C-ID Descriptor
Introduction to Reporting and Newswriting

Descriptor Details

  • Introduction to Reporting and Newswriting
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  • 110
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  • 3.0
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  • Uploaded: 10/12/2017 04:44:05 PM PDT

An introduction to gathering, synthesizing/organizing and writing news in journalistic style across multiple platforms. Includes role of the journalist and related legal and ethical issues. Students will report and write based on their original interviews and research to produce news content. Experiences may include covering speeches, meetings and other events, writing under deadline and use of AP Style.

  • Information gathering, including live interviews
  • Journalistic writing forms, including inverted pyramid
  • Writing for multiple platforms, including print, online, broadcast and social media
  • News gathering strategies
  • News gathering practice, including covering speeches, meetings and other events
  • Writing under deadline
  • Introduction to Associated Press Style
  • Introduction to Search Engine Optimization
  • Writing leads
  • Writing simple and complex/long form articles
  • Legal and ethical issues in reporting

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

  • Define and execute newsgathering strategies
  • Develop interview questions and conduct interviews
  • Write simple leads
  • Write simple and complex/long form news articles using the inverted pyramid and other formats
  • Write articles under deadline
  • Apply Associated Press style to articles
  • Edit own and others’ articles for proper spelling, grammar and AP Style
  • Define writing differences for different platforms

Writing assignments
Style quizzes
Exams
Critiques; peer critiques
Professional protocols (meeting deadlines, attendance, adherence to ethics)

Rich, Carol. Writing and Reporting the News: A Coaching Method. Wadsworth Publishing

Missouri Group. News Reporting and Writing. Bedford/St. Martin’s

Mencher, Melvin. Melvin Mencher’s News Reporting and Writing. McGraw-Hill

Harrower, Tim. Inside Reporting. McGraw-Hill

Associated Press. Associate Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. Basic Books

Kessler, Lauren. When Words Collide. Wadsworth Publishing.

Strunk, William. The Elements of Style. Tribecka Books

News U (Poynter News University) offers many free or low cost resources and materials for teachers and students for this course.

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  • While student work may be eligible for use in student and/or professional publications, this should not be a publications class, per se.

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