Devry ENGL219 full course (all assignments +discussions)

All discussions

Journalism is Changing (graded)

People are no longer dependent on print newspapers to keep them informed. What new forms of journalism are currently being developed? Which forms do you prefer and why?

Identifying News (graded)

Have you ever wondered how journalists decide what stories to cover? They use broad criteria to make initial assessments and then take their particular audiences into consideration. Look at an online newspaper from your area, select an article, and tell us why you think it is or isn’t newsworthy. Explain the criteria on which you based your decision and share the link you viewed.

Week 2

Protection for the Media (graded)

Let’s start with your protection as a journalist. Do some research and reading to discover which part of the United States Constitution protects the press and you as a journalist. What does the Constitution say? In addition, why should there be protection for the press?

Code of Honor/Ethics (graded)

Look at several issues that affect the codes of honor and ethics of a journalist, as well as the legal issues. Pick THREE from the following list and define them. Discuss what an ethical journalist should keep in mind regarding each issue.

• Deceit
• Plagiarism
• Conflict of Interest
• Payola
• Invasion of Privacy
• Withholding Information

Week 3

The Discipline of Verification (graded)

Chapter 6 of our text discusses the Discipline of Verification. The text states “Journalists, when operating as they should, follow much the same investigative system used by scientists.” What is the system? How does the journalistic process of layered editing fit into the Discipline of Verification?

Obituaries: Style and Information (graded)

What is the Inverted Pyramid? Explain this technique and why it is effective when writing obituaries.

The definition of an inverted pyramid is that it is a metaphor used by journalists and other writers to illustrate how information should be prioritized and structured in a text. It is a common method for writing news stories as well. The inverted pyramid or upside-down pyramid can be thought of as a simple triangle with one side drawn horizontally at the top and the body pointing down. The widest part at the top represents the most substantial, interesting and important information the writer means to convey, illustrating that this kind of material should head the article, while the tapering lower portion illustrates that other material should follow in order of diminishing importance. The top of the pyramid is the "lead" where the most important information is, the middle is the "body" where the crucial information is and the bottom is the "tail" where the extra information is. I think that the inverted pyramid is important when writing obituaries because when you read an obituary all the important information is first, the who, what, when, where and how. Then the further you read on the less crucial the information is, usually ending with the deceased "survivors" or perhaps where to make monetary donations. Quite often, obituaries do not state how a person died, but the first paragraph gives the information that readers want to know the most such as the persons name, age, and place of residency.

Week 4

Conducting an Interview (graded)

Discuss the primary differences between open- and closed-ended questions. Define both. Why are open-ended questions vital to good reporting?

In addition, read the following information. If you were the reporter, what three open-ended questions would you ask while interviewing the subject?

Scenario:Your local mayor has been accused of stealing county funds. After a recent audit, he was accused of embezzling over $5,000 over two years' time. His court date is set for next week, and he has agreed to allow you to interview him to prove his innocence. List your three open-ended questions. (Keep ethical and legal matters in mind!)

This section lists options that can be used to view responses.

Quoting from Sources (graded)

When quoting from sources for articles, explain three considerations a journalist must keep in mind. Why are they important? What risks are involved?

Week 5

Effective News Reporting (graded)

When writing the news, what are three priorities a reporter must keep in mind? Why are they essential to effective news reporting?

Working Together: Your News Article (graded)

Post your completed article in the Class Newspaper thread this week. Remember, it must concern a current, national news event. Use recent news releases to gather information on the topic you select. We will brainstorm for ideas together in this thread this week!

Also, please respond to classmates' topic selections. Give one another feedback, suggestions, and help.

Mention any difficulties you encountered when writing the news article. Post your completed article in your Team Thread this week.

Week 6

Working Together: Your News Article (graded)

Post your completed article in the Class Newspaper thread this week. Remember, it must concern a current, national news event. Use recent news releases to gather information on the topic you select. We will brainstorm for ideas together in this thread this week!

Also, please respond to classmates' topic selections. Give one another feedback, suggestions, and help.

Mention any difficulties you encountered when writing the news article. Post your completed article in your Team Thread this week.

Working Together: Your Sports Article (graded)

This week, we will work on writing your sports article for our class newspaper. First, post your ideas about what event you might cover. Think of events coming up this week on television or even a local high school football game in which your child will play! Post your completed article in the Class Newspaper.

Then, list two priorities a sports writer must keep in mind when reporting on a game. Why are these two priorities important? Explain your reasoning.

Week 7

Newspaper Differences (graded)

Locate two newspapers via the Internet or by purchasing them. Choose a small community newspaper and a major, well-known paper such as The Washington Postor The New York Times. In your post, compare the two newspapers. What similarities and differences do you note about the stories, such as the style and the format? What are the front page stories? Don't forget to mention the names of the two newspapers!

Working Together: Your Class Newspaper (graded)

You have this week to work with your assigned team members to produce a class newspaper. Remember, each student must include two articles in the newspaper! Now is the time to assume your role in the production process and fulfill your responsibilities so that the final assignment will be completed on time.

Post a rough draft of the class newspaper to this thread early enough during the week to allow everyone in class an opportunity to review the newspapers towards ensuring a strong final project. Please provide feedback for your own newspaper as well as the other team's newspaper.

Final project team reviews will be conducted next week where feedback and last minute edits and changes will be completed before editor-in-chief submission of the final deliverable.

Please be very proactive and work together as any successful newspaper staff!

Assignment

Writing Assignment: Is It Newsworthy?

Complete the following in a Word document. The document should be 500-750 words and APA formatted.

1. Define newsworthy.
2. Find an article from your local paper. Scan it or find an online link to it.
3. Using the newsworthy criteria, determine if your article is newsworthy. Explain why it is or isn't newsworthy based on criteria provided in the textbook and discussed in the lecture.
4. You must turn in the actual article or add the link to your paper.

Make sure you keep all articles you write throughout the course. At the end, your best articles will be used in the classnewspaper.

Week 2 Assignment

Writing Assignment: Discuss a Legal/Ethical Issue

Write a paper based on a real court case involving a newspaper. Youmay notuseSullivan v. NYT, but all other cases are approved. Select one of the following terms to focus on.

1. Libel
2. First Amendment
3. Freedom of Information Act
4. Invasion of privacy
5. Access/trespass
6. Copyright law
7. First serial rights
8. Simultaneous rights
9. Privacy Protection Act
10. Surreptitious reporting

Please find in a newspaper an actual documented court case or an article connected to one of the terms above. Use a search engine to find a plethora of this type of documented court case examples.

In your report, do the following.

1. Examine the term you selected.
2. Define the term and relate it to journalism and newspapers.
3. Using your court case example, explain how this issue became a legal matter for that newspaper.
4. Explore what could have been prevented, who won the case and why, and what this meant for future newspapers.
5. Your paper should clearly explore the term you selected and its implications through the actual court case you examine.
6. Your paper should be three pages long.
7. Your paper should follow APA formatting.

Week 3 assignment

Writing Assignment: Obituary

Write your own 200-300 word obituary.

· Use the information in the textbook and look at various obituaries, even those in your local newspaper or online, to help you get started.

· You can fictionalize the obituary, but make sure the content is appropriate to this genre of journalism.

· Consider including a photo of yourself.

· Don't forget to include a headline.

· Use the Wire Service Style for writing located in Appendix 2, page 500.

Week 4

Writing Assignment: Conduct an Interview & Write a Feature Article

Write a 400-600 word feature article in a Word document.

• Interview one person in your community. It can be the local mayor about a problem in your community or it can be your father about his lifelong career.
• Determine a focus for the interview.
• Include your questions, the interviewee's replies, and your notes with your article.
• Use the Wire Service Style for writing located in Appendix 2 on page 527.

Week 5

Writing Assignment: News Article

Write a 300-500 word news article on any national news event that is current. You may also elect to write on a local community meeting in your town that you attend. Even a school PTA meeting could apply for this assignment. Either way, you must research this event and write the article to the best of your ability.

Reading other news releases on the topic is acceptable as long as you determine the source is reliable. The Associated Press is a great place to start by searching their press releases. Associated Press - Press Releases. You may also check your local community newspapers. Use the Wire Service Style for writing located on page 500 in Appendix 2.

Week 6

Writing Assignment: Sports Article

Write a 300-500 word sports article.

· This sporting event must be one you witness either in person or on the television. Take good notes while watching the event.

· You may write on an event you choose, whether it be a local football game or a national golf tournament. The choice is yours!

· If you write on a local event, grab your camera and take a few photos to add to the article.

· Use the Wire Service Style for writing located on page 5 in Appendix 2.

Week 8

Course Project - Class Newspaper

You will develop a class newspaper to be turned in as a CLASS project due in Week 8. As you work through each week's assignments throughout the duration of the course, you will write several articles—an obituary, a sports article, a news article, a feature story, and more! TWO of your articles will be finalized and included in the class newspaper. Keep this in mind as you work on assignments each week. Write as a journalist would.

The class newspaper should be created in an MS Word document. I don't expect it tolookexactly as a real newspaper would, but do have a title, date, and edition number, as well as the articles placed in sections with photos/artwork/graphics and a traditional advertising section at the end. In other words, the obituaries would not be on the front page. Illustrate that you know how to put a newspaper together.

The focus of the grading will be on the writing and editing. Remember that this is a class report, butindividualgrades come into play. Grades are based on your individual participation and the quality of work you produce for this assignment.

Project Timeline

Week 1	Develop a name for your newspaper. Assign positions amongst the team. You need the following. a general copy editor; an editor-in-chief who will oversee the entire paper and turn it in for the group; an editor for each section—sports, news, obituaries, and features; a photo editor who will add clip art and graphics; a designer for EACH section—news, sports, obituaries, advertising—who will put the paper together and place articles and so forth in the MS Word document; and one person who is creative enough to make up apretendadvertisement section and edit it. Each of you will be reporters as well, because TWO of your articles you write in this class must be used in the project. If you have extra people without job titles, double up and work together. Have the extra people help with proofreading, and so forth. Take on a role that you know you can do your best in. In other words, if you love sports, perhaps the sports section editor is a great fit!
Week 2	You are to come up with a code of ethics for your newspaper.
Weeks 3-6	As you write the assigned articles, remember to work on editing the ones you like the most based on my feedback. Post your articles as you write them to the Project Discussion area. Begin reviewing each other's work during Weeks 3–6. Editors for eachsectionshould begin working on helping writers make corrections, and so forth. If you are the photo editor or the advertising writer and editor, begin working on your items for the newspaper as well. The photo editor could begin searching for pictures and graphs to use. In Week 6, you will be assigned to a Project Team forum (A or B) where you will begin to put together your newspaper as a group.
Week 7	An entire Discussion this week is based on finalizing the course project, which is due next week. Post your two strongest articles from the Project Discussion and begin editing and creating. Remember to work in thepositionyou were elected to during Week 1. Continue to work in your Project Team forum. By the end of this week, have your newspaper finalized and ready for a final review and approval from the editor-in-chief.
Week 8	The final course project is due this week. All items identified by the editor-in-chief should be addressed this week through your Project Team forum. The editor will then place it to the Dropbox by the due date posted in the Syllabus "Due Dates for Assignments and Exams" section.