Internet Journalism 35 Mailing List
Where students of Internet Journalism 35 communicate among each other.
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COURSE MATERIALS
Real Life: So, you want to be an Internet journalist, do you? Then you've got to understand the essentials of journalism, the Internet, and ... Internet journalism. Read a news site every day. Notice all the different types of stories a news site publishes. Think to yourself how the reporter (or editor) came up with the idea, how the reporter went about gathering information, and how the story was shaped and presented. Consider why the story merits the attention it received, and perhaps it didn't receive more (or less).
Recommended Real Life: For newspapers, read the SF Chronicle, the SJ Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, the New York Times. For websites, go to Wired News, News.com, SF Gate, MSNBC, ESPN, the Washington Post, the Onion.
Texts: Because of the velocity of information about the Internet, students will be directed to web pages or receive e-mail from the instructor instead of being assigned readings from textbooks. Students should keep these bookmarks. Recommended texts: The Associated Press Style and Libel Guide. Negroponte, Nicholas. Being Digital, Vintage Books; Ullman, Ellen. Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents, City Lights Books; Bud E. Smith, Arthur Bebak, Kevin Werbach. Creating Web Pages for Dummies, 4th Edition, IDG Books; Wallace, Jonathan; Mangan, Mark. Sex, Laws and Cyberspace; Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen -- Identity in the Age of the Internet,Touchstone; Rheingold, Howard. The Virtual Community -- Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier; Smeddinghoff, Thomas. Online Law -- The SPA's Legal Guide to Doing Business On The Internet. The Paperless Class: In keeping with the spirit of the cyberworld, Journalism 35 strives to be a paperless class. We'll use energy but we won't kill trees. Net Access: You will need access to a computer with a Web browser (preferably Netscape Navigator 4 or higher or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 or higher) and Internet access. Miscellaneous: A 1.44 MB floppy disk, writing instruments, something to write on (taking notes during class by typing into a word processing program during class is perfectly acceptable), and an open mind. Everybody should have a paperback dictionary. The AP Stylebook and Libel Manual and The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is a must for all writers and wannabes.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
As we progress through the class, we will learn that the single most distinguishing factor of Internet Journalism is that it is digital, and that, as such, information can be indexed and searched on a variety of platforms -- print, video, sound, graphical. Thus much of the burden of storytelling is with the reader or end-user. The author therefore becomes not only a storyteller, but also a careful architect of digital story components. We also will examine how "action items" attached to news create "The Internet News Experience." We will learn some of the tools that will help us build story components in their various forms, such as sound, text, photo and illustration, and how journalists combine them into Internet journalism packages.We will learn what effective storytelling tools are in use on the Internet today, such as hypertext, and we will learn how to "chunk" a story into layers. Whereas traditional journalism is written in a linear fashion, the essence of the Internet is to send the user to appropriate places on the Web via hyperlinks; therefore, a "lateral" style of writing makes sense. In addition, we will examine the digital "landscapes" of Internet chat and bulletin boards, familiarizing ourselves with the world of bits and bytes, the sociology of that environment and its political, legal and moral features. We also will examine issues that come bundled with this new medium: business aspects, such as the dynamics of online advertising; legal considerations, such as the state of copyright and First Amendment law; and ethical questions such as those raised by so-called "user tracking" technologies. Is blogging journalism? Is the threat to ban deep-linking the worst idea since Nimrod thought to build the Tower of Babel? Finally, we will learn to use the Internet as a reporting tool, to help the journalist gather reliable information quickly so that he or she can present an accurate, useful and interesting story to the most number of people. This is not a class in web-page building. Rather, it looks broadly at the field of journalism as it is employed on the Internet -- on the World Wide Web, in listserves, in bulletin boards and discussion groups, and in other interactive platforms.
COURSE STRUCTURE
REQUIREMENTS
Students will be expected to respond actively in class discussion, raising topics for discussion themselves as well as responding to assigned text. Students should come prepared to respond with care to other students' contributions. Students are focusing on the cutting edge of new methods in an old craft. We hope to foster a spirit of inquiry. Papers and assignments are due by the beginning of class.
GRADING AND DEADLINES (subject to revision)
There will be a take-home mid-term examination and a final project (that will be as fun as it is educational). Final grades will be based on exams, tests, class participation and outside assignments. * Note: Due to the newness of this course, students should expect some flexibility in this regard.
ATTENDANCE
HOMEWORK
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GRADING POLICY
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Category Attendance Homework Class Participation Mid-term Final Project: |
Value
20% 10% 10% 15% 45% |
Averages
90-100% = A 80-90% = B 70-80% = C 60-70% = D 0-60% = Whoa |
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
Do your own work and take your own tests. Work with others, but avoid copying work from other students or from a solutions manual. Cheating on tests, copying someone else's work, or having someone do your work for you is not allowed. Be dishonest once -- you'll receive a zero on the assignment. Be dishonest twice -- you'll receive an F in the course. Plagiarism is not permitted and will result in the academic equivalent of tar-and-feathering, unless full attribution is provided at the time the assignment is submitted. Please inform us if you observe someone who is guilty of academic dishonesty. SOURCES OF HELP I will hold office hours for an hour before class. I will also be available to answer questions via e-mail, and briefly after each class session. Also, selected material will appear on the class website. NATURAL DISASTERS If for any reason a natural disaster causes the campus to be closed, you should call me. If such a natural disaster prevents me from administering an assignment, I will either reschedule it or eliminate that assignment from the grading scheme, at my discretion. You will be responsible for contacting me and getting directions. CLOSING THOUGHTS The Internet is also somewhat of a moving target, since new technologies and storytelling techniques seem to emerge on a monthly basis. As a result, we will follow the course outline and this syllabus as closely as possible, but may also change the course if change appears warranted.
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Aug. 21 -- Introduction to Internet journalism. Opening Remarks/Discussion. Class business.
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