Media Writing Syllabus for 2015-2016
Return to Syllabus List

Instructor Information

Course Information

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact disAbility Services (Student Service Center room 119, phone 371-5436) as soon as possible.

Statement for Mental Health and Advocacy & Resource Center:

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

Administrative Drop Policy

N/A

Student Withdrawal Procedures

N/A

Privacy Statement

The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students.  If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .

Course

COMM-2311-001 Media Writing

Prerequisites

Course Description

Fundamentals of writing for the mass media. Includes instruction in professional methods and techniques for gathering, processing and delivering content.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

\N

Occupational License Disclaimer

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec, 2 lab)

Class Type

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

• Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism, 3rd Ed.,
by Tim Harrower (required)

• The Associated Press Stylebook (2014 edition or later) (required)

• The Associated Press Guide to News Writing, by Rene J. Cappon (suggested)

Supplies

1 - Notebook and pen (instructor will provide a reporter’s notebook)

2 - Voice recorder (not required, but will be helpful) 

Student Performance

CLASS PARTICIPATION:

Students are encouraged to ask questions and to participate in class discussions in the spirit of sharing and gaining knowledge.  Class work includes analysis of newspaper story styles and writing exercises.  Thorough, well-organized class notes will prove extremely helpful in preparing for future writing assignments. Each student must accumulate 2 hours of lab time weekly for assigned stories. After first two labs, students will use lab time to work on assigned stories and for scheduled side-by-side editing.

DESCRIPTION OF COURSE (as in catalog): Fundamentals of writing for the mass media. Includes instruction in professional methods and techniques for gathering, processing and delivering content. Hours (3 sem hrs; 3 lec, 2 lab) (Texas Common Course Number: COMM 2311)

OBJECTIVES AND GOALS OF COURSE:  Students will learn to gather accurate information, order the information into a cohesive news story and process the story using computers and software for possible publication in a general interest newspaper, magazine or website. At the same time, students will learn basic newspaper operation.

 PERFORMANCE/LEARNING OBJECTIVES (minimum competencies):  After studying the material presented in this course of study, the student will be able to do the following as evaluated by the faculty in the department/program:

      •   Make sound news judgments.

      •   Identify professional behavior of journalists

      •   Gather information for use in newspaper stories via traditional research methods, by conducting interviews and finding information online and from other sources.

      •   Write newspaper and magazine stories using standard journalistic style using word processing software.

      •   Recognize and write summary and other types of news leads.

      •   Recognize and write news stories following inverted pyramid and feature formats.

      •   Recognize and write columns and reviews.        

      •   Recognize similarities and differences in writing for public relations, broadcast news and online publications.

      •   Identify potential news photo opportunities, understand the use of digital cameras, understand good photo composition and understand professional behavior of news photographers.

      •   Define the ethical and legal areas that govern the day-to-day conduct of a journalist.

 BASIC ASSIGNMENTS:

•             In-class exercises
•             6 stories for The Ranger weekly print newspaper
•             4 stories for The Ranger online newspaper
•             1 magazine story for AC Current magazine
•             Possible copy editing/style quizzes
•             2 major exams

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

Cell phones should be silenced or turned off during the scheduled classroom lecture time. Phones or other digital devices should be used in class only for class purposes. Reasonable cell phone use is expected when working on stories in the journalism lab (newsroom). In addition, students are expected to comply with the Amarillo College publication Student Rights & Responsibilities.

Plagiarism is unacceptable. Plagiarism is considered serious academic misconduct. All written assignments presented in this class must be original work by the student. Any student caught plagiarizing or cheating will receive a failing grade for the course. Students must abide by high standards of journalistic integrity. Faking quotations, faking facts, pasting material directly from a website or other source or reporting things that did not happen will be treated as plagiarism and dealt with in the same manner as other scholastic dishonesty. Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but not be limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion. Cheating on a test shall include: 1. Copying from another student’s test paper. 2. Using test materials not authorized by the person administering the test. 3. Collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test without permission from the test administrator. 4. Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, or soliciting, in whole or in part, the contents of an unadministered test. 5. The unauthorized transporting or removal, in whole or in part, of the contents of the unadministered test. 6. Substituting for another student, or permitting another student to substitute for one’s self, to take a test. 7. Bribing another person to obtain an unadministered test or information about an unadministered test. Plagiarism shall be defined the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of another person's/organization's work as one’s own written work for purposes of receiving grades in this course and/or publication in a student media outlet, regardless of whether the lifted material represents the original work in its entirety or in part. Collusion shall be defined as the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for fulfillment of course requirements. A complete statement regarding scholastic dishonesty can be found in the Student Code of Conduct in Student Rights and Responsibilities in this syllabus.

Grading Criteria

REQUIRED EXAMINATIONS:  Two exams (equally weighted) can be anticipated.  Open-book AP style quizzes also may be expected.

EVALUATIONS:        

            A = 90-100      B = 80-89        C = 70-79        D = 60-69        F = 59 or below

50% of final grade = 10 stories for The Ranger, 1 story forAC Current (Ranger stories = 40% of final grade; AC Current story = 10% of final grade).
Specific story topics will be assigned by The Ranger editor no less than 1 week before the deadline as posted in the Virtual Newsroom, which is available in AC Connect/Blackboard. Magazine stories will be assigned by the AC Current editor no less than 3 weeks before the due date.

Stories will be graded for time spent gathering information and organizing the material and for good journalism practices, which include:

      • sources and quotes (at least three “live” sources per story)

      • simple story formula

      • at least 14 column inches (about 400 words) per story; some story topics may require more

      • lack of editorializing (writer’s opinion in news or feature stories)

      • making deadlines

      • spelling, grammar and punctuation

      • AP style (once you know what it is)

      • story organization

      • lead

      • lack of legal problems

10% of final grade – attendance (class and lab) and participation (participation includes one side-by-side editing session with instructor during lab)

15% of final grade – open-book quizzes, writing assignments as required for concept mastery, e-portfolio, class assignments, class participation

25% of final grade – 2 exams (mid-term exam and final exam). 

Attendance

Regular attendance in class and lab is required if the student is to do well in the course.  Roll will be taken at each class meeting and lab.  Students must meet lab requirements in order to receive credit for 2 hours of lab attendance each week a story is due. The instructor reserves the right to lower the final course grade in light of poor classroom/lab attendance. Unless the instructor approves a legitimate reason, more than three missed classes will result in lowering the student’s final course grade by one letter grade. 

There will be no instructor-initiated withdrawals from this class.  Students are responsible for dropping or withdrawing from this course as necessary.  When a student veteran stops attending class (the equivalent of one week of absences), the Registrar’s Office and the veteran’s counselor will be notified.  No official warnings will be given students when excessive absences jeopardize their successful completion of the course.

Calendar

Additional Information

COURSE WEBSITE and EMAIL:

(1) Each student should check two online sites on a regular basis: (1) the course website for Announcements and occasional course material and (2) the Virtual Newsroom site for story assignments, posting stories and other Student Media information.

(2) Each student also should check his or her Amarillo College Gmail account on a regular basis for possible emails from the instructor or editor.

Help in navigating the course website can be found at www.actx.edu and clicking on "AC Connect."