COM 002

Lesson 1
Flexible Learning refers to the ability to customize one's pace, place and mode of learning in accordance to the
one’s context.
✓ Both distance learning and face-to-face sessions. (4 days at school, 10 days at home in a 2-week cycle.)
✓ Face-to-face classes only when it is safe and allowed by the government.

RAD (Remote & Distance) Learning refers to a 100% home-based setup with virtual coaching. This is
applicable for students who live far and have difficulties in traveling to go to school.
✓ Blocking schedule - 2 subjects per month - a total of 8 subjects per semester.
✓ You can work and study at the same time.

Lesson 2
Journalism is defined by different scholars by how they see events being crafted into writing to reach people in
the community. Below are few scholars with their own definition of journalism.

 Journalism is a form of writing that tells people about things that really happened, but that they might
not have known about already. - Robert Niles
 The occupation of writing for publication in newspapers and other periodicals. - Noah Webster
 Something that embraces all forms in which or through which the news and comments on the news
reach the public. - Fraser F. Bond

Journalism Functions (PESMpRkEAs)

1. Political Function - information concerning the government

2. Economic Function - All transactions concerning buying and selling of goods and/or services
contributes to the overall economy.
3. Sentry Function - The press must report what is happening today, but also what is likely to happen
tomorrow based on scientific predictions.
4. Marketplace Function - It becomes a marketplace of ideas where people may show their support or
disagreement on a specific issue.
5. Record-Keeping Function - should keep accurate records of all pertinent happenings in the history,
which includes local, national, and global events.
6. Entertainment Function - providing entertainment
7. Agenda-Setting Function Journalism - has the power to set what the public will think about and
address as a nation by how events are crafted.

Lesson 3
The Campus Paper is the academic institution’s version of the national newspaper or in other words, the
school paper. It is the free newspaper of the students, by the students, and for the students to circulate within the
academic community. Through the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, also known as Republic Act Numbered
7079, the establishment of school publication in basic education and in higher learning institutions has been
legalized.
Parts of a Campus Paper
1. Front Page 5. Community Development Page
2. News Page 6. Science and Technology Page
3. Editorial Page 7. Sports Page
4. Feature Page

The Publication Staff c. Feature Editor

1) Chief Editor d. Exchange Editor
2) Associate Editor e. Layout Section Editors
3) Managing Editor 6) Layout Artists Graphic
4) Circulation Manager 7) Reporters Reporters
5) Section Editors 8) Photojournalists
a. News Editor 9) Cartoonist
b. Filipino Editor

Lesson 4
Principles of Journalism
1. Truthfulness
2. 2. Loyalty to the citizens
3. Objectivity by verification
4. Independence of spirit and mind
5. Independent monitoring of power
6. Fairness
7. Making the significant interesting and relevant
8. The moral compass
9. Comprehensiveness and Proportionality

Lesson 5
The Republic Act 7079, also known as the Campus Journalism Act of 1991, was enacted in recognition
of the vital role the campus press played during the Martial. It was approved on July 5, 1991 by the late
former president Corazon Aquino. Currently, there is House Bill (HB) 1493, introduced in the 16th
Congress by former Kabataan Party-list Representative Terry Ridon that seeks to remedy the flaws of
CJA 1991.

Lesson 6
News is an oral or written report of a past, present, or future event. It should be factual, truthful, accurate,
unbiased, and interesting. But what is interesting to one is not always interesting to another.

ELEMENTS OF NEWS
a. Conflict g. Drama
b. Immediacy or timeliness h. Oddity or unusualness
c. Proximity or nearness i. Romance and adventure
d. Prominence j. Sex
e. Significance k. Progress
f. Names l. Animals
 m. Number n. Emotion

TYPES OF NEWS STORIES

Scope or origin
Local news – Report of events that take place within the immediate locality.
National news – News that takes place within the country.
Foreign news – News that takes place outside the country.
Dateline news – News preceded by the date and place of origin or place where it was written or filed:
Tokyo, Jan. 20(AP)
Chronology or sequence
Advance or anticipated – News published before its occurrence, sometimes called dope or
prognostication. The reporter foretells events expected to occur at a definite time in the future.
Spot news – News that is gathered and reported on the spot. It deals with unscheduled information
demanding immediate publication. The reporter himself is an eyewitness to the event that took place.
Coverage news – News written from a given beat. Both spot news and coverage news are good examples
of first-hand reporting.
Follow-up news – A sequel to a previous story. Having a new lead of its own, it is a second, third or
subsequent chapter of a serial.

Structure
Straight News – News that consists of facts given straight without embellishment. Its main aim is to inform.
It uses the summary lead and is written using the inverted pyramid structure.
News-feature (Featured news distinguished from a feature article) – It is also based on facts, but it
entertains more than it informs.

(1) Single-feature or one-incident story – The story deals with an isolated event. A single fact is featured in
the lead and is explained further in the succeeding paragraphs. The story breaks logically at every paragraph;
thus enabling the reporter to cut or lengthen it as space dictates.
(2) Several-feature, multiple-angled, or composite story – Several facts are included in the lead in their order
of importance. These facts are elaborated one after the other in the body. The several-feature story aims to draw
together two or more divergent aspects of related news items separately; the writer writes them in one big story.

TREATMENT
Fact story – This is a plain exposition setting forth a single situation or a series of closely related facts that
inform. It is written in the inverted pyramid design.
Action story – A narrative of actions involving not mere simple facts but also of dramatic events,
description of persons and events, perhaps testimony of witnesses, as well as explanatory data. Sports
games, competitions, accidents, and war reports are examples of action stories.
Speech report – A news story usually written from a public address, talks, and speeches.
Quote story – Speeches, statements, and letters, and to some extent, interviews when reported, are regarded
as quote stories. All are based on recorded information, either written or spoken, and transcribed by the
reporter in the form of news.
Interview story – A news report written from an interview.
 Hard news – events, such as killings, city council meetings and speeches by leading government officials,
are timely and are reported almost automatically by the media.
Soft news – events, such as a lunch to honor a retiring school custodian or a boy scouting jamboree are not
usually considered immediately important or timely to a wide audience.

CONTENT
Routine story – celebrations, enrollment, graduation, election stories reported year in and year out.
Police reports – accident, fire, calamity, crime stories, etc.
Science news
Developmental news
Sports stories

MINOR FORMS
News brief – A short item of news interest, written like a brief telegraphic message, giving mainly the
result with details.
News bulletin – It is similar to the lead of a straight news story. Its aim is just to give the gist of the
news.
News-featurette – This is a short news feature usually used as filler, e.g., “Quirks in the news.”
Flash – A bulletin that conveys the first word of an event.

Lesson 7
The lead is the news story’s opening statement. It can be a word, a phrase, or a sentence that attracts and
sustains the reader’s interest. The rule of thumb for writing a lead is that “a lead should be like a miniskirt, short
enough to be attractive but long enough to cover the essentials.” The main concern of writing the lead is to get
hold of the readers until they’ve read all the important information from the news story.

Major Classifications of Lead

1. Summary Lead - It answers the five W’s and one H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How). In a
straight news, the story is presented in an inverted pyramid form where the most important data are in
the first and second paragraph. Summary lead can be of its six types depending on its focus: Who
Lead, What Lead, When Lead, Where Lead, Why Lead, and How Lead.
2. The Grammatical-Beginning Lead - This classification of Lead paragraphs still give emphasis on the
logical importance of the details but is equally concerned with its grammatical structures. There is an
avenue to break monotony of summary or conventional lead paragraphs.
3. Unorthodontox Lead or Novelty Lead - This is best used to attract reader’s attention, to arouse his/her
curiosity and to sustain his/her interest. It is used in writing news feature or a feature article.

Kinds of Grammatical-Beginning Lead

1. Prepositional Phrase Lead - a phrase is introduced by a preposition.

2. Infinitive Phrase Lead - it starts with the preposition “to” plus the main verb.
3. Participial Phrase Lead - This is signaled by the presence of the present or past participle of the verb,
acting as a modifier.
4. Gerundial Phrase Lead - This lead is introduced by a gerund -- a verbal ending in -ing which acts as a
noun.
5. Clause Lead - This lead begins with a clause, which may become either an independent or subordinate,
or may transform as either a noun or an adjectival or adverbial clause.
Kinds of Novelty Lead
1. Narrative Lead
2. Descriptive Lead
3. Quoted Statement Lead
4. Question Lead
5. Teaser
6. Punch Lead
7. Astonisher Lead
8. One word lead
9. Parody Lead
10. Background Lead
11. Freak Lead
12. Contrast Lead
13. Staccato Lead

Lesson 8