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| The 2017 Young Scholars crew. |
JOUR 150: Introduction to Mass Communication (for Terp Young Scholars)
M-F, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., July 10 to July 28, 2017
Room 2107 Knight Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, Md.
Instructor: Chris Harvey
Office: Room 2200A Knight Hall (in the dean’s suite)
Phone: 301-405-2796
Email: charvey@umd.edu
On Twitter: @harveyonline
Office hours: Immediately after class, or by appointment
Course description:
The Young Scholars section of JOUR 150 is an overview of journalism for students considering a career in the media -- or simply interested in the media as smart consumers. The class will provide discussions and readings on concerns of the journalism profession -- including ethics, libel and privacy concerns. It will also include topics ranging from the importance of the news profession in a democratic society to the dynamics and demands of 24/7 newsrooms. Some coverage of politics, sports and gender and minority issues will also be explored, and guest speakers – including ESPN panelist Kevin Blackistone, political and social issues reporter Anne Farris Rosen, NPR's Ashley Westerman and Dean Lucy Dalglish -- will be tapped from the profession and the university. In addition, the Terp Young Scholars course will expose students to basic skills needed to research, report and write news stories on deadline for print and Web publications. Writing and reporting segments will stress accuracy, objectivity, fairness, clarity and cohesion.
Classes will be divided into discussion time and research and writing time, and students will be graded on both. They will also be graded on a test and pop quizzes.
The class will include excursions to campus media outlets (including WMUC and the Capital News Service digital bureau) and to a professional newsroom in the region (The Washington Post) to explore the roles of text and mobile reporters and editors, designers, home page producers and more.
Because this course is so short, attendance is essential.
Books and readings:
“The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law" is required. Students are encouraged to purchase an individual, online subscription through the Associated Press online bookstore (https://www.apstylebook.com/apbookstore/invoice.php ); the digital stylebook can be accessed 24/7 from any computer or mobile device, and it is constantly updated. The cost is $26. If you'd prefer the paperback book, you could order the latest edition from the Associated Press online bookstore (see link above) or Amazon.com before you get to campus, or check the campus bookstore when you arrive. The stylebook will be used as a reference for all writing assignments. The 2017 book is preferred, but if you already own a 2016 edition, that will work.
• Additional readings -- from newspapers, magazines and other sources -- will be linked to the class schedule. Readings should be done before each class.
M-F, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., July 10 to July 28, 2017
Room 2107 Knight Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, Md.
Instructor: Chris Harvey
Office: Room 2200A Knight Hall (in the dean’s suite)
Phone: 301-405-2796
Email: charvey@umd.edu
On Twitter: @harveyonline
Office hours: Immediately after class, or by appointment
Course description:
The Young Scholars section of JOUR 150 is an overview of journalism for students considering a career in the media -- or simply interested in the media as smart consumers. The class will provide discussions and readings on concerns of the journalism profession -- including ethics, libel and privacy concerns. It will also include topics ranging from the importance of the news profession in a democratic society to the dynamics and demands of 24/7 newsrooms. Some coverage of politics, sports and gender and minority issues will also be explored, and guest speakers – including ESPN panelist Kevin Blackistone, political and social issues reporter Anne Farris Rosen, NPR's Ashley Westerman and Dean Lucy Dalglish -- will be tapped from the profession and the university. In addition, the Terp Young Scholars course will expose students to basic skills needed to research, report and write news stories on deadline for print and Web publications. Writing and reporting segments will stress accuracy, objectivity, fairness, clarity and cohesion.
Classes will be divided into discussion time and research and writing time, and students will be graded on both. They will also be graded on a test and pop quizzes.
The class will include excursions to campus media outlets (including WMUC and the Capital News Service digital bureau) and to a professional newsroom in the region (The Washington Post) to explore the roles of text and mobile reporters and editors, designers, home page producers and more.
Because this course is so short, attendance is essential.
Books and readings:
“The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law" is required. Students are encouraged to purchase an individual, online subscription through the Associated Press online bookstore (https://www.apstylebook.com/apbookstore/invoice.php ); the digital stylebook can be accessed 24/7 from any computer or mobile device, and it is constantly updated. The cost is $26. If you'd prefer the paperback book, you could order the latest edition from the Associated Press online bookstore (see link above) or Amazon.com before you get to campus, or check the campus bookstore when you arrive. The stylebook will be used as a reference for all writing assignments. The 2017 book is preferred, but if you already own a 2016 edition, that will work.
• Additional readings -- from newspapers, magazines and other sources -- will be linked to the class schedule. Readings should be done before each class.
- Students are expected to read the top stories from The Washington Post (website) or another daily news publication every day before class. Reading other newspapers or newsmagazines -- print or online -- and watching a nightly newscast are also strongly encouraged.
Assignments and grading:
- Class interviewing, research and writing assignments.The lowest grade will be dropped. (30 percent of class grade)
- Pop quizzes - on current events and readings. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped. (20 percent)
- Constructive verbal participation in class discussions.(5 percent)
- Participation in the class blog. Each student is encouraged to start AT LEAST one thread of discussion on the blog on media coverage, transformations, or ethics; students must also comment thoughtfully on others' posts and on the teacher's posts. (10 percent)
- Test: (20 percent)
- Two short pitches for a final story.Each pitch, or story proposal, should be a paragraph or two explaining the story's focus and its newsworthiness. (Why is this a story now?) Pitches should include potential sources (people and paper), based on your research. (5 percent of your grade)
- Final story.Your stories should be 400 to 500 words; you will have the option to write in a feature structure (anecdotal lead highlighting your main point, nut graph telegraphing key points, elaboration of key points, closing quote) or inverted pyramid news structure -- depending on the topic. You should include a source list with it, with names and contact info for those you talk to. (Phone numbers and email addresses.) Stories should be typed, double-spaced, with your name and a word count at the top, and the source list at the end. Please also attach printouts of any supporting primary documents (police crime stats, for instance), which you reference in your story. (10 percent of grade)
Attendance and punctuality:
It is important that you attend every class and show up on time. To do otherwise will negatively affect your grade, because you will be missing reporting and writing instruction, class discussions, quizzes and assignments. Please notify the instructor in advance, if possible, if you will be missing class due to serious illness or emergency and she will get into contact with you.
Assignments turned in late or with FACTUAL mistakes will receive an automatic letter grade deduction for each day late or each error. Missed in-class work may not be made up, but the lowest in-class grade will be dropped to accommodate an emergency, as will the lowest quiz grade. Please let your professor know if you must miss a class.
Grading Rubric. Story grades will be assessed as follows:
Grading Rubric. Story grades will be assessed as follows:
- A(90 to 100 percent): The story has virtually no style, spelling, grammar or punctuation errors and is practically ready to be published by a news outlet (a campus or weekly newspaper) with little editing. The lead is strong, the point of the story is clear and it is well organized. It contains all the important elements, leaving out information that is off point or redundant.
- B(80 to 89 percent): The story has a factual mistake or has a few style, spelling, grammar and/or punctuation errors but with minor editing is ready to be published by a campus or weekly news outlet. The lead is acceptable, there is a nut graph (or a point to the story) in feature stories and the story is fairly well organized. The writing may need to be tighter and some word choices may need to be clearer.
- C(70 to 79 percent): The story has a factual mistake or some style, spelling, grammar and/or punctuation errors but with some editing can be published by a campus or weekly news outlet. The lead may be buried, the nut graph in a feature story may be missing or confusing, and the story may have left out one or two important facts or included information not germane.
- D(60 to 69 percent): The story has multiple style, spelling, grammar and/or punctuation errors or factual mistakes. It does not have a clear lead or nut graph and is poorly organized and written. Key points may be missing, requiring more interviews. The story would have to be substantially reworked for publication.
- F or XF:The story has numerous factual mistakes and/or includes libelous material or is plagiarized, or it is of such poor quality that another journalist would be required to re-report and write the piece in order for it to be published. (0 – 59 percent, depending on the offense). See also academic integrity section, below.
Minus and plus grading will be assessed as follows:
- 98-100 = A+
- 93-97 = A
- 90-92 = A-
- 88-89 = B+
- 83-87 = B
- 80-82 = B-
- 78-79 = C+
- 73-77 = C
- 70-72 = C-
- 68-69 = D+
- 63-67 = D
- 60-62 = D-
- Below 60 = F
Academic Integrity:
Along with certain rights, students have the responsibility to behave honorably in an academic environment. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Adhering to a high ethical standard is of special importance in journalism, where reliability and credibility are the cornerstones of the field. Therefore, the college has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy on academic dishonesty. Any abridgment of academic integrity standards in a College of Journalism course will be referred to the university’s Student Honor Council (see http://www.shc.umd.edu ) and the college's deans. To ensure this is understood, all students are asked to sign an academic integrity pledge at the beginning of the semester that will cover all assignments in this course. Students found to have violated the university's honor code may face sanctions, including a grade of XF for the course, or expulsion from the university.
Please be sure to attribute all information that comes from books, newspapers, magazines, websites, television programs, old speeches, etc. If it’s a direct quote, put it in quotation marks and attribute.
Inclement weather:
If the university closes due to foul weather (hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes) or other emergencies and class must be canceled, students will be advised of assignment adjustments by the instructor. We will likely use email to make these notifications and/or conduct a virtual class on our blog or on Elms. Please check the class sites if in doubt about whether or not classes have been canceled on campus.
Students with Special Needs:
Please talk to the instructor at the end of the first class. Students with a specific disability (permanent or temporary, physical or learning) needing special accommodation during the summer session should make an appointment at the end of the first class to meet with the instructor. Students may be asked to provide the instructor accommodation forms given to them after testing by the Disability Support Service on campus, 301-405-0813.
More course-related policies can be found on the site for the university's Office of Undergraduate Studies: http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html .
About the instructor:
Chris Harvey has worked as a website editor, a magazine editor, a political reporter and a journalism teacher. In her earliest positions at the college, she directed the student-staffed Capital News Service bureaus in Washington and Annapolis. But she has been immersed in multimedia storytelling since 1996, when she went to work part time (and later full time) as an associate editor at The Washington Post’s website. She returned to the College of Journalism at the University of Maryland to serve as the managing editor of American Journalism Review in 1998. But since the summer of 2000, Harvey has been teaching multimedia journalism, reporting and writing at the college. She built a multimedia newsroom; built and launched an award-winning website for student work (Maryland Newsline), which she edited and directed for 10 years as part of the Capital News Service program; and created several courses in Web production and multimedia storytelling, for both undergraduate and graduate students. For two summers, Harvey worked as managing editor of the award-winning News21 multimedia projects at the University of Maryland. She currently serves as director of assessments (helping to oversee curriculum development), serves as lead instructor for a number of reporting and multimedia courses, and oversees part-time faculty teaching multimedia and reporting and writing. In addition, she oversees a weekend multimedia certificate program for master’s students -- recruiting faculty and students, purchasing equipment and marketing the program -- and chairs the college's curriculum committee. Harvey has held reporting and editing jobs at several newspapers, including The Washington Post website and The Washington Times print edition, and has free-lanced for Congressional Quarterly's "Politics in America."
