Academic Catalog

JRNL 53B: STUDENT MEDIA PRACTICUM II

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2023
Units: 5
Hours: 2 lecture, 9 laboratory per week (132 total per quarter)
Advisory: ENGL 1A or 1AH or ESLL 26; not open to students with credit in JRNL 25.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: CSU
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Description

This course provides practical experience in creating longer and complex news, feature, and visual content as a member of the college newspaper, magazine, or online media staff, requiring higher skill level and/or leadership/management involvement than JRNL 53A. Includes a lab that regularly produces a news or feature non-fiction product with a journalism emphasis by and for students and distributed to a campus or community audience. Must include weekly news assignments. May include a variety of student media across multiple platforms, including print, broadcast, and online. Includes practical experience in design/layout, visual, online, multimedia journalism, emerging technologies, and leadership/management. Must be student-produced with student leadership.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Employ journalistic reporting and writing skills to produce complex news, feature, sports, and/or opinion stories and visual media for a student media product, such as a newspaper, magazine, or website
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of legal and ethical aspects of student media
  3. Utilize media production technology and processes to present complex assignments and linked material

Course Content

  1. Employ journalistic reporting and writing skills to produce complex news, feature, sports, and/or opinion stories and visual media for a student media product, such as a newspaper, magazine, or website
    1. Develop intermediate level storytelling skills and leadership/management skills as an editor and/or leadership/management involvement
    2. Define relevant news content and best form, such as photojournalism, broadcast journalism, print (magazine or newspaper), online, and multimedia journalism
    3. Gather news information weekly
    4. Writing and presentation of intermediate level journalistic articles for print, online, or broadcast
    5. Complete assignments for publication by stated deadlines
    6. Revise and copy edit basic and advanced news and information into publishable form, with attention to accuracy, clarity, thoroughness, fairness, AP Style, and media law and ethics
    7. Build a portfolio of completed projects for student media that demonstrates a range of storytelling formats/styles that are more advanced than in JRNL 53A
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of legal and ethical aspects of student media
    1. Discuss First Amendment issues
    2. Discuss libel, privacy, and copyright law, and ethics policies and issues affecting media
    3. Critique complex series, packages, and photo essays in newspapers, magazines, news websites, and/or news broadcasts
    4. The business side of the publication (advertising, sales, distribution)
  3. Utilize media production technology and processes to present complex assignments and linked material
    1. Determine the best format—print, multimedia, visual, etc.—for telling basic news stories
    2. Complete complex assignments and electronically file stories, photos, video, and multimedia projects
    3. Develop effective design/layout for news and feature stories through written, visual, audio, video, or other multimedia formats
    4. Apply AP Style and legal and ethical guidelines
    5. Use software and web tools to present visually linked series, packages, and photo essays

Lab Content

Production of a regular news or feature non-fiction product with a journalism emphasis by and for students and distributed to a campus or community audience. Must include weekly newsgathering activities, regardless of publication frequency.

  1. Finding ideas for series, packages, and photo essays
  2. Planning and sourcing for a series or package of related stories or photo essays
  3. Envisioning complex coverage of news and feature stories with storyboards and mock-up layouts
  4. Creating fact boxes and sidebars to accompany stories
  5. Creating visuals to unify series and packages
  6. Proofreading, copyediting, and improving stories
  7. Applying standards, including multiple named sources, adequate lead, spelling, grammar, AP Style
  8. Using government documents and data to source stories
  9. Advocacy and public affairs reporting
  10. Finding expert and "real people" sources using standard methods and social media
  11. Using news judgment
  12. Online and multimedia presentation of complex and linked stories
  13. Utilizing journalism resources, such as textbooks, guides, and websites, to improve skills
  14. Understanding ethical standards for news reporting
  15. Understanding media law as it applies to journalism and student media
  16. Understanding news staff organization
  17. Exploring careers in news media
  18. Exploring entrepreneurial opportunities in news media
  19. Using critique and self-critique to improve the product

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. A classroom/laboratory equipped as a news room: computers with word processing, graphic, and page layout and photo editing software; internet access; cameras; telephones; portable voice recorders; references; basic supplies.
2. When taught as an online distance learning section, students and faculty need ongoing and continuous internet and email access.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Assignments evaluated for adherence to conventions of journalistic style, ethics, professionalism, and deadline timeliness across multiple platforms
Comprehension tests and a final exam requiring students to demonstrate critical thinking using concepts that have been introduced and studied throughout the course
Peer critiques and self-critiques evaluated based on thoroughness and identification of areas needing improvement
Review of portfolio and log for completeness and professionalism of presentation

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture and visual aids
Discussion of assigned reading
Collaborative learning and small group exercises
Laboratory experience which involve students in formal exercises of news gathering and reporting activities

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Foreman, Gene, et al.. The Ethical Journalist, 3rd ed.. 2022.

Staff eds.. Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. 2013.

Harrower, Tim. Inside Reporting, 3rd ed.. 2013.

Staff eds.. Script Handbook. Latest edition.

Although many of these texts are older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, they remain seminal texts in this area of study and are considered foundational texts.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References:

Kanigel, Rachele. The Student Newspaper Survival Guide, 2nd ed. 2012.
Kobre, Kenneth. Videojournalism: Multimedia Storytelling. 2012.
Yopp, Jan Johnson, et al. Reaching Audiences: A Guide to Media Writing, 5th ed. 2010.
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Recent edition.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Complete 6-8 complex assignments, such as a series, a package of related stories, or a photo essay with thematically-linked content; submit by deadline
  2. Read about and react to photojournalism and other journalistic concepts and issues using critical thinking skills
  3. Participate in self-critiques and peer critiques
  4. Compile a digital portfolio of completed work, including a log of activities with descriptions of learning experiences and time spent on assignments

Discipline(s)

Communication Studies or English or Journalism