Faculty of Arts

30:154 Journalism I: Introduction to Print Media

Session: Fall Term: 1 Date: Sept 9 Dec 8 2014 Tuesday 7:00-10:00 PM

Instructor: Glen Gatin
Class Location: 022 Clark Hall
Office Hours: Tuesdays 5-7 Room 21, RDI
or online (Skype ggatin) by arrangement https://ggatin.youcanbook.me/
Mobile/SMS 204 761 0753
Email ggatin@ggatin.com
Prerequisite: Nil
Course Description:
An introduction to the history, philosophy and ethics of journalism with central emphasis on the
editing, writing, and publishing of contemporary newspapers. Classes consist of lectures and
workshops covering theoretical and practical aspects of news reporting, feature writing,
reviewing the arts, sports reporting, pictorial journalism, advertising, layout, design and the
mechanics of printing. Media to be considered include daily, weekly and campus newspapers, as
well as magazines and press releases.
3 lecture hours per week, one term.
Course Objectives:
Develop an appreciation for the study of print media and journalism in the Liberal Arts
Understand the place of journalism in a free and democratic society
Understand the journalists role in journalism

Develop awareness of current topics and issues

Topics:
History of Journalism
Principles of Journalism
Ethics and the law governing journalism
Foundational skills of the journalist
Investigative journalism
The global information society
Convergences of web based and traditional journalism: Journalism digitized
Address the following questions:
What is journalism?
Who is a journalist?
What is journalism for?
How is journalism done?
How is journalism studied?
How is journalism changing?

Reading list:
Adam, G. S., & Clark, R. P. (2005). Journalism: The Democratic Craft, Oxford University
Press, OECD. (2010).

Bell, E. (2013)Post-industrial journalism. (2013). Retrieved from
http://youtu.be/KE5IO8o3C18

Bernstein, W. J. (2013). Masters of the word: how media shaped history, from the
alphabet to the Internet. New York, NY; [Berkeley, Calif.]: Grove Press; Distributed by
Publishers Group West.

Fulton, J. (2011). Is print journalism creative? Ejournalist, 11(2). Retrieved from
http://ejournalist.com.au/v11n2/Fulton.pdf

Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (2002). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the
Mass Media (1st ed.). Pantheon.

Kozolanka, K., Mazepa, P., & Skinner, D. (Eds.). (2012). Alternative Media in Canada .
University of British Columbia Press.

News in the Internet Age: New Trends in News Publishing . OECD Publishing.
Retrievedfrom http://www.oecd.org/document/34/0,3746,en_2649_34223_46367
778_1_1_1_1,00.

Parks, B. (2005). Basic news writing. Presented at the Contemporary Communications
Conference, Fremont CA: Ohlone College. Retrieved from
http://www.ohlone.edu/people/bparks/docs/basicnewswriting.pdf

Rosen, J. (2013). The awayness problem. Columbia Journalism Review. Institutional
analysis. Retrieved from http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/the_awayness_problem.php

Wilkinson, J. S., Grant, A. E., & Fisher, D. (2008). Principles of convergent journalism. Oxford
University Press, USA.

Administrative Details

1. Contact hours:
This course will meet for a minimum of 36 hours, which will include lectures, webinars, group
presentations, and evaluation time. As the course progresses, group activities will be conducted
by means of various online applications introduced throughout the course.

2. Required Text:
No physical textbook is required for this course. All course materials will be available
electronically.

3. Required Materials:
All participants must have regular access to a multimedia laptop with webcam and headset
(microphone and speakers) capable of wireless Internet connection. Qualifying devices are
available from local computer outlets for between$250.00 and $500.00, less than the cost of
textbooks for many courses.

4. Entry level knowledge & skills:
Basic word processing, file management, web-browser and email skills.

5. Assignments:
Assignments are due as detailed below.

6. Academic Integrity:
It is acceptable to borrow ideas, methods, etc. from other students, books, or journals, but be
sure to acknowledge the contributions of others. Avoid cut and paste. All sources must be
acknowledged and from a verifiable source. Students are specifically referred to the policy on
academic integrity Section 4.2.2 of the General Calendar. Violations of this policy, including all
forms of plagiarism, will not be tolerated.
7. Ethics Compliance:
Human subjects research required for this course will be conducted in compliance with the Tri-
Council Policy for Research Involving Humans. Any qualifying research for this course will be
conducted under an ethics certificate approved by the Brandon University Research Ethics
Committee. All student research must be conducted in accordance with these guidelines and
requires approval by the faculty member.

8. Course Evaluation:
The anonymous course evaluations will be completed online. All students are expected to
complete the evaluation.

9. Proposed Class Schedule:
TBA

10. Statement of Fair Warning
It is possible that a student may find readings and/or discussions of controversial matters
troubling. If so, please contact the instructor immediately for alternative assignments or an
alternative course. Participation in public web spaces will be through anonymous accounts
established specifically for the purpose of this class.
11. Statement of Accommodation
Students with disabilities requiring accommodation are encouraged to register with the Disability
Services Coordinator located in the Accessible Learning Centre, Room 106 A.E. McKenzie
Building, call 727-9759.
12. Grade Equivalencies:

A+ Outstanding 90-100
A Outstanding 85-89
A- Outstanding 80-83
B+ Good 77-79
B Good 74-76
B- Good 70-73
C+ Satisfactory 67-69
C Satisfactory 64-66
C- Satisfactory 60-63
D+ Weak 57-59
D Weak 54-56
D- Weak 50-53
F Inadequate 0-49


Grading and Mark Distribution

Personal Portfolio 50%
Students will post weekly entries to their own electronic portfolio. Entries must be a minimum of
250 words of text (or equivalent) and address themes and topics developed in class. The
personal portfolio is a space to develop the practical and conceptual skills related to media
studies and journalism. Half of the grade available for the portfolio (25% of total) will be
assessed by Oct 25, 2014 (before the VW date for the class).

Major project 25%
At least 3 options are available for a mid-term project. Other options may be considered. Due on
Nov 15, 2014
1. Create a web-based narrated presentation. Presentations must address topics from the
study of media studies journalism and must conform to Pecha Kucha style - 20 slides
with 20 seconds of narration per slide. Presentation should be embedded in the personal
course portfolio.
2. Create or significantly improve a Wikipedia article on some aspect of journalism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Journalism. New articles must
qualify for Good Article status -- Improved articles must be improved at least one
category. (As assessed by the course instructor.)
3. Have an article about media studies or journalism published by a journal, local media,
newspaper, radio or television.

Final assignment -- multimedia essay 25%
Write a paper critically analysing selected topics related to the study of print journalism.
journalism. Participants will demonstrate that they have absorbed class materials, can write in a
journalistic style, and can critically discuss the topics and issues related to the study of
journalism. The paper must be 10-15 pages and must be composed entirely in Google
Documents (shared electronically with the professor before beginning) and must incorporate
hyperlinked references. Final paper is due on Dec 8, 2014.