Syllabus

Jour352(401) – Online Journalism – Spring 2010

We could simply call this class “journalism.” If you’re a journalist in 2010 – newspaper, broadcast, digital, blogger, whatever – everything you do will appear on the Web. Further, the Web is transforming what it means to be a journalist, and how it is practiced.

This is a hands-on class. You’ll learn how to build, update and tweak Web sites using the same content management tools used by newsrooms. You’ll build your own blog  and keep it going through the semester. You’ll learn to incorporate multimedia and interactive elements into your work. You’ll learn of the power of social media in reporting and distribution of content, the importance of writing for search engines, and the importance of personal branding online.

It’s also a concepts class. We’ll discuss how the Web has enabled citizen journalism and crowdsourced journalism, and how that’s transforming how we think of news. We’ll debate the unique ethical and legal issues inherent to Web journalism. And we’ll discuss the impact of Web journalism on democracy. And a lot more.

Prerequisites
Jour 201 (News Writing and Reporting I) and Jour 202 (News Editing) or the broadcast equivalents.

Reading Materials

Technology Requirements

  • Facebook account
  • Twitter account
  • Publish2 account (we’ll go over this)
  • A free Wordpress blog

Course Grading

  • Maintain Personal Blog/Web site – 35 percent
  • Multimedia Feature and Resume Package – 15 percent
  • Two quizzes on required readings – 10 percent
  • Class Participation (online and in-class) – 20 percent (10 percent in class, 10 percent online)
  • In-class assignments – 20 percent
  • There is NO final exam

Grading Details

Blog — On the first day of class you will set up a blog. Through the semester, you will track a news Web site and update it weekly analyzing the site centered around topics covered in that week’s class, based on assignments from the instructor. Additionally, you will use the site to post a resume, post work from in-class and out-of-class exercises, and blog about additional topics as assigned by the instructor.

Class Participation — There are two elements to this.  First, my teaching style is big on class engagement.  I will be looking for a lot of conversations during the class.  So speaking up is important.  Second, there is an online element to this.  You will be expected to comment on each others blogs each week.  This is important, a critical part of learning that blogging is not simply a mechanism for talking AT the audience, but with the audience.  Third, you will be expected to provide for class discussion at least one story, blog post, cool example of groundbreaking online journalism for the class to discuss each week, through a mechanism called Publish2 (we’ll go over this later).

Multimedia Feature Package — A package of text, photos and an interactive or multimedia element on a topic approved in advance by the instructor. Topics due Feb. 22, story text due March 22, interactive element or multimedia element (and photos) due April 26, Beta of Web package Due May 3, final package during last day of classes.

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.

Students with Disabilities

Students with a disability needing special accomodation during the semester should make an appointment to meet with the professor.

Attendance

The university has no mandatory attendance policy, but does allow “attendance and in-class participation” as an ongoing requirement in some courses. This is one such course. There will be no excused absences or tardiness for any reason except extreme illness (documented by a doctor) or death in the immediate family. BE ON TIME. Not five minutes late. Absences and tardiness will affect your class participation grade.

Class Schedule
Subject to Change
Jan. 25 – Introductions, overview of syllabus, set up of personal Web site, Twitter account, Publish2 account, selection of news Web site for analysis, growth of online journalism discussion.

Feb. 1 — Writing for the Web (Blogs and Story Formats)

Feb. 8 – The Real Time Web and the Online News Cycle

Feb. 15 – News and the Social Web — social networks for news organizations

Feb. 22 — News and the Social Web – social networking for reporters

March. 1 – News and the Social Web – New Forms: Crowdsourced Journalism, Aggregation, Curation

March 8 – Multimedia – Photo and Video

March 15 – no class, Spring Break
March 22 — Multimedia – Interactivity

March 29 – Ethical and Legal Issues on the Web

April 5 – Online Design, Development and Navigation (CMS)

April 12 – Online Design, Development and Navigation (CSS)

April 19 – Multimedia Project Lab

April 26 – Design Lab

May 3 – The Future of Digital News

May 10 – Multimedia Package Presentations, Wrapup