Introduction to Journalism
Scholastic Journalism Distance Learning Institute
Copyright
Lories Slockbower©2011
[ Scholastic Journalism Institute]
50 Mountain View Blvd.
Wayne, NJ 07470
United States of America
973-565-1900
E-mail:
Website:
If you do notsee your institute’s name (and school/department, if applicable) below, go back to the first page and follow the help instructions “Before going to the next page!”at the bottom of this page.
Contents
About this Course Manual
How this Course Manual is structured......
Course overview
Welcome to Introduction to Journalism …A beginner’s course to newspaper writing...
Introduction to Journalism--Is this course for you?......
Course objectives......
Course outcomes......
Timeframe......
Study skills......
Need help?......
Assignments......
Assessments......
Getting around this Course Manual
Margin icons
Unit 1
The History of American Journalism – Part I......
Introduction......
Colonial newspapers......
Modern American journalism......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 2
History of American Journalism – Part II......
Introduction......
Conducting research on the Internet......
Writing a story with graphics......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 3
Students Press Rights and Ethics – Part I......
Introduction......
First Amendment rights......
Court cases impacting scholastic journalists......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 4
Students Press Freedom and Ethics – Part II......
Introduction......
Qualities of ethical journalism......
Professional Code of Ethics......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 5
How to write a news story......
Introduction......
Understanding what is news......
Writing the story......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 6
Writing a feature story......
Introduction......
Feature story ideas......
Feature writing process......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 7
What makes good sports writing?......
Introduction......
Different types of sportswriting......
Colorful sportswriting......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 8
The Role of Advertising in Scholastic Newspapers......
Introduction......
Why accept advertisements?......
Designing an attractive ad......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 9
Basic Photography Skills......
Introduction......
How to deconstruct an image......
Using a digital camera......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 10
How to write a specialty story – Part I......
Introduction......
Health topic research......
Health writing......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 11
How to write a specialty story- Part II......
Introduction......
Selecting a topic for a poll story......
Writing the poll story......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 12
Opinion Column Writing – Part I......
Introduction......
What do columnists write about?......
The structure of a column......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 13
Column Writing- Part II......
Introduction......
Research you topic......
Writing the column......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 14
In-depth reporting- Part I......
Introduction......
What is in-depth news coverage?......
Research for in-depth stories......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 15
In-depth reporting Part II......
Introduction......
Conducting research......
Writing the in-depth story......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 16
In-depth Reporting-Part III......
Introduction......
Writing the final draft......
Illustrating an in-depth story......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 17
Irresponsible Journalism......
Introduction......
Identifying irresponsible journalism......
Break all the rules......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 18
Basic Photoshop......
Introduction......
Getting familiar with Photoshop tools......
Using the tools......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 19
Newspaper design and layout –......
Introduction......
What makes a good layout......
“The Best of High School Press”......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
Unit 20
Creating a layout using Indesign –......
Introduction......
Planning a publication......
Following a tutorial......
Unit summary......
Assignment......
Assessment......
/ Introduction to JournalismAbout thisCourse Manual
Introduction to Journalism - A beginner's course to news writing has been produced by the Institute of Scholastic Journalism . All course manual content, produced by the Scholastic Journalism Institute, is structured in the same way, as outlined below.
How this Course Manual is structured
The course overview
The course overview gives you a general introduction to the course. Information contained in the course overview will help you determine:
- If the course is suitable for you.
- What you will already need to know.
- What you can expect from the course.
- How much time you will need to invest to complete the course.
The overview also provides guidance on:
- Scholastic journalism resources
- Where to get help.
- Course assignments and assessments.
- Activity icons.
- Units.
We strongly recommend that you read the overview carefully before starting your study.
The course content
The course is broken down into units. Each unit comprises:
- An introduction to the unit content.
- Unit Objectives
- Unit outcomes.
- New terminology.
- Core content of the unit with a variety of learning activities.
- A unit summary.
- Assignments and/or assessments, as applicable.
- Answers to assignment and/or assessment, as applicable
Resources
For those interested in learning more about scholastic journalism, we provide you with a list of additional resources at the end of this course manual; these may be books, articles or websites.
Yourcomments
After completing Introduction to Journalism we would appreciate it if you would take a few moments to give us your feedback on any aspect of this course. Your feedback might include comments on:
- Course content and structure.
- Course reading materials and resources.
- Course assignments.
- Course assessments.
- Course duration.
- Course support (assigned tutors, technical help, etc.)
Your constructive feedback will help us to improve and enhance this course.
1/ Introduction to Journalism
Course overview
Welcome toIntroduction to Journalism …A beginner’s course to newspaper writing
Intro to Journalism provides students with a solid understanding of the basic concepts of Journalism. The students develop skills concerning the history of journalism, news ethics, press freedoms, press law and important court decisions, objectivity, newsgathering, and news writing and reporting. The primary goal of Intro to Journalism is that upon completion, students will possess all the tools necessary to assist in the production of scholastic publications in Journalism I. The coursework fulfills the 12 standards established by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association as well as New Jersey Core Content Curriculum Standards.
Introduction to Journalism--Is this course for you?
This 20-week course is intended for high school students who are interested in learning the basics of journalism. While covering the origins of newspapers in America and present day press freedoms, it teaches students how to write in the journalistic style and become familiar with the basic steps in desktop publishing and photography so they can create their own school newspaper. The course aims to prepare students to work on their school’s newspaper staff as writers, photographers, editors, and graphic designers.
Students should meet the following criteria for enrollment:
C (2.0) average or higher in English earned during the year prior to course enrollment
and
A passing score on the state’s language arts assessment
Course objectives
The objectives of this course are:
Objectives /
- Demonstrate editing and proofreading skills
- Demonstrate understanding of feature, sports, and opinion writing
- Understand and practice note-taking techniques
- Identify examples and characteristics of solid reporting
- Demonstrate ability to conduct an effective interview
- Understand and demonstrate basic news writing techniques
- Demonstrate editing and proofreading skills
- Understand difference between editorial and op-ed page in newspapers
- Understand different types and purposes of editorials: to interpret, criticize or identify a problem, commend, advocate change, or persuade readers
- Demonstrate ability to write and editorial an opinion piece
- Understand and practice basic photography skills
- Utilize desktop publishing to produce a personal publication featuring student’s work.
- Demonstrate ability to perform basic Photoshop techniques
- Demonstrate knowledge of the functions of school advertising
- Understand aspects of advertising in media such as advertising intertwined with media content, such as advertising copy presented in the form of news stories or the close association of feature articles with surround advertisements, advertisers as a pressure group and sponsorship as a form of advertising
- Identify the elements of an effective advertisement.
- Compute cost of an advertisement based on an advertising rate chart
- Design the layout for an advertisement of a product, correctly label a thumbnail sketch of the layout, write appropriate copy for that advertisement, and do a mock-up of that advertisement using a computer and page layout software
- Identify qualities of a reputable online news website.
- Use student press web site to understand effectiveness of online scholastic journalism
- Understand production elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a specific medium.
- Understand the principles, processes, and products associated with arts and communication media
- Understand the history of American newspapers
- Identify the freedoms of American press
- Understand the court cases which set the standard for scholastic press freedoms and ethics
Course outcomes
Upon completion of Introduction to Journalism, students will be able to:
Outcomes /
- Understand the history of American newspapers.
- Apply press ethics to their news writing.
- Write in the journalistic style.
- Develop and price advertisements for publication
- Shoot and format photographs for use in a publication.
- Design and create layouts in desktop publishing.
Timeframe
How long? / This is a 20-week course
It is recommended that students spend about three hours a week in self-study time to prepare articles, complete assignments, and required readings.
Study skills
As a high school learner, you will find this course different from your usual academic subjects. Although you will refer to a textbook, articles and web sites, you will have a choice regarding the topics you choose to write about. You will have fun being the editor of your own mini-newspaper which is the culminating project of the class. You will take the photos for your stories, design layouts and even give your newspaper a title.But since this course is not held in a conventional classroom where you see the teacher face-to-face, you will learn to work responsibly and independently. You will log onto the electronic blackboard each day to check assignments and postings. Essentially you will develop the discipline to follow a syllabus without hearing a teacher’s voice. As a consequence, you will need to consider time management, goal setting, stress management, etc. Perhaps you will also need to reacquaint yourself in areas such as essay planning, coping with exams and using the web as a learning resource.
Your most significant considerations will be time and space i.e. the time you dedicate to your learning and the environment in which you engage in that learning.
We recommend that you take time now—before starting your self-study—to familiarize yourself with these issues. There are a number of excellent resources on the web. A few suggested links are:
This article tells you about the 10 most important things you can do during your first week of an online class.
This is the web site of the Virginia Tech, Division of Student Affairs. You will find links to time scheduling (including a “where does time go?” link), a study skill checklist, basic concentration techniques, control of the study environment, note taking, how to read essays for analysis, memory skills (“remembering”).
The above links are our suggestions to start you on your way. At the time of writing these web links were active. If you want to look for more go to and type “self-study basics”, “self-study tips”, “self-study skills” or similar.
Need help?
Help / This course will be accessed through an electronic blackboard. Your instructor is just an e-mail away so don’t hesitate to ask questions.
The instructor is Lories Slockbower. She can be reached from 8 A.M. to 3:30 9 P.M. at 800-973-1900. Email:
A teaching assistant will be available from 3:30 P.M to 9 P.M and can be reached at or by phone at 800-973-1901
A librarian research assistant will be available from 8:30 A.M. to 9 P.M. can be reached at or by phone at 800-973-1901.
Learners will access a number of valuable online resource sites for academic support.
A technical assistant will be available from 8:30 A.M. to 9 P.M. and can be reached at or by phone at 800-973-1902.
Assignments
Assignments / There are approximately 42 assignments to this course.
The assignments are to be uploaded to a file on the electronic blackboard
Assignments should be submitted to the instructor.
Each assignment will carry specific dates and should be posted by midnight of that date. Projects will be due at the end of each unit.
Each assignment should be completed in the order it is assigned since the information builds on prior learning.
Assessments
Assessments / There will be approximately 42 assessments in this course.
Students will have a combination of self-assessments and teacher-marked assessments. There will also be opportunity for peers to assess each other’s work for learning purposes.
Project assessments will take place at the end of each unit. Short quizzes will be given weekly.
Project assessments will be based on a rubric.
Learners will be given two-weeks to complete assignments. Quizzes will take less than a half hour and tests just under an hour.
Assessments will be graded and returned within a week of completion.
1
/ Introduction to Journalism
Getting around this Course Manual
Margin icons
While working through this manual you will notice the frequent use of margin icons. These icons serve to “signpost” a particular piece of text, a new task or change in activity; they have been included to help you to find your way around this manual.
A complete icon set is shown below. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the icons and their meaning before starting your study.
Activity / Assessment / Assignment / CasestudyDiscussion / Groupactivity / Help / Noteit!
Outcomes / Reading / Reflection / Studyskills
Summary / Terminology / Time / Tip
Computer-BasedLearning / Audio / Video / Feedback
Objectives / Basic / Answers to
Assessments
1
/ Introduction to Journalism
Unit 1
The History of American Journalism – Part I
Introduction
This unit for Introduction to Journalism focuses on the history of American journalism from the Colonial Period to present, with close examination given to the major events, trends, and people who molded and influenced the press. Students address the essential question: How has the American newspaper evolved into its present form and what are the current trends which impact its future? After learning an overview of journalism history, students develop a deeper understanding by conducting their own research on a specific event, person, or newspaper.
Throughout the learning process, students use the Internet and written sources to conduct their topic research. As a culminating performance task, students write a news story about their topic. Students will type their stories in Word and in-bed photos and illustrations in their text to enhance the design of their page(s).
Attention will be given to and students’ performance will be evaluated on the basis of their research, written work, and creativity to determine the extent and caliber of students’ knowledge of American journalism.
Upon completion of this unit you will be able to:
Outcomes /
- Understand important events in the development of the American press.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the functions of the American press.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the penny press and the importance of its development of the American press.
- Identify the era of Yellow Journalism and its impact on the American press.
- Define muckraking and explain its effect on the American press.
- Identify current trends in journalism today
Terminology / Broadsheet: / Format of Colonial newspaper – one sheet generally 14 x 21 inches
Yellow Journalism: / Unethical, irresponsible brand of journalism
Muckrakers: / Journalists who develop significant social consciousness and through their writing crusade for social justice
Colonial newspapers
The history of the United States and the history of its newspapers are tied together. British censorship led to the publications of other papers to express political opinion. The press was instrumental in the colonial efforts to gain independence.
Modern American journalism
Newspapers gained in popularity during the 1800’s and began to cover more topics and sell advertising. Technology spread news over the telegraph and by the end of the 19th century, journalists tackled social issues. The Internet and television has caused newspapers to figure less prominently in peoples’ lives, however online news is increasingly the source for information.
Unit summary
Summary / In this unit you learne how American newspapers have grown from their early days of single broadsheets during the Colonial Period to the color tabloids of today. Through readings in text and online, you research specific topics of interest in the history of American press and will be prepared to prepare a paper in the second half of the unit.
Assignment
Assignment /
- Read the chapter assignment in the textbook, Journalism Today, as well as the article posted in electronic blackboard.
- Answer the questions posted on Blackboard the post your response along with your own question about the history of American journalism.
- Post an answer to at least one other student’s question.
Assessment
Assessment / Students will be assessed on how they answered the questions and responded to their peers.
Students will also take a test on the history of American journalism which will be posted on Blackboard.
1/ Introduction to Journalism
Unit 2
History of American Journalism – Part II