Philip Merrill College of Journalism

University of Maryland

Fall 2006

Professional Seminar in Public Affairs Reporting

Professor Haynes Johnson

Office: Journalism 2100

Phone: 301-405-2408 ofc.

E-mail: hjohnson@jmail.umd.edu

Office Hours: Mondays Noon-1 p.m. and by appointment

JOUR 462 and 762

3 credits

Mondays, 9 a.m.-12 noon.

Room: Journalism 1116

Class Purpose

To examine the media's inner workings and influence on politics, government, and the public. Further, to deepen students' understanding of tools and techniques that can improve journalistic performance; and also heighten awareness of practices that lower journalistic standards and increase public distrust of the press. In addition to specific subtopics, we will consider the nature, evolution, and treatment of issues currently in the news, as well as analyze good and bad examples of reporting on them. Critical emphasis placed on the press's role in public affairs reporting.

Boilerplate

We will meet for 14 sessions, each devoted to a specific topic and discussion of assigned work, with appropriate readings and participant reports. In some cases, a guest from the media/government world will assist in discussion.

Seminar grades will be allocated as follows: 50 percent to be determined by the final research paper, 25 percent by the mid-term paper, and 25 percent by the quality of classroom participation.

Each unexplained absence will drop your final grade. So will blatant, repeated tardiness. If you are going to be absent you must inform the professor or his assistant by voice-mail.

Professor's Stance

Journalism's mission in this democratic republic is to provide the people with information and perspectives to help them judge their government's performance as well as the public and private institutions that affect their lives.

The underlying assumption of this seminar is that each of you cares about public affairs and about journalism. If you do not, another course may serve you better. A second assumption is that you are able to write clear, concise English. Third, each of you is expected to read all the assigned material.

We have only 14 sessions together: the first devoted to opening logistics and an overview of the course work, and the last to overall conclusions and summations. Consequently, each of the other 12 meetings matters greatly.

Questions We'll Consider

- How powerful is the media? What, if any, are the limits upon its power?

- To what extent is the media responsible for growing public cynicism about government and politicians?

- What are the conflicts between the public's right to know and the government's right to operate, within specified and legitimate limitations, in confidence and secrecy?

- Has the mass media, and particularly television, become "the fourth branch of government?"

- How has the media's obsession with scandal affected the workings of government for better or worse?

- Has the "culture of celebrity and entertainment" affected media values and influenced the nature of reporting?

- Have the 24-hour cable news networks affected mainstream press performance and standards?

- What are the standards for effective public affairs reporting? Can they be set? If so, how and by whom?

- How influential is our media on our political process, particularly in choosing a president, defining major issues, and in advancing -- or destroying -- the career potential for lesser known political candidates?

- To whom is the media accountable? Is it accountable to any or one institution? Should it be?

- What is the role of political consultants and pollsters on government and public attitudes in our media-saturated society?

- What is the impact of the new "talk show electronic democracy" and scandal coverage upon our government, political process, and people?

Expectations

Students will be required to assess reporting and its performance in print and electronic mediums on important public issues - whether local, national, or international - and seek ways to improve the eroding confidence in journalism by raising standards of the news business. This seminar is occurring amid unprecedented news coverage of military conflict, dramatic changes in foreign affairs, and scandals - real or imagined. Everything considered in this class will be relevant to understanding this climate and its impact on public attitudes toward the media.

Each student is responsible for monitoring the following news outlets daily, or as indicated:

- The Washington Post

- The New York Times

- The Wall Street Journal

- The Baltimore Sun

- USA Today

- One network evening news broadcast, with CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News and the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer each counted as a network, and

- Weekly monitoring of Time and Newsweek.

Full participation in classroom discussion is a must. Dialogue, not monologue, is the objective. In this seminar, silence is not golden.

For final and mid-term examinations, each student will write two substantial papers. The mid-term paper (10 to 12 pages for undergraduates, 12 to 14 for graduate students) should deal with an aspect of public affairs coverage and from the seminar, reflecting discussions and studies during the first half of the course. It should be written in critical essay form as if for publication in a journalism review or Sunday supplement. The subject of the papers will be worked out with the instructor, who will act as advisor for the topics selected. Since this will be written as if for publication in a newspaper, magazine, or journalism review, footnotes will not be required. But it must show familiarity with sources, fully attributed in the text.

Your final research paper (14 to 16 pages for undergraduates, 18 to 20 for graduate students) should explore in greater depth an analysis of a public affairs reporting, press-government, or press-public issue of significance. Quality of writing counts heavily. Use of jargon and cliché will result in a lower grade.

The final paper should demonstrate the ability to examine a major public issue, to analyze it clearly, crisply, and persuasively. Distinction and originality, and substantial research, are the hallmarks by which the papers will be judged. Footnotes and a bibliography are required.

Length prescribed on both assigned papers is absolute. Papers that fall below the minimum or above the maximum length are unacceptable. They will be returned without a grade. Final approval of all research paper subjects must be obtained six weeks before the work is due, with submission of a brief outline detailing approved topic, approach, and potential sources.

Both mid-term and final research papers must be typed and double-spaced, with normal margins. In addition, your last name must be printed on each page alongside the page number. Please note that all papers must be turned in as hard copy; no E-mailed papers will be accepted.

In addition to the two papers, further supplementary reading will be required. Beginning with the third session, two people will be designated each week to present reports from a book selected from an outside reading list. The reports will summarize the book and relate its contents to the seminar topic under discussion. All students are expected to be prepared to discuss the topic at hand.

DEADLINES ARE ABSOLUTE in this class. Allowances will be made only for genuine emergencies. If you have an emergency, you must speak with me personally to obtain approval. Leaving a phone message or speaking with my assistant is not sufficient.

Academic Integrity

The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized 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. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html.
Sequence of Topics

Sept. 11 Overview and introduction

Sept. 18 Media and government: Inevitable conflicts

Sept. 25 Congress, executive agencies, and the media

Oct. 2 The media and the president

Oct. 9 The media and scandals

Oct. 16 TV, entertainment and the celebrity culture

Oct. 23 The media and campaigns. Mid-term Paper Due

Oct. 30 Interest groups and pollsters. Research paper topics due

Nov. 6 Policy issues, secrecy, and sources

Nov. 13 Investigative reporting: Print and electronic

Nov. 20 Foreign and military reporting

Nov. 27 Media and government: Accessibility and accountability

Dec. 4 The media and public opinion. Final Paper Due

Dec. 11 Conclusion

Readings

Sept. 18 - Liebling, A.J. The Press. Pantheon, 1975.

Sept. 25 - Bagdikian, Ben. The Effete Conspiracy and Other Crimes by the Press. Harper & Row.

- Sigal, Leon V. Reporters and Officials. D.C. Heath.

Oct. 2 - Smith, Hedrick. The Power Game: How Washington Works. Random House.

Oct. 9 - White, Theodore H. The Making of the President, 1960. Atheneum.

- Reedy, George. The Twilight of the Presidency. World.

Oct. 16 - Sabato, Larry and Glenn R. Simpson. Dirty Little Secrets. Times Books.

- Garment, Suzanne. Scandal: The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics.

- Collins, Gail. Scorpion Tongues. Morrow.

Oct. 23 - Bradlee, Benjamin C. Conversations with Kennedy. Norton.

- Bradlee, Benjamin C. A Good Life. Simon and Schuster.

Mid-term papers due

Oct. 30 - Crouse, Timothy. The Boys on the Bus. Random House.

- Cramer, Richard Ben. What It Takes.

Research paper topics due

Nov. 6 - Johnson, Haynes and David S. Broder. The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point. Little, Brown (paperback edition) 1996.

- Birnbaum, Jeffrey H. Showdown at Gucci Gulf.

Nov. 13 - Emerson, Steve. Secret Warriors. Putnam.

- Knightly, Philip. The First Casualty. HBJ, Harvest Books, 1976.

- Martin, David C. and John Walcott. Best Laid Plans. Harper & Row.

Nov. 20 - Woodward, Bob and Carl Bernstein. All the President’s Men. Simon & Schuster.

- Graham, Katherine. Personal History. Random House.

Nov. 27 - Kurtz, Howard. Spin Cycle. Free Press.

Dec. 4 - Lippmann, Walter. Public Opinion.

- Johnson, Haynes. The Best of Times.

Final Papers Due

Dec. 11 - no readings scheduled