Section: 0400
Prerequisite: MMC 3260 Communication on Internet
Semester: Spring 2012
Class meeting time: Wednesdays, periods 3-5, 9:35 a.m. to 12:35 p.m.
Room: G037 in Weimer Hall, CMIR
Course site: rethinkingjournalism.com
Professor: Dr. Amy Zerba
Contact: azerba@jou.ufl.edu, Room 3065
Office Hours: Mondays from 10:40 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. and Tuesdays from 1:55 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. Also, by appointment (Mon-Wed.)
Course description
Students in this course will learn how to tell and present stories using video, photography, audio and text. This capstone course focuses heavily on multimedia storytelling and less on the software. In this portfolio course, students will develop strong multimedia projects to show potential employers. The class will be devoted to story development, reporting in the field and story presentation. The final project will consist of an original prototype pitch that answers a news challenge question. Students will present their ideas to a panel of judges.
Notice
Prior to this course, students are expected to have knowledge and experience shooting photos and video; reporting; writing news stories and features; blogging; and working in Photoshop.
Learning objectives
- To define the characteristics of strong storytelling
- To identify story ideas by reading and listening
- To craft search-friendly headlines
- To write news features
- To operate a content management system
- To produce an original video story
- To edit video in Final Cut
- To incorporate the characteristics of strong storytelling
- To plan a multimedia story package
- To create a multimedia story with complementary media
- To evaluate others’ multimedia storytelling projects
- To present story ideas to others
- To develop a concept for a journalism-related app, site or product
- To illustrate how a journalism concept works through visuals
Project overview/grading
Two tests (75 points each): 150
Profile video project: 200
Innovation challenge project: 200
Issue-trend multimedia package: 300
Participation points (10 points each class): 140
Three critiques/drafts (20 points each)* : 60
Story video pitches (10 points each): 20
Challenge idea pitch and sketch: 15
Total points : 1085
*NOTE: To participate in one-on-one critiques, students must have drafts that are at least 80% complete. Talking head videos with little b-roll or missing storyline will not be accepted as drafts. No draft means no critique points and attendance points for that week.
Grading scale
100-94: A
93-90: A-
89-87: B+
86-84: B
83-80: B-
79-77: C+
76-74: C
73-70: C-
69-67: D+
66-64: D
63-60: D-
59 or lower: E
Required textbook and equipment
Material on the two tests will come from chapters assigned to read, as well class discussions and handouts.
The following readings are posted on Course Reserves (ARES) through UF libraries. To download these readings, go to www.uflib.ufl.edu/as/aresproxy.html and log in with your UFID or library number. Select library course reserves and search for class.
Mark Briggs. Entrepreneurial Journalism: How to build what’s next for news (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: CQ Press, 2012), 111-139. Chapter 4: “Don’t Wait, Innovate.”
Brian Carroll. Writing for digital media (New York: Routledge, 2010), 207-235. Chapter 9: “We the People: Part II: News as Conversations.”
Sheila Curran Bernard. Documentary storytelling: making stronger and more dramatic nonfiction films (Burlington, MA: Elsevier, 2007), 15-31, Chapter 2: “Story Basics.”
Ken Doctor. Newsonomics: Twelve new trends that will shape the news you get (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010), 114-127. Chapter 6: “It’s a Pro-Am World.”
Nancy Durante. Resonate: Present visual stories that transform audiences (Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010), 2-22. Chapter 1: “Why Resonate.”
Vivien Morgan. Practicing videojournalism (New York: Routledge, 2008), 107-136, Chapter 6: “Filming for new and old media.”
Hugh MacLeod (2009) Ignore everybody and 39 other keys to creativity (London: Penguin Group, 2009), 5-13. Chapter 2: “The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours” and Chapter 3: “Put the hours in.”
Al Tompkins. Aim for the heart: Write, shoot, report and produce for TV and multimedia (Washington D.C.: CQPress, 2012), 77-96, Chapter 6: “The Art of the Interview.”
External Hard drive: To save your projects for this class, you will need an external hard drive. Video and audio projects are large file sizes and should not be saved on a class server. The hard drive should have a minimum of 500 GB of storage. FireWire 400-800 is best for video purposes. 1TB is ideal. (Estimated cost $60-$150)
Equipment damage / lost equipment
If you use equipment that the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida has made available for your use, you are responsible for protecting it from any damage or loss. Damage incurred on this equipment during use — this includes, but is not limited to, damage to laptops, cameras, camcorders, microphones, headphones, tripods, recorders, phones, protective cases – will be your responsibility to repair. You are required to pay for the replacement of the exact damaged or missing part(s) by the end of the present semester. If equipment is lost or stolen, you will be responsible for purchasing the same equipment model by the end of the semester to give back to the college. You will have access to the CMIR lab to edit and produce content Sundays-Fridays.
Late work and missed assignments/quizzes
No late work will be accepted in this class.* Deadlines for assignments are posted on the course schedule. Missed tests also cannot be made up. Any updated deadlines will be announced in class. Assignments turned in after the stated deadline will receive a zero. No excuses. *Only extenuating circumstances, cleared before the deadline, not after, by the instructor, will be considered for additional time on assignments and test make-ups.
Advice: Please give yourself enough time to render, save and upload your projects. Excuses such as “I couldn’t get my project to upload or save” will not be accepted. Anticipate technology issues and give yourself more than enough time to upload your work.
Attendance / Participation
Because the class meets only 14 times, attendance is mandatory. Exceptions will be made for extenuating circumstances, i.e. death in the family or serious illness, but those exceptions must be approved by the instructor prior to the class missed. Attendance and participation is worth 140 points of a student’s total points – that’s 10 points each class. Any missed classes will result in zero points for that day’s attendance and participation. Participation will be graded on contributions to in-class discussions and critiques of classmates’ projects. Lack of participation will result in lower points. If a student misses two classes, he or she will be dropped from this course. Attendance for your final project presentation is an absolute must. Please make arrangements now to be available between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on April 25 in CMIR.
Tardiness
Being late to class is unacceptable and considered rude. Students who are more than five minutes late to class will have five points deducted from that day’s 10 attendance and participation points. Five points also will be deducted for leaving class early before the instructor dismisses students. Attendance will be taken.
Class policies
This classroom will mirror a professional newsroom. The class policies – such as no late work accepted – is what you will find in a dot.com workplace. Give your classmates and professor your undivided attention during class. That means no checking email, going online, talking on your phone, texting, IMing, tweeting, Facebooking, blogging, etc., during class – unless it is an assigned group activity. Please turn off your cell phones in class.
Academic dishonesty
Academic dishonesty of any kind is not tolerated in this course. It will be reported to Student Judicial Affairs, and it will result in a failing grade for the course. Academic dishonesty includes using other work that is not yours without permission and proper credit. This includes the use of any artwork, design, text, video, photographs, music, sound and visuals, etc., you find online or elsewhere. In particular, this includes using text verbatim that you may find on the Internet, regardless of the source. You must gain formal permission to use third-party material from the author/publisher and properly credit the material in assignments. Formal permission in writing from an author/publisher must be submitted to professor along with your project. You must abide by the university’s honor code as well as the Department of Journalism’s policy on academic honesty found at www.jou.ufl.edu/academic/jou/honesty/ on the college site.
Students with disabilities
Students requesting accommodations must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student, who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when making a request for accommodations.