The Journalism Portfolio (151 & 153)
PHILOSOPHY
The Journalism Portfolio should be a public showcase of the journalist’s work. It will demonstrate the journalist’s editorial judgment in arranging, revising, and presenting their own work. Most important, the portfolio will exhibit pieces that exemplify the multifaceted reflection that go into preparing, workshopping, copyediting, and finalizing journalistic writing. The portfolio will ultimately serve multiple purposes: to document progress while actively charting the path of one’s academic, career, and creative development.
Download specifications for the 151 Portfolio or for the 153 Portfolio.
NR+W Media Journal Part Two
News Reporting & Writing Students: Post your second Media Journal per "On-line Writing" syllabus instructions. See also a description of the Media Journal assignment on the syllabus.
DUE 11/18, 10pm...
News Writing Criteria
News Reporting & Writing works with the following criteria to guide assessment, evaluation, improvement, and grading of the basic journalistic news pieces we write in the class.
● NEWS VALUE
● FORM
● REPORTING
● WRITING QUALITY
● CLEAN COPY
NR+W Media Journal Part One
News Reporting & Writing Students: Please post your first Media Journal on 10/14/07 by 10pm, per syllabus instructions (see page 2, "ON-LINE WRITING").
See also a description of the Media Journal assignment on the syllabus (page 6: Week Six, 10/3). And be sure to review the Five Media Concepts & Questions handout for the fundamentals of media analysis.
Finally, here's the 'BLOG handout that we'll go over in class, with my version of a media journal.
Basic News Writing Tips
Download news writing tips to prepare your first news story.
News Leads
Consider the following sample leads for impact, word choice, and structure.
MEDFORD, OH – Scissors defeated rock Monday, marking the cutting instrument’s first-ever victory over its longtime nemesis. [14 words] (“Scissors”)
A student was arrested on July 29 for “stimulating himself” while leering at another student who was in the shower. [20 words] (Robb)
ATLANTA—After a two-year hiatus from basketball, Jesus Christ returned to the NBA Sunday night, rejoining His former team, the Atlanta Hawks. [21 words] (“Christ Returns”)
WASHINGTON – President Bush urged Americans on Monday to cut back on unnecessary travel to make up for fuel shortages caused by Hurricane Rita. [22 words] (Pickler)
A Hanover Park man is facing felony aggravated battery charges following the death of an 11-month-old infant left in his care, authorities said Wednesday. [24 words] (“Man charged”)
The feds for the first time interviewed Mayor Daley on Friday about a burgeoning Hired Truck investigation that has reached into the mayor’s patronage system. [25 words] (Korecki and Patterson)
A profanity-laced shouting match turned into a bloody confrontation last year when one man drove over the other repeatedly with a cab, five witnesses said Tuesday. [26 words] (Herman)
LOS ANGELES – The woman whose son accused Michael Jackson of child molestation was charged with welfare fraud Tuesday for allegedly collecting nearly $19,000 in payments while making false claims. [27 words] (AP “Mother”)
BALTIMORE – A man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in jail for shooting a civilian police employee in a dispute over a stolen can of Spam more than 30 years ago. [30 words] (AP)
RICHMOND, Va. – In a victory for the Bush administration, a federal appeals court ruled Friday the government can continue to hold indefinitely an American accused of plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb.” [31 words] (Gelineau)
A federal grand jury indicted ousted Chicago Sun-Times Publisher F. David Radler on fraud charges, saying he illegally helped funnel about $32 million in corporate funds to a private company he co-owns. [32 words] (Miller and O’Connor)
FORT HOOD, Texas – Army Pfc. Lynndie England, whose smiling poses in photos of detainee abuse at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison made her the face of the scandal, was convicted Monday by a military jury on six of seven counts. [36 words] (Badger)
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Insurgents dragged five Shiite Muslim schoolteachers and their driver into a classroom, lined them against a wall and gunned them down Monday – slayings in Iraq’s notorious Triangle of Death that reflect the enflamed sectarian divisions ahead of a crucial constitutional referendum. [41 words] (Keath)
Homeless, mentally shaken and emotionally disturbed are the last words Uptown native Cody Camacho ever thought he would use to describe himself. But it’s exactly the image that the 23-year-old has faced in the mirror everyday since he finished a tour of duty in Iraq and returned home last year. [50 words] (Caputo)
WORKS CITED
AP. “58-year-old gets 3 years for killing man over can of Spam.” Chicago Sun-Times 38 Sept. 2005: 52.
-----. “Mother of Jacko’s accuser charged with welfare fraud.” Chicago Sun-Times 24 Aug. 2005: 32.
Badger, T.A. “England guilty in prisoner abuse.” Chicago Sun-Times 27 Sept. 2005: 26.
Caputo, Angela. “‘I’ve been living on a thread.’” Pioneer Press News-Star 14 Sept. 2005: 1+.
“Christ Returns to NBA.” 3 Apr. 1996. The Onion’s Finest News Reporting Vol. 1. NY: Three Rivers Press, 2000: 68.
Gelineau, Kristen. “‘Dirty bomb’ suspect staying put.” Chicago Sun-Times 10 Sept. 2005: 7.
Herman, Eric. “Witnesses say fight led to death.” Chicago Sun-Times 17 Aug. 2006: 20.
Keath, Lee. “Iraqi rebels line 5 teachers against wall and kill them.” Chicago Sun-Times 27 Sept. 2005: 38.
Korecki, Natasha, and Steve Patterson. “Feds grill Daley about hired Truck.” Chicago Sun-Times 27 Aug. 2005: 3.
“Man charged in baby’s death.” Chicago Sun-Times 15 Sept. 2005: 24.
Miller, James P., and Matt O’Connor. “Former Sun-Times publisher indicted.” Chicago Tribune 19 Aug. 2005: 1+.
Pickler, Nedra. “Curb excess travel, Bush urges.” Chicago Sun-Times 27 Sept. 2005: 6.
Robb, Tom “Student arrested for sexual misconduct.” NEIU Independent 29 Aug. 2005: 1+.
“Scissors defeats rock.” The Onion’s Finest News Reporting. NY: Three Rivers Press, 2000: 4.
Reporting Plan & Checklist
Download a reporting tip-sheet to plan your first news story.
On Wikipedia
Here are just a few more reasons to go beyond the popular reference site and instead do some database research...
...from beloved "fake" TV pundit Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report via YouTube...
On-line Writing Piece #2
ELEMENTS of JOURNALISM Part 2
Like last time, pick a chapter to sum, from the second half of Elements.
After summarizing, respond with the following question in mind: How does a journalist go about preparing coverage that is engaged but independent, while dealing with real-world challenges to the integrity, conscience, and profitability of news organizations? Use quotes, details, examples, or case studies from the text or class discussions and articles.
POST DUE NO LATER THAN 10pm, Tues., Sept. 11, 2007...
On-line Writing Piece #1
ELEMENTS of JOURNALISM Part 1
Pick a chapter of your choice from the first six. Write at least one paragraph to summarize that chapter. Follow your summary with at least one paragraph in response to the first half of Elements. One of the following questions might help in formulating your summary/response:
1. What/who does journalism serve?
2. Why is truth the first principle?
3. Who is the journalist's boss?
4. How is verification the essence of journalism?
5. Why should journalists maintain independence from those they cover?
6. What is the journalist's relationship to power?...to the people (citizens)?
Also, the handout from this past week, on different kinds of writing, might help you review.
SYLLABUS: ENGLISH 151-C (News)
Welcome to News Reporting & Writing, Fall 2007!
Download the English 151-C syllabus.