ModernMedia:ThinkingandWritingCritically FordhamSTEPProgram,Summer2013 Instructor:DanielleJ.Travali Email:danielle.travali@gmail.com OfficeHours:byappointment CourseDescription: Thiscourseisdesignedtoprovidestudentswithanintroductiontotheprinciplesand practicesofinteractivemultimediareportingforbothprintandweb.Studentswilldiscover thedifferentwaysofcreatively,accuratelyandethicallypresentingnewstoamodern audiencewhilethinkingcritically.Studentswillalsolearnwhatittakestoestablisha successfulblogaswellashowtoattractasubstantialamountoffaithfulviewers. Studentswillcompleteweeklyreadingandwritingassignmentsaswellasassembletext, audio,graphics,images,interactiveelementsintotheclassblog.

Objectives: Studentswill: Compare,contrast,evaluateanddiscusstheevolutionofallmediaoutlets:print, radio,televisionandweb. Learntoresearchandevaluatesourcesonthewebforcredibilityandaccuracy. Createcontentfordigitalaudienceswhoaccessinformationthroughacomputer, smartphone,iPad,iPodorothercommunicationdevice. Discover,throughtheresearchofexperts,howaudiencesabsorbtextualandvisual informationonlinerelativetotraditionalmedia. Delveintotheworldofsocialmediaandusepopularonlinesocialnetworkingtools topromoteandallowfeedbackabouttheirarticles. Learntointegratetext,images,audioandvideoonawebpagebyusing Wordpress. Readandreflectcriticallyonnewsstoriesthatutilizemultimedia(videos,polls, quizzes,pictures,audio,etc.)thatgivetheaudienceamultidimensional

understandingofthesubject.Thegoalistomakethereadersexperiencean enjoyable,engagingandinteractiveonemuchdifferentfromone'sexperiences withprintpublications. Learnhowtoasktherightquestionswheninterviewingasubjectaswellashowto aceaninterview. Buildandmaintainaclean,respectableonlinereputation. AttendanceandClassParticipation: Youmustattendclassinordertoreceiveapassinggradeinthiscourse.Youareallowed onenonexcusedabsence.Afterthat,unlessyoureseriouslyillorinthestateofan emergency,youwillloseagradepointforeachdayabsent.Intheeventthatyouknowyou willbeabsent,youmustnotifytheinstructorviaemailorvoicemail.Youmustmeetall deadlinestoreceivecreditforeachassignment.Youwilllosepointsforeachdayan assignmentislate.Noexceptions. AthomeAssignmentsandDiscussionBoardParticipation: Bepreparedtodiscussthenewsinclass.Readonlinenewseveryday,whetherfromyour smartphone,iPad,iPod,computer,etc.Imaygiveoutanoccasionalnewsquiziftheclass showsnosignofparticipation.Butthatwonthappenifwekeepasteadydiscussionabout thenewsandthemedia Youasthestudentwillcreateworksofjournalismthatabidebystandardsofgood journalism.Thisincludesrelevance,newsworthiness,timeliness,accuracyandethicality. Knowthatyourcriticalreflectionswillbepublishedonourclassblogandbeavailablefor thegeneralpublicsreadingpleasure. YouasthestudentareRESPONSIBLEFOROBTAININGTHEASSIGNMENTIFYOU AREABSENT. ClassBlog/DiscussionBoard: Pleasebesuretopostallassignmentstotheclassblog.Youarerequiredtokeepupwith assignedreadingsandtobeanactivepartoftheconversationontheblog.Thismeans youaretocommentontheworkofyourpeersatleastonceaweek.Startanewtopic.Post links,videosandotherappropriatenewsrelated/journalismrelatedcontentthatothers mightfindinteresting. Meeting1:Introductiontothecourse/rules/practices/overviewanddiscussionof

modernmedia. Creationofourclassblog.Explanationofweeklyassignmentsandgrading. Fornextclass:Createyourfirstpostontheblog(topictobeannouncedinclass) Meeting2:Truthvs.Fictioninthemedia:Thinkingcriticallyaboutappearancevs.reality decipheringtruthfromsensationalism/exaggerationinthenews.Whichsourcesshould youtrust?Howdoweknowwhat'scredible?Evaluatingsources.Howtodetectbiasin newsstories.Subliminalbias. Readingandwritingassignmentforblog:tobedistributedinclass. Meeting3:Findingyourvoice.Whyyouropinionmatters. Fornextclass,read:SelectionsfromStein,M.L.&Paterno,S.(2001).TalkStraight,Listen Carefully:TheArtofInterviewing.Ames:IowaStateUniversityPress Meeting4:TheInterview. FindingsourcesandlearningInterviewingtechniques.Preparingquestionsthatwillhelp shapeyourarticleandconversationswithothers.Learninghowtoaceaninterviewfora job.TheQ&A. Fornextclass,write:Q&AInterviewthreepeopleaboutatrendingtopicinthenews. 400500words. Meeting5:CharacteristicsofModernNewsStorieshowtocapturetheattentionofan audienceinacompelling,creativeway. Learningtheinvertedpyramidstyle&leadparagraph.Usingquotationsinnewsstories. Takingtraditionalreportingtothenextlevelbyusingtechnologyandmultimedia. Fornextclass,read::Handoutsaboutwritingleadstohookthereaderwithin30seconds. Commentonabreakingnewsstoryandaddyourreflectiontoyourblog.Yourblogpost mustincludeatleastonephoto,onehyperlinkandaGooglelocatormap.Linkto appropriateaudio/videoifnecessary. Meeting6:Thefeaturestory.Inclass:receiveseveralsampleexcerptsfromfeatureand profilepieces.Fornextclass,read::handouts

Meeting7:Buildingyouronlinereputationandkeepingitclean.Fornextclass,read:: handoutsonreputationmanagement Meeting8:Finalclassandwrapup