Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SPRING 2010 Syllabus
Assistant Professor Ryan Thornburg
Office: 219 Carroll | Phone: 919‐962‐4080
E‐mail: ryan.thornburg@unc.edu
Google Talk: thornburgr | Mobile Phone: 919‐667‐5613
WELCOME
In this class you will learn how to be an online news producer by doing the job. This
class is built to mimic a “real world” news environment as much as possible in a
classroom, which means that we will work hard and have high standards. We will
work with students in other classes and everything we do will be available for
public consumption on http://cjn.jomc.unc.edu.
Online news producers are not quite editors and not quite reporters. Producers
collaborate with other journalists to add interactive and multimedia elements to
news stories. They study the online news audience and build sites that all each
visitor to have a somewhat customized online experience.
This is a fast‐paced class designed for students who are self‐motivated, driven by
curiosity, excited by unexplored frontiers and committed to high standards of
personal and journalistic conduct.
I will conduct this class as if we were a professional news team, affording you all of
the freedom and respect that comes with that. In return, I will expect from you
professional conduct toward yourself, your classmates and me.
The Goal of This Course
Students who successfully complete this course will have the skills needed to
practice the craft of online news production in its current state. They will also have a
conceptual understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the future.
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What You Will Learn
The course has four objectives for students. They will:
1. demonstrate news judgment suited to the characteristics and behavior of the
news audience,
2. demonstrate facility with online publishing tools and formats,
3. collaborate with other student‐journalists,
4. conceptualize, report and produce online news reports that use technology
in service of the reader and the story.
What You Will Do
The first few weeks of class will be dedicated to an introduction to the basic
technical tools of online publishing as well as the basic concepts you need to
understand changes in audience behavior and the organization of the news industry.
Technology will change, but adapting to changing technology will be easier for
journalists who have a firm grasp on the needs of the reader.
The bulk of the course will be spent producing news stories for the Carolina
Journalism Network, a Web site run by the School of Journalism and Mass
Communication. Each student will also maintain a link blog about a particular beat.
The class will culminate with several original news reporting projects that you will
do using multimedia and interactivity.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
The only two books you need for this class are the copies of the AP Stylebook and the
UNC Stylebook you purchased for JOMC 153. If you don’t have a copy, you will need
to get one.
Producing Online News: Digital Skills, Stronger Stories, Ryan Thornburg, forthcoming
from CQPress in July 2010. Each draft chapter will be posted as a PDF document on
Blackboard.
The best way to learn about the changing journalism environment is to keep a close
eye on professionals working in the industry. Students need to read
CyberJournalist.net regularly throughout the semester. I recommend you subscribe
either to the site’s e‐mail lists or to RSS feeds
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Students are also expected to read a good mix of online news sources every day and
think critically about the content. A good mix should include local, national, print,
broadcast, and online‐only sources.
The following equipment must be purchased by the start of class on Wednesday, Jan.
20. (If you don’t bring it on this date or any future class, it counts as a skipped class.)
• headphones
• 2GB flash drive
Recommended Readings
During the course of the semester, we will be learning several technical skills
and programs. For most, I will provide with sufficient, free, online tutorials
that will teach you the basics. But for others, you may be want or need to
purchase instruction manuals or use subscription online tutorials that can be
found at http://www.lynda.com
In fact, a two‐ or three‐month subscription to Lynda.com, at $25/month
would be a wise investment to make right now, especially if you don’t like to
learn by reading tutorial books.
GRADES
Quizzes – 20%
Site Critique – 20%
Original Stories – 30%
Edited and Produced Stories – 30%
Due dates can be found in the calendar on Page 4 and Assignment Details begin on
Page 8.
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CALENDAR
11-Jan
Introduction; Why do we do
online journalism?
13-Jan
Discuss Chapters 1,2. Site
C1: Pillars critiques assigned.
20-Jan
25-Jan
HTML resume w/
C8: HTML chapter Dreamweaver
27-Jan
3-Feb C12& 13 -
Homepage blurbs Homepage quiz & write 5
and summaries heads/summaries.
8-Feb
10-Feb
Linking quiz/nonlinear
C11: Linking exercise
15-Feb
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17-Feb Revisit C12& 13 (Write 5
Editing for heads/summaries)/searchers
searchers/scanners FAQs on beats & scanners quiz
22-Feb
C14: Breaking
news Story 4 Simulation
24-Feb
1-Mar
Critique presentations; Ryan
Story 5 in Cairo.
3-Mar
Quiz on critique
presentations; Ryan in Cairo
Spring
Break
15-Mar
C6: Multimedia Photo quiz; Produce photos
reporting Story 6 in class
17-Mar
Audio quiz; Produce audio in
class
22-Mar
Video quiz; Produce video in
Story 7 class
24-Mar
5
29-Mar
31-Mar
Data exercises
5-Apr
7-Apr
C10: Remixing the
News Discuss Mashups
12-Apr
14-Apr
PROFILE STORY
DRAFT Review Profile Stories
19-Apr
Intro to programming
21-Apr
DATA VIZ STORY
DRAFT Review Data Viz Stories
26-Apr
Intro to programming
28-Apr
Final Version of
Profile Stories Intro to programming
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ATTENDANCE
Attendance will be taken at the start of every class. You can miss two classes for any
reason without consequence. Each additional absence for any reason will result in a
10% reduction in your final grade. (Any class on or after Jan. 20 to which you do not
bring your required equipment to the start of class will count as a missed class.)
LATE WORK
No late work can be accepted for a grade nor can exams, quizzes, or inclass
writing assignments be taken late, unless prior arrangements are made with
your instructor, or in the case of a verifiable emergency.
You must bring your excuse within three days of the absence and schedule the
make‐up promptly.
It is not possible to make extra credit assignments for individual students as such
arrangements are inequitable.
YOU SHOULD KEEP ALL RETURNED, GRADED WORK UNTIL YOU RECEIVE
YOUR FINAL GRADE.
OFFICE HOURS
The best way to reach me quickly is via phone or Google Talk. The best place to have
a long conversation with me is during office hours. The best way to write me a
formal letter is e‐mail.
E‐mail should be used only to schedule appointments or for formal communication
for which you want a written record. It usually takes me 24 hours after you’ve sent
your email for me to read and respond to it. If you need a faster response, you will
need to contact me via phone or Google Talk.
Office Hours are by appointment. Appointments are available seven days a week
between 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and from 8:30 until 10:30 p.m., pending my
availability. I recommend booking a week in advance.
If you have questions or concerns about your performance or my performance,
address them before they become a problem. After April 6, I will not meet with any
student with whom I have not previously met.
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ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Quizzes
We will have a quiz for each reading assignment. They will primarily be objective
tests used to measure your recall and comprehension of key facts and concepts
presented in the readings. Many of the quiz dates are on the calendar, but others
may be added if needed.
Site Critique
Each student will be assigned one Web site to critique. The critiques will be about
2,000 words of written text. Students will present their critiques in class on Feb. 24
and March 1.
The critiques should include the following information:
• Pillars
o What examples do you see of each of the three pillars of online
news – multimedia, interactivity and on‐demand delivery?
o Does it use the appropriate pillar for the news values and news
elements of each story?
o Which pillar is most prevalent?
o What's your most and least favorite example of each pillar on the
site? Why?
o How much do people control the content they consume?
• Audience
o What editorial strategies is the site using to increase unique
visitors, repeat visits and depth of visits?
o What’s one suggestion for an additional editorial strategy the site
might employ in order to increase unique visitors or repeat visits
or depth of visits?
• Homepage
o Describe the distinct regions of the homepage. Is there a visual and
conceptual hierarchy to the page? Is it clear what type of content
belongs in each region? Are the regions completely distinct from
each other or is there some overlap in the type of content that
appears in each?
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o How many links are on the page? How many links are to text?
Video? Audio? Interactivity? What else?
o How many links to hard news? Features? Sports? Opinion? Other?
o How many headlines do not contain a verb?
o How does the page tell readers which are the stories that have
been recently added?
o Do the summaries and headlines complement each other? Do they
repeat each other?
o Does the page have any labels? If so, how are they used?
o Anything else that stands out or catches your eye about the page?
• Community
o Do any of the reporters have Facebook or Twitter accounts? How
are they being used?
o What structural elements is the site using to build community?
What elements are not being used?
o How easy is it for people to create, publish and share their own
content?
o To what degree is content creation shared between professional
journalists and the audience, or among the audience?
Grading:
D= Incomplete description of current state of the site. Spelling and
grammar errors that detract from the message.
C= Complete description of current state of the site. If there are ideas
for improvement, they are both vague and inconsistent with evidence.
Perhaps minor spelling and grammar errors that do not detract from
the message.
B= Complete description of current state of the site, with vague ideas
for improvement that are consistent with evidence even if the
evidence is not clearly presented. Free of spelling and grammar
errors.
A= A complete description of the current state of the site, with specific
ideas for improvement and a criteria for quantitatively measuring
their success. Cites case studies and previous research. Free of
spelling and grammar errors.
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Original Stories
You will create five original pieces of content for the CJN Web site.
• FAQ: Due Feb. 17
• Link Blog: Feb. 1‐ April 14
• Multimedia Profile: Due April 14
• Data Visualization: Due April 21
• Live Event Coverage: Must be completed before April 28
FAQ Grading Rubric
You will create an FAQ on your beat that consists of 5‐10 questions and
answers. The grading rubric for the FAQ will be the same as the grading
rubric for stories 5‐10 below.
Multimedia Profile
You will be profiling a person, place or event using text and video or text and
a narrated photo gallery. It is worth 100 points.
‐50 fact error
+/‐20 for integration of text and a/v elements in to coherent single narrative
with complementary pieces.
+20 for using B‐roll
‐20 for each inappropriate file size or file format
‐10 for each distracting visual element in the video, such as poor lighting,
camera placement, camera movement, jump cut, etc.
‐10 for each distracting audio element in the video, such as interviewer’s
interruptions, background noise, volume too loud or quiet, audio that is “too
hot”
‐10 missing headline on YouTube
‐10 unclear headline on YouTube.
‐10 missing summary on YouTube
‐5 unclear summary on YouTube
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‐5 no link back to CJN
‐5 spelling or grammar error
‐2 AP style error
Data Visualization
You’ll create a searchable database, map or chart related to your beat. It will
be worth 100 points.
‐50 fact error
‐ 20 inappropriate type of visualization for the information attempted to be
conveyed.
‐10 unclear labeling
+20 ability for users to customize
+20 ability for users to contribute new data points
‐15 inappropriate or incomplete data source
‐5 spelling or grammar error
‐2 AP style error
Live Event Coverage
You will cover either a scheduled or unscheduled news event on your beat.
You may choose the event you wish to cover, contingent on the instructor’s
permission.
+10 per 1 post per hour (average)
‐2 spelling or grammar error
‐50 uncorrected fact error
‐10 fact error corrected before next post
+10 for each factual response to audience inquiry during event.
up to +20 live audio or video
up to +25 for each edited video posted during event
up to +15 for each edited audio posted during event
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up to +5 for each photo posted during the event
Link Blog on Publish2
Starting on Feb. 1 and ending on April 14, you will get one grade per week for
collecting and commenting on links related to your beat. You will be graded on link
choice, comment quality and post frequency.
To earn an A on this assignment, you will need to link to post 5 analytical
links to relevant news stories each week
‐ 10 for each less than 5.
‐5 not relevant to your beat
‐5 missing summary
+5 descriptive summary
+10 analytical summary that places link in a broader context or pattern
‐5 speculation or opinion
+5 Your link and comment are re‐Tweeted
+5 Someone replies to your link and comment via Twitter, Facebook or
Wordpress
Edited Stories
Starting Feb. 1 and continuing until April 12, you will produce one story per
week for the CJN Web site. The stories will be created by students in JOMC 253 and
other reporting classes. Your job will be to select the best stories for your section of
the site and to edit and publish them for the site. Stories will be due at 8 a.m. every
Monday.
The grading rubric for the stories will become progressively more
complicated as you learn new concepts and skills during the course of the semester.
Each story is graded on a 100 point scale, with points being either added or
subtracted based on the following guidelines
• Story 1. GOAL: Content is free of production, AP style, spelling and grammar
errors.
o -2 for each error or inconsistency in style
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o -5 for each spelling error, and a typographical mistake (a typo) is
considered a spelling error
o -5 for each punctuation error, such as incorrect use of a comma,
semicolon, colon or dash
o -5 for each grammatical error, such as improper subject-verb agreement or
noun-pronoun agreement, or misplaced modifier
o ‐5 for each production formatting error.
o ‐10 for each instance of incorrect information that was introduced as
part of the production process, such as an incorrect time stamp,
byline, headline or other errors.
o ‐40 – Story not published by deadline.
• Story 2. GOAL: Headline and Summary work well together. Both use the
correct verb tenses and capture the essence of the story. Content is free of
production, AP style, spelling and grammar errors.
o ‐10 Wrong verb tense in headline or summary.
o ‐5 Headline does not contain most important information
o ‐2 Headline does not emphasize the most important information in
the story.
o ‐10 Summary repeats information in the headline.
o ‐5 Summary does not capture the essence of the story.
o ‐40 Missing headline
o ‐40 Missing summary
o ‐10 Summary or headline Over word count.
• Story 3. GOAL: Story has appropriate hyperlinks that add depth, details and
context to the story. Each link has an appropriate departure point and
appropriate destination. Headline and summary work well together. Both use
the correct verb tenses and capture the essence of the story. Content is free
of production, AP style, spelling and grammar errors.
o ‐25 broken link
o ‐15 inappropriate destination
o ‐10 inappropriate departure text (either in inline or related links)
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o ‐5 other inappropriate link placement (too many, too early, back‐to‐
back links)
o +15 appropriate use of internal/external links
o ‐5 missing a link that would have added critical value to the story
o ‐10 commingling of unrelated links in external link area, or
inappropriate labeling of link groups
• Story 4. GOAL: Story is edited to aid in rapid scanning of the text. Story has
appropriate hyperlinks that add depth, details and context to the story. Each
link has an appropriate departure point and appropriate destination.
Headline and summary work well together. Both use the correct verb tenses
and capture the essence of the story. Content is free of production, AP style,
spelling and grammar errors.
o +/‐10 in/appropriate use of bulleted or numbered lists
o +/‐10 shortened paragraphs where in/appropriate
o +/‐10 in/appropriate use of subheads
• Stories 5‐10. GOAL: Story is edited to aid in rapid scanning of the text and
optimized for search engine accessibility. Story has appropriate hyperlinks
that add depth, details and context to the story. Each link has an appropriate
departure point and appropriate destination. Headline and summary work
well together. Both use the correct verb tenses and capture the essence of the
story. Content is free of production, AP style, spelling and grammar errors.
o ‐2 inappropriate placement of keywords in headline
o ‐5 missing keywords in headline
o ‐5 awkwardly worded headline
o ‐5 inappropriate quantity of keywords
o ‐2 technical errors with keyword placement or grouping.
• Carolina Week story. (At least one of the stories you produce will be based on
a video story done for Carolina Week. For that assignment, you will have
these additional grading criteria.)
o ‐25 video does not appear on CJN
o ‐10 video too long
o ‐15 technical audio or visual error in video editing
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o ‐15 missing headline on YouTube
o ‐10 unclear headline on YouTube.
o ‐15 missing summary on YouTube
o ‐5 unclear summary on YouTube
o ‐5 no link back to CJN
• Extra Credit. You may earn up to the follow number of points on any story
that includes one of the following elements.
o +20 Multimedia (video, audio, photo audio slides)
o +20 content customization; user control
o +20 interactivity/crowd sourcing, etc.
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