JOURN 102 Introduction to News Writing (5 credits)
Distribution Area Fulfilled Communications; General Transfer Elective
Prerequisite ENGL 098 with a grade of 2.0 or better.
Course Description
A study of the basic forms and styles of various news writing techniques and mechanics. Writing exercises in basic news writing, as well as work in news gathering, interview techniques, copy assimilation, copy editing, headline writing and other roles of the reporter.
Course Content
A. Legal and ethical concerns of news writing, such as credibility, libel and privacy
B. How news creates a view of reality by which citizens act
C. The marketplace and what makes information newsworthy to an audience
D. Application of basic skills such as writing leads, conducting interviews, using quotes, paraphrase, and color
E. News format and structure
Student Outcomes
1. Identify credibility and ethics as the overarching standards of journalism.
2. Recognize and eliminate personal bias, stereotypes and prejudice in reporting news.
3. Define the basic elements of libel and invasion of privacy in news writing.
4. Explain what makes certain types of information news worthy and why.
5. Identify the campus market and brainstorm story ideas for that market.
6. Develop a story plan, including angle, contacts and interview questions.
7. Conduct an interview in a professional and effective manner.
8. Recognize the elements of a story lead.
9. Create story leads appropriate to the assigned story subjects.
10. Develop a news story that utilizes a variety of quotes and paraphrases.
11. Apply “color” to a story through the use of quotes, metaphors, similes, and sensory detail.
12. Recognize and apply appropriate style, structure, and language in news writing.
Degree Outcomes
Communication: Graduates identify, analyze and evaluate rhetorical strategies in one’s own and other’s writing in order to communicate effectively. Critical, Creative and Reflective Thinking: Graduates will evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and generate ideas; construct informed, meaningful, and justifiable conclusions; and process feelings, beliefs, biases, strengths, and weaknesses as they relate to their thinking, decisions, and creations.
Lecture Contact Hours 50
Lab Contact Hours 0
Clinical Contact Hours 0
Total Contact Hours 50
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