Communication
420
Advanced
Reporting
250 BRMB, T Th 1-2:15 p.m.
Fall 2015
Instructor: Steve Thomsen, Ph.D.
Office: 324 BRMB
Office Hours: T, Th
from 2:30-4:00 p.m., or by appointment
Phone: 801-422-2078 (office), 801-361-5697 (cell)
Email: steven.r.thomsen@gmail.com
Course Description
This course is designed to help students develop writing
abilities and reporting skills that will prepare them for employment or an
internship on a major daily newspaper, magazine, Website, or other digital
media formats. Our focus will be on investigative reporting that addresses
major public issues and social trends. It builds upon the sills developed in
pre-requisite courses such as Comms 321 and Comms 324.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course students will be able to
create messages that are relevant, clear, grammatically and stylistically
correct, and that impact social, cultural and political conversation. Students
will demonstrate a master of advance reporting, interviewing, data collection,
data analysis, and story telling (digital and print) techniques that are
applicable to ethical journalistic practices.
Text and Course
Materials
Wallace, M. & Knobel, B. (2010). Heat & Light: Advice for the Next Generation of Journalists.
New York: Three Rivers Press.
The Editor’s Toolkit,
Solutions Journalism Network
AP Stylebook
Grading Policy
Deadlines. In the
world of journalism, publishing, and mass media, nothing is more sacred than a
deadline. You simply can’t miss them. In this class, deadlines will be
sacred—right down to the minute. Nothing will be accepted late for any reason.
So plan accordingly. All assignments must be typed and must conform to the
typographical and style specifications outlined in the 6th Edition
of the American Psychological Association style manual (these are available in
the bookstore).
Final Grades for the course will be based on the following:
Blogs (8 @ 20 points each) 25%
Class Participation 10%
Final Class Project 65%
Plagiarism. This
is the use of someone else’s ideas, words, or work without permission or proper
acknowledgement (citation, attribution). This also includes making up facts and
quotes. Plagiarism simply will not be tolerated. It is a violation of the BYU
Honor Code, a violation of school’s policy, and a violation of every
journalistic ethical standard. Students who are caught plagiarizing will
receive an E for course and will be
reported to the BYU Honor Council.
Grading Scale.
Final grades will be based on the following criteria: 92 percent of greater = A, 90-91 percent = A-, 88-89
percent = B+, 82-87 percent = B, 80-81 percent = B-, 78-79 percent = C+, 72-77
percent = C, 70-71 percent = C-, 68-69 percent = D+, 62-67 percent = D, 60-61
percent = D-, 59 percent or less = E.
Blogs
For many of our class sessions you have been given a
pre-class preparation assignment. They are included in the course outline
section of this syllabus. These assignments are to be completed the day prior
to class. To find these assignments, please go to
communication420.blogspot.com. I will post a prompt for each assignment (in
advance) as my blog. You are to post your blog (response to the assignment) as
a comment/response to my blog. Please make sure you are clearly identified as
the author of the blog so that you can receive credit for the assignment. Each
blog must be posted by 5 p.m. on the day before we discuss the assignment in
class. This will allow me to read them and to incorporate your ideas in to my
lesson plan for that particular day.
Group/Course Project
Good journalism should make a difference in the lives of our
readers/viewers and it should help to solve the social and cultural challenges
we face on a daily basis. This semester, we are going to take a close look at
what has been described as “solutions journalism.” We will use this as our
approach to reporting. Our goal will be to work as an investigative team to
address an issue or social phenomenon in such a way that we can (as suggested
in our readings) “advance the public discourse.” As a team, we will select our
project, divide up our responsibilities and assignments, set deadlines, and use
our skill sets to change the world—or at least our piece of it.
Honor Code
In keeping with the
principles of the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be honest in all of
their academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work
you present as your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another.
Violations of this principle may result in a failing grade in the course and
additional disciplinary action by the university. Please refer to the earlier
discussion on plagiarism. Students are also expected to adhere to the Dress and
Grooming Standards. Adherence demonstrates respect for yourself and others and
ensures an effective learning and working environment. It is the university's
expectation, and my own expectation in class, that each student will abide by
all Honor Code standards. Please call the Honor Code Office at 422-2847 if you
have questions about those standards.
Sexual Harassment
Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination against any
participant in an educational program or activity that receives federal funds.
The act is intended to eliminate sex discrimination in education and pertains
to admissions, academic and athletic programs, and university-sponsored
activities. Title IX also prohibits sexual harassment of students by university
employees, other students, and visitors to campus. If you encounter sexual
harassment or gender-based discrimination, please talk to your professor;
contact the Equal Employment Office at 801-422-5895 or 1-888-238-1062
(24-hours), or http://www.ethicspoint. com; or contact the Honor Code Office at 801-422-2847.
Student Disability
Brigham Young
University is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that
reasonably accommodates qualified persons with disabilities. If you have any
disability which may impair your ability to complete this course successfully,
please contact the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (422-2767).
Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have
qualified, documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student
and instructor by the SSD Office. If you need assistance or if you feel you
have been unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of disability, you may
seek resolution through established grievance policy and procedures by
contacting the Equal Employment Office at 422-5895, D-285 ASB.
Academic Honesty
The first
injunction of the BYU Honor Code is the call to be honest. Students come to the
university not only to improve their minds, gain knowledge, and develop skills
that will assist them in their life's work, but also to build character.
President David O. McKay taught that "character is the highest aim of
education" (The Aims of a BYU Education, p. 6). It is the purpose of the
BYU Academic Honesty Policy to assist in fulfilling that aim. BYU students
should seek to be totally honest in their dealings with others. They should
complete their own work and be evaluated based upon that work. They should
avoid academic dishonesty and misconduct in all its forms, including but not
limited to plagiarism, fabrication or falsification, cheating, and other
academic misconduct.
Plagiarism
Writing submitted
for credit at BYU must consist of the student's own ideas presented in
sentences and paragraphs of his or her own construction. The work of other
writers or speakers may be included when appropriate (as in a research paper or
book review), but such material must support the student's own work (not
substitute for it) and must be clearly identified by appropriate introduction
and punctuation and by footnoting or other standard referencing. The substitution
of another person's work for the student's own or the inclusion of another
person's work without adequate acknowledgment (whether done intentionally or
not) is known as plagiarism. It is a violation of academic, ethical, and legal
standards and can result in a failing grade not only for the paper but also for
the course in which the paper is written. In extreme cases, it can justify
expulsion from the University. Because of the seriousness of the possible
consequences, students who wonder if their papers are within these guidelines
should visit the Writing Lab or consult a faculty member who specializes in the
teaching of writing or who specializes in the subject discussed in the paper.
Useful books to consult on the topic include the current Harcourt Brace College
Handbook, the MLA Handbook, and James D. Lester's Writing Research Papers.
Course Outline
|
Date
|
Topic
|
Readings
& Assignments
|
|
9/1
|
Introduction to the course;
discussion of course project
|
|
|
9/3
|
Introduction to “solutions
journalism.” Working as a team.
“Ten Questions” Handout.
|
Readings:
The Editor’s Toolkit, p. 1-17
Heat & Light, Chps. 1-2
“Ten Questions”
|
|
9/8
|
Brainstorming for ideas.
|
Readings:
Handout #1: From meth addict to businessman…
Blog #1: Due 9/7 @ 5 p.m.
|
|
9/10
|
Determining the “solutions”
project. Team assignments, flow-charting the project, identifying sources.
|
Readings:
The Editor’s Toolkit, p. 18-28;
Handout #1: Why reading by third grade is critical…
Blog #2: Due 9/9 @ 5 p.m.
|
|
9/15
|
Case Studies: “Seeking
Safety” and the “Medill Justice Project”
|
Readings:
Handout #2:
Case Study: Seeking Safety
Case Study: Medill Justice Project
|
|
9/17
|
Focusing on “positive
deviants.” Interviewing.
|
Readings:
Heat & Light, Chps. 3-4
Blog #3: Due 9/16 @ 5 p.m.
|
|
9/22
|
Work on Assignments
|
|
|
9/24
|
Work on Assignments
|
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9/29
|
Envisioning the package.
|
Readings:
Heat & Light, Chps. 4-5
Blog #4: Due 9/23 @ 5 p.m.
|
|
10/1
|
Ethical Considerations
|
Readings:
Heat & Light, Chp. 6
Blog #5: Due 9/30 @ 5 p.m.
|
|
10/6
|
Accessing government databases
and documents
|
Readings:
Handout #3
Blog #6: Due 10/5
|
|
10/8
|
Team Meeting
|
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10/13
|
Work on Assignments
|
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10/15
|
Team Meeting/Deadline
Assessment
|
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10/20
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10/22
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10/26
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10/28
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11/3
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11/5
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11/10
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11/12
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11/17
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11/19
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11/24
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Thanksgiving Break
|
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11/26
|
Thanksgiving Break
|
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12/1
|
The future of journalism.
|
Readings:
Heat & Light, Chp. 7
Blog #7: Due 11/30 @ 5 p.m.
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12/3
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12/8
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12/10
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Project post-mortem
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Blog #8: Due 12/9 @ 5 p.m.
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