Spring 2015
Course Title: New Media (Journalism)
Course Number: MMJ 222
Term: Spring 2015
Dates: Fridays, January 30 to May 15, 2015
Friday: 12pm to 2:40pm
Room: Carman Hall 119
Professor Jonah Brucker-Cohen
Department of Journalism, Communication & Theatre
Email jonah.bruckercohen at lehman.cuny.edu
Office hours 269 Carman Hall, Tuesdays and Thursdays 11am to 12pm & by appointment
Description This course explores the evolution of new communication technologies how they are integrated into society by the media, and how they end up changing our lives. It is an introduction to blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking tools used by journalists to report, produce and deliver the news across multiple platforms. It examines the challenges of establishing credibility of social media sources and user-generated content. Students gain visual literacy and learn basic principles of user-interface design. They also learn basic techniques for data analysis and visualization.
Course Learning Objectives
– Students will understand online journalism concepts of immediacy, multiple media storytelling, interactivity and audience engagement.
– Students will be able to use technology-based news gathering methods, Skype and Web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter, Facebook, for reporting and research.
– Students will learn to distinguish types of journalism, traditional and emerging, and develop skills for evaluating the credibility of online sources.
– Students will develop visual literacy.
– Students will be proficient in basic techniques of multimedia storytelling using Photoshop, audio and video editors.
– Students will learn introductory data analysis and visualization.
– Students will understand the essentials of Content Management Systems and be able to publish multimedia stories and an online resume.
Student Expectations
At the conclusion of this course
– You will understand how the Internet has transformed the media and you will understand the current state of the industry.
– You will be able to create interactive story elements such as quizzes and polls.
– You will know how to conduct story research using online sources.
– You will be able to manipulate Google Maps data to create data driven visualizations
– You will be able to create an online portfolio using WordPress.
Materials/Use of Technology The course blog will contain the syllabus, assignments, text, video, a list of resources and recommended readings. Students will post their assignments on the class blogs.
Required reading is the following, Journalism 2.0 How to Survive and Thrive by Mark Briggs, which is available online or for download as a PDF at http://www.kcnn.org/resources/journalism_20_pdfs/ .
Grading Policy
Attendance, participation & punctuality 30%
Class assignments (8-10) 30%
Final project 40%
Grading criteria In assessing students’ work, I will consider the following factors for all assignments
– Effort and application Has the work been prepared with careful thought and attention to detail?
– Organization and presentation Is it presented clearly and in a professional manner?
– Punctuality and completeness Is it on time and complete, and does it fulfill the assignment?
– Quality and shine Is it executed with skill and subtlety, and has it been edited well and polished?
Elements that I will consider in grading story assignments
– The assignment idea is original, timely and relevant.
– Who, what, where, when, why and how are all explained in the story.
– The student has crafted a well-organized, well-structured narrative.
– The story provides verifiable data to support its assertions.
– There are no virtually no errors in accuracy.
– The story reflects sufficient reporting.
– All sides of the story are presented fairly, objectively and without bias or stereotyping. The article is free of student’s opinion.
– The journalist has carefully selected lively, telling quotes that further the story and don’t repeat information already presented.
- Correct AP style, grammar and punctuation are used.
Accommodating Disabilities Lehman College is committed to providing access to all programs and curricula to all students. Students with disabilities who may need classroom accommodations are encouraged to register with the Office of Student Disability Services. For more information, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services, Shuster Hall, Room 238, phone number, 718-960-8441.Attendance/DeadlinesPlease inform me via email if you are unable to attend class. If you have more than three unexcused absences, your grade will be reduced. Please arrive to class promptly as a courtesy to your fellow students. Chronic tardiness will also result in a lowered final grade. Assignments are due when indicated. Late assignments will be penalized.Academic Integrity and Plagiarism PolicyStatement may be found in student handbook. For more information refer to http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/student-affairs/documents/student-handbook-02.pdf. Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writings as your own. The following are some examples of plagiarism, but by no means is it an exhaustive list
– Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes attributing the words to their source.
– Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging the source.
– Using information that is not common knowledge without acknowledging the source.
– Failing to acknowledge collaborators on homework and laboratory assignments. Internet Plagiarism includes submitting downloaded term papers or parts of term papers, paraphrasing or copying information from the Internet without citing the source, and sources without proper attribution.Class Calendar
Class 1 – Fri., January 30th – How is new media changing the way journalists gather, present and distribute information? Class overview. The evolution of digital journalism: Survey of online journalism genres. Blogging and micro-blogging in the newsroom
Exercise Create a WordPress blog, Join Twitter and Follow 10 sources.
Class 2 – Fri. February 6th – Visual storytelling Images
Principles of photojournalism. Photojournalistic ethics. Survey of best online photo narratives. Shooting techniques and photo editing
Exercise Perform basic photo editing in Photoshop.
Class 3 – Fri. February 13 – Visual storytelling Infographics and illustration
Write a blog post describing 3 graphics on this site: http://www.infosthetics.com or http://chartporn.org
Fundamentals of interactive information design
Exercise: Create an interactive graphic.
Class 4 – Friday February 20 – Mapping Stories
Fundamental map concepts and types. Survey of journalistic map features
Exercise Create interactive maps with Google Maps
Class 5 – Friday February 27 – NO CLASS – Work on your map sites
Class 6 – Friday, March 6 – Data visualization
The evolution of data journalism. Cleaning, organizing, analyzing and visualizing data
Examine: Chartporn, Information Aesthetics
Exercise Learn Excel spreadsheet basics. Work with NYC.gov data sets.
Class 7 – Friday, March 13 – Narrative and Social Media: First-person, character, mood and sense of place
Use of narratives in news story and site development. Survey of best online audio narratives, types of audio in eonline stories. Techniques for gathering audio, audio editor training. Online audio sources
Exercise Edit an audio feature and produce an audio slideshow.
Example: The Wilderness Downtown: http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com
Class 8 – Friday, March 20th –Scrapyard Challenge Part 1 (we meet in room Fine Arts 115)
Bring in a piece of junk to turn into a digital interface
Class 9 – Friday, March 27th– Scrapyard Challenge Part 2 (we meet in room Fine Arts 115)
Integrate Electronics with screen based output.
Exercise Work together to create a novel interface that generates sound on the computer
Class 10 – Friday, April 3rd and April 10 – SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES
Class 11 – Friday, April 17th – Online sampling, collecting, and organizing media
Exercise: Pinterest assignment: Create and maintain a Pinterest board for a particular topic
Class 12 – Friday, April 24th – Excellence in online news design
Understanding user-centered site design. Site architecture, navigation, layout, visual logic, color and typography
Exercise Mock up a news site in Photoshop.
Class 13 – Friday, May 1st – Using online tools and social media to report and interview
Using social networks to identify sources and to cover breaking news. Verification of social media and online personas. Conducting online interviews using email and Skype
Exercise Identify sources and data for breaking news using Twitter and Facebook.
Class 14 – Friday, May 8th – Mobile and Tablets
How can you use mobile or tablet technology to cover breaking news? Survey of best photo, audio and video apps for storytellers. How do user behavior, site architecture, navigation and layout change on mobile and tablet devices? Responsive design
Design a custom iPhone or Samsung Galaxy App using App Demo Store
Class 15 – Friday, May 15 – Final projects
Students present their final projects
