Phone: 285-5397

Email: rpapper@bsu.edu

Office hrs: T/Th 2-4 pm

Phone: 285-8222

Email: mhmasse@bsu.edu

Office hrs: M/T/Th 1-2 pm

Masse website

General

News 201 will be taught in 3 pairs of sections:

Section 3 (JOUR with Masse) is paired with Section 4 (TCOM with Papper)

Tue-Thu 11 am - 12:15 pm in AJ 341 (JOUR lab in AJ 392 and TCOM lab in BC 215)

Course Description

In NEWS 201 students will learn the principles and practices of convergence reporting and writing for multiple media. Course content will focus on the reporting, writing and editing skills required to produce stories in print, broadcast and online. Techniques learned in this course will build upon knowledge gained in previous journalism and/or TCOM classes. Course writing assignments will reinforce the conceptual similarities of news coverage, while recognizing the stylistic (production) differences of writing for various media audiences.

The course will include lectures and class discussions of the history of newspapers, broadcast media and the Internet, analysis of industry operations, management principles and contemporary issues (e.g., current events) affecting print, broadcast and online media.

As a writing course NEWS 201 will emphasize accuracy, clarity, conciseness, fairness and style for both print and broadcast media (e.g., grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, language use). In addition to professional skills and technological capabilities, students will gain theoretical knowledge in such areas as the role of a free press in a democratic society, working relationships with sources (including public relations practitioners), and media ethics, legal standards, diversity and other work force-related issues.

Course Competencies

This course is designed to help students:

• Develop news judgment.
• Improve critical thinking and active listening skills.
• Enhance their understanding of the importance of accuracy, clarity, conciseness and fairness in media reporting and writing.
• Recognize the different writing and presentation styles best suited for stories in print, broadcast and online media and know how to apply those styles to produce well-written stories.
• Become familiar with various primary and secondary research skills, including field observation, interviewing, computer-assisted reporting (e.g., database and online sources) and e-mail.
• Understand the media's ethical and legal standards, as well as cultural, ethnic, racial and gender diversity issues in journalism.
• Learn basic visual reporting, page editing and graphics skills.
• Appreciate the basic use of numbers and the role of polls and surveys in news writing.
• Use all of the skills listed above to produce timely, well-researched and well-produced stories for print, broadcast and online media outlets.