JOU 121 - Newswriting and Reporting

1. Assess the elements of news
   1. Recognize the news elements in a variety of published stories
   2. Identify the five W’s, H, and “so what” in news stories
   3. Identify the elements of news in assigned stories researched and produced for publication
2. Differentiate among the various types of stories
   1. Recognize hard news
   2. Recognize soft news
   3. Analyze sidebars and fact boxes
   4. Analyze a speech or meeting or press conference story
   5. Apply news qualities to demonstrate appropriate news judgment
   6. Analyze feature writing
3. Gain knowledge of media law
   1. Understand the First Amendment
   2. Define libel/slander
   3. Explain invasion of privacy
   4. Demonstrate an understanding of open meetings and open records law
   5. Substantiate knowledge of copyright laws and plagiarism
4. Gain knowledge of media ethics
   1. Examine ethical decision-making and standard codes of ethics
   2. Evaluate case studies for ethical implications
   3. Understand diversity
5. Construct basic news stories
   1. Identify a variety of leads
   2. Write a variety of leads
   3. Write inverted pyramid news stories
   4. Identify visuals to enhance news stories
   5. Write a story that covers a speech or meeting or press conference
   6. Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of accuracy, fairness, balance and objectivity in news writing
6. Prepare advanced news stories
   1. Create leads for feature stories
   2. Develop “nut” graphs
   3. Write a feature story
   4. Identify visuals to enhance a feature story
   5. Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of accuracy, fairness, balance and objectivity in feature writing
7. Develop interview and research skills necessary for basic reporting
   1. Reproduce accurate and complete notes
   2. Compose relevant questions for proposed stories
   3. Evaluate types of interview questions
   4. Conduct interviews through role-playing, in-class press conferences and interviews, and individually scheduled reporting assignments
   5. Understand how to use direct and indirect quotes
   6. Demonstrate appropriate use of attribution in stories
   7. Evaluate a variety of online databases
   8. Utilize library resources and other documentation to verify facts
   9. Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of accuracy, fairness, balance and objectivity in the interview process
8. Develop principles of clear writing necessary to the journalism profession
   1. Recognize common spelling errors
   2. Recognize common grammar, usage, and punctuation errors
   3. Compose stories and headlines using active verbs
   4. Utilize the AP Stylebook
9. Be aware of the changing nature of news
   1. Keep abreast of current events
   2. Generate story ideas
   3. Utilize current technology available on your campus
   4. Identify emerging trends in journalism
10. Gain knowledge of related fields in journalism
    1. Understand public relations writing
    2. Write a press release
    3. Understand broadcast news writing