 Course
Outline
Assignments
All Unit Assignments are due by class on the dates given below. You are expected, and required to have all your work turned in on time. No late work will be accepted. NO EXCEPTIONS. Follow closely both written and verbal instructions. Some of the course material and instructions you will only receive in the class period, so it is imperative that you attend all classes, or get the information from your classmate. Do Not Ask Me what we covered in class if you missed it. It's your responsibility to plan ahead and make arrangements with others for class notes, etc.
Be professional and prepared for class discussions by having read the course material, and having completed the homework assignments. You will be expected to participate in class discussions. Failure to do so will greatly affect your Participation grade. I look forward to seeing you all. Have a great first week. My contact information can be found on the MY SITES link. Use tonyraymorris@gmail.com for email enquiries.
Unit
1 (Week 1 - 01/10)
Chapter 1: Focus on fundamentals: The editor within. The introductory chapter demystifies editing by relating it to basic ways of organizing and communicating information that we all share. It then explains how professional editors build on that foundation and offers a historical overview of editing traditions and how they are reshaped by today’s multimedia environment. The chapter shows real newsrooms at work and provide information about editing jobs and careers..
Assignments:
Homework:
- Define and articulate your needs and expectations for the course. What are your likely strengths and weaknesses as an editor? What skills will best serve you? What skills are least relevant to your needs as an editor? Why? Write a brief informal essay (250 word minimum) on these topics. We will re-examine the topics — and your essays — at the end of the semester.
- Choose a story from a newspaper, magazine, broadcast or Web site and “deconstruct ”it — speculate about how the editors might have determined coverage, advised reporters and shaped the story’s presentation. Use the bridge collapse story that opens Chapter 1 as a model. (400 word minimum).
- Bring both assignments to class on Tuesday, 01/17.
- Read Chapter 2
|
Unit 2: (Week 2 - 01/17) Monday MLK Day
Chapter 2: Focus on news judgment: The editor’s attitude. This chapter addresses how a news editor thinks. It focuses on news judgment, the news values, and how editors can use them as flexible but reliable points of reference. It also introduces the concepts of audience, diversity, bias and ethics.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 2
- In-class exercise
Homework:
- Compare the ways in which the same news event is presented in a newspaper, a weekly news magazine, a Web news site, a network news broadcast and a cable broadcast. Which differences are part of the medium or format; which suggest different uses of the news values; and which are due to the needs of the audience (400 word minimum, due Tuesday, 01/24)
- Read Chapter 3
|
Unit
3: (Week 3 - 01/24)
Chapter 3: Focus on skills and tools: The editor in the newsroom. Here students are introduced to general copy-editing skills: how to read and evaluate a story, how to check facts, quotes and spellings, how to master essential math and how to use copy editing symbols. This chapter also provides guidelines for using digital and newsroom resources.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 3
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Bring several corrections from newspapers, magazines and Web sites to class. Be prepared to explain exactly what went wrong in the reporting and editing of each story involved, and speculate on how editors might have caught and corrected each error (400 word minimum, due in class on Thursday, 01/26).
- Read Chapter 4
|
Unit 4: (Week 4 - 01/31)
Chapter 4: Focus on grammar: The mechanics of language. This review of grammar fundamentals also provides an explanation of why standards and consistency are crucial in news editing. The chapter focuses on grammar issues common to news writing and presents full explanations of concepts that most often pose problems for reporters and editors.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 4
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Become an expert on one important rule of grammar or punctuation. (You may want to use the topics in this chapter or compile your own list from which to choose.) You are responsible for presenting short explanations and examples to the rest of the class on your chosen topics (due Thursday, 02/02).
- Read Chapter 5
|
Unit 5: (Week 5 - 02/07)
Chapter 5: Focus on good writing: Strong and graceful prose. This chapter extends the principles of correct writing to good writing — building on sound grammar to help writers shape coherent, powerful prose. It emphasizes simplicity, pacing and respect for the writer’s voice. It explains how transitions, quotations and attributions work and shows how to identify and eliminate redundancy, jargon, clichés, slang and misused words.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 5
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Bring in examples of good writing from your own experience and read them to the class. They need not be news-related; in fact, a wider range of sources is likely to make things more interesting (due in class Thursday, 02/09).
- Read Chapter 6
|
Unit 6: (Week 6 - 02/14) NO CLASS - Turn work in via email: tonyraymorris@gmail.com
Chapter 6: Focus on headlines: Precision, power and poetry. This chapter emphasizes hands-on training by helping students to write simple, key-word-based summary headlines. The chapter also introduces headline sizing, counting and troubleshooting; feature approaches to headlines; and headline writing for the Web.
Assignments:
- Write five summary headlines (Headline exercise), send as attachments (MS Word or RTF format). Due by midnight, Thursday, 02/16.
Homework:
|
Unit 7: ( Week 7 - 02/21)
Chapter 7: News close to home: Editing local and community media. Local coverage has long been the heart of American journalism, and it places distinct demands on editors. Here the book addresses what it means to work in close proximity to the audience: News values shift and the relationship between media and audience becomes more interactive. This chapter reflects the growth of community journalism on the Web.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 7
- Bring in examples of local/hyper-local community journalism on the Web. (due in class Thursday, 02/23)
Homework:
|
Unit 8: (Week 8 - 02/28)
Chapter 8: News from afar: Editing wire stories. Why does news from distant places matter? How can important stories from national and world sources be made meaningful and compelling for a local audience? How does an editor handle the sheer volume of news transmitted by wire services? This chapter addresses the wire editor’s responsibilities with particular attention to organizational skills and news judgment.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 8
- In-class exercises
Homework:
|
Unit 9: (Week 9 - 03/06)
Chapter 9: Making a long story short: Editing for brevity and clarity. When audiences have less time and want more news, traditional story models must adapt. Web sites require story summaries throughout their pages. Here students are introduced to new techniques for trimming stories and writing briefs — a format of growing importance in every news medium.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 9
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Compare news holes and story lengths from old newspapers to new ones. Use a week’s worth editions of a paper from 10 or 20 years ago and from a recent week. How much space for news is there on an average day in each era? How many stories are used in that space? Can any conclusions be drawn from the comparison? Turn in analysis (minimum 400 words) by Tuesday, 03/22.
- Read Chapter 10
|
(Week 10 - 03/13) Spring Break |
Unit 10: (Week 11 - 03/20)
Chapter 10: Working with writers: Editing features. This chapter explains how students can adapt and improve their skills to work with feature writers and stories. It focuses on types of feature leads and story forms beyond the inverted pyramid. The editor-writer relationship is covered in greater depth.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 10
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Bring in examples of feature leads: descriptive, dramatic, anecdotal, audience-identification, mystery, quote and context leads. Identify which type of lead each is, and to briefly explain how it works — or does’t work — as an opening to the story. How are these categories artificial; used as descriptive terms only after the fact, and how few successful leads fall exclusively into one category or another (400 word minimum, due in class on Thursday, 03/22).
- Read Chapter 11
|
Unit 11: (Week 12 - 03/27)
Chapter 11: No safety in numbers: Stories based on polls and surveys. Students are introduced to fundamentals of polling techniques and shown how polls can both serve and mislead news audiences. The chapter emphasizes specific skills that editors can use to evaluate polls and poll stories.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 11
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Look at a variety of newspapers, news magazines and online sites for news based on polls. How many of those stories carry basic information about the polling methods used — sample size, date and margin of error? How many explain who sponsored the poll? How many have leads and headlines that accurately reflect the findings of the poll? (due Thursday, 03/29).
- Read Chapter 12
|
Unit 12: (Week 13 - 04/03)
Chapter 12: Doing justice: Ethical and legal issues. This chapter reviews recent media controversies as a starting point for thinking about the editor’s responsibilities toward the audience and the courts. It explains basic legal and ethical concepts and gives students the tools to approach them critically.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 12
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Look for and bring to class examples of potentially libelous stories in the daily media. Discuss what is legally risky about each story; decide what the best approach for the news organization would be if a defamation suit were brought against it (400 word minimum, due Thursday, 04/05).
- Read Chapter 13
|
Unit 13: (Week 14 - 04/10)
Chapter 13: An eye for news: Editing photos. Here students are shown the basics of evaluating, choosing, cropping and sizing photos. You will get extensive advice on writing cutlines, an often-overlooked aspect of print editing. The chapter also considers ethical questions involving both videotape and still photos.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 13
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Find several photos: one that captures emotion, one that brings an idea or abstraction to life, one that makes a distant news event more real and one that conveys information. The first category should be the easiest to illustrate, the last the hardest. Why? What kinds of information can images capture effectively? What kinds are better handled in text? (400 word minimum, due Thursday, 04/12).
- Read Chapter 14
|
Unit 14: (Week 15 - 04/17)
Chapter 14: Showing the story: Editing information graphics. This primer on displaying information visually explains the workings of a variety of graphic elements, from simple information boxes to detailed data maps. It pays particular attention to the accurate representation of numbers and explains how to keep graphics distortion-free and up-to-date.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 14
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Bring in examples of graphics that distort or misrepresent data through inappropriate baselines, inconsistent units of measurement (such as irregular timelines), disproportional icons or ornamentation. Explain, in writing, exactly how they would change the graphic to improve it (400 word minimum, due Thursday, 04/19).
- Read Chapter 15
|
Unit 15: (Week 16 - 04/24)
Chapter 15: The balancing act: Designing pages. Here students learn the fundamentals of page layout, including contrast, proportion, unity and the modular packaging of stories, headlines and visual elements. While the emphasis is on broadsheet newspaper design, the discussion is extended to include the Web and other formats and media.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 15
- In-class exercises
Homework:
- Find successful and unsuccessful examples of display headlines. Look beyond newspapers and news magazines to other types of publications, advertising, even signs. Analyze and compare typefaces to build a clearer picture of how typography engages readers (400 word minimum, due Thursday, 04/26).
- Turn in Final Portfolio (due Monday, 04/30)
|
Unit 16: (Week 17) NOT THIS SEMESTER (We'll cover this info throughout the semester)
Chapter 16: The future now: Convergence and the Web. The final chapter addresses the changing role of the editor in the converged and digital newsroom. As the World Wide Web matures as a news medium, the focus is on how news judgment and its traditions can be best adapted to a new technology with unprecedented potential and risks.
Assignments:
- In-class discussion Chapter 15
|
|
