Intro to Journalism

The slideshow below includes information about grading and classroom policies. Please read!

 Things to know about this course:

• Files, assignments, and deadlines are shared with students through Schoology or Google Classroom. Even if you are absent, you should be able to get all necessary information simply by logging in.

• This course requires lots of writing. There’s no way out of it short of dropping the course. Writing will be graded and must adhere to the standards of the Associated Press and the WHS publications. Let’s be clear: this isn’t creative writing, it’s not art, and it’s not photography. It’s journalism, and the most important qualities of journalism are truth, clarity, and accuracy. You’ll be expected to get your facts right, use proper punctuation and other conventions of standard English for the sake of clarity, and follow journalistic style. This is not negotiable. There will be a lot of feedback, and your job is to use that feedback constructively to get better at journalism.

• Another thing you’ll hear a lot about in journalism is deadlines. It is a critical component of news coverage to get things in on time. Deadlines will be clear, reasonable, and announced well ahead of time. Your responsibility is to meet every deadline with a finished, high-quality product that demonstrates learning and represents your best effort.

• There will be a lot of sharing and discussion in this class. Your work will be critiqued. We will maintain a supportive and helpful atmosphere with the goal of all students improving their work. You will be expected to contribute meaningfully to the group.

• Students are expected to read professional news at least 20 minutes a day, from news magazines, printed newspapers, or news websites. The purpose of this is both to be informed of current events and to absorb the way that professional journalists write. Thus, not just any blog will be appropriate for this assignment. The New York Times is highly recommended for the quality of writing; the Austin American-Statesman is a good source for local news; the Texas Tribune online is great for political coverage. Reading the student newspaper of a college you might want to attend is always a good idea. When time allows, students may be asked to write, present, or discuss what they have read in the news.

• Bias and politics are unavoidable topics in journalism. We will not try to avoid them but rather meet the head-on and with open eyes and minds. One tool we will use in class is AllSides.com, which helps identify media bias and provide access to coverage of the same events from a variety of sources. We will foster honest and respectful discussions that honor every person’s right to free thought. I may share opinions but I invite every student to share theirs as well, and I will not judge you if we happen to disagree on a political issue. As journalists we will deal in facts more than feelings, and we will seek real reasons for our opinions. We will seek to understand the impact journalists and other media have on society.

• Social media matters. One assignment for this class will be to create and maintain a blog on a topic of the student’s choice. In addition to this practice, students are encouraged to maintain a  Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram account, etc. They should follow professional journalists as well as other students in order to stay informed and connected to the community. It is especially requested that students follow the Westwood Student Press and other relevant Westwood and Austin accounts. Activities on social media must be professional and appropriate. The purpose of this activity is to form and express one’s own informed opinions and to practice interacting appropriately in the context of news sharing.

• Students will cover WHS events as journalists. Events might include sports matches, concerts, performances, club activities, labs, or class presentations. Coverage will be in a variety of modes, such as formal news writing, feature writing, editorial writing, review writing, video news, photo essays, and multimedia packages. These modes will be presented and discussed in class before students are required to use them. Sometimes a certain mode will be required; at other times the student will be free to choose the most appropriate way to present the story.

• Student work may occasionally be published in the Heritage, on WestwoodHorizon.com or on WestwoodDreamcatcher.com. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the adviser if they do not want their work published for any reason.

• For the photography component of this course, students will learn basic camera operation and composition. Canon digital SLR cameras are available in the newsroom, and students may also use their own digital cameras (or phones). Film will not be used.

• For the video unit, some assignments are designed to be completed on a smartphone. If that device is not available, the student may make arrangements with the adviser to adapt the assignment for different equipment.

• Students will learn basic design and layout using Adobe InDesign, photo correction with Adobe Photoshop, and graphic creation with Adobe Illustrator. All software will be provided at school; it is not necessary to purchase software or a subscription.

• Most assignments for this course will involve an online component–all assignments are made through the online learning management system (Google Classroom or Schoology), and most are submitted for grading there as well. Therefore a computer and an internet connection at home will be very helpful. However, the newsroom will be open from 8-9 a.m. most mornings for computer use, and students may occasionally check out a laptop from the newsroom overnight if needed (see below). Most assignments can be completed on the student's district-issued Chromebook.

• Students are encouraged to bring their district-issued Chromebooks every day and use them. They may also onboard their personal devices (such as iPhones and laptops) to the school network.

• Occasionally students may check out equipment from the newsroom, such as cameras, tripods, or laptops. Students will fill out a form before taking equipment from the room and it is understood that any equipment checked out to the student is his/her financial responsibility until returned to the adviser. An inventory is kept of all equipment along with serial numbers and replacement costs.

• Enrollment in Intro to Journalism does not guarantee eventual placement in Advanced Journalism. However, hard work, a good attitude, and real effort at growing as a journalist have a lot of weight in the application process…so if you want to work for the yearbook or news staffs, work hard in the Intro class.

• One of the most important contributors to success in journalism (and in this course) is clear communication–both in your journalistic work and also in your interactions with the teacher and your classmates. If you’re having trouble, ask for help! If you have a technical issue, let me know! If you need emotional support or understanding, come talk to me! We are a community of problem solvers, and we will help each other. You will be responsible for overcoming obstacles. You will learn that excuses are useless to the journalist–an excuse cannot be published in place of the story.