Editing and Design SyllabusFall13

7/27/2019 Editing and Design SyllabusFall13

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EDITING AND DESIGNJOU 223FALL 2013

THE BASICS:

Instructor's Information:David SwartzlanderOffice: 129 Gaylord HallE-mail address: [email protected] phone: 402-826-8269Home/cell phone: 402-643-5135Website:davidswartzlander.comTwitter: @dswartzlander

Office Hours:10-11 a.m., 2-4 p.m. MWOr by appointmentNo office hours on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday

Required materials:"The Editorial Eye" by Jane T. Harrigan and Karen Brown Dunlap, Bedford/St.Martin's"The Newspaper Designer's Handbook" by Tim Harrower, McGraw-Hill"The Associated Press Stylebook"Optional but highly recommended: A dictionary and thesaurus.

COURSE OBJECTIVE:

This course is designed to present the basic tools and principles needed toeffectively edit and attractively assemble and present visual information in printand on the web. The purpose is to provide students with editing ability, designand layout skills and the legal and professional responsibilities of journalists.Grammar, writing and language skills as well as layout techniques and thephilosophy of design and content will be emphasized. Use of computertechnology will be treated as a tool to accomplish these goals.

Students successfully completing the course should be able to:1. Analyze stories for accuracy, brevity and clarity and demonstrate an ability tomake revisions and improvements to prepare a story for publication.

2. Recognize wordiness, redundancy, jargon, slang, euphemisms and editorializing in thewritten word and demonstrate how to avoid such problems.

3. Demonstrate how to use reference tools such as a dictionary, directory, thesaurus,stylebook, atlas and reference databases.

4. Write and count headlines to make sure they fit the space.5. Write cutlines.6. Understand and identify what is newsworthy - and demonstrate how to usedesign to communicate that news to a mass audience.
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7. Recognize and explain fundamental news values.8. Explain the major principles of journalistic ethics as they affect editing and design.9. Recognize and define the legal and professional responsibilities of editors anddesigners.10. Generate story ideas and work with writers to develop them.11. Demonstrate how to display artwork to impart information to readers.

12. Assemble a visually appealing, useful print page design involving text, imagesand typography.13. Coach reporters to be better writers.14. Work collaboratively.15. Possess a working knowledge of grammar, structure and style anddemonstrate how to use those tools to communicate to a mass audience.16. Learn and explain the basics of online design.17. Recognize the process of editing images and demonstrate the ability to makenecessary revisions and improvements in images so that they are acceptable foran online news Web site.18. Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental parts of a newspaper and web

page.

ATTENDANCE POLICY:Attendance is mandatory. If you miss a class, you should email me why you missed it.You will be responsible for any missed classes or assignments. Students may not makeup quizzes or assignments missed for tardiness or unexcused absences. You areresponsible for all material covered or assigned during classes. When absent, pleasecontact a fellow student to find out what was missed or to get notes. Attendance isrequired at weekly news meeting at 5 p.m. Mondays in 213 Gaylord Hall.

In addition, you will be required to propose three story ideas for the following week bynoon Sunday. Send them to the Owl editor in chief Erin Bell ([email protected]) and

copy the email to me to receive credit.

You will be assigned a mentor from the Owl to answer questions or help you withproblems. The mentor list can be found under the Editing and Design tab atdavidswartzlander.com.Tutors for this class are available. Contact Student SupportServices for the list of tutors.

ONLINE COURSE:The syllabus and the schedule for this class are included onhttp://www.davidswartzlander.com. Check it regularly to determine what we will do in

class each day, including when tests or exams are scheduled. Changes may be made atany time during the semester. The grade book may be found in Blackboard.

COURSE FORMAT:Information for this course will be presented through lectures, assigned reading,class discussion, the Blackboard system, my own website, in-class exercises andafter-class assignments.

ASSIGNMENTS
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Students must read assigned material before class from the text or other sourcesas directed by the instructor. Students need to participate in class discussions andactivities, attend The Doane Owl brainstorming meetings and complete all courseassignments and responsibilities on time. Chapter quizzes will be administeredthroughout the course.

Students must edit at least one story a week for The Doane Owl or Doaneline andparticipate in designing pages for the student newspaper. Students also mustwork one week with the Doanelines content management system. Deadlinesmust be met. Failure to make deadline will result in a 0 for the assignment. Theonly exception will be if you have a legitimate college-excused absence, such as amedical excuse, that can be documented.

DEADLINESDeadlines must be met. I am impatient with excuses.

Stories submitted for weekly publication features, profiles, etc. must beedited within 24 hours. More timely stories such as breaking news or anystories that should be published within 48 hours or sooner must be editedwithin one hour of submission.

REQUIREMENTSEach student must:1. Complete Associated Press quizzes.2. Complete chapter quizzes.3. Submit story ideas. These ideas should be detailed and include: The idea,

potential sources, the news peg or angle, why you think this is a story, whyreaders would care about the story, how would it be illustrated and, if its an

event, where and when it happens. They must be submitted to Owl editor-in-chiefErin Belland to me by noon Sundays.

4. Coach writers. Each of you will be assigned at least two basic news writers. You are

to meet with those writers on a weekly basis. Ideally, you will meet briefly withwriters when they suggest a story or receive an assignment. Your job is not to write

and report for them, but to help writers determine what story angles to pursue, what

sources to query and how to approach the story. You should be able to help identifythe problems with the stories and they should work with you throughout the process -

from story idea to completed story.

These do not necessarily have to be long meetings but they can help the writers andyou discover what you both need to do to make the story the best you can.

Meeting with the writers, I've decided, will be a part of your grade. Whether youreceive points will depend on your interactions with your writers. You will be

expected to make brief written weekly reports about your interactions. You shouldinclude the writer, the story discussed, when you interacted with the writer, what

issues arose from the reporting or writing of the story, whether you and the writer

resolved the issue and, if so, how it was resolved and any other pertinent information.5. Edit a minimum of 12 stories for The Doane Owl or The Doane Line.
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6. Design at least one page for The Doane Owl. Students will be required toassist the staff of the Owl under the direction of student editors. Bring copiesof designed pages to the next class.

7. Work at least one week with the Doanelines content management system.Students will be required to assist the staff of Doaneline under the direction of

student editors. The purpose of these assignments is to give studentspractical, hands-on experience with a professional CMS.8. Complete four exams, including one midterm and one final.9. Attend class and the newsbrainstorming sessions.10. Compile a professional-looking portfolio of your work.

SUBMISSION OF EDITED STORIESEdited stories must be submitted by email to me. I am not responsible for storieslost because of system failures in your computer, the email network or in mycomputer. Always save your edited story and print a hard copy of it before yousend it electronically. You must have a hard copy in case there are questionsabout your electronically mailed story. You must send a copy of your edited storyto Erin Bell, the Owl editor in chief, and Mark Lucas ([email protected]) orCallie Cox ([email protected]) at Doane Line or I will automatically deductthree points from your story's grade.

Please make all edits using Track Changes in the Tools section of Microsoft Wordand send the edited story as an attachment.

GRADINGEdited stories are graded on a 30-point scale based on the following rubric:

Skillful

+5

Good +4 Adequat

e +3

Some

flaws +2

Many

flaws +1

Severe

Problem0

Accuracy: Noholes; correctnames, timesand events;completeinformation -5 Ws, H andso what; tellsreaders why

they shouldcare; stays ontopic.Structure:Discernible;important orinterestinginfo in lede;
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ledesupported;each graf =single idea;logical flow;

interestmaintained;clear, simpletransitions; noburied facts.Grammar andStyle:Grammaticallysoundsentences; APStyle followed;spellingLanguage andsentencestructure:graceful,concise prose;clear writing;precise,simple words;long, complexsentencesavoided;needlesswordsomitted;sentencelength varies;quotes makepoints;attributionHeadline:Sums upstory; catchy;

enticesreaders; fitsspaceOnline:Relevantlinks; shortgrafs;multimedia


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when useful

WARNING: A factual error or a misspelled name in the edited copy will result inan automatic five-point deduction. Editors must get the facts right. The first rule

of this course is to spell names correctly.

Misspelled words other than names will result in a three-point deduction.

Failure to include pertinent, important information also will cost three points.Fill in the holes in the story.

Awkward sentence structure or a stylistic or typographical error will cost you onepoint. Students who make serious factual errors or fail to catch serious factualerrors will be required to write corrections for those errors and will receive a 0 forthe edited story.

Students must adhere to professional standards - meet deadlines, follow rules ofpunctuation, grammar, spelling and style. Be forewarned - I am a tough grader.Strive for high-quality work.

TIP: To make sure you've edited the story well, you may have to contact thewriter to get more information. Don't hesitate to do so. That's part of your job. Infact, strive to meet with the writer while editing the story.

The final grade will be based on the total number of points earned by completingassignments, exams and quizzes compared with the total number of pointspossible. The following grade scale will be used:

A = 90 percent to 100 percentB = 80 percent to 89 percentC = 70 percent to 79 percentD = 60 percent to 69 percentF = below 60 percentNo plus or minus grades are given for this class.

The following are the maximum point totals available for the variousrequirements:Associated Press quizzes = 100 points or 6 percent of the total points available.Chapter Quizzes = 100 points or 6 percent.

Story ideas = 100 points or 6 percentCoaching writers = 100 points or 6 percent.Editing Owl/Doane Line stories = 360 points or 22.5 percent.Two tests = 100 points each or 12.5 percentMidterm exam = 100 points or 6 percentPage design for the Owl = 140 points or 8.5 percent. This grade will bedetermined by the layout and design of the page, whether photos have cutlines,


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how photos are displayed, whether headlines abut each other and other gooddesign techniques.Doane Line = 100 points or 6 percent.Portfolio = 100 points or 6 percent.Final exam = 200 points or 12.5 percent. The final exam will be given in two

parts. During the last week of the semester, before finals week, you will edit copyon deadline. During the final exam time, you will use those stories and othermaterials to design an attractive newspaper page.

Total number of points possible = 1,600.A score of 1,440-1,600 = A.1,280-1,439 = B.1,120-1,279 = C960-1,119 = DLess than 959 = F.

EXPECTATIONS OF PROFESSORIve listed expectations I have of you, now here is what you can expect from me:

1. I will care about you as a student and a person.2. I will conduct class as scheduled every day, including being prompt and

prepared.3. If class will be cancelled, I will notify you by email at least five hours before

class is to begin unless Im called away because of an emergency.4. In most instances, my office door will be open and I welcome students to

come to talk to me.5. I am available by phone either in my office or at home except between the

hours of 9 p.m.-9 a.m. because I am asleep at those times or preparing to

come to work.6. I will accept calls on the weekend, but please limit those calls to emergency

phone calls only so that I may enjoy time with my family.7. I will gladly accept student ideas on how to improve the teaching of this

class.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTYJournalists have only one thing to offer: credibility. Making things up - quotes,people in stories, facts - and stealing the words of another publication or failingto give proper attribution to information obtained from other sources are deadly

sins in journalism.

If you engage in academic dishonesty - including plagiarism, fabrication andcheating - you will be penalized to the fullest extent allowed under Doane Collegepolicies.

DISABILITY POLICY


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Students with disabilities substantially limiting a major life activity are eligiblefor reasonable accommodations in college programs, including this course.Accommodations provide equal opportunity to obtain the same level ofachievement while maintaining the standards of excellence of the college. If youhave a disability that may interfere with your participation or performance in this

course, please meet with me to discuss disability-related accommodations andother special learning needs.

EXTRA CREDITExtra credit work will not be a substitute for completing the required work. Youmust complete the work detailed under the syllabus requirements to receive extracredit for the first two categories listed below.Here's how you get extra credit:1. Edit extra stories. You can get a maximum of 30 extra points per story byediting more stories. Plus, you'll learn how to edit more quickly. The maximumnumber of extra credit points available from editing stories beyond therequirements is 120.2. Design more than one page for the Owlor work more than one week on DoaneLine content to receive an extra 120 points. The pages must be so well designedthat they can be published for you to receive the points. For Doane Line extracredit, the multimedia coordinator (or assistants) will help with the evaluation ofyour performance, but you must be involved in editing stories and/or helpingdesign a portion of the website.3. Copy Edit the World. Earn two points for an error (typographical, incorrectword usage, ambiguous wording, incorrect grammar and punctuation or other)found in a publication intended for general public circulation, such as anewspaper, magazine or journalism Web site. You may hand in examples untilthe last day of class, not including finals week. You may earn an unlimited

number of points. I am the final arbiter on what counts as an acceptablesubmission. Examples submitted must identify the error, say what's wrong andshow how you'd correct the error. This is not a group project. I reserve the rightto change the rules. Include the original clippings with date and page numberwhen you turn in the corrections.4. After midterm, collect examples of what you consider "good" and "bad" designin a variety of printed formats and media. Be prepared to explain why the designis good or bad. You can earn four points for each example.

Documents

Editing and Design SyllabusFall13