J361/Reporting 1

Instructor: Suzi Steffen Twitter: twitter.com/Reporting1Suzi & twitter.com/SuziSteffen

Email: suzi@eugeneweekly.com and ssteffen@uoregon.edu
Times: Spring Quarter 2010 • Tuesdays/Thursdays at 2 p.m.
Places: Room 301B, Allen Hall; various events, occasionally on campus; a large number of off-
campus assignments; online chats; online newscasts; online research; library; etc.
Purpose: We are kicking journalism into the new age here. Yes, good writing is good writing,
but we’re figuring out how to transfer our thinking processes from print-only to all-platform
writing. Can you write a profile, put up a blog post describing your process of writing the
profile, tweet the link to the profile and the process post, set up a data-mining search that
allows you to link to information about similar profiles and make an eye-catching graphic, not
to mention a three-minute video (probably streamed from YouTube) and a Flickr or Picasa
photo stream? Yes, you can, and yes, you will (not all in this class, but a fair amount of it!).
Professional journalists have years of experience in the writing department, but it’s up to us,
and to you, to learn to think flexibly and creatively about getting the info out there. Our class
serves as one of the keystones to the digital era of journalism. I welcome your ideas and your
insights, and I know you will learn from a variety of thinkers and disseminate your knowledge
online. Even if you didn’t go through Gateway, you’ll have the beginnings of a professional
portfolio by the time you leave this class. If you DID go through Gateway, share your
knowledge and skills!

Required texts and materials:

• Inside Reporting by Tim Harrower (either edition is fine)
• 2008-9 Best Newspaper Writing (Aly Colón, ed.; 2006-2007 & 2007-2008 also
OK)
• The Associated Press Stylebook (you can buy a book, or there’s an iPhone/Touch
app for $27.99!)
• Journalism Next by Mark Briggs (this is more recommended than required)
• News sources, especially newspapers, about Oregon: Register Guard, Daily
Emerald, Oregonian
• “On the Media,” on the radio at 550 & 1600 AM, 8 pm Mondays; also available
as podcast from iTunes (free) earlier in the week and online
• At least one other daily news source (Christian Science Monitor, LA Times, NY
Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Sydney Morning Herald, Guardian,
International Herald-Tribune, Le Monde, etc.)
• At least one lefty alt-weekly newspaper (Eugene Weekly, Willamette Week, LA
Weekly, The Stranger, The Portland Mercury, Village Voice, etc.) and one right-wing
news magazine (National Review, Oregon Commentator, etc.)
• At least one political, science or arts blog
• At least one news or general-interest print magazine OR at least one online news
magazine (Slate, Salon, Newsweek, Time, Atlantic Monthly, New Yorker, etc..)
• A Twitter account, from which you’ll follow each other and me — and industry
professionals!
• A LinkedIn account, where you’ll link to your stories and increase your
 journalism presence.
• A WordPress account and an ability to post to the class blog
• Some form of physical journal (as in notebook/journal book/other paper)
• An account on Publish2
• Other professional accounts as required as class goes on

3. Attendance is required.* You must be on time; quizzes often start at 2 pm, and several
students missed enough quizzes last term that it affected their grades. Early is best.
Missed lab assignments cannot be made up. Under exceptional circumstances (a death in
the family or serious personal illness), I may give an additional assignment to supplement
coursework. *Obviously, if you have the flu or any kind of fever, this requirement is
more like “staying home is required.” Please do not come to campus and infect
other people if you are ill! We’ll set up a flu-buddy system for this class; do keep in
touch over email and Twitter!

4. The course calendar is full of good intentions, but it might need to be revised based on
what happens as the term goes on, We’ll talk about it in class. I welcome your ideas and
am willing to adapt based on what happens to journalism as class goes on.

5. I expect you to respect yourself so that the idea of plagiarizing or cheating is ridiculous. I
expect you to be open to discussing your work with your colleagues and careful to
maintain your own integrity. I expect you to give me your full attention when I am
speaking to the class as a group and extend the same courtesy to other students. I expect
you not to text, email, post Facebook updates, chat or talk with others during class unless
it’s requested for an assignment (which it often may be). I expect you to use our class
time for class work, not for playing online (unless it’s required in class). I expect you to
work hard and to have fun.

6. Keep in touch! That will be fairly easy while Twitter is working (it has its iffy moments).
But also, my office hours in Allen 310 are Thursdays from 1- 2 pm. Twitter is the best
way to get in touch with me. Second best are my email addresses, ssteffen@uoregon.edu
and suzi@eugeneweekly.com. My work phone is 484-0519, ext. 29. You are welcome to
text me at 503-451-0228, but not between 10:30 pm and 6:30 am. If I'm at work, I might
be on a story or copy editing (I’m especially busy on Tuesdays). Be sure to get in touch
with me early and often, not at the last minute.

Course Objectives

This course will introduce you to the
basics of writing and reporting, grounded in
community and framed by democratic
principles.
You’ll find that journalistic writing is
similar in some important ways to the kind
of writing you’ve been doing in other
courses. For example, your ideas must be
well-organized and clearly presented; your
words must be spelled correctly, and your
sentences must be punctuated properly.
But you’ll also find that newswriting
differs in important ways from essays
you’ve written for other classes. For
example, in writing news, you can’t
underline words for emphasis, and you
rarely get to use exclamation points! (Not
that I think you did that in Writing 121 or
your electives, but just in case you were
under the misapprehension that writing news
was like just babbling your thoughts easy.)
And no, you don’t need a thesis statement,
but you better be ready with a nut graf or an
establishing section.
That means it’s even more important for
you to find your way among the nouns and
verbs and adjectives and adverbs that
distinguish your writing and to do so with
fairness as well as flair, in context and with
compassion, and in recognition of the
obligation you have accepted in exchange
for the privilege of writing and reporting
news for your fellow citizens. In this course,
we’ll try to find that path together by
writing, rewriting, reading, writing,
listening, talking and writing some more.
We’re focusing on multimedia as well as
the basics of reporting this term. Much of
this is an experiment, but my opinion is that
trying new things in this climate is better
than not trying and that you need the online
presence and skills to help you get a job in
journalism. This is a writing class, and your
job is to learn how to write news across
multiple platforms. My job is to make sure
you know how to do that properly so that
you leave for internships prepared. You will
not embarrass the J-School after leaving this
course!
Here are a few details: First, I will not let
you get away with errors in spelling
(especially proper names), grammar or AP
Style. Is this like the dreaded J203 instant F?
Why yes, it is. Except it’s an instant zero.
Second, you cannot do a decent job of
reporting or writing news if you do not read
it. So start reading online and print!
Let me tell you about the current event
quizzes (actually, you now know already) —
they keep coming. Listen to NPR’s “On the
Media;” read the R-G, the Oregonian and
the NYT (esp the World News section of the
NYT) &/or the Christian Science Monitor
(again, world news); and you’ll probably do
OK on those quizzes.
Get yourself a notebook or 3-ring
binder, and start a journal to record your
impressions/analysis about what you’re
learning from your journalism reading –
what you like, what you find interesting,
what you promise to change as you join
the professional world. I’d prefer that this
be handwritten; typed is OK. Be sure to
devise a way to include newspaper,
magazine and blog links in your journal.
Although your journal will be most valuable
to you as a vehicle for your own intellectual
and professional growth, you will turn it in
at three points during the term. I’m cool
with a three-ring binder and loose-leaf paper
or three-hole punched typed entries or a
hand-created book or staped paper.
Whatever works for you — content means
almost everything, as long as I can read it.
(More on this later.)
Third, you will learn to recognize and
despise the comma splice, the misplaced
modifier and overwrought prose (music
writers: I’m watching out for you on that
one!). I taught grammar and rewrote a
grammar book for Linn-Benton Community
College, so I’m pretty intent upon making
sure you clean up that piece of your writing.
Did I mention that I’ve been a copy editor?
You might want to find a copy-editing
buddy in the class; it’s hard to catch your
own mistakes (though by the end of the
term, of course, you won’t be making any).
Fourth basically involves a certain
willingness to sacrifice family time, going-
out time and hang out time in order to get
your work done in an intelligent and
interesting fashion.
You have to take care of yourself, yes, and
a big part of that is advance planning and
time management so that those big
assignments don’t kick your ass. You’re
adults; you know time management (you
probably passed Info Hell, right? Or
Gateway!). But in any case, there’s a big ol’
assignment due at the end of the term, one
that will take all term to complete. You
know, like Info Hell except with less library
and more reporting, Twitter, blogging and
writing time.
You need to be ready to travel within the
area and devote time to this class no matter
what else you’re doing. If you’re not ready,
let someone else have your spot, please.
That said, let’s enjoy. Our classroom, both
in person and digital, is a community for
learning and a place for you to hone your
chosen craft. The world of journalism is
changing faster than we can know, but I’ll
do my best to help prepare you and know
that you’ll do your best to bring your ideas
as well. I look forward to active
collaboration with you!
Also know that I am a fairly laid-back and
approachable person, but that I am the one
giving the grade, and I can be a hard grader.
I expect a lot from you, and you’ll get a lot
in return.
 Short Course Calendar (elaborated during class)

Week Date The What

1 March/April. Introductions; Chapter 8 (Harrower, 2nd ed.); digital media
30 & 1 What is journalism? What’s professional online?
Current events quiz; one blog intro due; one media analysis blog
post due
Harrower quiz; assignments outside of the classroom

2 6&8 Harrower, Chapters 1 & 2, AP Stylebook A-C

History of journalism; news teams form
Current events quiz; AP quiz.
One media analysis post due (with photos!)
Neighborhood blogging begins.

3 13 & 15 Chapter 3, AP Stylebook D-K

Ruhl Lecture on April 13 (class live-blogging)
Graded labs begin; journal due Thurs, April 15.
Current events quiz; AP quiz,
One media analysis w/photos; one neighborhood blog

4 20 & 22 Chapters 4 & 5, AP Stylebook L-S

West Coast news start-ups live-blog!
Current events quiz; AP quiz.
Sensory observation assignment
Media analysis; neighborhood blog

5 27 & 29 Chapter 6
Enterprise story pitch due April 29!
Current events quiz Tuesday.
Media analysis; neighborhood blog

6 May Midterm on Tuesday, May 4

4&6 Media analysis; neighborhood blog; PROFILES ASSIGNED

7 11 & 13 Radio! And sound clips …

Skype guest speaker Julie Sabatier (tentative)
Journal due Tuesday, May 11
Media analysis; neighborhood blog
PROFILES DUE MAY 13

8 18 & 20 Serious and intensive work on final project!

Guest speaker TBA
Neighborhood blog (progress report); media analysis

9 25 & 27 NO CLASS (Reporting and writing time)

Final media analysis; neighborhood journal (progress report)
 ENTERPRISE DRAFT DUE BY 11:59 p.m. May 31

10 June One-on-one conferences

1&3 Neighborhood journal (mp3 group project)

• Sprinkled throughout will be additional assignments during class and between classes.
• Enterprise packages & final journal due on or before Tuesday, June 8, at 3 pm
 Grading and other stuff:

Grading: This course has been designed to help you learn reporting and writing skills. It
assumes you will improve mightily by the end of the term. Your final grade will reflect what you
have accomplished by then. I want you to finish this course with a grade and a portfolio of
stories that represent the very best work that you can do, not the goofy mistakes you made the
first week or the lead you’d never write that way again (which is why the first two weeks’
writing assignments won’t be graded; the blogs and quizzes are, however, graded).
I expect you to work hard in this course. In return, you will get feedback, ruthless editing and
lots of enthusiasm from me.

Participation in class 15 points

Online (notes/blog/Twitter/photos/etc.) 60 points
Journal 50 points
Midterm 25 points
Quizzes (CE &AP) 25 points
Stories/Labs 125 points (includes 75-point enterprise story)
Total: 300 points

Participation includes homework, attendance, discussion. Journal points will be awarded on a

15-20-15 split; writing assignments will be weighted more heavily as the quarter progresses.
All work (except journals & online work, obviously) must be printed out or, if assigned,
attached in an email in a legible, news-style 12-point font, in columns that are 3 inches wide (.5
inch between columns) with 1.5 line spacing.
Journal entries may be handwritten and, if typed, full-width. All other assignments should be
identified at the top left with your name, the assignment due date and a slug line:
Your name
March 30, 2010
Future Flash
All assignments should include a headline and, if a story is longer than 300 words, a
subhed/kicker.
Errors in facts, names and style are unacceptable. Stories that contain such errors will be
returned without comment or a grade. You are expected to follow AP Style in everything you
write. No grade means a zero for that assignment.
I’m terrible at returning grades on time, and you are allowed to ask me on email,
Twitter, or anywhere about the progress of your grades.

The Bottom Line:

100% = A+ 93-99% = A 90-92 = A-
87-89 = B+ 83-86 = B 80-82 = B-
77-79 = C+ 73-76 = C 70-72 = C-
65-69 = D 0-64 = F

Academic Integrity and Great Expectations:

I expect you to do your own work and to conform to high standards of academic integrity. I
expect you to respect yourself enough that the idea of plagiarizing or cheating is ridiculous.
Therefore, plagiarizing and/or cheating will not be tolerated. Students who do so will fail the
course. Read Chapter 2 in the MLA Handbook immediately and review it often. The UO
libraries offer an excellent primer on plagiarism at
libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students/
You should also familiarize yourself with the provisions of the UO Student Conduct Code
about cheating. They will be enforced. For more information, consult http://wkly.ws/2v.

Classroom Protocol: I expect you to give me your full attention when I am speaking to the
class. Turn your cell phone to vibrate or silent even if you’re using it for a story that I’ve
approved. Put down your newspapers/magazines and don’t turn on the computer unless I say it’s
OK. Chew/sip quietly. Do not talk, except when you are participating in a group discussion. This
extends to blogging and Twitter: when you’re doing it for class, stay focused and stay
appropriate. Remember: Don’t post anything to Twitter that you wouldn’t want your
parents or your boss to see! You are allowed and encouraged to tweet about class during class
time (and of course outside of class time as well), and part of your grade is dependent on your
professional, smart use of Twitter and the blog.
If inattention, consistent tardiness, talking or other activities unrelated to the course are
disruptive to me or to others, you will be instructed to leave the classroom, and 20 points will be
deducted from your final grade. You will be required to meet with me and possibly with Julianne
Newton to determine if you will be allowed to return to the classroom.
For more information on UO policies regarding disruptive behavior, see http://wkly.ws/2v

Building and Maintaining a Diverse University Community

Discrimination of any kind, disrespect for others, and inequity in educational opportunity are
not acceptable. I expect you to help maintain the School of Journalism and Communication’s
high standards of ethical and compassionate conduct at all times.
The School of Journalism and Communication is committed to assisting students with
disabilities. If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodation, let me
know. I encourage you to ask for assistance at any time.
The goal of building greater social, political, cultural, economic and intellectual diversity
among our students, staff and faculty — as well as in our curriculum, public scholarship and
communities — is central to the mission of the School of Journalism and Communication. Only
by achieving this goal can we become professional communicators, critical thinkers and
responsible citizens in a global society. In this course, we will study and learn from a world in
which people’s experiences, identities, communication styles and viewpoints have been shaped
by the history and culture of the communities in which they live.
The promotion and practice of freedom of expression and intellectual inquiry is an integral
part of the School of Journalism and Communication’s long tradition of academic excellence,
which is defined in part by a climate of respect for various points of view.
The School of Journalism and Communication welcomes inquiries and discussion on its
policies and procedures. The SOJC web site, jcomm.uoregon.edu, offers a complete student
resource guide as well as a directory of faculty and staff contacts for students with questions or
comments on specific issues.
 The J361 Journal

You should type/write in your journal regularly — at least two times a week (the media
analysis assignment covers similar ground but is graded under the “online” portion of the grade).
Writing in your journal should be a way to get to know the news world and yourself as a reader
and a writer.
Date your entries so you know how often you write. Include clips in your journals. Ask
questions. Try to answer them. Write legibly. I only require you to turn them in three times,
but that means each time you turn in the journal should have, for a a minimum C grade on
the journal, at least 6 entries. So don’t put it off! If I don’t remind you each week, remind me
to remind you. I’ll Tweet, blog and send emails about possible journal entries, but some are
listed below as well.
Your journals will have three components, as outlined below.

PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT:

This part of the journal requires two separate entries, one for the first and last due date,
which will help you develop your journalism mission statement.
Start here: “Making Journalism Your Mission” by Thomas T. Huang at
www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=58&aid=86906
Use the links in the “Related Resources” box for some guidelines. If you falter or just like to
read good stuff, go here: “Back To School — And Back To The Value And Values Of
Journalism” at www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=87527. Karen Brown Dunlap has
articulated the reason we need to do this kind of thinking about our chosen profession.
You should have a short mission statement plus a (clearly separated) discussion of how and
why you arrived at your mission statement.
For the journal due on April 15:
Draft a mission statement.
For the journal due on June 8:
Revise your draft mission statement based on class experience, internships, blogging and
more. Preface it with an explanation of the changes you are making.

BEST NEWSPAPER WRITING

This part of the journal also requires three separate entries, one for each due date. You
should try to keep these entries below 1000 words each. Typing might be good since these
entries are more essay-like. You’ll need to be reading Best Newspaper Writing consistently in
order to complete this assignment!
For the journal due on April 15:
Read all of the stories in Part 1, comparing and contrasting them and commenting on what
you learned from studying them.
For the journal due on May 11:
Read all of the stories in Part 2, comparing and contrasting them and commenting on what
you learned from studying them.
For the journal due by June 8:
Read and analyze the stories or photos in any two of the remaining parts, comparing and
contrasting them and commenting on what you learned from studying them.

THINKING ABOUT DOING JOURNALISM

In addition to the three required mission statement entries and the three required analyses of
stories in Best Newspaper Writing, you need to explore the world of news reporting and writing
with a variety of other entries. The more you read and write, the more you’ll find to read and
write about! But if you need a little extra inspiration, here are some suggestions.

1. How do you read a newspaper (or magazine)? (In what order? What sections? Why?)
2. How do you read news online? How? Why?
3. What newspapers do you read? Why? (Or, why have you not been reading a newspaper
regularly?) Where? Online or in print?
4. How would you improve the newspaper that you read?
5. How many stories in the papers you read feature Latinos? What are the topics of those
stories?
6. Compare different newspapers online and in print. Go to the Duniway room and compare
small papers to large ones, suburban papers to big city dailies, campus papers to
alternative weeklies.
7. Pick up a print version of a paper you’ve never read, such as the Christian Science
Monitor or the Wall Street Journal. Read it! Tell me what you think.
8. Compare the writing in different parts of the same paper. Make yourself read a part you
don’t usually read. Did you find anything interesting or surprising?
9. What are the advantages to print? To online? To electronic versions for e-readers?
10. Look at Salon or Slate (www.salon.com and www.slate.com) and compare/contrast an
article on one of those newsmagazines with an article on the same topic in a print
newsmagazine like Newsweek or Time.
11. Where in the paper you’re reading are Asian Americans, African Americans or Native
Americans featured?
12. Where does humor come in? What about “voice”? Do you like it when the reporter seems
to have a strong voice? Does a sense of humor equal a lack of seriousness? Talk about
Jon Stewart if you want, or the Colbert Report, etc.
13. Ask other people (such as your parents and grandparents!) why and how they read a
newspaper. Ask them to define a “great” newspaper. Ask if they think newspapers are
objective or biased — and if so, why. Do you agree? How do you think such opinions
will affect your work?
14. Ask older people about how they feel about newspapers versus online news. What do
they trust and why? How do they feel about papers disappearing?
15. Interview professional journalists who are on Twitter about their thoughts on
transparency.
16. Find stories you like or dislike and explain why … exactly. Detailed examples, as you no
doubt learned in WR 121 and 122, will help bolster your position.
17. Look closely at the leads. How effective are they? Do they grab your attention? Do they
tell you everything? Do they make you want to read on? Is that important?
18. Note the difference between hard news summary leads and the leads of features. Why do
you think they’re different?
19. Do you feel represented in your local newspapers? Why or why not? What should the
paper(s) do better?
20. Evaluate our campus newspapers & magazines, the writing in them and their role on
campus.
21. Do you think the differences between newspaper and magazine writing are shrinking or
growing? What ARE the differences, in your experience?
22. Think about whether newspapers claim to represent reality. What happens if a reporter
 lies? What are the risks to the newspaper profession? To the public? To democracy?
23. Evaluate yourself as a writer and reporter. What are you learning? How do you feel about
what you are learning? Is it easy for you? Difficult? Why?
24. Check out obituaries. How do they differ from death notices? Why are they written the
way they are? Do you think obituaries are news? Why? How well do the obituaries
represent someone’s life?
25. Have you ever been featured in a newspaper article or on television? Write about that
experience. Were you interviewed? How did that feel? What did you, your family and
your friends think of the published article? (If you have never been featured in a
newspaper story or on television, talk to someone who has and ask them the same
questions.)
26. Imagine yourself as a reporter. What type of stories would you like to cover? What do
you think your life would be like as a reporter? How would it be different as an editor?
27. Pick apart an article, line by line. Describe the way the article is structured. Look at how
quotes are handled and how often they are used. Look for the reporter’s opinion and the
use of “first person.” Does the writer seem to be present in the article? Why or why not?
28. Tell me how one reporter, one story, can make a difference.
29. What blogs do you like to read and why? What do they contribute to your knowledge of
the world?
30. Do you listen to or create any podcasts apart from “On the Media”? Which one(s)? Why?
How do they relate to the news you learn from reading papers?
31. Compare and contrast an article in The New Yorker or Atlantic Monthly to an article in
Newsweek or Time Magazine. Who reads each type of magazine, do you think? How do
you know? What’s different about the articles? What’s similar?
32. Find a trade magazine or a lifestyle magazine and analyze it. Who’s advertising? What
are the departments of the magazine? How is the magazine different from a feature
section of a newspaper? What’s the purpose of this magazine?
33. Find an official newspaper blog. What’s the tone? Are there links to video clips or
podcasts? Should there be if there aren’t? How are the writers on the blogs writing
differently than they do in their papers? What are the comments like? Are the comments
moderated?
(These suggestions are drawn in part from an assignment developed by writer Terrie Claflin, an
adjunct professor of journalism at Southern Oregon University, & from Kathy Campbell’s J361
assignments.)