Tags
J
Admission requirements
None.
Course description
This is an introductory course seeking to give students a basic understanding of the essential elements of journalism. There will be lectures on what is news, news judgement and how to get a story. There will be further lectures on the specifics of reporting, news writing, interviewing, sourcing, feature writing and investigative reporting. Students will be given articles by a variety of journalists to study. The emphasis is on print journalism and students will be required to write their own news stories or features every week.
Weekly overview
Week 1: Introductory lecture “what is news” + lecture on news judgement
Week 2: Reaction to 1st assignment/lectures on how to get a story & reporting
Week 3: Reaction to 2nd ICTY assignment + lectures on interviewing
Week 4: Reaction to 3rd & 4th assignments + lectures on sourcing and research
Week 5: Reaction to 5th assignment + lectures on feature writing & new journalism
Week 6: Reaction to 6th assignment + lectures on investigative journalism & journalism on the web
Week 7: Reaction to 7th assignment + lecture on ethics and final lecture
Week 8: Reporting and rewriting news feature
Learning objectives
To give a clear insight and understanding of what print journalism entails
To give basic skills in reporting and writing news stories and features
To give an understanding of the different techniques of reporting, interviewing and writing that journalists have used and developed over the past 150 years
Mode of instruction
Most of the classes will be in the form of lectures, with time for discussion.
There will also be several in-class assignments – writing to time limitations.
Every week students will be given writing assignments – first based on articles handed out by the lecturer, later on the basis of reporting each of the students have personally done – either in the form of news stories or of a news feature. One of the reporting assignments will follow a visit to a court session of the ICTY – the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The news stories will be relatively short (300 to 400 words); the news feature longer (600 – 800 words). Students will be graded both on the quality of their stories and on their participation in class discussions. I will be available every week for individual meetings with students and will arrange to show two films outside class during two evenings.
Assessment
In-class participation
10%
Weeks 1-7
Three articles in class and out (400 words)
30%
Weeks 1-4
Two Reporting assignments (400 words) and one book review (600 words)
30%
Weeks 4-7
Two news features including 1 rewrite (800 words)
30%
Weeks 7-8
Compulsory textbook
The Elements of Journalism – Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel (Three Rivers Press 2001 – ISBN 0-609-80691-2)
Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overload – Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel (Bloomsbury – ISBN 978-1-60819-301-1)
In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
Contact information
c.d.a.van.lynden@luc.leidenuniv.nl