MULTIPLATFORM JOURNALISM
JOU 360
The Basics:
Instructor: David Swartzlander
Class location: 130 Gaylord Hall
Instructors Office: 129 Gaylord Hall
Office phone: 402.826.8269
Cell phone: 402.643.5135
Instructors e-mail address: [email protected]
Online course address: davidswartzlander.com
Office Hours:
MW: 9-11 a.m., 2-4 p.m.
Or by appointment
Recommended supplies:
AP Stylebook
Notebooks
Pens
Audio recorder
Digital camera or cell phone that can take photos and/or video
USB flash drive
Headphones or ear buds
A dictionary and thesaurus
A grammar style guide. I recommend A Writers Resource, by Elaine P.
Maimon, Janice H. Peritz and Kathleen Blake Yancey, McGraw Hill, third edition,
2012.
Online course:
Please become familiar with the online course by visiting the site and touring it.
There you will find daily lesson plans. To find your grades, check Blackboard. The
syllabus for this class is included in the online course.
Course goals:
This course prepares students to work as journalists in todays newsrooms where
the online and digital platforms are at least as important as the traditional print
or broadcast platforms. It is not a Web design course, though I will give you the
site for a tutorial to learn HTML coding so you can create your own Web site or at
least alter a site. This course provides an introduction to basic elements of
multimedia journalistic storytelling, including audio, video, slideshows and other
online journalism formats. Students in this course learn how to use digital tools
to report for Internet news sites. The focus is on using the tools to digital material
that helps to tell a journalistic story and on how to plan and execute the story
telling for each medium. Students are expected to want to report and to be
conscientious about accuracy.
You won't be an expert at any of the tasks unless you practice them repeatedly. In
this course, you'll learn the basics. It will be up to you to apply what you have
learned if you want to become proficient at any of these skills.
Well use computers, podcasts, readings, discussions and hands-on experience to
learn about online news publishing and online storytelling. The class will include:
Learning how to report, produce and edit online packages using blogs,
audio, video and photos together with text to tell stories.
Discussions on emerging media themes and on business, ethical and legal
implications of publishing online.
Discussion of the characteristics that distinguish news Web sites and their
stories from their print and broadcast counterparts.
A core portion of the class will include hands-on assignments, allowing students
to report and edit stories using audio, video, photos, graphics and other digital
material. We will experiment with a variety of different storytelling and reporting
methods, including podcasting, Twitter, Storify and CoverItLive.
Staying on top of the news is an integral part of this course. I expect you to be
registered on multiple news web sites as well as industry news sites.
Outcomes:
At the completion of this class, students will be able to accomplish a variety of
tasks, including but not limited to:
Identifying elements of multiple media used in journalistic storytelling.
Creating story pitches.
Learning to write for the web.
Producing online audio stories and podcasts.
Producing online video stories.
Combining audio and still photographs to produce audio slideshows as a
storytelling technique.
Learning how to package different platforms into a cohesive storytelling
unit.
Producing stories for the online news site.
Coding
Shooting photographs.
Minimum Course Requirements:
As class members, you will be required to produce content for Doaneline, the
student news web site.
This class contains no textbook to read, tests or exams. We will listen to and
discuss the popular Serial podcast. The class involves discussion and hands-on
experience.
To receive a passing grade in this class, you must:
Write at least one news stories with links and/or other multimedia or
interactive tools for use by Doaneline.
Create and write a blog, updated at least twice a week.
Podcast a Serial-style story.
Create at least one audio slideshow (in addition to the previous
requirement), a maximum of 120 seconds long.
Create at least one online video story, a maximum of two minutes long.
Build a map or other graphic to accompany a story.
Develop at least one story using Storify, Coveritlive or other alternative
story method.
Using just your cell phone or tablet, create a multiplatform story that
contains at least three platforms (print/audio/video/graphics/ etc.).
Work in a team to create at least three professional-looking multimedia
packages:
o The first should include at least three of the five media formats
(written story or blog, photographs or graphics, audio, audio
slideshow and video).
o The second should encompass at least four of the five media
formats
o The third should include all five media formats and should delve in
depth into a subject of your choosing. It should be of sufficient
quality that the story can be broadcast on KDNE and DCTV,
published on Doaneline and printed in The Doane Owl. This, on a
smaller scale, will replicate and prepare you for the capstone course
in your senior year.
Report weekly about campus events, through social media, stories or
blogs.
Complete a one-hour coding assignment.
Post stories to Doaneline.
Attend and participate in a weekly news planning session. The planning
session is at 5 p.m. Mondays in Gaylord 213. Send story ideas by noon the
previous day to Erin Bell. Attendance will be taken at Monday meetings.
Cover one event using Twitter and use Twitter to break news.
Assemble an online portfolio of your work.
Students also are expected to complete any assigned homework.
Story Submission:
All stories will be submitted to Doaneline for possible publication. We will review
team-based stories in class. For individual stories, students will meet with me
during story conferences to grade their stories.
Deadlines:
Deadlines are crucial and must be met. Deadline is as news breaks. For example,
if a shooting happens on campus, we should post news as it is happening.
Deadline happens 24/7. If covering an event, the complete story, no matter the
form, must be submitted within three hours of the event. If its breaking news,
briefs updating people on the story must be submitted occasionally as you
prepare the main story. Get used to being constantly on deadline. Late
assignments will receive a grade of 0. I determine whats late.
Grading Policy:
You can earn a total of 900 points. I reserve the right to add, delete or modify
assignments according to time constraints and the availability of resources.
Class elements will be graded on the following scale:
Written story = 20 points (3 percent)
Serial-style audio story = 50 points
Audio slide show = 20 points (3 percent)
Video story = 20 points (3 percent)
Map or graphic = 20 points (2 percent)
Alternative story = 20 points (3 percent)
Cell phone or tablet story = 50 points (6 percent)
First multimedia package = 50 points (6 percent)
Second multimedia package = 100 points (11 percent)
Third multimedia package = 150 points (17 percent)
Blog: 100 points (11 percent)
Tweets: 100 points (11 percent)
Portfolio: 100 points (11 percent)
Weekly news coverage and posting news: 100 total points (11 percent)
The following grading system will be use:
810-900 points = A
720-809 = B
630-719 = C
540-629 = D
Less than 540 = F
Each assignment will be graded for:
Accuracy Misspelled names and factual errors will result in a lettergrade deduction. Video and audio that give an inaccurate sense of time
and place will also be downgraded.
Substance each piece of a package must be able to stand on its own as
journalism whether text, photos, audio or video. Each piece should
complement the other.
Organization Regardless of the format, stories should be organized
coherently.
Quality Always shoot for excellence. Quality should improve over the
course of the semester.
Creativity Its welcome, but it has to work. Multimedia journalism is
exciting because it offers so many opportunities for experimentation. But,
remember, were doing journalism here. Communicating the content is the
primary objective.
Reporting The more reporting you do, both research and interviews,
the better your projects will be.
Writing Good writing, including grammar and style, drives all.
Multimedia packages take time. Plan accordingly. For every one hour of video
shot, you should allow for three hours of editing time. When working in teams,
lay out ahead of time who is going to do what, when. And, make sure you have a
backup plan. Interviews fall through.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Attendance is mandatory in class and at the weekly news planning session. If you
miss a class or a planning session, you should e-mail me why you were absent.
You will be responsible for any missed classes or assignments. Students are
expected to show respect for one another and for the instructor. Attendance and
arriving on time for class are necessary. Give your full and undivided attention to
anyone who is speaking in class, including your fellow students.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Journalists have only one thing to offer: credibility. Making things up - quotes,
people in stories, facts - and stealing the words of another writer or failing to give
proper attribution to information obtained from other sources are deadly sins in
journalism. If you engage in academic dishonesty - including plagiarism,
fabrication and cheating - you will fail this course and I will report you to the
college.
DISABILITY POLICY:
Students with disabilities substantially limiting a major life activity are eligible
for reasonable accommodations in college programs, including this course.
Accommodations provide equal opportunity to obtain the same level of
achievement while maintaining the standards of excellence of the college. If you
have a disability that may interfere with your participation or performance in this
course, please meet with me to discuss disability-related accommodations and
other special learning needs.
EXTRA CREDIT:
Extra credit work will not be a substitute for completing the required work. You
must complete all course requirements to receive extra credit.
Here's how you get extra credit:
1. Complete extra stories or story packages. You can earn a maximum of 100 extra
credit points.
2. Get your work published online on a commercial news Web site. Ill decide
whether the Web site is legitimate. Maximum extra credit: 100 points.
