INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM  |  53-1010, Section 06

Thursdays 9:00 – 11:50am

33 E. Congress Room C-219


Instructor Information

Daniel Sinker

312-369-8988 (office)

650-644-6345 (cell)

dsinker@colum.edu

Office hours: Wednesday & Thursday 1pm - 3pm. Other times available by appointment.


About the Instructor

Daniel Sinker is a full-time faculty member at Columbia College's journalism department. He is also the owner of Independents' Day Media, a long-running independent publishing house and the founder of Punk Planet magazine, Bail magazine, Punk Planet Books, and a number of weblogs. 


Course Description:

This course is designed to inform and inspire students about the important public service role of journalism in a democratic society, including the rights and responsibilities protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As technology advances, journalists must be grounded in the history of the profession and its enduring standards and values.
     Students will become more sophisticated media consumers as they prepare to become professionals in this evolving field and will be introduced to a broad array of journalism careers, through guest speakers, presentations and the occasional field trip. 


Required Texts and Materials

Journalism: Who, What, Where, When, Why, How by James Glen Stovall

US Constitution (provided in class)

Newspapers, magazines, web news sites and other journalism sources will be required for the weekly current events quiz

There will also be additional readings posted to the class blog or distributed in class.


Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of current events through regular quizzes
• Define terminology as used in journalistic endeavors
• Discuss knowledgably what is and is not covered by different media and analyze how those coverage decisions affect public opinion, from voting to eating behavior
• Demonstrate an understanding of biases and stereotypes and how to recognize and overcome them as competent journalism practitioners
• Differentiate among different journalistic forms, especially what is opinion and what is verifiable, attributed research-based reporting
• Discuss in detail different journalism career paths
• Compare and contrast media systems in other countries, focusing on issues of press freedom, state ownership and control, and risks to journalists around the world
• Appreciate and understand alternative (to mainstream) media, including ethnic publications, such as the Chicago Defender and the Korean Times,  “outsider” publications, such as Residents Journal and Streetwise, and the blogosphere
• Demonstrate professional work ethics by being on time and prepared to contribute to each class session.

Grading
The course grade will be based on the following:
Quizzes, homework assignments, participation and improvement:     20 percent
Short papers or projects, three at 10 percent each = 30 percent
Mid-term examination: 20 percent
Final examination: 30 percent

We WILL use pluses and minuses in arriving at your course grade, so you
can earn an A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D or F.

Please note that the Journalism Department policy is that no grade lower than a C is counted toward the major, nor can the course serve as a pre-requisite if the minimum competency grade of C is not earned. If you receive a grade of C- or lower in Introduction to Journalism, you will have to retake the course if you are in the major. If you are not a Journalism major, the course can count as a college-wide elective with a passing grade.


Classroom policies
• Attendance: Because these objectives are addressed systematically and sequentially, attendance is expected. Your grade will be adversely affected if you miss class, arrive late or leave early.
Missing three class meetings (3 of 15 = 20 percent) equals automatic course failure unless there are serious extenuating circumstances.

• Missed classes: If you miss a class, you are responsible for getting homework and reading assignments from a classmate and turning them in on time. You also are still responsible for turning in the assignments that were due that day by the time class starts. If you miss an in-class assignment, quiz, or test you can't make it up and will receive a grade of F.

• Deadlines: Deadlines are imperative in journalism; late assignments and papers will not be accepted except in rare cases, such as illness documented by a doctor’s note. Assignments turned in late or missed entirely will result in an F for the assignment.

• Technology in class: Use of cell phones, Blackberries, etc., will not be allowed during class. Laptops can be used for note taking purposes only and are not allowed during tests and quizzes.

• Guest Speakers: We will have a number of guest speakers in this class. You are expected to act in a professional way towards them, and to come to class prepared with questions in advance. You will turn these questions in at the end of class and they will count towards your participation grade.

• Multiple Submissions Policy: The same or similar stories using the same sources written for other courses will not be accepted without prior approval from the instructors in both classes.  Turning in such work without prior approval could result in an “F” for the assignment.  If in doubt, ask.

• Incomplete Grade Policy: An “Incomplete” grade will be granted only in rare emergency instances, with both instructor and student signing the agreement, and only in conformance with college-wide policy.  For the full policy statement and a copy of the Student-Faculty Agreement for Incomplete Grade form, go to http://incompletegrade.columbiacollege.net.


Conaway Center Statement
Students with disabilities are requested to present their Columbia accommodation letters to their instructor at the beginning of the semester so that accommodations can be arranged in a timely manner by the College, the department or the faculty member, as appropriate.  Students with disabilities who do not have accommodation letters should visit the office of Services for Students with Disabilities on the first floor of 33 E. Congress building in back of the Writing Center (312-344-8134/V or 312-360-0767/TTY).  It is incumbent upon the students to know their responsibilities in this regard.


Academic Honesty Policy of the
Columbia College Chicago Journalism Department
Academic honesty is expected of all students.  All quotes and source material must be properly attributed. Your reporting must be truthful, accurate and free of fabrication. And the work you present as your own must be your own.

Violations of this policy include plagiarism, fabrication and any other form of cheating. An instructor who suspects a violation will discuss the matter confidentially with the student.  If the matter remains unresolved, the issue will be referred to the Journalism Department Chairperson and the Academic Integrity Committee.  Consequences of violating the policy may include failing the assignment, failing the course or a recommendation of suspension or expulsion from the college.


ACADEMIC HONESTY DEFINITIONS

CHEATING: The conscious use of unauthorized, prohibited, or unacknowledged materials or methods.

FABRICATING: The conscious falsification or invention of information, interpretation, or source materials.

FACILITATING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: The conscious participation, in any manner, in another student’s commission of any academically dishonest act.

PLAGIARIZING: The conscious representation of words, ideas, figures, or materials from other sources as one’s own.

ELABORATION AND EXAMPLES

CHEATING: Unless told otherwise by their instructors, students should assume that examinations are to be completed without the use of books, notes, or conversation with others.  Students who intentionally use or attempt to use unauthorized information in any academic exercise, including exams, are cheating.

FABRICATING: Fabrication is the unauthorized and conscious falsification of information in an academic exercise.  For example, it is academically dishonest to “invent” a quote, a scene or a statistic.

FACILITATING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Students who make their work available for another student to submit as his or her own, whether exactly as is or in altered form are facilitating academic dishonesty, as are students who allow others to copy their answers on examinations.  Aiding and abetting other students’ dishonesty is a serious breach of the academic honesty policy and is itself punishable just as cheating, fabricating, and plagiarizing are.

PLAGIARIZING: The Random House Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language defines plagiarism as “the unauthorized use of the language and thought of another author and the representation of them as one’s own.”  Any conscious failures to accurately and completely document all uses of source materials constitute academic dishonesty.  Source materials may include but are not limited to, printed books, magazines and newspapers, electronic media, oral reports, speeches statistical information or analyses, anecdotal comments, visual media, musical performances, theatrical performances and official or legal documents.



CLASS SCHEDULE

PLEASE NOTE: This syllabus may be amended as the course proceeds.  You will be notified of all changes.


September 3: introduction to class and journalism

Current Events Quiz – not graded

Class expectations
Introductions

Watch Bill Moyers interview Jon Stewart

Discussion: What is news? What is journalism?

Introduce Paper One, due in two weeks.

For Next Week:

--Keep track of your media consumption this week (worksheet distributed in class)—this will inform our discussion about the media landscape next week. The more detail the better.

--Read Chapters 1 and 2, “News and Society” & “The Culture of Journalism”


September 10: the changing culture of journalism

Current Events Quiz

Discuss your results from this week's homework and how it reflects a changing media culture

Discussion: the culture of journalism today

Introduce the class blog

The New Toolbox: Wordpress & Blogging

For Next Week:

--Paper One is due. Post it to the class blog before our class begins. Add the tag "paper_one" to it.

--Visit journalismjobs.com, find a job that looks interesting to you. Post it to the class blog and explain why it appeals to you and what skills you think you'd need to get it. Add the tag "jobsearch" to your blog entry.

--Read Chapter 3 “Becoming a Journalist”


September 17: journalism jobs now and forever

Current Events Quiz

Guest Speaker: Internship coordinator Jennifer Halpern

View career websites and resources and discuss salaries and diversity in newsrooms

Discuss: career paths and the changing job requirements of journalism

Discuss your first papers.

For Next Week:

--Read Chapter 4 “Newspaper” & Chapter 5 “Magazines”

--Read "Betting Her Life" by Bryan Smith (link on class blog)

--Bring in or link to (tag: print) two clips of compelling print (newspaper and magazine) journalism. Bring them into class and be prepared to discuss them.


September 24: print media--newspapers and magazines

Current Events Quiz

Guest Speaker: Bryan Smith, Chicago Magazine

Discuss: Does print still matter?

For Next Week:

--Read Chapter 6 “Television and Radio” and chapter 18 "Broadcast Journalists"

--Listen to This American Life (link on blog), give your reactions to it as a piece of journalism in the comments section of the post.


October 1: broadcast media

Field Trip to WBEZ Chicago.

Discuss: Broadcasting in a narrow world

The New Toolbox: YouTube

For Next Week:

--Visit AfterEllen.com and its related sites. Find one story that interests you, explain why you liked it on the class blog. Include a link.

--Explore YouTube and find an example of compelling video journalism. Link to it on the class blog. Add the tag "youtube" to your blog entry.

--Read Chapter 7 "News Web Sites" & supplemental readings linked from class blog


October 8: digital media--online, mobile, and beyond

Current Events Quiz
Watch your YouTube videos.

Guest Speaker: Trish Bendix, blog editor, AfterEllen.com

Discuss: What "new" media needs to learn from "old" media —and vice versa

The New Toolbox: Twitter

For Next Week:

--Study for the Midterm—review all material we've discussed in class and closely re-read all associated chapters.


October 15: MIDTERM

For Next Week:

--Read Chapter 8 "Reporters"  Chapter 9 "Reporting" and Chapter 10 "Writing News and Features"

--Twitter tonight's Presidential Debate. Use the hash tag #introj


October 22: reporters, reporting, and newswriting

Current Events Quiz

Look at and discuss last week's debate Tweets

Discussion: Reporting the news.

For Next Week:

--Read chapters 14, 15 and 16 "Visual Journalists" "Graphics Journalism" and "Photojournalism"

--Bring in or link to (tag: visual_journalism) two examples of compelling visual journalism. Be prepared to discuss it in class.


October 29: visual journalism

Current Events Quiz

Guest Speaker: Sally Ryan, photojournalist

Discussion: Why visuals matter

The New Toolbox: Flickr

For Next Week:

--As outlined in photo essay assignment (distributed in class), visit the Freedom Museum.

--Your photo essay is due. Get it up on Flickr and then post a slideshow to the class blog before the start of class. Add the tag "photo_essay" to your entry.

--Read Chapters 20, 21, and 22 "Beginnings of Journalism," "Journalism Comes of Age," and "New Realities, New Journalism."


November 5: journalism's evolution

Current Events Quiz
Guest Speaker: Adrian Holovaty, Everyblock.com

Discuss your visit to the Freedom Museum.

Discuss how journalism has changed over the last few hundred years and how it will change even more in the next few dozen.

For Next Week:

--Visit Quimby's (1854 W. North Ave. Chicago) and purchase a magazine that interests you, but that you've never heard of before. OR Find a locally-oriented ethnic publication. Blog about the publication you found and bring it into class next week. Add the tag "alternative_media" to your blog post.

-- Readings (linked on the class blog)


November 12: community journalism, independent press, and ethnic media

Current Events Quiz

Discuss the publications you brought in.

Discussion: The growing ecosystem of journalism: moving beyond the mainstream.

For Next Week:

--Visit SW Radio Africa (www.swradioafrica.com) and listen to two broadcasts. Blog about them using the tag "swradio."

--Readings (linked on the class blog)


November 19: journalism around the globe

Current Events Quiz

Guest Speakers (via Skype):

Violet Gonda, SW Radio Africa; Denis Burgerman, Editora Abril Brazil

Discuss press freedoms and repression around the globe

Introduce Paper Two: The Future of Journalism. There will be in-class presentations related to this paper. Both the paper and the presentations are due on December 3.

For Next Week:

--Read and respond (in the comments section) to the ethical dilemmas posted on the class blog.

--Read and understand (hint: there will be a quiz) the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 

--Read Chapters 24 & 25, "Law and the Journalist" and "Ethical Practices"


November 26: journalism ethics

Current Events Quiz

Discuss journalistic concepts including plagiarism, libel, distance, responsibility to sources, off-the-record and background.
Discuss the ad/editorial line, and threats to it.
View “Shattered Glass”

For Next Week:

--Paper Two is due. Please post it to the class blog before the start of class. Add the tag "paper_two" to your entry. Be prepared to present as well.


December 3 : review for final exam

Current Events Quiz

Present the website you wrote paper #2 on.

Review the last fourteen weeks in preparation for the final exam.

For Next Week:

Final Exam time!


December 10: FINAL EXAM

Have a great Winter Break!