J 462 -- Reporting II: Public Affairs Journalism

University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication

Monday, 6 p.m. 9 p.m.
Brent Walth
310 Allen. Office hours: Mondays, 4 p.m. 6 p.m.

This course is intended to elevate the quality of your journalism by challenging you to
sharpen your newsgathering skills, broaden your reporting experiences and hone your writing. In
the classroom and through hands-on experience, we will think in innovative ways about how
journalists find stories, conduct interviews and dig out information. We will pay special attention
to the civic role of the journalist: to seek truth, uncover injustice and give voice to the voiceless
all with an eye to having an impact with your work.
REQUIREMENTS. You will report and write five assignments, including a final enterprise story

that you will be required to rewrite. You will keep a journal of your newspaper reading during the
course, and you will be expected to take part in class through discussions and the writing of brief
reflection papers based on assigned readings.
The final grade will be determined as follows:

20 percent, class participation, a newspaper journal and reflection papers.

20 percent, public records exercise.

30 percent, reporting assignments.

30 percent, a final watchdog reporting assignment (rewrite required).

PLAGIARISM, FABRICATION and HONESTY. Plagiarism and fabrication are not tolerated in

journalism or this class. Your work here must be original.

If you have any questions about plagiarism or the proper use of sources and attribution,
please feel free to contact me at any time.
The UO Student Conduct Code defines academic dishonesty as academic plagiarism
(submission of the work of others for academic credit without indicating the source), or
knowingly furnishing false information to University faculty or staff.
The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics puts it this way: Never plagiarize.
I will pursue disciplinary action as well as levy appropriate grade penalties against any
student who violates these standards.
REQUIRED TEXTS

The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, by
Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. Three Rivers Press, 2001.
Writing Tools, by Roy Peter Clark. Little, Brown, 2006.
Best Newspaper Writing 2006-2007, Aly Colon, ed. CQ Press, 2006.

Reporting Assignments. Ill seek to replicate as best I can the assignments and

expectations you will face as a reporter on a community or metropolitan newspaper. Obviously,

were not in a newsroom setting. But I will expect your stories to be accurate, thorough,
comprehensive and fair and written with precision and clarity. Please follow AP style.
You must also work quickly: Unless otherwise noted, the assignment is due by 11 p.m. on the
day its carried out.
Grading. I will grade your writing assignments based on how close your work is to being ready

for publication in a newspaper. You will receive two grades: one for quality of your reporting, and
the other for the quality of your writing. The grades will carry equal weight when blended for
your final grade.
For the reporting portion, I will grade based on this standard: A if the reporting is
thorough and complete; B if the story requires a moderate amount of additional reporting; C
if the story requires a significant amount of new reporting; D if the story could not be published
without starting over; F if the story shows no understanding of basic reporting.
For the writing portion, I will grade based on this standard: A if the story is well organized
and largely free of grammatical, style and punctuation errors; B if the story contains basic elements
but requires moderate rewriting and editing; C if the story lacks basic elements and/or needs
significant rewriting and editing; D if the story lacks basic elements and requires significant
rewriting and editing; F if the story could not be published without a complete rewrite.
Class Participation. Class participation includes a newspaper journal, exercises, reflection

papers, and overall preparedness for class. I will score based on the quality of the critical thinking
and analysis you apply to our readings and classroom topics. I will assign point values to the
journals, reflection papers, presentations and class participation. At the end of the course, Ill add
up the possible points you could have earned, tally your score, and convert your total to a grade
point for calculating your final grade. No late work is allowed. Work that contains an error of fact
or comes in after deadline will receive a zero no exceptions.
Penalties. Accuracy and precision matter. So do deadlines.

A verifiable error of fact will earn you an F for the entire assignment.

Late work will cost you one letter grade for every day your assignment is late. (The clock
starts ticking on the first day starting from the time the assignment is due.) On e-mailed
assignments, I will reply when I get them. If you dont hear from me in a reasonable
amount of time, assume I didnt get your work and get in touch with me.
Revisions. I may require you to revise or even redo an assignment as necessary. Beyond that,
you may seek to improve your grade by submitting a revised version of a graded story. Getting
upgraded is subject to these conditions:

You may revise up to two of the reporting assignments. Choose wisely.

The revision must show substantial improvement.
The rewrite is due 72 hours after you get your graded assignment back from
me.
A revision that fixes an error of fact will still have a two-step grade penalty
assessed to the final work. And a revision will not restore a grade thats been
lowered due to late work.

J-462 Reporting II: Public Affairs Journalism

University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication

Winter 2008, Monday, 4 p.m. 7 p.m., 211 Allen

Brent Walth

brentwalth@aol.com
503-780-9868, mobile; 503-294-5072, work

OVERVIEW. This course seeks to elevate the quality of your journalism by challenging you to
sharpen your newsgathering skills, broaden your reporting experiences and hone your writing. In
the classroom and through hands-on experience, we will learn about innovative ways to conduct
interviews, dig out information and tell stories. We will pay special attention to the civic role of
the journalist: to seek truth, uncover injustice and give voice to the voiceless all with an eye to
having an impact with your work.
REQUIREMENTS. Reporting assignments, a final watchdog journalism project, assigned
readings, reflection papers, and a brief presentation during the final class meeting. I reserve the
right to add or revise assignments or exercises where appropriate. Attendance in class is
mandatory.

PLAGIARISM, FABRICATION and HONESTY Plagiarism and fabrication are not

tolerated in journalism or this class. Your work here must be original.
If you have any questions about plagiarism or the proper use of sources and attribution,
please feel free to contact me at any time.
The UO Student Conduct Code defines academic dishonesty as academic plagiarism
(submission of the work of others for academic credit without indicating the source), or
knowingly furnishing false information to University faculty or staff. The Society of
Professional Journalists Code of Ethics puts it this way: Never plagiarize.

DIVERSITY The School of Journalism and Communication statement on Building and

Maintaining a Diverse University Community: The goal of building greater social, political,
cultural, economic and intellectual diversity among our students, staff, and faculty as well as in
our curriculum, public scholarship, and communities is central to the mission of the School of
Journalism and Communication. Only by achieving this goal can we become professional
communicators, critical thinkers and responsible citizens in a global society. The promotion and
practice of freedom of expression and intellectual inquiry is an integral part of our long and proud
tradition of academic excellence. Discrimination of any kind, disrespect for others, and inequity
in educational opportunity are not acceptable. Students, faculty, and staff are expected at all times
to maintain the School of Journalism and Communications high standards of ethical and
compassionate conduct.

REQUIRED TEXTS
The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect,
by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. Three Rivers Press. Revised edition, 2007.
Writing Tools, by Roy Peter Clark. Little, Brown, 2006.

ASSIGNMENTS and GRADING.

Class participation represents 10 percent of your final grade. Class participation includes
exercises, reflection papers, attendance, and how well you are prepared for class. No late work is
allowed. I will score you based on effort and the critical thinking you apply.
The public records derby represents 20 percent of your final grade. You will use public records
to collect and verify information on a public official. Your score will depend on how well you
perform compared to your classmates.
Reporting assignments represent 50 percent of your final grade, and a watchdog reporting
assignment makes up the last 20 percent. I will score your reporting assignments based on how close
your work is to being ready for publication in a community newspaper. Please follow AP style. You
must also work quickly: Unless otherwise noted, the assignment is due by 11 p.m. on the day its
carried out.
Each assignment will get two scores: one for the quality of your reporting, and the other for
the quality of your writing. I will award you a score on a 10-point scale based on the strength of
your work. Youll earn a 10 if your work is essentially ready for publication. In other words, youll
get a 10 for reporting if its thorough, fair and complete, and another 10 if your writing is clear and
concise, and your story is well organized and largely free of grammatical, style and punctuation
errors.
Your score will drop depending how much additional work your story would need before it
could be published. You would get a 5 for an assignment that couldnt be published without a
significant amount of additional reporting or rewriting.
For either your reporting or writing, a score of 5 or below is unacceptable.
With a 10-point scale, how can you figure out where you stand in terms of a grade?
At the courses end, Ill calculate a final score from all of your work and convert it to 4-point
grade scale. For example, a score of 10 converts to a 4.0 grade point, an A grade. A score of 5
converts to a 2.0 grade point, a C. You may ask me at any time where you stand in terms of a letter
grade. The bottom line: Do outstanding work and your final grade will take care of itself.
GRADE PENALTIES

A verifiable fact error will earn you a zero for the entire assignment.
No late work. Assignments turned in after the deadline also get a zero.

I will give severe grade penalties and pursue disciplinary action against any student
who violates standards for plagiarism, fabrication and honesty.

REVISIONS. You may seek to improve your grade by submitting a revised version of a scored
story. You may not use a revision to get around a zero for a fact error or for failing to get your
assignment in on time. Getting a better score is subject to these conditions:
You may revise up to three of the reporting assignments. Choose wisely.
The revision must show substantial improvement.

The rewrite is due 72 hours after you get your scored assignment back from me.