fall 2010 syllabus

8/9/2019 Fall 2010 Syllabus

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J4974/7974 Fall 2009: ADVANCED INTERNETAPPLICATIONSFOR RADIO-TV JOURNALISM

Instructor: Jennifer ReevesNew Media Director, KOMU

Associate Professor, University of Missouri Email: reevesj(at)missouri(dot)edu

jenleereeves(at)gmail(dot)eduAIM and Skype: mizzoureeves

Class Hashtag: #jenclassTwitter: @jenleereeves

Nerd Blog: http://www.jenleereeves.comCell: 424-7083KOMU: 884-6397 x215

Lecture: Monday 9:30-11:30

Gannett 182

Online office hours: 8:30pm-10pmTuesdays and Thursdays

(The instructor reserves the right to change or alter any part of thissyllabus during the semester)

Requirements:Absences: You must work all of your shifts unless Jen approvesyour absence. You must find your own replacement with someone inthis class when you cannot work a newsroom shift.

Missing class is a big problem. If you are sick, email Jen in advance:reevesj (at) missouri (dot) edu or call her cell phone. Missing a classwithout a good reason will probably result in the loss of a letter grade.

Reading:1) Class handouts and links2) One national newspaperand one local paper online daily3) Weekly newsmagazine online4)

Stay current in breaking developments in online media, new webtechnologies, convergence and other media business deals.

Viewing:Following the news is as important for web producers andreporters.1) Watch a newscast on KOMU once a day or keep upwith KOMU.com each day 2) Watch the competition on air andonline at least once a week (KRCG and KMIZ along with the


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Columbia Missourian and the Columbia Tribune)

Weekly work:Each reporter or editor taking this class will haveweekly shifts at KOMU. These shifts will include time to work onindepth or daily pieces for on air and online.

Projects:Each student taking this class will take part in a project thatwill help boost your resume. In the end, you should take the work youhave completed to present in an e-portfolio as the final classassignment. Grad students must participate in a project, but they caneither conduct research on that project or complete a researchcomponent that is included on the grading page)

Course Description

The purpose of this three-hour capstone/elective course is to learn

advanced techniques for reporting, producing and managing online

news and information as a successful addition to a local broadcast

newsroom.

Students in Advanced Internet Applications for Radio-TV News will

create and package content for KOMU.com or KBIA.org as well as

research and analyze how best to use the web site to extend thereach and value of our news operation and the stations other assets.

Youll examine the web efforts of other commercial broadcasters and

critique them in terms of eye-appeal, content and support for the

stations mission and strategy. Youll also build upon the computer-

aided graphic design, digital audio and video production skills

incorporated in Broadcast News II and Convergence Editing classes.

While youre learning these online skills, well also discuss some ofthe ethical, professional, legal and financial issues arising from

current developments involving online and broadcast media.

Outside of the standard shifts: Half of a newsroom shift will give you

an opportunity to be the editor of KOMU.com/KBIA.org daily content.


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The other half of a newsroom shift each week is spent working on:

Project work

Flash-training

Case study

E-Portfolio work

*Work does not have to be based solely at KOMU or KBIA. Shifts can

vary between the two newsrooms. Individual plans can be arranged

between Jen Reeves and Janet Saidi.

Weekly class discussions

Week 1: May 17: Introducing KOMU.com and ePortfolios - The

basics needed to get the news on the web. Meet Travas Townsend,

KOMU.com's webmaster (we'll drop by his office at the station).

Navigate your role in the newsroom and in the dot-com area. Learn

about the projects for the summer. We'll also talk about your options

for building an online portfolio.

News From the 'Net: Jen Reeves

Assignments:

* Start looking at websites you can use for your News From the 'Net

presentations. (You can find a ton of links here)

* Create your blog and start using it!

* Join Twitter and follow http://www.twitter.com/jenleereeves so she

can follow you

* Start making sure you have a collection of all of your journalistic

work in a digital form. (For example, upload your video toVimeo, post

.pdf's to Scribd and embed photo slideshows from Flickr.)

Week 2: May 24 RJI Research, Social Networks - Also

meet Michele McClellan to learn about your case study for the

summer. Learn the basics on why social networks are a way to

connect with news consumers and help your career.

News From the 'Net: Paige Hansen


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Assignments:

* Pick the way you want to build an eportfoilo

* Continue posting blog posts AND linking them from Twitter

* Go online and look for examples of broadcast resumes online. Your

first version eporfolio should be completed by May 31.

Week 3: May 31: The Job Hunt Learn a few basics on how to build

an eportfolio and the elements you need. How to present the best

you. How to handle the interviews: phone and in person. Contracts

and negotiations. Also, meet Zack Luye and see how he uses social

media in his career.

News From the 'Net: Christine Slusser

Assignment: Your first version of your online portfolio should be

ready by next week!

Week 4: June 7: Reynolds Journalism Institute Get a chance to

hear from an RJI fellow and hear what they are working on during

their fellowship year. Schedule time this week to meet with Jen one-

on-one this week so you have focus for your open week of eportfolio

building.

News From the 'Net: Katie Steiner

Assignment: Go online and find an interactive website. Blog about

why you think it holds attention and offers good information. Post it by

midnight Saturday. Be ready to talk about it in class.

Week 5: June 16: Interactive Journalism Reschedule class due to

Jen's prosthetic trip to Chicago. Get an introduction to interactive

journalism. Why do we care and why it could benefit you to

understand its uses in a newsroom. Also, why images are a big deal.

We'll also use class time to learn the basics of Flash.

News From the 'Net: Chrissie Fillmore

Assignment:


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Week 6: June 21: Web Ethics What kind of considerations do we

need to take when we are delivering news content for the web? What

type of new challenges are headed to newsrooms as news delivery

gets viewers more involved?.

News From the 'Net: Everyone brings in their favorite link to share!

Assignment: Think about the future of KOMU.com and KBIA.org for

next week's class. Write a brief commentary on how you want to use

your online skills. What do you still want to know? Well try to go over

some of those issues before the end of the semester. Email your

thoughts to Jen by June 24.

Week 7: June 25: Looking Ahead for KOMU.com Reschedule

final class due to Jen's trip to Camp No Limits.Brainstorming session

on what we can do to improve KOMU.com. Also, we'll go over

everyone's eportfolio structure.

News From the 'Net: Jen Reeves

Capstone Projects

Undergraduate students using J-4974 to fulfill their capstone

requirement will lead the research and analysis portion of the class, afunction that is critical to the success of the station web site.

Capstone students will work as a team to conduct and evaluate

original research and present recommendations based on the data. In

many cases the research analyzes an element of the KOMU or KBIA

websites to understand what its online users want or need. Capstone

students are expected to research answers to a question affiliated with

the project. That research and its conclusions should be presented atthe end of the semester.

All students in the class will participate in a project. Students taking

this class as an elective do not need to conduct research.


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(1) Covering a green economy

Synopsis: As the economy changes, there is a bigger focus on saving

money and paying attention to the environment. This is your chance

to cover some of those stories for KOMU.com with its 8 Goes Green

project.

Research questions: What kind of "green" stories interest the

general public of mid-Missouri? Is there a difference between

covering business news and green business news?

[???]

(2) How can the journalism school better communicate

with freshman?

Synopsis: As the journalism school's population grows, many of the

incoming freshmen are getting lost in the hustle and bustle of a large

school. The journalism school would like to take advantage of its

Apple computer bundles to reach students. This past year all

freshmen journalism students got an iPod Touch for free with the

purchase of a computer. The Spring 2010 class created the J-Fresh

Tour on Foursquare. What other ways can technology help connect

freshmen to their Mizzou experience?

Here's what some schools are doing with iPods/iTouches:

*Abilene Christian University

*Duke researched what they did right and wrong with iPods in 2005

*A report on emerging technologies in higher ed

Research questions: How are freshmen using the iPod Touch and

what are ways the journalism school can take advantage of the

technology?

[???]

(3) How can KOMU and KBIA use social networking to

connect with mid-Missouri community face-to-face?


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Synopsis: Your task will be to find the best tools for the station and

the best ways to make this a long-term expectation for reporters,

producers and web employees. You will also be expected to help

advance the use of tools that exist but aren't being put to a lot of use

like CoverItLive and Livestream.

KOMU has a facebook page, a twitter account and you can find it in

other various places.

There are three possible opportunities to collaborate: (meaning there

could be as many as three teams working under this theme but with

three separate end goals)

One idea: Help launch face-to-face training new media sessions. Take

a look at the Public Media Camp project NPR and PBS is working on.

We could do something similar in mid-MO.

Research questions: How can KOMU keep up with community

connections? What are the long term implications of social networks?

[???]

(4) Can the sports department extend a high school

basketball blog?

Synopsis: A team of sports reporters from this class will work on an

ongoing project called "Opening Drive." It is a weekly online program

that features the best of high school football in mid-Missouri.

There has been talk for awhile on figuring out ways to extend the

Opening Drive program into a weekly online show about local sports

instead of just focused on the football season. We got things rolling in

Fall 2009 and Spring 2010, you can help it really take off.

Research questions: What to KOMU sports viewers want when it

comes to high school sports? Are there ways mid-Missouri sports fans

want to interact with KOMU Sports?

[???]


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(5) Can you attract younger kids to a news site created for

their age group?

Synopsis: Is it possible to create a site that attracts youth to learning

and sharing the news. You would be challenged with launching a site

that takes KOMU content and original content while encouraging the

site's audience to participate in collecting and sharing information.

Erin Stevenson and her team got things rolling in Spring 2010 but she

hopes to continue to experiment with it through the summer.

Research questions: What age group is interested niche news

sites? Are there any niche news sites that focus on youth? How do

those succeed?

[Katie Steiner?]

-------------------------------

The capstone team will then make a detailed oral presentation of its

research to Jen and other management of KOMU, KBIA, Columbia

Missourian and/or the Missouri School of Journalism. Graduate

students in the class may also choose to assist with this

research presentation in lieu of their graduate assignment.

Students taking this class as an elective must choose a project, but do

not have to participate in the research component.

News from the Net Presentations

News on the 'Net Presentations(If you do not present in class, please post in discussion group on Google Docs)

May 17 Jen Reeves

May 24 Paige Hansen

May 31 Christine Slusser

June 7 Katie Steiner


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June 16? Chrissie Fillmore

June 21 Everyone's Top Web Pick!

June 25? Jen Reeves

Grading

Blogging: 10%

Throughout the course of the class, you will be expected to blog

15 times A blog post a week. You do not have to blog about this

class or about journalism school. You want to post as a professional

or about a topic that you find important. This is also a great way for

you to develop and enhance your presence on the web. When you

post a blog, you want to think of your audience as peers in the

journalism world (or whatever niche you want to write about) alongwith potential future employers and co-workers. One time this

semester, you will be required to post a blog on the 8 Goes

Green blog to give you an opportunity to see what it is like to blog on

a professional level.


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News from the Net: 10%

You will have one week assigned to present News from the Net in

class or online during the semester. Turn in an outline of yourpresentation via email to Jen to help document the information you

gathered. Be prepared to present some of the most recent

developments in technology and online journalism. (You can find

many links in the presentations page)

Projects: 30%

Project #1 Your ePortfolio, first version due September 27, final by

December 10

The portfolio must include examples of work you have created

using Photoshop and Illustrator. (Extra credit for Flash project

work.)

Project #2 8 Goes Green Blog post Due on specific dates you

are assigned [Extra credit if you can use things you've learned

fromlynda.com into your post]

Project #3 Online industry profile Due November 29 (WARNING

right after Thanksgiving!)

Anything that is turned in late is docked 5 points a day unless

there is a very good reason.

Newsroom Performance: 20%

You will be required to edit daily stories during weekly shifts atKOMU.com. You will also team with advanced reporters advanced

stories as an editor or reporter on a weekly or extended period of

time.

(These are deadlines, feel free to complete these assignments at a

quicker pace if you want)


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Your weekly work will also be reviewed by newsroom faculty and

staff.

Practical Project/Capstone Project: 30%

This project is defined at the beginning of this syllabus. You will need

to present sometime this Summer.The research presentation must be presented to KOMU newsroom

managers or any other person or people affected by the project.

Masters Students:

You have a chance to work with 2010-11 Reynolds Journalism

Institute Fellow David Herzog with his Open Missouri project. You can

learn more about it by reading this. Herzog is looking for grad

students who can help build data card catalog. His work coincides

with the growing popularity of open government where data is easilyaccessible to the public. You can learn more about open

government here. Another growing term is Government 2.0 you

can learn more about the implications of social media and open

government by reading this.

OR

You will quickly learn how fast the technology world is changing.

Help start an annotated bibliography of books and articles focused

the effect of new technology on journalism. Remember, annotations

are descriptive and critical to expose the authors point of view, clarityand authority. Use this exercise to help you understand how you can

use new technology in a journalism career.

OR

Conduct research with working professionals in the online journalism

industry to learn newsroom workflow and communication processes.

You need to create a case study about three newsrooms and how

they deliver the news to news consumers in non-traditional ways.

(That means you can work on case studies with any type ofnewsroom as long as it has a heavy focus on web, social media

and/or mobile-first news delivery)

Due December 10.

Academic honesty


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Academic honesty is fundamental to the activities and principles of a

university. All members of the academic community must be

confident that each person's work has been responsibly and

honorably acquired, developed and presented. Any effort to gain an

advantage not given to all students is dishonest whether or not the

effort is successful. Academic misconduct includes but is not limited

to the following:

Use of materials from another author without citation or attribution.

Use of verbatim materials from another author without citation or

attribution.

Extensive use of materials from past assignments without

permission of your instructor.

Extensive use of materials from assignments in other classes

without permission of your instructor.

Fabricating information in news or feature stories, whether for

publication or not.

Fabricating sources in news or feature stories, whether for

publication or not.

Fabricating quotes in news or feature stories, whether for

publication or not.

Lack of full disclosure or permission from editors when

controversial reportorial techniques, such as going undercover to get

news, are used.

When in doubt about plagiarism, paraphrasing, quoting or

collaboration, consult with your instructor. For closed-book exams

and exercises, academic misconduct includes conferring with other

class members, copying or reading someone else's test and using

notes and materials without prior permission of the instructor. For

open-book exams and exercises, academic misconduct includes

copying or reading someone else's work.

Classroom Misconduct


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Professional Standards and Ethics

The School of Journalism is committed to the highest standards of

academic and professional ethics and expects its students to adhere to

those standards. Students should be familiar with the Code of Ethics

of the Society of Professional Journalists and adhere to its

restrictions. Students are expected to observe strict honesty in

academic programs and as representatives of school-related media.

Should any student be guilty of plagiarism, falsification,

misrepresentation or other forms of dishonesty in any assigned work,

that student may be subject to a failing grade from the instructor and

such disciplinary action as may be necessary under University

regulations.

University of Missouri-Columbia Notice of

Nondiscrimination

The University of Missouri System is an Equal Opportunity/

Affirmative Action institution and is nondiscriminatory relative to

race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age,

disability or status as a Vietnam-era veteran. Any person having

inquiries concerning the University of Missouri-Columbia's

compliance with implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act of

1990, or other civil rights laws should contact the Assistant Vice

Chancellor, Human Resource Services, University of Missouri-

Columbia, 130 Heinkel Building, Columbia, Mo. 65211, (573) 882-

4256, or the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of

Education.

Accommodations

If you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with

Disabilities Act and need assistance, please notify me immediately.

The school will make reasonable efforts to accommodate your special


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needs. Students are excused for recognized religious holidays. Please

let me know in advance if you have a conflict. ADA Compliance If you

have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities

Act (ADA) and need assistance, please notify the Office of Disability

Services, S5 Memorial Union, 882-4696, or the course instructor

immediately.

Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate your special needs.

Religious Holidays

Students are automatically excused for recognized religious holidays.

Let your instructor know in advance if you have a conflict. Intellectual

Pluralism The University community welcomes intellectual diversity

and respects student rights. Students who have questions concerning

the quality of instruction in this class may address concerns to either

the Departmental Chair or Divisional leader or Director of the Office

of Students Rights and Responsibilities (http://osrr.missouri.edu/).

All students will have the opportunity to submit an anonymous

evaluation of the instructor(s) at the end of the course.

Intellectual Pluralism

The University community welcomes intellectual diversity and

respects student rights. Students who have questions concerning the

quality of instruction in this class may address concerns to either the

Departmental Chair or Divisional leader or Director of the Office of

Students Rights and Responsibilities (http://osrr.missouri.edu/). All

students will have the opportunity to submit an anonymous

evaluation of the instructor(s) at the end of the course.

Class Netiquette

Your instructor and fellow students wish to foster a safe on-line

learning environment. All opinions and experiences, no matter how

different or controversial they may be perceived, must be respected in

the tolerant spirit of academic discourse. You are encouraged to


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comment, question, or critique an idea but you are not to attack an

individual.

Our differences, some of which are outlined in the University's

nondiscrimination statement, will add richness to this learning

experience. Please consider that sarcasm and humor can be

misconstrued in online interactions and generate unintended

disruptions. Working as a community of learners, we can build a

polite and respectful course ambience.

fall 2010 syllabus

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