Schedule
Assigned readings and blog postings must be completed BEFORE the Monday class.

9/8-9/10: Web/multi-media/convergence journalism: what is it? How does it differ from print, and how does the web change the reporter’s job? Are you ready for it?

Readings: Foust, Chapters 1 and 2.

Assignment: Check out the Bivings Group report on the top ten newspaper websites, (www.bivingsreport.com/2007/top-10-best-newspaper-websites/) and look at all of them. By 5 p.m. 9/7/08, post to the courseblog 300-400 words about how these sites differ and how they’re the same. Which stories reflected these differences the most?

Think about and respond to any of these questions:
Which sites did you spend the most time with? What interactive features did you use?
How was the reporting similar or different from site to site and in different forms of media?
How did the non-print elements—video, audio, complement the story?
What elements did you, as a user/reader respond to the most?
What skills did the reporters use in creating these sites?
Also, please respond to your fellow students’ posts.

9/15-9/17: Web reporting: How do we use the web in news reporting? Where do we find the information we need? This week we’ll explore the web as a reporting resource. We’ll look at government, university and other sites that can help you in your reporting.

Readings: Foust, Chapter 4 and 5

All story ideas due 9/17 via e-mail. Be prepared to discuss your ideas in class and offer feedback.

9/22-9/24: New technologies and what they mean for the journalist: RSS, blogs, podcasts, Google News Alerts, Wiki, whatever. What are all these technologies, how do they work, how do they help you as a reporter and a news consumer?

Readings: Handouts

Assignment: For 9/24, each student will be assigned a new technology to research and present as an “Idiot’s Guide” to class. Your presentation can be in the form of a Powerpoint presentation or use visual aids. You must have copies of a handout that students may take away, that provides all the basic information necessary to understand this technology. Answer the question: How does this affect the reporter’s job?

9/29-10/1: Introduction to basic web design—integrating text, images, sound and video. Using digital images. We will take a look at googlepages, and each student will design his or her rudimentary webpage.

Readings: Foust, Chapter 3 and 6.

10/6-10/8 Project work in class

10/14-10/15:
News series due. Be prepared to show it to class and talk about it.

10/20-10/22: Introduction to audio. How to create an audio file, using Garageband. Produce our podcasts in class.

Readings: Handouts from Office of Information Technology, Foust, Chapter 9 and 10.
Also: http://library.books24x7.com/toc.asp?bookid=12440
Podcasting for Dummies online book

Assignments: go to Itunes or another site and download your favorite podcast to play for the class. Be prepared to tell us why you like it, and how it might be a model for your own work. Think about your This I Believe essay and start your draft. Project work

10/27-10/29: Features for the web. Guest speaker: Max Hartshorne, editor and publisher of gonomad.com, an alternative travel website based in Deerfield. Gonomad offers good internship opportunities. Please get familiar with this site and have questions to ask and a travel story to pitch!

Reading: Foust, Chapters 7, 8, 9

11/3-11/5: Project work, catching up
This I Believe podcast due

11/17-11/19: Project work

11/24-11/26: Project work

12/1-12/3: TBA

12/8-12/10 Wrapping up and looking at projects.