journalism 576web-app.usc.edu/soc/syllabus/20131/21634.doc · web viewthe image of the journalist...

JOURNALISM 576THE IMAGE OF THE JOURNALISTIN POPULAR CULTURE SEMINAR

3 Units – Wednesday – 2 p.m. to 4:40 p.m.ASC 240

JOURNALISM 576 SYLLABUS 2

Joe Saltzman, 2010

JOURNALISM 576THE IMAGE OF THE JOURNALIST IN POPULAR CULTURE SEMINAR

SYLLABUS

PLAGIARISM/ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Plagiarism is defined as taking ideas or writings from another and passing them off as one’s own. In journalism, this includes appropriating the reporting of another without clear attribution. The following is the School of Journalism’s policy on academic integrity as published in the University catalogue: “Since its founding, the USC School of Journalism has maintained a commitment to the highest standards of ethical conduct and academic excellence. Any student found guilty of plagiarism, fabrication, cheating on examinations, or purchasing papers or other assignments, will receive a failing grade in the course and be dismissed as a major from the School of Journalism. There are no exceptions to the school’s policy.”

ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The DSP phone number is 213-740-0776.

INTERNSHIPS

The value of professional internships as part of the overall educational experience of our students has long been recognized by the School of Journalism. Accordingly, while internships are not required for successful completion of this course, any student enrolled in this course who undertakes and completes an approved, non-paid internship during this semester shall earn academic extra credit herein of an amount equal to one percent of the total available semester points for this course.

To receive instructor approval, a student must request an internship letter from the Annenberg Career Development Office and bring it to the instructor to sign by the end of the third week of classes. The student must submit the signed letter to the media organization, along with the evaluation form provided by the Career Development Office. The form should be filled out by the intern supervisor and returned to the instructor at the end of the semester. No credit will be given if an evaluation form is not turned in to the instructor by the last day of class. Note: The internship must be unpaid and can only be applied to one journalism class.


Joe Saltzman, Professor of Journalism. Director of the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC), a project of the Norman Lear Center, USC Annenberg (www.ijpc.org)Office: 213-740-3918Home: 310-377-8883Cell: 310-663-1390E-Mail: [email protected] Hours:

Monday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.Tuesday 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.Wednesday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. By appointment.

You will be graded on:

Evaluation-Reviews 10 percentResearch Materials for Final Paper 10 percentSummary of Final Paper 10 percentOral Presentation of Paper 20 percentFirst Draft of Final Paper 20 percentSecond Draft of Final Paper 30 percent

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this class is to produce a publishable paper on the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture. You will be asked to come up with an idea and its target audience, organize your research materials, outline your article, summarize your article, and complete two drafts of the final paper. Class discussion will center on the reading materials, the IJPC Database Edition, videos shown in class, and general and specific comments and dialogue on the research and writing of the final papers. This material should help you put your final paper into the proper historical, social, and cultural context.

Course Outcomes:

The final project for Journalism 576 (The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture Graduate Seminar) is a publishable paper on some aspect of the IJPC. It can be an article for a peer-review academic journal such as The IJPC Journal or Journalism & Mass Communications Quarterly or any of the popular culture journals, an article for a popular magazine, or an article for the IJPC Web site, www.ijpc.org (See Student Research Papers).

mailto:[email protected]


TEXTBOOK – WEB SITE – DATABASE

The required textbook is Frank Capra and The Image of the Journalist in American Film, a publication of The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC), a project of the Norman Lear Center, USC Annenberg. It was written by Joe Saltzman and is available at the USC Bookstore.

The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC), a project of the Norman Lear Center, has a Web site that has valuable information for the class – www.ijpc.org.

The most important resource is THE IMAGE OF THE JOURNALIST IN POPULAR CULTURE (IJPC) DATABASE©. The Online IJPC Database is available at the ijpc.org website.

LIST OF SUGGESTED READINGS

The following excerpts from various books, magazines and newspapers make up the suggested readings:

Barris, Alex, Stop the Presses! The Newspaperman in American Films, A.S. Barnes and Co., South Brunswick and New York, 1976. Chapter 2: “The Reporter as Crime Buster,” pp. 22-54. Chapter 3: “The Reporter as Scandalmonger,” pp. 55-77. Chapter 4, “The Reporter as Crusader,” pp. 78-95. Chapter 7: “The Sob Sister,” pp. 139-156.

Bergman, Andrew, We’re in the Money: Depression America and Its Films, Harper-Colophon Books, Paperback, Harper & Row, New York, 1983. Chapter 2: “The Shyster and the City,” pp. 18-29.

Courson, Maxwell Taylor, The Newspaper Movies: An Analysis of the Rise and Decline of the News Gatherer as a Hero in American Motion Pictures, 1900-1974, a Dissertation submitted to the Graduate Division of the University of Hawaii in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in American Studies, August, 1976. Chapter III: “Type-casting the Fourth Estate,” pp. 33 to 65. Chapter IV: “News Gatherers in Films,” pp. 66-127.

Ehrlich, Matthew C, Journalism in the Movies, University of Illinois Press. Ehrlich, associate professor at the University of Illinois Department of Journalism, has studied and written about journalism movies for 15 years and has been an invaluable resource to the IJPC.

Good, Howard, Outcasts: The Image of Journalists in Contemporary Film, The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Metuchen, N.J. & London, 1989. “Shared Fictions,” pp. 7-25. Also Girl Reporter: Gender, Journalism and Movies,1998, and The Drunken Journalist: The Biography of a Film Stereotype.


Kael, Pauline, “Raising Kane,” 1971, in The Citizen Kane Book, Limelight Edition, 1984, pp. 3-84.

Ness, Richard R., From Headline Hunter to Superman: A Journalism Filmography, Scarecrow Press. Published: 1997. A guide to more than 2,100 feature films dealing with journalism. An excellent resource.

Robards, Books, “Newshounds and Sob Sisters: The Journalist Goes to Hollywood,” in Beyond the Stars: Stock Characters in American Popular Film, by Paul Loukides and Linda K. Fuller, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1990, pp. 131-145.

Rosen, Marjorie, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream, Coward McCann and Geogheagan, New York, 1973, pp. 133-140.

Sikov, Ed, Screwball: Hollywood’s Madcap Romantic Comedies, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1989. Chapter 7: “Caught in the Press: The Newspaper Screwball,” pp. 156-173.


CLASS SCHEDULE

CLASS ONE (January 16): IntroductionAssignment: Idea for Final Paper on some aspect of the image of the journalist in

popular culture. IJPC Database Report. Evaluation-Reviews.Required Reading: IJPC Database Introduction (ijpc.org). Saltzman, “Analyzing the

Images of the Journalist in Popular Culture: a Unique Method of Studying the Public’s Perception of Its Journalists and the News Media.” Ghiglione-Saltzman, “Fact or Fiction: Hollywood Looks at the News,” both available on www.ijpc.org. Matthew C. Ehrlich, “Studying the Journalist in Popular Culture,” pp. 1-11, The IJPC Journal, Volume One – Fall 2009.

Suggested Readings: Good, pp. 7-25. Taylor, Chapter 4 (pp. 66-127). Robards, pp. 131-145.

CLASS TWO (January 23): The Research Paper: Discussion of IdeasAssignment: Idea for Final Paper. 1st Evaluation-Review. Required Reading: Saltzman, “The Male Journalists,” pp. 8-52. Saltzman, “The Female

Journalists,” pp. 53-82.Suggested Readings: Taylor, Chapter 3, pp. 33-65. Barris, Chapters 2 (pp. 22-54), 4 (pp.

78-95), and 7 (pp. 139-156).

CLASS THREE (January 30): The Research Paper: Research MethodsAssignment: Idea Approved. Begin Research on Final PaperRequired Reading: Amanda Rossi, “Looking to the Margins: The “Outsider Within

Journalistic Fiction,” pp. 105-137. The IJPC Journal, Volume 1, Fall 2009. Saltzman, “The Editors,” pp. 83-108.

Suggested Readings: Barris, Chapter 3, pp. 55-77. Bergman, pp. 18-29.

CLASS FOUR (February 6): The Research Paper: Research MethodsAssignment: Working Title for Final Paper. 2nd Evaluation-Review. Required Reading: “The Image of the Public Relations Practitioner in Movies and

Television, 1901, 2011 plus Appendix, The IJPC Journal, Volume 3, Fall 2011-Spring 2012, pp. 1-85.

Suggested Readings: Sikov, Chapter 7, pp. 156-173. Rosen, pp. 133-140.

CLASS FIVE (February 13): The Research Paper: Research Methods Assignment: Research Final Paper

CLASS SIX (February 20): The Image of the Journalist in FilmsAssignment: List of Research Materials for Final Paper. 3rd Evaluation-Review.Required Reading: Saltzman, “The Publishers and Media Tycoons,” pp. 109-128.Suggested Readings: Kael, “Raising Kane,” from The Citizen Kane Book.

CLASS SEVEN (February 27): The Image of the Journalist in TelevisionAssignment: Research Final Paper

http://www.ijpc.org/


CLASS EIGHT (March 6): The Image of the Journalist in FictionAssignment: Summary of Final Paper.

CLASS NINE (March 13): Summary of the Image of the Journalist in Popular CultureAssignment: Writing First Draft of Final Paper. 4th Evaluation-Review

WEEK TEN (March 20 – SPRING BREAK)

CLASS ELEVEN (March 27): Research Paper Oral PresentationsAssignment: Writing First Draft of Final Paper.

CLASS TWELVE (April 3): Research Paper Summary Oral PresentationsAssignment: Deadline - **First Draft of Final Paper**

CLASS THIRTEEN (April 10): Research Paper Summary Oral PresentationsAssignment: 5th Evaluation-ReviewRequired Reading: Saltzman, “Conclusion,” pp.141-148.

CLASS FOURTEEN (April 17): Research Paper Summary Oral Presentations

CLASS FIFTEEN (April 24): Summary of Image of the Journalist in Popular CultureReturn of First Draft Final Paper and Discussion

CLASS SIXTEEN (May 1) – Final Day of ClassAssignment: Second Draft of Final Paper

SECOND DRAFT OF FINAL PAPER DUE ON FINAL EXAMINATION DAY at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, 2013

Turn in the hard copy first draft uncorrected and send an electronic copy of the SECOND DRAFT OF YOUR ARTICLE to [email protected] as a Word Attachment.


TERM PROJECT – FINAL PAPER

The final project for Journalism 576 (The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture Graduate Seminar) is a publishable paper on some aspect of the IJPC. It can be an article for a peer-review academic journal such as The IJPC Journal or Journalism & Mass Communications Quarterly or any of the popular culture journals, an article for a popular magazine, or an article for the IJPC Web site, www.ijpc.org (See Student Research Papers).

THE IDEA

The idea for your final paper should be quite specific and doable within the confines of the one-semester class. No matter what subject you select, you will be asked to do a complete profile of the character (or characters), a complete episode or literary guide summarizing not only the episode’s (or other item’s) content but also the specific references to journalism, an analysis of how this particular program or series fits into the historical context of the image of the journalist in popular culture, including its impact on its viewers or readers, and an analysis of how various social science theories and literature apply to your particular journalist and its image in popular culture.

You can choose from the following areas:

*A series of novels or a specific novel featuring a journalist or journalists.*A television or radio program or series that features a journalist or journalists.*A motion picture or a series of motion pictures featuring a journalist or journalists.*A cartoon series, comic strip, or comic book series featuring a journalist or

journalists.*A soap opera featuring a journalist or journalists.*A video game or series of video games featuring a journalist or journalists.*Your own topic for approval by instructor based on the IJPC database materials.


RESEARCH AGENDA

1. Make sure you have all the material available on your subject. Go through the IJPC Database, the IJPC Web site and any other Internet or Library databases that will give you a complete list of the films, television programs, fiction, radio shows, commercials, games, and other popular culture areas involving your subject.

2. Get other opinions including critical reviews and any other research on your topic or similar topics.

3. Get all the books and articles you can find on your subject area. Wikipedia can be used for reference but not as a source. Use it as a tip sheet.

4. Interviews with people involved in the TV program or movie or novel. Authors, critics, and various participants can add important material to supplement your research.

5. Once your idea is approved, make an appointment to get the items you need out of the IJPC Collection if they are not available anywhere else. If you have to buy DVD sets or novels or any other materials, the IJPC will pay for them as long as you give them to the IJPC Collection after the class is over. Either bring a receipt for the materials or let Saltzman purchase them for you..

6. Interview social scientists, especially faculty in the School of Communication to see if there are any social science research and theories that might apply to your subject.

7. Study the IJPC Web site (ijpc.org), especially the student research papers and other articles, so you will be able to place your image of the journalist in context with other images of the journalist.

Literature Review

Here is what people have written about African-American Journalists (your subject)Here is what people have written about the image of the journalist in popular cultureHere is what people have written about African-Americans in general (your subject)

Methodology

Based on what others have written, here’s what I read (novels) and here’s what I looked for (specific character types, themes).

A journalism scholar who’s also a jazz musician compared the lit review/method section to playing the main theme that everyone should recognize, which then is followed by the improvisation (i.e. the musician’s own take on the established chords).


LIST OF RESEARCH MATERIALS ASSIGNMENT

Turn in a complete list of research materials you will be using for your IJPC Research Paper. Be specific and thorough in listing all of your materials.

Use proper style throughout – use the Frank Capra book or the Chicago Manual of Style for reference as to how to list books, articles, films, and so on. Also pay attention to style, spelling, grammar, and presentation. This is an official assignment, not a collection of your research notes.

1. List each of the direct research materials – specific films, television programs, fiction, comic books, commercials, etc. – you will be discussing in your paper. Examples: If you are doing a television program, list each episode with a description of characters and the journalism contained in that episode (if available at this time.). List each novel with a description of the characters and the journalism in each novel. List each film with a description of the characters and journalism in each film.

2. List all of the secondary research materials you will be using in your paper:A. Books B. Magazine and/or Newspaper ArticlesC. Internet Sources – give exact Web site addresses and specific references.D. Other films, television episodes, fiction, comic books, etc. that you will be referring to

in your paper, but are not the primary sources.

3. List all of the research materials you plan to use to compare your specific image of the journalist to all the images of the journalist in popular culture.

4. List all of the research materials you plan to use to compare your specific image of the journalist to other social science theories and research involving your specific journalist (female, broadcast, print, gay, African-American, and so on).

5. List all possible interviews if any. Name the person and give a brief description of why you are interviewing that person for your paper.

6. List any other research materials you will be using that are not included above.


CHECK LIST OF BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ARTICLE

1. An abstract – a paragraph explaining what the paper is all about, what your hypothesis is, what you plan to prove, and why it is important.

2. Give a nutshell description of the films, TV programs, novels, short stories, or whatever you are analyzing so anyone reading the paper who is not familiar with the works knows what they are about.

3. A qualitative analysis of the subject including a complete biography of your fictional journalist, Make sure you include some indication of popularity or lack of popularity (i.e., TV ratings, box office receipts, print runs, best-seller lists, etc.). Did people see the products you are discussing? Were they popular?

4. Put your individual topic into context of other images of the journalist in popular culture as presented in other research. Show how your particular subject differs and is similar to other images of the journalist.

5. Put your individual topic into context of social science theories involved with your subject – i.e., if you are doing an analysis of a gay journalist in a series of novels, make sure you include research done on the image of gays in popular culture.

6. Complete Endnotes. This includes documentation of everything said in the paper. It includes the page numbers of individual novels, the individual TV episodes used, the individual films used. A researcher should be able to track down every fact in your paper from the endnotes. Your opinions are meaningless unless documented by examples and/or other people’s research. Endnote each sentence if necessary.

7. Include a complete bibliography of research materials.

8. Include an appendix of all the specific items – i.e., TV episodes, movies, novels – used in the paper.


THE FINAL PROJECT

To help you finish your final project, you will be asked to formalize your idea within the first three weeks of the class. Then you will be asked to hand in an outline and working title for your final paper, a summary of the research materials you have gathered for your final paper (here you will find the IJPC database invaluable), and a summary of the final paper before turning in the first draft of the article.

You will be asked to turn in the First Draft of your Final Paper and then to complete a Second Draft (and, one hopes, publishable version) of your final paper. The goal is to get the paper ready for publication on the IJPC Web site, The IJPC Journal or in a journal or magazine of your choosing. The first draft will be carefully line-edited and reviewed, and returned for revisions. The corrected second draft of your paper will be returned only to those students who request it. There may be additional work required for those students who want to publish their papers. Students will be able to work on an individual basis with the instructor to accomplish this goal.

When you turn in your second draft, you must do the following:

1. Turn in the corrected first draft with your second draft2. E-mail an electronic copy3. Don’t forget to check all facts again, especially Endnotes4. Use Chicago Manual of Style – especially with titles (italicized) and magazine articles

(in quotes)5. Write an abstract – about 50 words summing up what the article is about, what it

attempts to prove, etc.


CRITERIA FOR PUBLICATION

The subject of the article must further the mission of the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture Project to investigate and analyze, through research and publication, the conflicting images of journalists in every aspect of popular culture, from film, television, radio, fiction, commercials, cartoons and comic books to music, art, humor and video games – demonstrating their impact on the public’s perception of journalists.

The article must not only demonstrate the influence of the image of the journalist in a particular aspect of popular culture (a series of novels, films or TV programs, for example), but also compare that specific image to other images presented to the public. It should also use social science theories appropriate to the subject (on images of females, gays, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and so on) to give the paper more depth and substance.

Once a subject is approved, the student must be prepared to write an article that meets the following requirements:

1. Does the manuscript have a clear focus on a worthwhile subject that is relevant to this academic field?

2. Is the manuscript well grounded in existing research related to the subject, with an appropriate literature review and/or methodology?

3. Does the manuscript make an original scholarly contribution and critically analyze the subject matter as opposed to merely describing it?

4. Is the manuscript logically organized?

5. Is the manuscript well written?


REQUIREMENTS FOR ORAL PRESENTATION OF YOUR PAPER

1. Give an organized, well-prepared oral presentation of your subject. You may use power-point, video excerpts from DVD or the Internet, various Web sites or any other means to make your oral presentation interesting and informative. You can also pass out any materials that may enhance your presentation.

2. Your presentation should run no fewer than 20 minutes, no more than 30 minutes. You can read from a prepared speech or improvise.

2. Keeping your audience interested in your subject is important.

3. Be prepared to answer all questions in a clear, precise manner. Be prepared to handle any criticisms of your presentation.

4. You will be graded on completeness, organization, clarity, and creativity.


EVALUATION-REVIEWS

There will be five evaluation-reviews of a movie or television program due throughout the semester. Here is the form that you will use for each assignment:

EVALUATION FORM FOR IMAGE OF JOURNALISTS IN MOVIES OR TV PROGRAMS/SERIES

YOUR NAME_________________________________________________

DATES OF EVALUTION_______________________________________

Title of Movie or Television Program or Series_____________________

Type: Movies or Television (M-T) __________

FOR EVERY JOURNALIST WHO IS IN THE FILM/TV PROGRAM-SERIES FILL OUT THIS SECTION:

Name and Title:______________________________________________

Gender: Male or Female (M-F) __________

Race: African-American – Asian - Caucasion – Native American (AA-A-C-NA)

Category: Internet - Newspapers – Magazines – Radio - Television – (I-N-M-R-T)

Sub-Categories: (LIST ALL JOURNALISTS IN THE FILM/TV PROGRAM)Anonymous - Columnist – Correspondent - Critic – Cub – Editor – Family – Photojournalist - Publisher – Reporter (A-CL-CO-CR-CU-E-F-PH-PU-R)

Evaluate each journalist in the Film/TV program-series:_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Evaluation Definitions:Very Positive (VP) – The journalist as an heroic character. This is the journalist who does the right thing, who fights everyone and anything to get the facts out to the public. He often exposes corruption, solves a murder, catches a thief or saves an innocent. Everything he does is in the public interest. These journalists are often war correspondents or investigative journalists who risk their jobs and even their lives to do the right thing. It is the kind of an image that makes the public believe that journalists are invaluable to any democracy.


Positive (P) – These journalists will do anything to get a story that they believe is vital to the public interest, to the public welfare. They try to do their job without hurting anyone, basically a person trying to do the right thing, but often frustrated by the system. They may be flawed, they may make mistakes, they may drink too much or quit their jobs in disgust, but they always seem to end up by doing the right thing by the end of the story. The reporter or editor could get away with anything as long as the end result is in the public interest. The journalist could lie, cheat, distort, bribe, betray, or violate any ethical code as long as the journalist exposed corruption, solved a murder, caught a thief, or saved an innocent.

Negative (N) – These journalists are villains because they use the precious commodity of public confidence in the press for their own selfish ends. They use the power of the media for his or her own personal, political, or financial gain. They care less about the public interest than their own interests. They are interested in making more money, gaining power, doing anything to get what they want.

Very Negative (VN) – These journalists often engage in unethical and often unlawful activities getting what they want at all costs, even committing murder or serious crimes. They are manipulative and cynical. Often they are publishers who use their power to corrupt government or business, to take advantage of the public. They are cheaters who are only interested in what is good for them, no one else. They usually are involved with the tabloid or sensationalistic press and often make up the anonymous news media chasing after individuals without regard to their privacy or safety. These anonymous journalists travel in packs, usually armed with television cameras and microphones.

Neutral – Nondescript character who is simply there as a journalist doing his or her job without offending anyone. They are often in the background and figure slightly in the plot or action of the film or television program.

LIST POTENTIAL CLIPS FOR THE VIDEO COMPILATION (Pick out every relevant clip – there is no limit to how many clips you can list:)

Times where clip starts and ends___________________________________

Summary of what the clip contains__________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Journalists involved in the clip_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


INSTRUCTOR BIOJoe Saltzman

Joe Saltzman is professor of journalism and director, The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC), a project of the Norman Lear Center, in the USC Annenberg School for Communication. He has been a prolific print and electronic journalist for more than 45 years. He created the broadcasting sequence for the USC School of Journalism in 1974 and served as chair of broadcasting for 17 years as well as associate and acting director of the School of Journalism and associate dean of USC Annenberg for five years.

He has taught at USC for 46 years, is a tenured professor at USC and the winner of three teaching awards. Saltzman was named the 2010 Scripps Howard-AEJMC National Journalism and Mass Communication Teacher of the Year in 2011.

Saltzman is currently director of The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture (IJPC), a Norman Lear Center project (www.ijpc.org). He has been researching the image of the journalist in popular culture almost 20 years and is considered an expert in the field. The IJPC’s first publication is a book written by Saltzman, Frank Capra and the Image of the Journalist in American Film. The IJPC Web Site and the IJPC Database are considered the major world-wide sources in the field.

Before coming to USC, Saltzman was a senior writer-producer at CBS, Channel 2, in Los Angeles. His documentaries and news specials won more than 50 awards including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in Broadcast Journalism (broadcasting's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize), an American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award, two Edward R. Murrow Awards for reporting, two National Association of Television Production Executives (NATPE) awards, an Ohio State University award, two San Francisco State University Broadcast Media awards, four Radio-Television News Association's Golden Mike awards, five National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Regional Emmy Awards, three Greater Los Angeles Press Club awards, five Associated Press Certificates of Excellence and Merit, a Scripps-Howard Foundation Distinguished Journalism citation, American Cancer Society's First Annual Media Award, American Women in Radio and Television's first certificate of commendation, a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Award, and others. Saltzman is listed in Who's Who in America, the International Who's Who in Literature, Who’s Who in Education, Who's Who in California, Who's Who in the West, and International Biography.


Saltzman graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism with minors in English, cinema and political science. He was Phi Beta Kappa and editor of the college newspaper, the Daily Trojan. He was a Seymour Berkson Fellow at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where he received a Master of Science degree with high honors. He also won the Robert Sherwood Traveling Fellowship from Columbia.

After graduation, he was a general assignment reporter for the now defunct daily newspaper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune's San Fernando Valley Times TODAY and news editor of the Palisadian Post, a weekly newspaper in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

He worked for CBS from 1964 to 1974 producing everything from daily newscasts to major documentaries. He produced one of the first television magazines in the country, “Ralph Story's Los Angeles,” and another weekly series with Rod Serling. He won numerous awards for his investigative news series.

But it is his documentary legacy that most will remember. “I believe the documentary films of Joe Saltzman rank among the finest in the world,” said veteran broadcaster-critic Norman Corwin. “If I am wrong, I have wasted 15 years as chairman of the Documentary Awards Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In that span I have seen about 2,000 documentaries of all lengths, and based on that experience, I make the flat statement that there are no other filmmakers alive who more consistently, effectively -- and often daringly -- deal with basic aspects of social concern.”

The six award-winning programs are:Black on Black, a 90-minute landmark documentary told without a narrator depicting

how it feels to be black and live in South-Central Los Angeles and first broadcast in 1968. One critic wrote: "The best documentary ever made on what it feels like to be black and live in the urban ghetto." Winner of many awards including the Emmy and the first NAACP Image award for documentary.

The Unhappy Hunting Ground, a 90-minute documentary on the Native American in Los Angeles. Without a narrator, the program is told by the voices and faces of Indians. First broadcast in 1970. One critic wrote: "An agonizing study of the plight of the contemporary American Indian is searching, sad and maddening -- maddening because of what this program shows man can do to man. It is a stunning achievement."

The Junior High School, a two-hour documentary on the junior high school experience. A full year in production, first broadcast in 1972. Part One: "Heaven, Hell or Purgatory." Part Two: "From A to Zoo." One critic wrote: "The finest documentary ever produced on American education. No one should miss it." To which a teacher added, "It fully documents in ways I never thought possible, the world of the junior high school student and teacher. It is an amazing document and for the life of me, I can't figure out how they did it."

The Very Personal Death of Elizabeth Schell Holt-Hartford, a 30-minute documentary on an 82-year-old woman trying to live out her life in dignity. First broadcast in 1972. The Los Angeles Times: "A moving, poignant film essay."


Rape, a 30-minute documentary on the crime of rape. First broadcast in 1974, it achieved the highest rating of any documentary in the history of Los Angeles television at the time. The Los Angeles Times: "The first and best report on the crime of rape ever presented on television."

Why Me? a 60-minute documentary on breast cancer first broadcast in 1974. The first major television documentary to deal with breast cancer. "A landmark documentary," said one critic. The program is credited with saving thousands of lives.

After joining the USC faculty, Saltzman has continued to be a prolific electronic and print journalist, writing a media column for USA Today, the magazine for the Society for the Advancement of Education (where he also serves as associate mass media editor). He has produced many medical documentaries and newsmagazines, functioned as a senior investigative producer for Entertainment Tonight (under famed editor Jim Bellows), and has written articles, reviews, columns, and opinion pieces for numerous magazines and newspapers.

He has been researching the image of the journalist in popular culture for 20 years and is considered an expert in the field. His IJPC database and this web site are considered the world-wide resources on the subject. Saltzman was awarded the 2005 Journalism Alumni Award from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the Alumni Association’s highest alumni honor.

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