Virginia Tech

COMM 3154 - Reporting

Fall 2009

Jenn Burleson Mackay

Assistant Professor
Office: Shanks 139
Office Hours: Wed: 11-noon, Thurs: 1:30-2:30 p.m., and by appointment
Contacts: 231-1663, jemackay@vt.edu

Web page: http://www.tinyurl.com/jennmackay

Purpose
First, we will study the principles and conventions of reporting. Next, we will examine
the best practices and the fundamentals of beat reporting. Finally, we will develop skills
through working on stories and preparing them for publication.
During this course, the professor will emphasize the following: gathering information and
using good news judgment; framing stories; writing with clarity, accuracy and speed;
using correct grammar and spelling; revising and editing; multimedia journalism
techniques and reporting responsibly.
As your instructor, editor and coach, I will encourage this professional growth by
demanding the best from you.

Prerequisite
COMM 2024

Required texts and materials

Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method, by Carole Rich (Thomson Wadsworth
Publishing Co., fifth edition)
Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual
Digital camera - You can use a very inexpensive camera. There is no need to purchase
fancy equipment. You will need to be capable of getting the images off of your camera
and uploading them online.

Recommended
Working With Words, A Handbook for Media Writers and Editors by Brian S. Brooks,
James L. Pinson, Jean Gaddy Wilson
On Writing Well, The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
Follow The Story, How to Write Successful Nonfiction by James B. Stewart

Class attendance
Class attendance is mandatory. I will expect you to be on time. Frequent tardiness may be
treated as absences. I plan to take attendance every day.
You are allowed three unexcused absences without penalty, except for days that are
scheduled for examinations. Reserve these three absences for unexpected occurrences
such as funerals and car trouble because those unexpected incidents will not be
counted as excused absences.
Absences may be excused only with a signed doctor's note or equivalent documentation.
You must bring me the signed document within two weeks of your return to class. I will
not accept notes that are turned in later than the two weeks. In addition, no absence
excuses will be accepted after the day the final exam is administered.
For each unexcused absence beyond the limit of three, your final grade will be reduced
by three points. If you miss an examination or quiz through an unexcused absence, you
will receive a zero.
Make up missed exercises or tests within one week. You are responsible for making such
arrangements.

Conduct
I will not tolerate disruptive behavior of any kind. This includes talking while class is in
session, surfing the Web, checking e-mail and cell phone use. Do not allow your cell
phone to ring during class and don’t send text messages during class.

Assistance for Students with Special Needs

If you are a student with special needs or circumstances, if you have emergency medical
information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building
must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible during my
office hours.

The Honor Code

I take the Honor Code very seriously. All assignments in this class are covered by the
Honor System. Any potential code violation will be reported immediately. All acts of
dishonesty in any academic work constitute academic misconduct. This includes, but is
not limited to:
Cheating: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, study aids, cell
phones and PDAs or computer related information.
Plagiarism: Representing the words, data, works, ideas, computer program or output, or
anything not generated in an authorized fashion, as one’s own.
Fabrication: Presenting as genuine any invented or falsified citation or material.
Misrepresentation: Falsifying, altering, or misstating the contents of documents or other
materials related to academic matters, including schedules, prerequisites and transcripts.

Class routine
I encourage class discussion. Please feel free to ask questions and make comments
during class. Please come to class prepared to answer if I call upon you. You should be
prepared to discuss readings on the day that they are listed on your syllabus.

Graded work
Final grades will be figured on the following basis:
Exams - 40 percent
News stories (5 assignments) and homework– 60 percent

News stories
1) Students will develop story ideas and write fivestories during the semester. Students
will be responsible for generating story ideas (within the parameters specified by the
instructor), original reporting, and writing thestories. The reporting and story writing will
be conducted outside of class. All stories will be written for a Blacksburg or New River
Valley audience, not a college campus audience. They should be typed, double-spaced,
use a 12-pt. font, and at least two pages long.

2) All stories must include at least three sources. Students must include a list of their
sources and a phone number for each source. At least two sources must be interviewees.
The third or additional sources may be written sources. For written sources, I need a
citation or a copy of the source. I reserve the right to contact sources to verify that the
student interviewed them. Students will write two drafts of each story. Students should
bring the first draft to class to receive feedback from classmates. The student should turn
in that first draft along with a revised copy of the story the following week.

3) Each story should include at least two relevant hyperlinks that would supplement the
story. The links should not be links to other news stories. They should be informative for
the reader, providing him or her with additional information. The student should include
the name of the page and a short summary of the information provided on the linked page
along with the hyperlink.

4) Each story should also include one photograph taken by the student. Students will need
to upload the images to their computer and insert them into the story. (The photo can be
on the last page with the hyperlinks, etc.) The photograph should help illustrate the story.
Students should put careful thought into the shot that they include with the story. It
should provide additional, useful information to the story. A caption should be included
with each image.Be sure that you take more than one photo for your story. Give yourself
several options to work with.

5) Each story should include a 140-character Twitter-style statement. The tweet should
provide a quick summary of the story.

Story topics
• One story will focus on an event. This category does not include stories about
sporting events, theatre productions or films.
• One story will focus on government (education, town council, county
supervisors, crime, etc.) This may be a meeting story, but it does not have to be.
• One story will profile an individual.
• One story will be a news feature.This story must have a news peg. A fluff feature
will not qualify.
• One story will be the student’s choice, although it still may not be a review or a
sporting event. The story topic should be approved by the instructor. This story
will be turned in during the final exam period.

Extra credit
Students have the option of writing oneadditional story for extra credit. The story grade
will replace the student’s grade on a previous story. The extra story must cover the same
genre that the student wishes to replace. The additional story must also include
hyperlinks, a source list, Twitter post and a photograph.

The extra credit story must be received by Tues., Nov. 24.

Publishing opportunity
The bureau chief of The Roanoke Timeshas expressed interest in publishing some of the
stories from this class. As such, he is willing to pay individual students $50 per story that
the paper publishes. Students must sign a freelance contract to qualify for this
opportunity and there is no guarantee that your story will be published. Students also
should consider writing stories that focus on issues outside of the Virginia Tech campus -
such as people and issues in Blacksburg or Christiansburg. This will increase the
likelihood of capturing the interest of the editors.
Grading guidelines for news stories
Each assignment begins with a grade of 70. Work that goes beyond the minimum
requirements will be graded accordingly, as will work that fails to meet basic standards.
For example, work that is below the minimum shows poor writing, factual errors and
other faults. The reporting relies on one or two sources, rather than thorough fact
gathering. The writer must do better before a self-respecting publication would consider
such work.
Work that is superior has no serious grammatical or style errors and is clear and readable.
The lead is appropriate for the subject and captures readers’ interest. The writer has
consulted multiple sources and has left no holes in the story.
A proper Tweet is clear and goes to the point of the story. It acts as a clear summary of
the story.
A solid photograph illustrates the story inan interesting way. It adds something
interesting to the story. The caption should add moreinformation to the story. It should
not repeat what is already written in the story.

Factual errors will result in an F on any particular writing assignment. Factual

errors include misspelling a proper noun, such as a source’s name, or getting any other
factual information incorrect. I realize that this is a strict requirement, but credibility is
important to a journalist. A journalist who makes factual errors loses the respect of
readers. Factual errors also can result in a journalist losing his or her job.

Grades
Grades are assigned as follows:

98-100 – A+
92-97 – A
90-91 – A-
88-89 – B+
82-87 – B
80-81 – B-
78-79 – C+
72-77 – C
70-71 – C-
68-69 – D+
62-67 – D
60-61 – D-
59-below – F
Schedule of Readings

Students are expected to read assignments before the topic is discussed.

Tues. Aug. 25
Introductions

Thurs. Aug. 27
What is news
Chap. 1
Chap. 2

Tues. Sept. 1
Focus
Chap. 3

Thurs. Sept. 3
Interviewing
Chap. 5
Chap. 7

Tues. Sept. 8
Photography
Reading TBA

Thurs. Sept. 10
Leads
Chap. 8

Tues. Sept. 15
Writing the story
Chap. 9
Chap. 10

Thurs. Sept. 17
Writing event stories
Chap. 20

Tues. Sept. 22
Edit story 1 in class
Students will receive a 0 on the assignment if they do not bring their first draft to
class or provide the instructor with a doctor’s excuse.
Thurs. Sept. 24
Exam 1

Tues. Sept. 29
Guest speaker
Turn in story 1

Thurs. Oct. 1
Covering beats and the government
Chap. 19
Chap. 21

Tues. Oct. 6
Covering the gory stories
Chap. 22

Thurs. Oct. 8
Review story 1

Tues. Oct. 13
Edit story 2 in class
Students will receive a 0 on the assignment if they do not bring their first draft to
class or provide the instructor with a doctor’s excuse.

Thurs. Oct. 15
News features
Chap. 10
Turn in story 2

Tues. Oct. 20
Writing profiles
Chap. 18

Thurs. Oct. 22
Guest speaker

Tues. Oct. 27
Review story 2
Thurs. Oct. 29
Edit story 3 in class
Students will receive a 0 on the assignment if they do not bring their first draft to
class or provide the instructor with a doctor’s excuse.

Tues. Nov. 3
Ethics
Chap. 16
Chap. 17
Turn in story 3

Thurs. Nov. 5
Ethics

Tues. Nov. 10
Ethics

Thurs. Nov. 12
Freedom of the press and legal issues
Chap. 15

Tues. Nov. 17
Edit story 4 in class
Students will receive a 0 on the assignment if they do not bring their first draft to
class or provide the instructor with a doctor’s excuse.

Thurs. Nov. 19
Broadcast News
Chap. 12

Tues. Nov. 21 - Nov. 29

Thanksgiving - No class

Tues. Dec. 1
Web and Multimedia Journalism
Chap. 13
Turn in story 4
Thurs. Dec. 3
Exam 2

Tues. Dec. 8
Discuss final stories

Final Story due: Friday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m.

Note: I reserve the right to change the schedule as needed throughout the semester.