Spring 2009 Writing for the Ear Syllabus

Syllabus//JRN 521B Writing for the Ear//Spring 2009//

Tuesday 6:30 to 9:15 p.m.//John Dankosky - Instructor

Contact Information:

• Work Phone, WNPR: 860-275-7301
• Email (please use both): jkdankosky@quinnipiac.edu, jdankosky@wnpr.org          
  
• Website: http://www.listeninglab.org

 Required:

• Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production by Jonathan Kern (University of Chicago Press)
• Olympus Digital Recorder (WS-110, WS-311M) – or similar audio recording device that allows for mp3 or WAV recording, and can upload audio via USB. More information: http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-WS-311M-Digital-Recorder-Player/dp/B000VDNC9M/ref=dp_cp_ob_e_title_1

 Recommended (but not required):

• Audacity Free Audio Software Editor: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
• Writing News for Broadcast by Edward Bliss Jr. and James L. Hoyt
• Writing Broadcast News: Shorter, Sharper, Stronger by Mervin Block
• Associated Press Broadcast News Handbook

 Schedule:

The schedule for this class is free-flowing, according to news events and class progress.  You can count on one mid-semester project deadline and one final project due on the last day of class. 

Equipment:

Quinnipiac loans professional radio flash recorders, cables and microphones to students on a short-term basis. We will have a tutorial on how to use and sign out this equipment – but the sign-out times present limitations for our class/production schedule.  As such, I am suggesting that you purchase a low-cost digital recorder, whose output can interface with Pro Tools digital editing software. 

 

We will also have a tutorial on how to use the AP ENPS system in our newsroom, and the Pro Tools audio editing suites.  These tutorials are very important and will require mandatory attendance.  I will also briefly be talking about Audacity, a free audio editor, which you can download and use in lieu of Pro Tools – but this software will not be supported by QU staff.

 Important: The rules for equipment usage are set by the University, not by the instructor.  While, at times, these rules may present hardships, please allow yourself the time and flexibility to work within them.  Fines are assessed for late return of, or damage to, equipment – and are not negotiable. 

 Course Objectives:

• This course provides an overview of the skills necessary to become a successful broadcast writer, editor and producer.  We will examine the basic practices of broadcast journalism, and the differences between commercial and public radio, print and television, and documentary news writing.  The focus will be on “public radio style” reporting.  

• The class will function as a workshop, simulating a radio newsroom.  Students will be expected to write on deadline, critique, edit and discuss their work and that of others.  This will include writing exercises in class, and reporting assignments outside of class. 

• The instructor will serve as editor, helping students shape their work.  We will examine the role of editor and the necessary elements for a strong editor/reporter relationship.  

• Each class will feature listening sessions, with work by national and local news media.  Students will be asked to discuss specific elements in these stories for accuracy and effectiveness.  We’ll use these examples to encourage creativity and individual style. 

• Students will do field reporting and learn to incorporate recorded sound into their news writing.  They will use editing software to craft their final pieces.  

• Students will contribute stories to a radio journalism blog and podcast called “The Listening Lab” (www.listeninglab.org).  This site will also feature online discussion.  It is recommended that you check this site frequently for updates.  Note: Classes may be conducted remotely using this site to allow students ample time to report and edit features, and allow for maximum interaction of instructor/editor.  The schedule for these remote classes will be subject to change.  

• The 15 classes will be broken into thirds.  The first third will include tutorials on equipment, lectures on terminology and craft, listening sessions, and deadline writing exercises.  The second third will be devoted to the craft of reporting, writing and editing longer form stories.  The last third will be devoted to a final project - a public radio style, multi-source news report.  This final project will align with one of three ongoing WNPR series: This Economic Life, Regionalization: State of Change or The Changing Face of Connecticut. 

• The best student work may be featured on WNPR and wnpr.org.  

• We will have occasional guest speakers from the media, academia and politics. 

Attendance and Class Participation:  

Please attend class regularly, and be on time.  Since we’re conducting this class like a newsroom, please treat it as you would a job.  Class participation includes discussion, critique and listening sessions.  It also includes the daily reading of at least one newspaper, and listening to radio programs as assigned.  It’s a news class, so you have to be engaged in the news.  Also, when assignments are due for editing, we will have class periods where the instructor will be working one-on-one with students on scripts, and-or audio.  Please use this time to do research and writing for class projects.  Just like at work, “surfing the web” for personal information during these periods is not acceptable.  

We have 15 total classes scheduled, and as previously noted, not all of them will be in our regular classroom.  If you have more than three absences or late arrivals you can expect to have your letter grade lowered.  The instructor will accept appeals if extenuating circumstances exist.  

Grading: 

Regular writing exercises and class projects will be critiqued for quality, accuracy, clarity and creativity.  These critiques are part of the editor’s job to help you make your work better, but they are not the main indicator of what your letter grade will be. Here’s how the grading works…it’s pretty simple:  Assume you have an “A” in the class, unless you… 

• Turn in an assignment late
• Turn in an incomplete assignment
• Fail to follow instructions for the assignment
• Turn in factually incorrect information
• Fail to follow the above guidelines for attendance

 Grade updates will be given at the end of each “third” of the class. 

 Academic Integrity: 

Refer to the Quinnipiac University Academic Integrity website for information about Academic Integrity and proper student behavior. Students are expected to be familiar with these university policies.  Forms of dishonesty include:           

• Cheating or helping another to cheat on an exam
• Using a paper authored by someone other than yourself
• Plagiarizing another’s written work (papers or outlines), in full or in part (includes failure to properly cite any or all sources according to MLA style)
• Deliberately distorting information
• Falsifying information (ex - reason for absence)           

Students found guilty of any of the above will be subject to sanctions in class, as determined by the professor, and will also be reported to the Academic Integrity Board.

Americans with Disabilities Act:

Quinnipiac University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students who wish to disclose a disability must make their request by contacting John Jarvis, Coordinator of Learning Services in the Learning Center, Tator Hall Room 119 at (203) 582-5390 or at john.jarvis@quinnipiac.edu.