Syllabus, JOU 210: Newspaper Production Fall
2008
JOU 210 is designed to provide practical journalism experience to students of all backgrounds and levels of expertise. This two-credit course is tied in with production of The Griffon News, and students will be writing stories, creating artwork, designing pages and handling advertising. There are no prerequisites; everyone is encouraged to enroll, although students with little experience should expect to spend extra time with the instructor and editors to receive valuable one-on-one help to improve your skills.
Instructor
Instructor: Dr. Bob Bergland
Email address: bergland@missouriwestern.edu
Personal Website http://staff.missouriwestern.edu/~bergland
Office: EDER 221A Phone: 271-4446 Home: 279-1699
Office Hours: MF 10-12:30
Required Materials
There is no required text for the class, but students are encouraged to purchase an Associated Press stylebook and a USB flash drive. A vehicle is helpful, but any stories that require travel outside of St. Joseph will be strictly voluntary.
Course Goals
Writers
¥ To improve your writing skills
¥ To give you hands-on experience writing various types of articles
¥ To increase your portfolio size, diversity and quality
¥ To have your work published
Business Staff
¥ To provide financial/sales experience
¥ To improve your communication skills
¥ To increase your understanding of newspaper operations and budgets
Artists/Photographers/Designers
¥ To help you gain experience in your area of expertise
¥ To help you understand the role art/design plays in newspaper production
¥ To provide you with published work for your portfolio
Groundrules
¥ Attendance: Regular attendance is required and critical for good communication with your editors. In accordance with university policy for 100/200-level classes, you can miss four classes, the equivalent of two weeks. Documented, valid reasons may be excused. Tardies count as ½ an absence. If you are late, you must see me during class time to make sure I have not counted you as absent.
¥
University
Academic Honesty Policy and Due Process
Academic honesty is required in all academic endeavors. Violations of academic honesty include any instance of plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for anotherÕs work, falsifying documents or academic records, or any other fraudulent activity. Violations of academic honesty may result in a failing grade on the assignment, failure in the course, or expulsion from the University. Turning in stories or pieces of artwork which contain material which has published or produced by someone else is unforgivable in both journalism and academia, as is the fabrication of quotes or other information. If you have questions about using material from other sources, please contact me or an editor.
¥ Disabilities—Students with a disability that may affect their performance in this class should contact me individually as soon as possible.
Grading Components—Writers
Article Requirements: 12 stories, of which there can be no more than three opinion pieces (column, review, etc.). Stories must be a minimum of 400 words. Grades are set on a 90/80/70/60 scale. Photos taken with a story (with cutline info) are worth ½ credit.
The grading criteria is set up to allow everyone to get an A, regardless of your past journalism experience. As long as you turn in all of your stories, turn them in on time and have the required length and number of sources, youÕll get an A. Total: 150 points
12 stories @10 points each 120 points
Portfolio 10 points
Mid-semester self-evaluation 10 points
Final self-evaluation 10 points
Deductions:
Late stories -3 after Friday noon
-5 after Saturday noon
-7 after Sunday noon
Name spelling/factual errors -2 points each
Each source under the minimum -2 points
Not reaching the minimum # words 3-6 points
Sources—News/feature stories need three sources (at least two people sources); sports game wrap-up stories need two people sources.
You can write up to three extra stories to replace poor scores on your 12 stories. So, if you start out the semester poorly by making name errors and turning in a couple stories late, you may still get an A by doing these extra stories. In rare cases, double credit may be given for long, complex stories (usually over 900 words and six sources)
You will need to turn in your files electronically, via email to your editor AND to
stories@thegriffonnews.com by the deadline mandated by your desk. If you have received an extension from your editor, then you need to email that same address about that extension.
Portfolio
You must turn a portfolio of all of your work at the end of the semester. On one side (if you have a two-sided folder), you should have a printout of each article as you wrote it. On the other side, you must have all the clippings of your published work. When I tabulate grades, I will look at your printouts, because the publication of your work is beyond your control.
Grading
Components—Artists/Designers/Photographers
Photogs: You need to have pictures for 24 assignments (not 24 pictures, but 24 assignments). These assignments may be an event (such as a speech, meeting, or sporting event), a mugshot (maximum of 8 mugshots count toward this total), or a standalone (a picture not related to a story; up to four of these count). The number of graphics or page designs required for designers is 12. Not reaching these minimums will result in lowering the course grade. Complex, time-consuming artwork may be given credit for two pieces, as might multiple photos chosen for publication (such as a photo essay). Students who combine photo and graphic work should consult with me. Photo and graphics staff need to provide all information necessary for writing captions/cutlines, and a lack of needed info or errors in that info will result in deductions. You will turn in your documents electronically to the editors, and all photo assignments should contain both a horizontal and a vertical shot. You must email your cutline information to stories@thegriffonnews.com
Deductions, from a beginning score of 100, for each instance of:
Late assignments 3 points
Missed assignments 5 points
Errors or missing info for captions 2 points
Each photo less than 24 5 points
Each design less than 12 10 points
No portfolio 11 points
No mid-semester or final evaluation 10 points
You will be required to write a self-evaluation of your work at midterms.
Grading Components—Business Staff
To receive an A, an Ad Rep must sell ads to at least 12 clients (not including classifieds). If sales are slow or the rep chooses to expand his/her repertoire, stories (1 story = 1 ad) or graphics/photos or ad designs (2 = 1 ad) may be substituted. Ads will generally receive a 10 unless there are problems (late, missing contracts, errors in the ad, complaints from client, etc).
12 Ads/clients (not one client for 12 issues) 120
2 Ad critiques 10
Weekly call sheets 10
Final Portfolio 10
Total 150
Grades are determined on a 90/80/70/60 scale.