CONTACT INFORMATION

Catalog Course Code: NMJ 590

Three-Letter Course Abbreviation: MRT-O

Instructor: Ronald C. Thomas Jr., EdD, CPM

Telephone: 407.679.0100 ext. 7983

Email: rthomas@fullsail.com

iChat: rnthomas895@aol.com

Hours: By appointment (please call or send an email to schedule)If unable to keep an appointment, please call to cancel or reschedule

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In the Multimedia Reporting Course, students learn how to access, transfer, and process electronic information, and how to gain ownership of a story by presenting that information in a visual, useful, and factual way. Students become profi-cient in conceiving stories and packages that will work well on the web, practice on-camera presentation for web and multimedia stories, and learn how to organize raw material into a news-oriented narrative. The course provides students instruction toward visual storytelling and story advancement and evolution, with guidance regarding hardware and soft-ware that journalists must know for multimedia reporting.

COURSE MATERIALS

Due to the dynamic nature of journalism and the rapid digi-tization of media channels, students will consult current, relevant online resources. These digital information sources will supplement course lessons that are based on a distilla-tion of industry standards and contemporary events.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Students will accomplish these course objectives by com-pleting the milestones specified:

yy Synthesize story ideas, research, and information into production of original multimedia reports

yy Identify planning steps required for specific story types

yy Find and cultivate sources for multimedia stories

yy Discover and develop original multimedia story ideas

yy Gather resources for production of specific story types on a deadline

yy Understand and apply professional journalism codes

yy Comprehend the purpose and guiding principles of journalism in a free society

yy Evaluate media reports based on standards of accuracy, fairness, objectivity, diversity, and presentation style

yy Employ strategies to avoid inaccurate, unfair, and/or biased reporting

yy Incorporate techniques for conducting effective face-to-face and mediated interviews into story planning and execution

yy Demonstrate understanding of professional principles in conducting interviews

yy Develop proficiency in conducting traditional and narra-tive interviews for various multimedia story types

yy Produce multimedia stories using appropriate elements of text, links, photos, audio, video, information graphics, and data visualizations

yy Identify the steps required in the planning and produc-tion of each story type

yy Apply criteria determining which media elements are best suited for creating compelling narratives based on story type, context, and delivery platform

yy Identify, analyze, and incorporate professional storytelling tools in the publication of multimedia reports

yy Understand the principles of nonlinear storytelling

yy Develop competency creating compelling multimedia narratives

yy Produce multimedia reports informed by both narra-tive techniques and the inverted pyramid reporting structure

yy Articulate a complex, professional understanding of vari-ous ways to develop original content for digital platforms

yy Identify individual expertise and professional focus

yy Discuss the principles of visual literacy, storyboarding, and site architecture

yy Synthesize information to produce threaded, con-nected content with updates and follow-ups as stories advance and evolve

COURSE SYLLABUS

MULTIMEDIA REPORTING—ONLINE

COURSE OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

yy Plan and produce multimedia stories that adhere to pro-fessional standards

yy Conduct interviews with confidence using best-practice techniques

yy Plan, develop, and publish original event-based multime-dia stories

yy Conceive, report, and produce an original video feature story with appropriate secondary stories and breakouts

yy Produce follow-up reports that synthesize information from a variety of new sources into a threaded update of ongoing or serialized multimedia stories

yy Incorporate key professional techniques of multime-dia journalism in textual, visual, audio, and video news production

DEGREE CONNECTION

Each course in the New Media Journalism Master’s program builds upon knowledge and skills developed in previous courses. In Multimedia Reporting, students demonstrate that they can integrate technical and storytelling skills into a cohesive, professional package. Students learn strategies for the application of traditional and innovative techniques to the production of digital media content. The scope of journalistic storytelling is expanded beyond both the inverted pyramid structure and traditional interviewing methods to include narrative techniques informing their original multimedia pub-lications. During this course, students develop proficiency in the production of hard, soft, and promotional news stories using text, graphics, audio, photos, and videos. Students also begin the process of identifying their particular talents

and interests in order to develop specific goals and bench-marks for their capstone projects and thesis papers with their ultimate career objectives in mind.

INDUSTRY CONNECTION

In the midst of the rapid convergence of all media, the suc-cessful journalist must be capable of producing a wide variety of digital content. In the Multimedia Reporting course, students not only demonstrate competence in the production of the types of stories required by professional news organizations, but they also explore innovative nar-rative techniques using all appropriate media elements available to contemporary practicing journalists. Since today’s media sources flood the environment with unman-ageable tidal waves of information, tomorrow’s journalists must develop proficiency in both interpretive and storytelling skills to be successful in the business of digital news pro-duction. In Multimedia Reporting, students not only learn the long-standing best-practice techniques of print journalism, but they also explore fresh, innovate methods of delivering digital media content.

RESEARCH COMPONENT

Course assignments require students to adopt a hands-on approach as they develop proficiency in the use of digital tools for researching story ideas, interviewing subjects, and presenting multimedia reports. Both traditional and in-novative methods of journalistic storytelling, interviewing, publication, and presentation are explored. In this course, students continue developing their personal learning net-works as well as a variety of online professional journalism resources as they conduct research determining the opti-mal way to plan, report, produce, market, and assess their publications.

MULTIMEDIA REPORTING—ONLINE Course Outcomes

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESyy Transparency in the “About Me” section of a website:

http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=1335

yy “The Art of the Interview, ESPN-Style”: http://www.npr .org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5625218

yy Using the inverted pyramid for multimedia storytelling: http://www.97thfloor.com/blog/inverted-pyramid-how -to-write-for-social-news-blogs/

yy Principles of information architecture:

yy http://www.masternewmedia.org/website-design -guide-best-practices-and-examples-of-website -interface-and-navigation-design-solutions/

yy http://anex.am/principles.php

yy Reuters Handbook of Journalism: http://handbook .reuters.com/index.php/Other_Common_Story_Forms

TOPICS COVEREDyy Guiding Professional Journalism Codes and Standards

yy Identifying and Evaluating Multimedia Story Types and Formats

yy Storytelling Beyond the Inverted Pyramid Story Structure

yy Traditional and Innovative Interviewing Techniques

yy Narrative Structures Appropriate for Specific Story Types

yy Templates for Production of Original Breaking News Sto-ries on a Deadline

yy Criteria for Inclusion of Appropriate Media Elements

yy Threading Updates for Ongoing or Serialized Stories

yy Event-Based Story Ideas, Planning, and Production

yy Feature and Human Interest Story Conception, Develop-ment, and Publication

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Reading AssignmentsReading assignments are carefully selected to assist with students’ exploration of key concepts and provide knowledge of available research and learning technologies. This course relies on articles and online resources in order to provide stu-dents with the most current content possible.

Multimedia ActivitiesMultimedia activities augment students’ understanding of certain key concepts and provide helpful information.

Weekly ExercisesStudents will apply new media concepts covered during the week by creating and publishing original content through weekly exercises.

MULTIMEDIA REPORTING—ONLINE Additional Resources

Guiding Professional Journalism Standards and Story Evolution

During the first week, students will learn how to apply the profes-sional codes of journalism to the evaluation of news reports and how to use these standards as guides in the development and publication of a follow-up report based on a previous publication with at least one new interview.

Traditional and Narrative Storytelling Structures

Students will learn how to adapt the inverted pyramid format to specific story types as well as alternative storytelling structures to inform the development of their individual journalistic style. In Week Two, students will plan, report, and publish a human interest/profile video story with a minimum of two interviews.

Planning, Researching, and Conducting Interviews

In addition to breaking news reports, students will explore tech-niques for gathering information through interviews for background, human interest, investigative, and feature stories. In Week Three, students will learn how to use a wide variety of both traditional and innovative methods to prepare for and conduct effective interviews. They will use these interviews in the publication of a multimedia re-port on an issue or trend from the perspective of a person affected by or involved with it.

News Reporting, Presentation, and Story Evolution

In the fourth week, students will begin building a library of templates for production of various types of stories, learn guidelines for online story presentation based on information architecture, and publish an original story based on a specific event in their local community.

DiscussionsDiscussions are conducted on the FSO platform. Topics include professional standards for multimedia journalists (Week One); tradi-

tional and narrative storytelling structures (Week Two); interviewing strategies and techniques (Week Three); and news reporting, story presentation, and evolution (Week Four).

Grade Weights

Weekly Discussion Boards (4 discussions at 10% each)

40%

Weekly Publications 50%

Weeks 1 and 2 at 10% each

Weeks 3 and 4 at 15% each

Professionalism 10%

Total 100%

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL LEARNING

yy Use traditional and narrative storytelling techniques to inform de-velopment of your professional, individual journalistic style.

yy Develop proficiency with the professional tools available to you including software, equipment, and online resources to help you succeed in planning, developing, and publishing multimedia stories.

yy Incorporate traditional and innovative storytelling structures into multimedia reports as appropriate to specific story type, context, and delivery medium.

MULTIMEDIA REPORTING—ONLINE Learning Activities

COURSE-SPECIFIC RUBRICS

Discussion Board

DimensionExcellent100%

Good90%

Fair80%

Poor70% or less

Thoroughness and Quality

25 points

Post demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the assignment, and all topic(s) are thoroughly addressed

Post addresses all required questions and/or includes all required elements

All information presented is accurate, clear, thorough, and supported by relevant facts, statistics, analysis, and/or examples

Post demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the assignment, and most topic(s) are convincingly addressed

Post addresses at least 90% of the required questions and/or includes all required elements

Most information presented is accurate, clear, thorough, and supported by relevant facts, statistics, analysis, and/or examples

Post demonstrates a superficial understanding of the assignment

Some topics are adequately addressed

Post addresses at least 80% of the required questions and/or includes some required elements

Some information presented is accurate, clear, thorough, and supported by relevant facts, statistics, analysis, and/or examples

Post demonstrates a lack of understanding of the assignment

Discussion topic is not adequately addressed

Post addresses 70% or less of the required questions and/or elements

Many of the points presented are not clear, thorough, creative, or adequately supported with relevant facts

Logic and Argument

25 points

All ideas flow logically; arguments are identifiable, reasonable, and sound

All factual examples/facts given to support a position are relevant and compelling

Counterarguments are successfully addressed

Post includes new meaningful material, enriching the discussion

Most ideas flow logically; most arguments are clear, consistent, flow logically, and make sense

Most factual examples/reasons given to support a position are relevant and compelling

Acknowledgement of counterarguments

Occasional insightful connections to outside material are made

Some logic and/or arguments are unclear, irrelevant, or unconvincing

Post does not fully address counterarguments or make connections to outside material

Unclear arguments or flow of ideas

Few reasons are given to support a position

Simplistic view of discussion topic; little evidence of possible alternative views provided

OR post demonstrates minimal effort or comprehension

Posts are difficult to understand

Writing Skills

10 points

No major grammatical or professional-writing-style errors

Argument and post are well-structured, are organized logically, and flow smoothly

Overall good writing, but one or two grammatical or professional-writing-style issues interrupt the flow of communication

Overall adequate writing with three or four grammatical or professional-writing-style issues that interrupt the flow of communication

Five or more grammatical and/or professional-writing-style errors make the argument and post difficult to follow and process

MULTIMEDIA REPORTING—ONLINE Course-Specific Rubrics

DimensionExcellent100%

Good90%

Fair80%

Poor70% or less

Use of References

10 points

If information sources are used or referenced, all are cited correctly

If information sources are used or referenced, most are cited correctly

If information sources are used or referenced, some are cited correctly

If information sources are used or referenced, few or none are cited correctly

Response Post (RISE)

30 points

Response post incorporates all four elements of the RISE model with an excellent level of detail and effort, including:

Reflect: To recall, ponder, and communicate

Inquire: To seek information and/or provide ideas through questioning

Suggest: To introduce ideas for improvement of the current iteration

Elevate: To raise to a higher degree or purpose in future iterations

Response post addresses at least 90% of the elements in the RISE model with adequate detail and effort

Response post addresses at least 80% of the elements in the RISE model but offers few constructive comments and/or vague suggestions

Response post is submitted but does not address at least 70% of the elements in the RISE model

Student merely expresses agreement or disagreement without explanation, asks no questions, and offers no suggestions for improvement

Discussion Board (Cont.)

MULTIMEDIA REPORTING—ONLINE Course-Specific Rubrics

Assignment

DimensionSuperiorA

Above AverageB

AverageC

Below Average/FailingD–F

Journalistic Quality

25%

The work exhibits excellent journalistic quality, thorough research, credible sourcing, and excellent writing

23–25 points

The work exhibits good journalistic quality, solid research, mostly credible sourcing, and good writing

20–22 points

The work exhibits fair journalistic quality, a fair amount of research, suspect sourcing, and fair writing

18–19 points

The work exhibits poor journalistic quality, little research, untrustworthy sourcing, and poor writing

0–17 points

Production Mechanics

25%

The work exhibits excellent text, audio, photography, infographics, videography, and editing as appropriate

23–25 points

The work exhibits good scripting, audio, photography, infographics, videography, and editing as appropriate

20–22 points

The work exhibits fair scripting, audio, photography, infographics, videography, and editing as appropriate

18–19 points

The work exhibits poor scripting, audio, photography, infographics, videography, and editing as appropriate

0–17 points

Technical Requirements

20%

All required technical elements are fulfilled

18–20 points

Most of the required technical elements are fulfilled

16–17 points

Some of the required technical elements are fulfilled

14–15 points

Few or none of the required technical elements are fulfilled

0–13 points

AP Style and Grammar

15%

The work is free of any grammatical or AP Style errors

14–15 points

The work has minor grammatical and/or AP Style errors

12–13 points

The work contains occasional grammatical and/or AP Style errors

10–11 points

The work contains numerous grammatical and/or AP Style errors

0–9 points

Attribution

15%

Statements are supported by relevant sources

14–15 points

Most statements are supported by relevant sources

12–13 points

Few statements are supported by relevant sources

10–11 points

Statements are not supported by relevant sources

0–9 points

Deadline Submitted on time

-0 points

One day past due

-25 points

Two days past due

-50 points

More than two days past due

-100 points

MULTIMEDIA REPORTING—ONLINE Course-Specific Rubrics