get
a minimum of FOUR stories ON AIR. Extra
credit is based on my assessment of your work along with input from the
Executive Producer. Full credit will
mean that after I average your
complete grade….you could earn as much as .5 of a point to boost your grade. BUT….you will have to meet all of the
criteria to get the full .5 of a point.
Also, please note: no one will be permitted to anchor until
they’ve handed in two packages. However,
you will get credit for anchoring after those two packages have aired.
TEXT:
Texts for JOUR 360 Sections
0101 and 0102 include the following:
Broadcasting Realities, Ken Lindner (ISBN 1-56625-114-1)
Broadcast News Writing Stylebook, Robert Papper, Third Edition
(ISBN 0-205-44974-3)
***ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: For this class, you must do all work yourself,
without collaboration with classmates or others, unless I instruct 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 will
not be tolerated. Any abridgement of academic integrity standards will be
referred directly to the campus judiciary board. 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 entitled Academic Integrity.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:
1
Aug. 30 Introduction
to J-360/ Making the transition to broadcast news
Aug. 30, Sept. 4 NO LABS THIS WEEK
2 TEXT
TO BE READ FOR WEEK
2: Broadcast News Writing Stylebook:
Chapters 1-4
Sept. 6 Lecture: Ear Candy—Making
your stories sing through sound
Sept. 6, 11 Lab: Writing
leads/stories
3
TEXT TO BE READ FOR WEEK 3: Broadcast News Writing Stylebook: Chapters 5-8
Guest speaker: Max
Cacas
Sept. 13, 18 Lab:
Writing stories
Specs for packages/paper/final project
4
TEXT TO BE READ FOR WEEK 4: Broadcast
News Writing Stylebook: Chapters
10-11
On Call Assignments Begin
Sept. 20 Lecture:
Ethics
Sept. 20, 25 Lab: Writing stories
**NAMES OF
SUBJECTS FOR PAPER DUE IN LAB!**
5 TEXT
TO BE READ FOR WEEK 5: Broadcast News
Writing Stylebook: Chapters 9,10
Sept.
27 Lecture: Final Projects
Sept. 27, Oct. 2
Lab: The art of the
interview
(Yom Kippur Oct. 2) Writing stories/scripts
**Package
#1 due in lab**
**Final
Project Series proposals due in lecture!**
6
TEXT TO BE READ FOR WEEK 6: Broadcast News Writing Stylebook: Chapters 13,14
Oct.
4 Lecture:
Making your story count: public AND commercial broadcasting
Guest
speaker: Greg Smith, producer
Oct.
4, 9 Lab: Preparing
newscasts: booking stories
7
TEXT TO BE READ FOR WEEK 6: Broadcast
News Writing Stylebook: Chapters 16,17
Oct. 11 Lecture:
Real world radio: field trip to ALL NEWS WTOP
Field trip to be held the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 9
LECTURE IS CANCELLED in lieu of the field trip!!!
Oct.
11, 16 Lab:
10 minute in-class newscasts
**Package
#2 due in lab**
8 Oct. 18
Lecture: TBA
Oct. 18, 23 Lab: 10-minute in-class newscasts
9
Oct. 25 Lecture:
One-on-one meetings to discuss final projects
Appointments must be scheduled ahead
of class!
THERE
IS NO LECTURE IN LIEU OF
MEETINGS
Oct.
25, 30 Lab: 10 minute
in-class newscasts
10 Nov.
1 Lecture:
The Business of Broadcast News
Guest
speaker: Ed Kiernan, General Manager WBAL/WIYY Radio
Nov.1, 6 Lab: 10-minute in-class newscasts
**Package
#3 due in lab**
11 Nov. 8
Lecture:
Real world applications
Guest speaker:
Jamie McIntyre, CNN Sr. Pentagon Correspondent
Nov.
8, 13 Lab: 10-minute in-class newscast
12 Nov. 15 Lecture: Working with PIO’s
Guest speaker:
Greg Shipley, Spokesman MD State Police
PAPERS ARE DUE by 3p!
Nov. 15, 20 Lab: 10-minute
in-class newscast
**Package
#4 due in lab**
13 Nov. 22 NO LECTURE -- HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Nov. 22, 27 NO LAB
14 Nov. 29 Lecture: Broadcast News: A changing medium
Guest
speaker: Peter Doherty, Sr. Operations
Producer, ABC News,
Nov. 29, Dec. 4 Lab: 10 minute in-class newscast
**Nat sound project due in lab**
15 TEXT
TO BE READ FOR WEEK 6: Broadcast News Writing Stylebook: Chapter 18
Guest speaker:
Susan Patrick, Exec. VP/Co-owner,
Patrick Communications
Dec. 6, 11 Lab: 10
minute in class newscast
16 Dec. 12 ALL FINAL SERIES PROJECTS DUE BY
**FINAL Day/Time TBA
Final projects will be
returned with grades and critiques
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BONUS for reading through your syllabus:
IF YOU E-MAIL ME AT MY ABOVE ADDRESS BY 12NOON FRIDAY,
Sept. 2 with the front page (Section A)
headline from the Washington Post for either Thursday or Friday you will
receive .25 (that’s point-25) in extra credit points to be applied to your
field exercises grade.
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