1
Spring 2006
ADVANCED Television News Producing
MMC4936 –006
Wednesday’s 9-12noon
"There are two categories of journalism," he said. "What we need to hear as citizens, war, the economy. Then there's this other stuff that pays the bills"(Edward R. Murrow).
Television news producers are in demand more than ever before. Producers have far more control over the news and how it’s reported than any other individual in the newsroom, including the anchors. For this reason, students should be armed with the necessary tools to meet the demands of the industry. This course is designed to give students professional information from industry leaders on writing techniques, creating story ideas and building quality newscasts.
Professor:Dr. Marie Curkan-Flanagan
Office:3082 CIS, Telephone: 974-6789
E-mail:
Office Hours:T-TR 9:30-12:00p, or by appointment.
Class Hours:9:00a-12n Wednesday
Classroom:CIS 1045 and
WFTS, Channel 28, 4045 N. Himes Ave., Tampa, FL33607,
813/ 354-2828 Web:
Warning!
You must not discuss privileged information outside the classroom. To make this class “real world” and case based, we will discuss information and issues that you deal with at the station. It must be understood that you are NOTto discuss any of this information outside the classroom. Spreading gossip about this or any other station is a breach of professional ethics and could SERIOUSLY DAMAGE our relationship with the station and it will, without question, AFFECT your grade.
Texts:Power Producer: a Practical Guide to TV News Producing by Dow Smith. RTNDA, WashingtonDC, 2000.
Dealing With People You Can’t Stand by Dr. Rick Brinkman and Dr. Rick Kirschner, McGraw Hill, New York, 1994
Mrs. Bluezette’s Grammar Guide: Writing Tips for Broadcast News
By Mona Scott, Digital Commerce, Inc. Nashville,TN 2002
ISBN0-9718649-0-X
The Associated Press Stylebook (not required/ recommended)
AdditionalReading:You must now learn to keep up with the industry you are joining. It is essential that you read these sources on a daily basis. We will discuss current events in the business based on these sources.
Shoptalk. Available as a daily email subscription. This is a must read everyday.
Poynter.org. Management issues and ethical discussions.Romenesko’s daily compilation of links to newspaper stories on the media is vital and entertaining.
Newsblues.comThis is a pay site so it’s up to you. This site links to what is going on in local and network TV news. Some helpful free services including market lists and ownership links.
tvweek.com. The site for one of the leading trade publications. The other leading trade publication is Broadcasting and Cable magazine. Its website is subscription based but I can arrange a subscription to the magazine for class members. It is also available in the SMC library.
Course Objectives
The goal of this course is to teach you the theory and practice of producing television newscasts in a real station environment and to introduce telecommunications students to the basics of broadcast news management and producing. The students in the course must have completed;Introduction to Telecommunications, Broadcast News, and have either completed or are concurrent in Electronic Field Production. You must also be committed to a career in some aspect of television news producing, news production, or news management.
By the end of this course our objectives are that you will:
Be able to produce television news broadcasts.
Contribute as a journalist to that station’s daily news process and to make decisions in coverage and story treatment based on a station’s news philosophy.
Demonstrate the ability to develop into a team leader and to show competence in working with different personalities from various departments in the station. We will also look at dealing with workplace conflict and conflict resolution.
Understand the strategy and tactics of local television news managers in building ratings and meeting overall station/channel business considerations while maintaining journalistic values in an actual commercial station.
You will be asked to understand the ethical and legal issues faced by producers. We will also study ways in which you can better represent the diversity of your community in the newscasts.
Course Structure
Over the course of this semester you will first spend time learning basic producing skills such as writing in the active voice, discussing and learning continuity issues and flow. You will then participate in morning content meetings at Channel 28 learning how assignment editors, managers, and producers interact. You will then schedule time to shadow a producer. You will also write for your assigned newscast, and if you develop your skills to the satisfaction of your supervising producer and instructor, you may actually help in the production of newscaststhrough an internship. This course will require a significant amount of your time, up to 8 hours a week outside of class, as you will have to identify stories, lay them out, and then put a show together. You should be able to provide personal transportation to make sure you can meet the schedule requirements of the station.
COURSE POLICY
We are guests at Channel 28 and you should conduct yourself as such. Your class and professional conduct will be in keeping with the RTNDA Code of Ethics, with USF guidelines, and with the WFTS station policies. Additionally, I expect you to behave and DRESS like professionals. I do not care that the production crew at the station wears shorts and T-shirts. In this class, you will represent yourself, the SMC, and your instructor as a professional. This means you will dress appropriately, be courteous, have pride in your work and intelligence, and you will carry yourself with dignity and decorum. Foul language will not be tolerated at ANY level nor will a negative attitude. If you have “issues” you are to speak with ME privately. Participating in this class is a privilege not a right.
YOU ARE NOT TO BRING FOOD INTO THE LAB NOR THE STATION. Unfortunately, trash pickup in our building is sporadic and some of our classrooms smell terrible. Let’s help keep our learning environment clean and our computers problem free. Should you have food and trash outside of class please place your leftovers in a rubbish receptacle.
Lecture and Seminar
In the lecture portion of this course we will critique and evaluate station newscasts, and we will discuss various issues facing producers. We will also discuss the relationship between the station perceived “run” (who make up the station viewing audience) and newscast content. At the station, you will actively participate in the news director/producer review and evaluation of the prior day’s newscast. These discussions will all be lead by Channel 28’s management team.
Most of our class time will not be in lecture form but rather as a seminar in which we will discuss material from the text and other reading material as assigned. We will review a range of topics including newsroom management issues, news judgment, production, promotion, and the forces that drive local television news viewing, changing demographics and the economics of television news. Most of the discussion will be looking at the real world cases you will face during your time in the newsroom. A preliminary schedule of class discussions is at the end of this syllabus along with reading assignments.
●Unless you specifically advise the professor that you object, material submitted for this course may be used at the discretion of the USFSchool of Mass Communication web site as an example of student work.
●The USF School of Mass Communications complies with national accrediting standards designed to help prepare students to understand and relate to issues of interest to women and minorities in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-racial and otherwise diverse society.
ATTENDANCE:
●Class and station attendance is mandatory in (MMC) 4936-006. No absences are excused.
●You are allowed (1) acceptably documentedexcused absence for illness or transportation reasons, not for job or other class conflicts. Understand that without acceptably documented excused absence for the first cut NO consideration will be given for the second cut. A second cut will result in lowering your FINAL semester grade by one FULL letter grade. Hence, if you have earned a B+ for the term, you will receive a C+. Three cuts will result in automatically FAILING THE COURSE.
●You are allowed two tardy of not more than 3 minutes. Three tardies will be equivalent to an unexcused absence. Once class has begun you are late. This is particularly important for the station portion of the class as you DO NOT want to disrupt a morning content meeting or embarrass yourself and the class in front of the station management.
●No early departures from class are allowed or excused. Early departures from class will be prorated similar to tardies. That is a departure at or before mid-class is considered an unexcused absence.
● In computing your final grades and in addition to the considerations stated above you will automatically lose 15 points for each missed class, 10 points each time you arrived late for class. These additional points will be deducted from your final grade.
●Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide written notice of the date(s) and event (s) to the instructor by the second-class meeting.
While this attendance policy may seem severe, understand that it absolutely mirrors current industry standards. If telecommunications is your career choice, NOW is the time to understand the parameters in which you will be working.
* Any student with a disability is encouraged to meet with me privately during the first week of class to discuss accommodations. Each student MUST bring a current MEMORANDUM OF ACCOMMODATIONS from the Office of Student Disability Services that is a prerequisite for receiving accommodations. Accommodated examinations through the Office of Student Disability Services require two weeks notice.
DEADLINES:
*No exercises, scripts, newscasts, quizzes, or exams can be made-up. Working in telecommunication means meeting deadlines. Each assignment turned in past deadline will result in a zero 0 for a grade.
*Assignments turned in to other venues will not be graded (This means in class only).All assignments are due on day and time stated on this syllabus unless changes are made IN class prior to assignment.
*Other than the assignments and exams, you do not have the option to submit extra work to gain bonus credit. The exceptions will be the Les Rose seminar.
*Any class you miss will not be offered or summarized afterwards at a one-on-one basis-you are entirely responsible for any class you miss. I am assuming that you can grasp the material covered on the day (s) you miss. Therefore, you are strongly advised to follow the schedule and the handouts distributed in each class.
*All scripts and papers left with the instructor at the end of the semester will be discarded one week after the grades are posted.
SALE OF NOTES / TAPING OF CLASS LECTURES:
Lectures and hand-out material given in this class are the property of Dr. Marie Curkan-Flanagan and notes may not be sold, nor taped, nor used for purposes other than the academic (non-commercial) needs of each registered student. Taping class lectures is allowed only by individual permission of the instructor, and only if the student formally agrees to all the following conditions:
(1) Tapes are for the sole use of the individual student to whom permission is given in order to allow that student to enhance traditional note taking in class.
(2) Tapes may not be transcribed, nor may they be sold nor loaned to any other person or organization.
(3) Tapes may not be kept indefinitely ( use the same cassette and tape over each lecture with the next one)
Please see the professor outside of class time to secure formal permission for taping class lectures.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES:
Non-essential electronic devices (phones, beeping watches, beepers, etc.) may not be activated in class or at the television station. Turn off your cell-phones…it is a sign of courtesy. If you leave the classroom to answer your phones I will consider it a cut. Ringing phones and getting up during a lecture is disruptive, unprofessional, and rude. I will not tolerate it.
PLAGARISM:
In the communication industry anyone found to be stealing, fabricating or misusing information looses his or her job. Since this course lays the foundation for a potential career within the industry the rules will be the same. Any student found plagiarizing or misusing information will not only loose their job but they will…fail this course. Cheating on examinations will result in the same loss of class standing as reported above. Students, who don't do their own work, don't deserve a break. Please refer to the academic handbook, which clearly specifies how the university views this type of behavior.
Participation:
Participation is expected and you will be called on randomly to answer questions related to the readings and the assignments and to deliver your format and scripts. In this class you will not earn additional points for participation…you will lose them if you do not.
Newscast Analysis
During the semester you will conduct two breakdowns of newscasts, one from any station in the Tampamarket and the other from an assigned Channel 28 newscast. You will also be asked to evaluate an award winning newscast from an outside market I will provide you. This is a major part of the course and I expect you to go into far more depth than you would for any other class. To be a successful producer you must understand the competitive situation and the news philosophy of a station on several different levels. This is about far more than your favorite anchors. The specifics of this assignment will be covered in a separate handout.
FOR THE CLASS PRESENTATION PLEASE EDIT TOGETHER VIDEOTAPE SEGMENTS FROM THE BROADCASTS TO ILLUSTRATE YOUR ANALYSIS. BE PREPARED TO ASK AND ANSWER QUESTIONS. LET’S HAVE SOME FUN WITH THIS ASSIGNMENT AND REALLY TRY TO UNDERSTAND LOCATION STATION NEWS, FOR GOOD OR BAD!In writing your analysis please use the points made in the Newscast Analysis Statement I will hand out during the course. Failure to address each aspect of a newscast will significantly impact your grade. You are no longer a civilian. Your days of innocence are past. You need to look at newscasts as a professional, not as a starry-eyed fan. If the anchors don’t relate well to each other that’s a big problem for you as a producer and for the station. If they don’t look happy on the air…it might be your fault. If you can identify the real problem you’ll develop well as a producer!
News Inventory Test
At the start of the semester you will be given a general knowledge and news inventory test. It will also include questions from the texts. This quiz will be repeated twice during the semester. This test will count for 100 points and your grade will be based on your best two. Think of the news inventory test as preparation for the kind of information you will need to know for job interviews and, more importantly, as preparation for producing newscasts.
Scripts and Rundowns
You will submit copies of scripts and rundowns from your assignments given both at the station and in the lab. This material will be submitted in keeping with the syllabus schedule.
Story Ideas List
For class on February 8,you will submit a list of 5 story ideas, all should be local and daily news stories that could be completed for a 6PM newscast that day.They will not have emerged from the wires nor the local daily newspaper. This will indicate whether you understand content development. On March 15 you will submit 2 story ideas(with details and contact information) to the station assignment editor for potential air that night.
If the operation uses any single story on-the-air, the submitting student will earn 25 bonus points.
Grading:
News inventory quiz/Best 2 of 3 tests:50 points ea. 100
Local newscast analysis: 75
Channel 28 Newscast Analysis 130
Scripts(total 8) 15 points each.120
Active Voice Assignment 25
Power Verbs Assignment 25
Story ideas list(2/8) 50
Story ideas list(3/15) 75
(Note: if station uses ANY you will get 25pt bonus)
Writing Leads and Teases(four total 25 pts.ea) 100
A Day in the Life (3 page paper following your day w/producer) 50
YOU ARE THE PRODUCER I (as Group)100
Produce your own show (timed and deadline driven,individual)150
1000
GRADE SCALE:Grading standard for final grade (Note: grade standard flux).
A = 920- 1000 4.0
B = 840 3.0Les Rose seminar, 20 bonus points.
C = 730 2.0
D = 640 1.0
AUTOMATIC F ON A LATE ASSIGNMENT = 0