Syllabus

JOU 4342: Multimedia Journalism

Spring 2011: Wednesdays 7:10-10 p.m.
Instructor: Mark Swanson
E-mail: mswans12@fau.edu
Office: 954.689.3388
Cell: 954.383.3450

Purpose of JOU 4342:
I'm not an educator but rather a facilitator, a link to the professional world. I have a few classes to impart to you what has taken me 15 years to learn and experience. This class belongs to you … take advantage of it.

Tough love of JOU 4342:
Cheating or academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade for the course. Factual errors and/or missed deadlines will result in an F for that assignment. It's not tolerated out there and it won't be tolerated in here.

Required Readings:
Foust, J. (2009) Second Edition Online Journalism: Principles and Practices of News for the Web.
Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathaway. (Maximize your Foust experience)

Associated Press Stylebook. Any edition published after 2000.

Grading criteria:
1. Quizzes: Based on the readings for the week (Foust), current events and style (25% of overall grade; two lowest quiz grades will be dropped)
2. Blog entries: (At least two due per week; deadline 11 p.m. Tuesdays: 10% of grade)
3. Blog entries graded four times … you pick which four.
Weeks 2-4: Blog grade No. 1 (5% of grade) -- You inform me Feb. 2 class
Weeks 5-7: Blog grade No. 2 (10% of grade) -- You inform me Feb. 23 class
Weeks 8-12 Blog grade No. 3 (15% of grade) -- You inform me March 23 class
Weeks 13-16: Blog grade No. 4 (20% of grade) -- You inform me April 13 class
4. Assignments: Deadline: Wednesdays before end of class; may not be handwritten. Please, feel free to email to me. (10% of grade)
5. Attendance (worth 5% of grade)

There is no final exam in this course.

Office Hours: TBA
Instructor Blog: Multimedia Journalism
Course Schedule
Week 1/Jan. 12
Introduction to the course and student introductions.
Discussion about syllabus, expectations, current events, grading etc.
Introduction to Blogs and creating yours

Week 2/Jan. 19
Due: Your first two blog entries (deadline: every Tuesday by 11 p.m. through April 19)
Intro to Chapter 1: Tenets of Journalism, how they apply to online
Future of this medium in this platform
Assignment for Jan. 26: Activity 1.2 on P.17 of Foust
Examine local newspaper and compare to its website

Week 3/Jan. 26
Due: Chapter 1 of Foust: Introduction to Online Journalism
Quiz: Chapter 1 and current events| Blogs exercise
Chapter 1 discussion: Journalism site or not? (1.3); Assignment due: Activity 1.2

Week 4/Feb. 2
Due: Blog entry No. 1 to be graded (5% of overall grade)
Due: Chapter 2 of Foust: Tools and Terminology
Quiz: Chapter 2 and current events.

Week 5/Feb. 9
Due: Chapter 3 of Foust: Authoring and Managing Web Sites
Quiz: Chapter 3 of Foust and current events ... and style.

Week 6/Feb. 16
Due: Chapter 4 of Foust: The Landscape of Online Journalism
Quiz: Chapter 4 and current events
Chapter 4 discussion: Examining Blogs
Assignment I for Feb. 23: Activity 5.1 on P.104 of Foust
Come up with story idea: Find 3 relevant sources for it and evaluate
Assignment II: 5.2 on P.104 of Foust

Week 7/Feb. 23
Due: Blog entry No. 2 to be graded (10% of grade)
Due: Chapter 5 of Foust: Using Online Reporting Sources
Quiz: Chapter 5 and current events
Chapter 5 discussions. Assignments due: 5.1 and 5.2
Assignment for March 2: 6.1 on P.132 of Foust.

Week 8/March 2
Due: Chapter 6 of Foust: Web Page Design
Quiz: Chapter 6 and current events
Chapter 6 discussions: Assignment due: 6.1. Your critique

Week 9/March 9
No class -- Spring Break
No blog entries due this week

Week 9/March 16
Due: Chapter 7 of Foust: Writing and Editing Online
Quiz: Chapter 7 and current events

Week 10/March 23
Due: Blog entry No. 3 to be graded (15% of grade)
Due: Chapter 8 of Foust: Using Links in Online Stories
Quiz: Chapter 8 and current events | Discussion: Related links
Assignment for March 30: 9.1 on P.191 of Foust

Week 11/March 30
Due: Chapter 9 of Foust: Multimedia and User-Generated Content
Quiz: Chapter 9 and current events
Chapter 9 discussion: Use of video, audio, advanced interactivity to tell story
Assignment due: 9.1 from Foust

Week 12/April 6
Due: Chapter 10 of Foust: Gathering and Editing Images, Audio and Video
Quiz: Chapter 10 and current events & discussion

Week 13/April 13
Due: Blog entry No. 4 to be graded (20% of grade)
Due: Chapter 11 of Foust: Legal and Ethical Issues
Quizzes: Chapter 11 and current events & discussion

Week 14/April 20
Due: Chapter 12 of Foust: Opportunities and Challenges
Quizzes: Chapter 12 and current events & discussion
Final required class. No more blog entries due

Week 15/April 27
Optional class

There is no final exam in this course.