revised 08/20/10
JMC 3003 MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM
Section 002
3:00 to 4:50 p.m. Monday & Wednesday
Room 1130 Gaylord Hall
Instructor: Warren Vieth, wvieth@ou.edu, (405) 501-3374
Office: Room 3027 Gaylord Hall
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday before class and by appointment
Class website: http://jmc3003fall10.blogspot.com/
COURSE OBJECTIVE
This course will introduce you to the basic concepts and skills necessary to create online news packages. You will learn text, visual and audio newsgathering skills and cross-platform story presentation. Conceptual content includes the function of journalism and how it is changing—and not changing—in the digital age.
While this course includes software instruction, the JMC 3003 instructors are not IT experts. We are former professional journalists who have a great deal of news know-how and a working knowledge of the software covered in this course. Do not be surprised if a technical issue pops up that is beyond our skills. We will do our best to get the problem fixed as long as it relates to the course content.
ABOVE ALL, THIS IS A JOURNALISM COURSE. YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE NEWS.
TEXTBOOKS & READINGS
• “Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect,” Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel
• Associated Press Stylebook
• Other readings provided by instructor
REQUIRED EQUIPMENT
You are required to purchase and have with you in class at all times:
• an external hard drive
• headphones
• three or more mini-DV tapes
You must have your external hard drive by the third week of class. Gaylord College recommends that you purchase a 7200-rpm drive with FireWire 800/400 capability. The cost is about $100. We’ll discuss the drive specifications in class.
You will need at least three mini-DV tapes by the third week of class. You may purchase them anywhere. They cost about $3 each if you buy several.
GAYLORD EQUIPMENT
Gaylord College can provide the following equipment for use in the class AS LONG AS YOU ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE RENTAL AGREEMENT:
• Digital video camera (Sony Handycam HDR-HC9)
• External microphone
• Tripod
In addition, Gaylord will provide Web server space, but only for the duration of the semester.
It is up to you to make sure you will be able to obtain equipment from the second-floor check-out counter during its normal operating hours before each assignment due date. DO NOT LET THE AVAILABILITY OF EQUIPMENT PREVENT YOU FROM COMPLETING AN ASSIGNMENT.
COURSE WORK
The assignments in this course are designed to ensure that you are developing the skills and understanding the concepts of multimedia journalism. They are divided into five categories: News Blogs, Projects, Quizzes, Readings and Other Assignments.
News Blogs
You will create and update a news blog throughout this class. This IS NOT a blog where you express your thoughts and opinions about pets, politics or celebrities. It IS a news site that employs the blog format as its distribution platform. You will use http://www.blogger.com to host your blog.
You must post one news story on your blog each week. For purposes of this class, each week begins at 12:01 a.m. Monday and ends at midnight Sunday. Your posts must be original news stories of interest to the Norman campus student body. Each blog post should be five or more paragraphs, using the First Five Graphs format we will discuss in class.
The grading scheme for each post is as follows:
• A—First Five Graphs post with photos and edited audio, video or other multimedia content
• B—FFG post with photos and unedited audio, video or other multimedia content
• C—FFG post with photos
• D—FFG post
During the early part of the semester, you will not be penalized for blog posts that do not contain multimedia elements we have not yet discussed in class.
All still photos and other multimedia elements must be original content. You will not receive credit for material copied from other sources. I EXPECT YOU TO INTERVIEW AND QUOTE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS, RELATIVES OR ROOMMATES. IN OTHER WORDS, I EXPECT YOU TO TALK TO STRANGERS. With rare exceptions, you will not receive credit for pulling quotes from media briefings you did not attend in person. You must obtain prior approval from me before creating blog posts devoted to sports or entertainment topics.
Projects
You will complete at least three projects in this course. They will substitute for your regular blog posts on the weeks they are due. These projects are more extensively reported and produced than regular blog posts. They must include a long-form written story and at least one example of every multimedia element we have learned in class up to that point.
Quizzes
You will take a short quiz every week. A typical quiz will consist of five questions focusing on your class readings, the skills you are learning, AP style and current events. Some of the questions will be based on the JMC PaceSetter tutorials you will be assigned to supplement your skill instruction. The Pacesetter podcasts will walk you through the equipment, software and multimedia skills you will need throughout your coursework at Gaylord.
Readings
The class schedule lists which textbook chapter should be read for a particular day of class. You must write a 150- to 200-word hard-copy summary of each reading to be turned in at the BEGINNING of class. NO LATE SUMMARIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. We will discuss the readings during class.
Presentations
We will have four student presentations during the semester. Every student will participate in one presentation. You will be assigned to a two-person team and given a topic to research. You will compete with another team presenting on the same topic. Your classmates will grade your work along with me. A typical presentation lasts about 10 to 15 minutes and includes online examples and other supplementary material. I EXPECT ALL TEAMMATES TO PARTICIPATE IN EACH PRESENTATION.
Outside-Class Assignment
You are required to participate in at least one outside-class event:
• Fort Sill press officer training (Sept. 24 and two other dates to be announced)
• other options to be announced
I will provide you with more information about these assignments as they draw near. If your schedule does not allow you to attend any of the events, you must make arrangements with me for an alternative assignment.
GRADING
• News Blogs 25%
• Projects 20%
• Quizzes 15%
• Readings 15%
• Other 20%
The percentage allocations are subject to change as we go along. Any revisions will be announced.
All of your exercises will be graded on a 0-to-100 scale. On creative assignments, I typically assign a 75 for minimally acceptable work, 85 for good work and 95 for exceptional work. Grades below 80 are reserved for substandard work. I almost never give 100s, because doing so would imply a level of perfection that few of us are capable of attaining. YOU SHOULD NOT EXPECT TO MAKE AN A IN THIS COURSE BY SIMPLY SHOWING UP AND TURNING IN ACCEPTABLE ASSIGNMENTS BASED ON THE MINIMUM CONTENT REQUIREMENTS. That would earn you a B at best.
EXAMS
There will be no midterm or final exam in this course. Your project work will substitute for exams.
PARTICIPATION
You are professional journalists, and I expect you to make your presence known. A total of 5% of your final grade will be based on your participation in classroom discussions and activities. If you arrive late for class on a regular basis, I will reduce your participation grade. Your participation grade will be divided between the first half and second half of the semester. You will begin each half with a grade of 75, which I will revise upward as the semester progresses.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR
I expect you to keep quiet, pay attention and make eye contact with me when I am addressing the class. I expect you to do the same when others are speaking. Engaging in extraneous conversations while your instructor, guest speakers or other students have the floor will adversely affect your grade.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES
I do not tolerate the use of cell phones, MP3 players, laptops and other electronic devices for personal purposes during class. The use of university computers in the classroom for personal purposes, such as checking email or surfing the Web, is also prohibited. PUT YOUR CELL PHONE AWAY DURING CLASS. KEEP YOUR EYES OFF THE SCREEN AND YOUR HANDS OFF THE KEYBOARD DURING DISCUSSIONS. Violations of this policy will adversely affect your grade and your working relationship with me.
ERRORS
Errors will count heavily against your grade. Significant fact errors, including misspelled proper names and incorrect ages, will result in a substantial reduction on your grade for that assignment. Other misspellings and style errors will result in a lesser reductions at my discretion. Style errors include grammar, punctuation, abbreviation and number errors in written assignments, and format errors with photographs, audio, video and graphics.
AP STYLE
We will use the AP Stylebook as our guide to proper style. It is essential that you spell words correctly and use proper grammar in your journalism. At several points during the semester, we will devote class time to spelling, grammar and style issues. You will be quizzed on what we discuss.
ATTENDANCE
Although you should strive to attend every class, you may have four absences without penalty. These four absences include both unexcused and excused absences. IF YOU MISS MORE THAN FOUR CLASSES, YOU WILL FAIL THE COURSE.
DEADLINES
You are expected to turn in assignments by their assigned due dates. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. If assignments are not turned in on time, zeros will be given for those assignments. If you know you could be in jeopardy of turning in an assignment late because you plan on using one of your four absences, you need to contact me in advance to discuss alternative arrangements for completing assignments and taking quizzes.
CONTACTING INSTRUCTOR
If you need to contact me for any reason, you should call my cell phone AND send an email. (I do not check my office phone regularly.) Be sure to contact me well enough in advance to arrange a time to turn in assignments before they are due.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Honesty is basic to good journalism, and I expect it on tests and graded assignments. At times in this class you may consult with one another on assignments, but your work must be your own. This means you may not use any text, photos or other multimedia content produced by others in your work without proper attribution. YOU AND YOU ALONE MUST BE THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING YOU TURN IN FOR A GRADE. If you use materials from another source, it must be attributed properly and cannot satisfy the media requirement for the story.
Any cheating, plagiarism, purposeful falsification or misrepresentation, or other form of academic dishonesty is subject to a failing grade in the class and to disciplinary action in accordance with university regulations, which may mean dismissal from the university.
(From the OU Faculty Handbook:) Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication and fraud. Cheating is “the use of unauthorized materials, methods, or information in any academic exercise, including improper collaboration.” Plagiarism includes “the representation of the words and ideas of another as one's own.” Fabrication includes “the falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise.” Fraud includes “the falsification, forgery, or misrepresentation of academic work, including the resubmission of work performed in one class for credit in another class.”
DIVERSITY
Content providers and editors possess the power to influence people’s perceptions about themselves and others. In this course, we will explore how sensitive storytelling and editing can reflect the views of diverse groups in our culture with respect to age, ability, gender, race and ethnicity, religion and philosophy. At least one class project will focus on diversity issues.
DISABILITIES
If any member of the class is disabled and is in need of special accommodations, the Office of Disability Services and I will work with you to provide reasonable accommodations to ensure that you have a fair opportunity to perform well in this class. Please advise me of such a disability, subject to verification, and the desired accommodations as soon as possible.
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS
It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required class work that may fall on religious holidays.
JMC PORTFOLIO
If you are a journalism major, you will choose one of your projects as your designated assignment for permanent storage in your Gaylord College portfolio. The purpose of the portfolio assignment is to assess your mastery of key concepts, skills and objectives of this and other courses you complete as an undergraduate. If you are a journalism major, you will receive an incomplete if you fail to submit your portfolio requirement.
