Virginia Commonwealth University
Richard T. Robertson School of Media & Culture
Syllabus for Mobile and Social Media Journalism (“iPadJournos”)
MASC 496 ● Section 001 ● Fall 2014 (August 21 – December 4)
Service-Learning Course
Dr. Marcus Messner, Associate Professor
Office: Temple Building, 901 W. Main St., Room 1110
Office phone: (804) 827-0252; E-Mail:
Website: http://www.marcusmessner.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12 to 1:30 p.m.; and by appointment
Vivian Medina-Messner, Instructor
Office: Temple Building, 901 W. Main St., Room 1149
Office phone: (804) 827-3775; E-Mail:
Website: http://www.vivianmedinamessner.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12 to 1:30 p.m.; and by appointment
Class Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Location: Academic Learning Commons, Room 4110 (Learning Studio)
Class Website: http://wp.vcu.edu/socialmediajournalism and http://blackboard.vcu.edu
Course Description
MASC 496 – Mobile and Social Media Journalism (also known as the “iPadJournos” project) is a capstone course for all print-online journalism students as well as broadcast journalism students, who enrolled at VCU before the fall semester 2014. The class integrates journalism skills and concepts from previous writing and reporting classes and adapts them to mobile and social media. Students work in a newsroom environment to utilize mobile devices and social media platforms to identify compelling story ideas, effectively break news and report on important news events and issues while applying theories and concepts of online social networking to journalism. Students develop their own professional social media portfolios and build online communities.
This class is a seminar in every sense of the word: You will talk, think, argue, disagree, probe and defend. All of these elements are essential for a deeper level of understanding of online social networking. Taking part in class discussion is not optional; it is required. We must all agree to do our best to make sure all students feel comfortable expressing their opinions. Class time is precious. Class will start promptly and you are expected to be on time and prepared.
Because this is a service-learning course, you will work for a media client, WTVR-CBS 6 in Richmond. Most of the assignments in this class are news reporting assignments about the fall 2014 elections in Virginia that will be published on the website WTVR-CBS 6. The goal of this service-learning project is to better inform the public about important election issues as well as the candidates running for office. Throughout the semester there will be regular reflection on all of your assignments and your learning achievements in this class through group discussions and meetings with your instructor.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
§ Apply networking theories and concepts to practical social media projects in journalism
§ Utilize mobile technologies as learning and reporting tools
§ Analyze and research social media needs and uses of news audiences
§ Build online communities around social media platforms
§ Produce multimedia news content for social media
§ Develop and implement personal and professional social media strategies
§ Produce a journalistic social media portfolio
MASC 496 also will also attempt to assess your mastery of each of the learning objectives required by the school’s assessment plan and the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. These objectives include: Laws & Freedom of Speech; Media History; Diversity; Use of Images; Ethics; Critical & Creative Thinking; Research & Information-Evaluation Skills; Writing Abilities; Editing Abilities; Numbers & Statistics; and Tools & Technologies.
Pre- or Co-requisite
To enroll in MASC 496, students must have successfully completed 303, 363 and 367, each with minimum grade of C, or obtain the permission of the instructor. This course may not be taken simultaneously with MASC 403, MASC 404 or MASC 475 without permission from the instructor.
Service Learning
We have received Service Learning designation for MASC 496. You will fulfill the Service Learning requirements of this course in carrying out news reporting assignments for our media partner WTVR-CBS 6. During the course of the semester, you will be expected to contribute at least 20 hours of service (individually and/or working with your team) developing story ideas and carrying them out. This service will include attending at least two meetings with representatives of our media partner and weekly contact with them via e-mail and our Facebook group.
During the semester, we will conduct peer-evaluations on your work. At the end of the semester, you will present your entire social media reporting portfolio to representatives of our media partner and journalists from other news organizations. This will help you and our media partner to reflect on the work accomplished during the semester.
VCU Statement of Service-Learning: Service-Learning at Virginia Commonwealth University is a course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets community-identified needs. Students reflect on the service activity to increase understanding and application of course content and to enhance a sense of civic responsibility.
Mobile Technology
This class is part of an innovative technology project at the School of Media and Culture. Each student in the class will receive an iPad as a learning and reporting tool for the duration of the semester. The iPads will be handed to each student on the first day of class and will be returned on the last day of the semester. Each student needs to sign a release form to receive an iPad.
Students are also expected to use their mobile phones for social media reporting purposes. Mobile reporting equipment will also be available to be checked out.
Textbook and Other Required Materials
Readings for this class will be posted every week through online social bookmarking. Follow the news about the fall elections every day on news websites such as WTVR.com, Timesdispatch.com, Washingtonpost.com and Politico.com as well as our own news curation site.
The following is a recommended textbook for this course:
Mark Briggs (2012): Journalism Next: A Practical Guide to Digital Reporting and Publishing, 2nd Edition. CQ Press (e-book).
You can buy the e-book and have it directly delivered via wireless to your your iPad. Additional instructions will be provided upon request.
Every student will also be expected to buy iPad apps throughout the semester (approximately $40) as well as additional equipment and batteries as necessary (approximately $40).
Class Website
All class material is available on our class website at http://wp.vcu.edu/socialmediajournalism/. We will use the Blackboard course management system [https://blackboard.vcu.edu] only for grading purposes. After you log in to Blackboard, you will have access to your grades.
Important Rules about E-Mail
Electronic mail or "e-mail" is considered an official method for communication at VCU because it delivers information in a convenient, timely, cost effective and environmentally aware manner. Students are expected to check their official VCU e-mail on a frequent and consistent basis in order to remain informed of university-related communications. The university recommends checking e-mail daily. Students are responsible for the consequences of not reading, in a timely fashion, university-related communications sent to their official VCU student e-mail account. This policy ensures that all students have access to this important form of communication. It ensures students can be reached through a standardized channel by faculty and other staff of the university as needed. Mail sent to the VCU e-mail address may include notification of university-related actions, including disciplinary action. Please read the policy in its entirety: http://www.ts.vcu.edu/kb/3407.html
VCU gives each student an e-mail account, and that is the address Blackboard uses (and we will use) for this class. We will communicate frequently in this class by e-mail. Therefore, you should check your e-mail regularly for messages about MASC 496. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are receiving e-mails from us.
When you send us an e-mail, begin the subject line with “MASC 496:”. Otherwise, our spam filters may delete your message.
Class Attendance Policy
Attendance is mandatory at all class meetings. Attendance will be taken at the start of each class. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be counted absent for that day’s attendance.
The attendance policy for this course is strict: If you have three unexcused absences, we will lower your final grade by one letter and by two letters for four unexcused absences. If you have five or more absences (excused or unexcused), you will automatically receive an F in the course. You would be able to avoid the F by withdrawing from MASC 496. Decisions over whether an absence is excused or unexcused are solely made by the instructor. Written certification (e.g. doctor’s note) might be required.
Assignments, Deadlines and Late Work
This course will help prepare you for a career in journalism: You’ll build your portfolio and position yourself for newsroom jobs. The class requires a substantial investment of your time in the semester. At times it will feel like being in a newsroom and in a full-time job.
Much of your work in the class will focus on the fall 2014 elections in Virginia. You will cover issues and events related to the congressional races and the other state and local races. You will produce multimedia news packages (written stories and multimedia elements) for our media partner WTVR-CBS 6. It is the goal of this class to publish all of your packages on the website of WTVR-CBS 6. This is an awesome opportunity – and a tremendous responsibility. You will have to write stories and produce multimedia content with impeccable accuracy, quality and fairness under tight deadlines.
Please see all assignments descriptions on our course website at http://wp.vcu.edu/socialmediajournalism/assignments/
For communicators, an essential skill is the ability to work against a deadline. Therefore, in this course, you must turn in work on time. Plan ahead, organize your time and do not procrastinate. If you miss a deadline, you will receive a zero for that assignment.
Grades
Your final grade will be based on the following assignments and exams:
Component of final grade
/Percent of final grade
Social media portfolio / 20%Cool tools and apps presentation / 2%
Social media critique (team) / 2%
Blog post / 3%
Live tweeting (incl.Instagram) / 3%
News curation / 10%
News packages 1-5 / 40%
Editorial leadership / 10%
Mobile development project / 10%
Total
/ 100%Details on all assignments, including deadlines, are available on the class website.
We will use the following grading scale:
A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 60-69; F = below 60
Assessment Objectives for News Packages
It is the goal to publish all news packages on the website of WTVR-CBS 6. If time allows, stories will be rewritten and grading will be based on the second draft. Only stories that are fully reported and have all multimedia content readily produced will be eligible for a rewrite. A story that is not sent out for publication to WTVR-CBS 6 due to quality issues will not be eligible for a grade better than “D.” Excellent stories that are considered publishable without further editing will receive an “A-” before they are sent to a news organization and the grade will be changed to an “A” if the story is published. Solid stories that can be published with relatively little editing effort will receive a “B.” Acceptable stories that include the basics and can be published with fairly heavy editing will receive a “C.” Stories that miss something important and are not acceptable for publication will receive a “D.” A story that is not turned in or that shows no sign of effort will receive an “F” and cannot be rewritten.
Making a factual error (e.g. misspelling a name) in a story will also automatically result in an “F.” This will also be the case, if an error is detected after publication. If you hand in a rewrite, it is expected that you do more than “cosmetic” corrections (e.g. correcting spelling errors). Rewrites have to fundamentally improve stories and will be due two days after an assignment is returned. There are no exceptions to these rules. Late rewrites will not be accepted.
Extra-Credit
Extra-credit work must be approved by us. It must be completed by December 2, 2014.
Incompletes
No incompletes will be given in this course, except for dire emergencies. All assignments must be completed by the end of the semester to pass.
Student Conduct in the Classroom
According to the Faculty Guide to Student Conduct in Instructional Settings (http://www.assurance.vcu.edu/Policy%20Library/Faculty%20Guide%20to%20Student%20Conduct%20in%20Instructional%20Settings.pdf), "The university is a community of learners. Students, as well as faculty, have a responsibility for creating and maintaining an environment that supports effective instruction. In order for faculty members (including graduate teaching assistants) to provide and students to receive effective instruction in classrooms, laboratories, studios, online courses, and other learning areas, the university expects students to conduct themselves in an orderly and cooperative manner." Among other things, cell phones and beepers should be turned off while in the classroom. Also, the university Rules and Procedures prohibit anyone from having "in his possession any firearm, other weapon, or explosive, regardless of whether a license to possess the same has been issued, without the written authorization of the President of the university..." For more information, visit the VCU Insider online at https://docs.google.com/a/vcu.edu/file/d/0B7z3ZniSHWXVU1ZmcFpIQ1J2UXM/edit?pli=1.
Cultural Diversity and Free Expression
It is vital that students in this course broaden their mass communications experiences, with guidance from the instructor, by including in their course work people and subjects such as ethnic, racial and religious minorities, people with disabilities, gay men and lesbians, and other groups. The intent is to ensure that students are exposed to diverse ideas and perspectives.
In this class, it is the responsibility of the instructor and students to foster an environment that supports free expression. Under VCU policy, you may not harass or intimidate any person or "interfere with the lawful freedom of other persons, including invited speakers, to express their views."
Campus Emergency Information
What to Know and Do to Be Prepared for Emergencies at VCU: