Modules

Module 1: Print Journalism

In this module, students will have an opportunity to explore the processes involved in gathering and writing news, preparing an editorial, writing feature and sports stories, preparing effective photographs, and contrasting newspapers with magazines.

Foundational Objectives

The foundational objectives are to be developed throughout the course and as they apply in each module. The foundational objectives for Journalism Studies 20 are as follows.

Students will:

• recognize and appreciate the role of journalism in contemporary society and in their personal lives
• recognize and explore the ways in which print and broadcast media create and present a message
• recognize and create the various forms, conventions, and styles of journalistic writing
• recognize the attributes of quality journalism and the legal, ethical, and moral issues which confront the free press
• develop the speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, and representing skills needed to create various print publications and broadcast productions.

Introduction to Print Journalism

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
• consider how print journalism has changed and evolved over the years
• recognize how pervasive information is in contemporary society
• recognize the role of news reporting in print media, especially newspapers
• recognize the basic formats used in newspapers
• use the inverted pyramid style of news writing
• write effective headlines
• evaluate the quality and reliability of various forms and examples of journalism.

Suggested Activities

The following suggestions are intended to form a bank of ideas from which teachers and students can draw in each section of this module.

• Reporters have three key jobs--getting an idea for a new story, digging out the key information, and then writing or telling the story. Interviewing and effective listening are essential journalistic skills. To give students an idea of what is involved, introduce the following assignment.

  Have students generate several ideas for a story that is newsworthy to their school or community. Have students choose one idea and frame questions to show what they want to find out about the idea (rather than presenting personal biases). Then, students can brainstorm possible sources that may be willing to answer their questions. Have students prepare their interview questions. Have them find a partner and practise asking the questions. They should revise their questions as needed and then conduct the interview(s). Have students double check their sources for accuracy and then write the news story. Directions for this process follow.

  1. Brainstorm several ideas that might be newsworthy stories in your school or community. Journalists often begin with a question, a hunch, or an idea at the back of their minds that some issue, person, or event needs to be explored and documented. Choose one idea. Does the story idea display any of the following elements?

     • Importance (Is the news important to the lives of the readers?)
     • Timeliness (Are the events of interest to readers right now?)
     • Proximity (Did the events occur near the readers?)
     • Prominence (Are the people involved in the news well-known?)
     • Conflict (Are people opposing each other?)
     • Progress (Is the news about new developments?)
     • Emotions (Do the events involve feelings of love, hate, fear, pity, or horror?)
  2. Frame questions to show what you want to find out (rather than documenting preconceived ideas).
  3. Brainstorm possible sources that may be willing to answer your questions.
  4. Prepare your interview questions. Begin your questions with who, what, when, where, why, how--words that signal you are a news writer.
  5. Find a partner and practise asking the questions. Ask your partner to play the part of the interviewee. Record the interview and take notes as you conduct the interview. Using only your notes, try writing a draft of the story and include several quotes. Then listen to the tape of the interview. Are the quotes accurate? What could you do to improve your interviewing and notetaking technique?
  6. Revise any questions you think need to be reworded.
  7. Conduct the interview(s).

     • First and foremost, listen carefully and courteously.
     • Have a notetaking system and take notes only on what you understand at the time. Tape the interview, when appropriate.
     • Let yourself become engaged--interested in the source’s ideas, arguments, and work.
     • Be flexible and prepared to change the direction of your interview.
     • If you do not understand something, ask for an explanation.
     • Try to remain neutral in your demeanour--your body language, tone, and dress.
     • Be careful with your questions--try to avoid loaded, leading, and closed questions.
     • Do not get drawn into an argument.
     • Use silence to your advantage.
  8. Double check your sources for accuracy. Verify your facts. Call back. A professional reporter tries to find more than one source of information. Consider, for example, the following:

     • what you saw or heard
     • your interview with one or more participants or eyewitnesses
     • other sources including reliable local media, reference books, almanacs, electronic databases, information services, etc.
  9. Draft the story. Use the inverted pyramid with your lead paragraph answering the essential who, what, when, where, and why questions. Further important facts can be given in the middle paragraph. More details--perhaps not as important as the others--can be given in the third paragraph.
  10. Revise. Create a headline that encapsulates the story. If appropriate, include a photograph with a caption that is faithful to the story.

• Have students study a variety of different types of newspapers (e.g., The Leader Post, The Star Phoenix, The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Calgary Herald, The Calgary Sun, community papers, and tabloids). Have them consider the following:
  1. List the different components of the papers. How are the components organized? What is common? What is different? Why?
  2. What items make news? What makes these items newsworthy? How do readers know where to look for certain items? How is a weekly newspaper different from a daily? How is a tabloid different from a broadsheet? What is the size of the typical "newshole" (e.g., 40%)?
  3. What are the typical elements of an editorial page? How does it differ from the front page? What is the opinion of the editorial? What signals are given to the reader that the editorial emphasizes opinion and comment rather than facts? Who stands to benefit from the opinion expressed? Who stands to lose? What facts does the editorial writer use to support the opinion? How does the writer attempt to persuade readers? Who owns the newspaper? How might this affect the content and viewpoints of the editorial page?
  4. What role was played by pictures, headlines, and graphic treatments? What makes one paper more appealing than another?
  5. What percentage of each paper is made up of advertising? Who is advertising? What advertiser dominates?
  6. What sections of the newspaper appeal to you? What sections do you read first? What do you skip? Why? What items would appeal most to teens? To adults? What can be deduced about the intended audience of the newspaper? What does the function of the paper appear to be?
  7. Brainstorm "spin off" ideas that could stem from one news story in one of the papers. Consider the following categories:

  

  What "slant" could be put on each of these "spin off" ideas?

Additional Activities

• Have students imagine that they are working on a newspaper and their editor asks them to interview a famous person they have always longed to meet. A partner can play the part of the interviewee. Have them write a news story based on the interview.
• Have students watch or listen to a professional news interview (e.g., As It Happens, Newsworld, etc.) and then have them write a critique. How would they have handled the interview?
• Every event has possibilities and might be worthy of being treated as news. Have students write an obituary for an important person in their life or community. Encourage them to focus on what made the person’s life distinctive and why readers might be interested in the person’s life. Students should be encouraged to check their facts very carefully.

Truth and Accuracy: Gathering and Writing the News

News is conveyed by letter, word or mouth And comes to us from North, East, West and South (Witt’s Recreation). The letters N E W S used to be prefixed to newspapers to show that they obtained information from the four quarters of the world, and the supposition that our word news is thence derived is an ingenious conceit but destroyed by the old spelling newes; it is from the French nouvelles.

- Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,
1981, p. 782.

Whatever the source or media, reporting what happened in plain, clear language is the goal of a good news reporter. As students work through this module, they should read the news in newspapers and magazines, watch TV news reports, and listen to radio news. Then, they should try their hand at writing a good news story.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
• evaluate the quality and reliability of various forms and examples of journalism
• recognize what is news
• recognize the elements of a news story
• distinguish fact from opinion
• understand effective news gathering and editing techniques
• use the inverted pyramid style of news writing
• write various types of news story leads and news stories
• quote accurately, paraphrase where appropriate, and use appropriate attribution methods
• recognize the differences between a news story and sports writing
• write clear, informative sports stories
• write effective headlines
• understand the purpose of a news release
• understand the role of a news bureau
• use a journalism style guide.

Suggested Activities

• With a partner, have students name as many news sources as they can for each of the media listed below:

  Radio News	e.g., The World at Six
  Television News	e.g., The National
  Newspapers	e.g., The Globe and Mail
  Magazines	e.g., Maclean’s
  Internet	e.g., www.cnn.com

  Which news source(s) do they prefer? Why? How often do they use the various sources to get news? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each source? What are the advantages of getting news from more than one source? Conversely, what is the danger of relying on one source?

• What is news? Of all the different kinds of information you find in a newspaper, which ones can be called "news"? Ask students to consider how they would describe the difference between "news" and "not news?" Do these distinctions blur in some articles? Journalists use different criteria to determine what is news. One approach is labelled the "Who cares?" method--assessing how much reader interest a story has. Another approach determines the news story’s importance against criteria such as timeliness, proximity, human interest, conflict, prominence, and consequence. Have students summarize ten of their news stories and then survey a group of peers or members of their community, asking those surveyed to rate the stories in order of importance. Is there a general agreement? What does this tell us? Students can write their conclusions in their journals.
• With a partner, have students clip all the news stories from a recent daily newspaper. They can classify each according to type. They might consider: international news, national news, provincial news, municipal news, local news, political news, news about accidents or disasters, human interest news, news about famous people, news about wars or battles, sports news, crime news, news about finance and economics, business news, environmental news, science news, health and medicine news, education news, entertainment news, etc.
• Have students examine several news stories with a summary lead and inverted pyramid style of writing. Have them identify the who, what, when, where, why, and how in each story. Which elements are introduced first? Why? Which ones appear in the lead? Which ones are saved for subsequent paragraphs? Why? Are people’s names in the lead? Why or why not? How is the time element handled by the writer? Will the story still be newsworthy tomorrow or next week? Are reporters by-lines used? What kind of stories are usually by-lined?
• Have students compare a television newscast and a newspaper story from the same date. They can examine the lead, the length of the story, and the way quotes are used, and then write leads for the same story for a newspaper and television broadcast.
• Have students write a summary lead and inverted pyramid style story. They could listen to a short story, fairy tale, or narrative poem; take notes; identify the six main elements; and determine the information that is most important. After checking the spelling of names and quoting correctly, they could compare results with peers. What elements were placed in the lead? Why? What facts have been included or left out?
• Reporters can slant their stories by using loaded words, while editors can influence the readers’ perceptions by the use of headlines, pictures, and juxtapositioning. Have students examine a hard news story and an editorial. Ask them to identify examples of fact, opinion, and bias in each. Ask students to read the section on sports reporting in the Canadian Press (CP) Style Book, and then determine what phrases may be used in a crime report, a council report, a "soft" newsreport, and a "hard" news report.
• Ask students to attend and report on a news event (e.g., city, town, band, or municipal council meeting). Have them compare their report and coverage with that of classmates. What did each student emphasize? What was ignored or left out? Why? What does this reveal about the assumptions of the reporter? Have students compare their reports with reports of the same event in the local paper. What did the newspaper report emphasize or leave out? What does this suggest about the objectivity of the press? Students could also invite the newspaper reporter to class to discuss the decisions he or she made, and the influence an editor has on such reports.
• Have students analyze several sports stories in a provincial or local newspaper. What is reported? Ask them to consider the following statement: "It is no longer sufficient to write sports stories by numbers or by clichés." Do they agree?

  During the first part of this century, flowing phrases adorned the sports pages. However, times have changed. High-quality coverage and writing are just as important in the sports story as the news story. Good sports reporting still includes valuable statistical information and the basics of who won, what the score was, and who starred. However, contemporary sports reporting is more balanced and analytic than in the past. Key plays, direct quotes, records, and views about the significance of sports are also a part of the reporting. Have students report on a sports event in their community. Ask them to report key facts, turning points, quotes, statistics, and analysis. They should avoid a chronological game story approach as well as clichés and biased quotations.

• What cause or idea would students like to see reported in a local newspaper? Have them consider a social, political, personal, or school issue. Ask them to interview the person/people behind the story using basic interviewing strategies including the following:
  • Prepare ahead of time. Know something about the person being interviewed. Write down key questions. Ask why things happened and how they happened. Ask for the person’s opinion. Avoid asking yes/no questions.
  • Have a notetaking system. Take a pencil, piece of paper, and, if appropriate, tape recorder.
  • Be courteous. Dress appropriately.
  • Conduct yourself in a professional manner and have confidence in yourself.
  • Be on time. Have a clear idea about how you are going to start.
  • Let the subject do the talking and listen carefully.
  • Write down quotations exactly and record exact spellings of names and titles.
  • Ask the person’s permission to call back if the need arises.
  • Remember who the audience is and the type of story you are writing (i.e., a news versus feature story).
  • Write the story the way you want to see it in print.
• Have students prepare a press release for one activity that takes place in their school. Encourage them to answer the 5W+H questions early in the release.

Additional Activities

• Information and research are important to a journalist. To become familiar with some of the sources a journalist might employ and those that might be useful, have students determine how each of the following resources might help a professional journalist:

  • a style book (e.g., Canadian Press Style Book)
  • a dictionary
  • an atlas
  • a thesaurus
  • a language handbook (e.g., Language Skills for Journalists)
  • a legal guide (e.g., The Journalist’s Legal Guide or Pocket Criminal Code)
  • other reference sources (e.g., The Canadian Periodical Index, The Canadian News Index, The Canadian Business and Current Affairs database, The Canadian Encyclopedia of Sources)
  • the Internet (for information and background on a variety of topics and issues as well as the stories of the day).

• The Internet offers two basic features: communication (e.g., e-mail, newsgroups, chat lines, interactive video and audio) and access to information (e.g., libraries, governmental and private agencies and departments, businesses, individuals). Although the Internet can be a source of useful, factual information, it can also be a source of opinion, gossip, exaggerations, hatred, pornography, falsehoods, scams, and hoaxes. Ask students to consider how they might sort out the information and evaluate its credibility. Ask them to choose several potential Internet information sites (e.g., CNN Interactive, Maclean’s On-Line, etc.) and evaluate their credibility and usefulness. For each site, they might determine:
  • Why was the information posted? Was it created or modified?
  • Is the information presented fact or opinion or a combination?
  • How can you check or confirm the factual information with at least two other sources?
  • Who is behind the information? Is the creator identified and does the creator have experience or credentials related to the information presented? If an organization is associated with the site (e.g., a government agency, an educational institution, an advocacy group, a non-profit organization, a news agency), do you recognize the name of the organization and is it one that can be trusted?
  • What is the overall "look" of the site? Does it appear professional looking? Sloppy? Splashy? Amateurish? What does the look suggest? Are there cases in which you might distrust a professional-looking site and trust a less professional-looking site? Why or why not?
  • Document each of your sources using an acceptable citation format (e.g., MLA style: http://wiretap.spies.com/ftp.items/library/classic/estyle.txt).

• Have students conduct a search on the Internet for background information for a specific news story. They should frame the essential questions that will guide their search. When they have located their sources, have them review the sources using the criteria outlined above.
• The Internet allows people to construct their own stories. Ask students to consider how they would construct a news story for the Internet. What hypertext links might they include?
• Have students create a "news file" each day on the bulletin board or blackboard. Ask them to identify school, local, national, and international items which they think are newsworthy.
• Have students consider the difference between a hard news story and a soft news story. Who supplies most of the news on the first page?
• Have students take their school’s announcement sheet and reduce each announcement to a clear, succinct "news brief" format.
• News stories in Canada do not include reporters’ editorial opinions on the issue or event. Good newspaper reports present facts, making their stories as objective as possible. They do not distort facts; nor do they inject their own biases and prejudices into news stories they write. "News English" is marked by the following features:
  • stories begin with key ideas
  • ideas are stated briefly
  • sentences are simple
  • words are clear and unambiguous
  • vivid verbs are used rather than vague or general references to people and places
  • the active voice is employed rather than the passive voice.
  • words are accurate and appropriate.

  Newspaper writers avoid sexist or other discriminatory language. They usually use precise and simple words (e.g., "rich" not "opulent"), short sentences, and tight writing to aid the readers. Jargon, clichés, and worn-out figures of speech are avoided. With this in mind, have students edit two of their own and two peers’ news stories for these stylistic elements.

• Have students examine the journalistic style guidelines outlined in style books such as those published by Associated Press, Canadian Press, and The Globe and Mail. Have students examine one of their own news stories and one news story from a newspaper. How are these stylistic guidelines reflected in each?
• The front page of the newspaper usually indicates which news is considered more important by the position of the article and the size of type used for the title or headline. Although there are exceptions, the top right-hand corner often is reserved for the most important news story. Generally, the size of type in the headline indicates the importance of the news. Have students review with a partner the dailies from the past week. Which news articles seem to be the most important? How can they tell? Which articles or information seem to be the least important? Have them note their conclusions in their journals and compare their comments with those of a peer.
• Headlines contain the story’s title or summary in larger type above or beside the story. The headlines used to entice the reader are important because they influence the way readers interpret the story and they create a point of view. Have students clip a variety of news stories at random from a national and local paper. After clipping the stories, ask them to cut off the headlines and number each headline and story to correspond (i.e., #1 story/#1 headline). Have them put all stories in one folder and all headlines in another, then reread each story and write their headline for it. Students might compare their version with their classmates’ versions. Finally have them compare their headlines with the original headlines. What conclusions can they draw?
• Have students trace a controversial issue in the local press. Have them keep an annotated scrapbook/log on the topic. After several weeks, invite a journalist covering the issue into the classroom to discuss the coverage. How did the journalist determine the issue was newsworthy? How were the facts determined? Were any restrictions placed on the story? By whom and why? How does the journalist ensure balanced and accurate coverage? How does this coverage affect the people involved?
• Have students conduct a telephone interview with a classmate. Are telephone interviews more or less accurate than face-to-face interviews? Why?
• People’s lives are affected by the weather. Reporters need a knowledge of weather and the language used to describe it. Ask students to review the weather reports in several newspapers and then to write a weather report for today for their community.
• Reporters gather information about disasters (e.g., an airplane crash) and include essential details in their stories (e.g., death count, number of injuries, updates from hospitals, rescue attempts, date, time, background, factors that led to the disaster, latest findings of the investigation, and quotations from witnesses and survivors). What is the difference between factual and sensational reporting? Is there a line to be drawn between human interest and sensationalism when reporting on disasters? What ethical considerations should guide the reporter? Have students imagine a disaster has occurred in their community. Ask them to prepare a report for a provincial or local newspaper.
• Some news is the result of press releases. Individuals and groups want to get their stories into newspapers so they prepare and distribute press releases, including details and contact names. Sometimes a press release will be printed with little change and sometimes a reporter will make further inquiries. Have students review several press releases (e.g., government, charitable organization, local club) and then write a news story based on one of these releases.

Ethics and Journalism

Journalists try to follow the law and meet the ethical standards that guide their work. They are expected to be objective and accurate, to tell the truth, and to be fair. Their emphasis is usually on good taste and accurate attribution.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• speak to clarify and extend thinking
• recognize a speaker’s attitude, tone, and bias
• analyze and evaluate their own and others’ writing
• evaluate the quality and reliability of various forms and examples of journalism
• state and evaluate an author’s theme, tone, and viewpoint
• recognize the importance for journalists of researching, interviewing, and reporting
• understand the rights and responsibilities of the press
• understand the legal limitations on the media
• understand the limitations that may be imposed on student journalists, depending on school policy
• understand the concepts of libel and slander
• understand the concepts of stereotyping and ethnocentricism
• evaluate the concept of objectivity.

Suggested Activities

• Have students consider: What is meant by "freedom of the press"? What are, or should be, limitations on freedom of the press, if any?
• Have students consider the ethics of news reporting. What role do censorship, individual privacy, libel, obscenity, pressure groups, profanity, promotion, unpopular viewpoints, sensationalism, and controversial or taboo topics play in the news? Assume that a seventeen-year-old student has been involved in a serious crime. What do they think should be reported to the public about the accused? About the victim(s)? What elements of a code of ethics affect their decision?
• Have students examine the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Canadian Press Style Book. What are the ethical standards for journalists? What is the difference between libel and slander? Encourage students to examine several editorials and identify sections that might be vulnerable to these charges. Ask students to create their own student code of ethics.
• In a pluralistic society, it is important for journalists to be inclusive of all cultural groups and to present various perspectives fairly and in a balanced and accurate manner. They should avoid stereotyping and tokenism, and focus on the merits and achievements of all peoples. Have students review reporting about various minority groups in Saskatchewan newspapers and magazines. Can they come to any conclusions about the types of stories, number of stories, quality of the reporting, presence or absence of bias, etc.? Research guidelines for equitable and bias-free reporting. As a class, develop a style sheet. Have students compare several published news stories to their own style sheet. How do they rate?
• Have students review a newspaper or magazine produced by a minority group (e.g, The Indigenous Times or Indigenous Women). On what issues or events do these publications focus? Is there a difference, depending on the publication? If so, how do they differ? Are there stories or points of view in these publications that would not be found in a mainstream newspaper? Why or why not? Is there a difference in purpose between a mainstream publication and one published by a special interest group? Is there a difference in the type of journalism?

Additional Activities

• Have students consider the following questions: What privileges should a journalist have? What obligations and responsibilities? Should a high school journalism student have the same privileges as a paid professional? Who should be the final authority to determine what appears in a newspaper? In a student newspaper? (Students might find the Student Press Law Centre Report interesting. It is available from Student Press Law Center, Suite 504, 1735 Eye Street N.W., Washington, DC, U.S.A. 20006.)
• "Newspeak" is language that distorts, confuses, or hides reality. Journalists must be careful how they use the language. News items should be devoid of clichés, illogical structures, and meaningless or redundant words. Have students survey a week’s issues of a daily newspaper and find examples of "newspeak".
• A significant percentage of news that appears in the main section of many newspapers is crime (e.g., robberies, murders, arsons). Have students consider the following: Should crime be reported? How? What effect does this type of story have on the readers? Do people enjoy this? Is reading about crime a form of entertainment? Do you approve? How should these stories be written?
• Ask students to consider what stories their principal or teachers might censor. On what grounds?
• Ethnocentrism refers to the view that one’s own race, culture, or group is inherently superior, or that the dominant culture’s way of looking at something is the only way. Ethnocentrism is often very subtle, and it is difficult to detect in our own attitudes because we take the way we see the world for granted. Have students decide on several issues that might be looked at in different ways (e.g., use of the environment, child care, care of the elderly). How might these be looked at th rough different eyes? How might ethnocentrism affect news story reporting? Examine various news stories in mainstream publications for examples. The "Letters to the Editor" section of the newspaper might be a good place to look for viewpoints affected by ethnocentrism.
• The press is often accused of sensationalizing or "hyping" events. It is also accused of failing to tell the whole story, of biased or unfair reporting, and of lacking accuracy. Ask students to consider if these accusations are fair. What evidence would they use to support their stand?
• Have students consider if it is ever possible for journalists to present completely factual, objective stories if they are reporting first-hand experiences, or even if they have thoroughly researched a story. Is it fair, in certain stories, for journalists to act as interpreters as well as "reporters"? What ethical standards might guide their work?
• Critics worry about the use of media formats that blur the distinction between entertainment and news. Some accuse "tabloids" of setting the agenda for major newspapers and television networks. Have students consider if there is evidence of this and who should set the agenda.
• Some analysts believe that the news media serve three important functions with regard to government:
  • gatekeeper--deciding which new stories will get attention
  • watchdog--reporting mismanagement, waste, and criminal activity
  • scorekeeper --making judgements about policies, legislation, and politicians.

  Ask students to find examples of each of these functions in the various kinds of news coverage.

• Press councils act as independent, self-regulatory bodies to adjudicate complaints against media outlets. These councils attempt to deal with complaints against an outlet or a reporter in the gathering and publishing of news, opinion, or advertis ing. Students might explore how press councils work and what issues and complaints might go to a press council. Does Saskatchewan have a press council? What are the policies of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters?
• As more news information is internationalized and more media mergers occur, critics are concerned about media ownership and the lack of journalistic integrity. Have students consider: Who supplies the news? Who owns the media outlets? What if one company in Canada owned all the newspapers? Could journalistic integrity be lost?

Editorial Writing: Enlightened Opinion

The editorial writer of a newspaper and the commentator on radio or television specialize in commenting on and giving their interpretations of current events, ideas, or conditions. They express an opinion.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
• present their point of view in a written work
• assess an author’s ideas and techniques
• recognize the importance for journalists of researching, interviewing, and reporting
• understand the role of the editorial
• recognize various types and functions of editorial material
• write effective editorials
• identify the components of the editorial page.

Suggested Activities

• Have students examine an editorial page from two large dailies and two weeklies. What are the typical elements of an editorial page? How does it differ from the front page? What is the opinion expressed in each editorial? Who stands to benefit from the opinion expressed? Who stands to lose? What facts does the editorial writer use to support the opinion? How does the writer attempt to persuade readers?
• Have students brainstorm ideas for editorials. They might consider the following purposes of editorials:
  • interpretative (explain or interpret a news event)
  • critical (criticize existing conditions and try to persuade readers to make specific changes)
  • commemorative/special occasion (mark an occasion and note its significance)
  • humorous/satirical (make fun of or criticize an event or situation).

  Have students write editorials to illustrate three of these purposes using the following format:

  • summary and background
  • stance
  • solution
  • evidence supporting stance (include the other side or opposing viewpoints if appropriate)
  • conclusion (a solid punchline).
• Editorials are meant to influence people’s actions. Have students find something in their school or community that they would like to change. They should research why things are the way they are and what solutions might exist. Then, have students write a 250-300 word editorial to tell others what the problem is and what should be done.
• The editorial cartoon is sometimes the only art on an editorial page. A cartoon is an appropriate expression of opinions. Have students view different styles of prominent cartoonists. Ask students to choose an issue which inspires strong feelings in them and then create editorial cartoons which express their opinions.
• The masthead (sometimes called the staff box) appears in every issue of the editorial page. It lists staff members, owners, and the general editorial policy. Have students review the masthead of their local community paper. What does it tell them? Why is it important that it appear on the editorial page?

Additional Activities

• Ask students to consider why some papers print letters with a variety of opinions and others print only letters that appear to support the paper’s editorial position. Have students examine several different papers to see if they can determi ne each paper’s practice.
• Have students choose an editorial and analyze it for content, organization, and style. Ask them to write an editorial which takes a position opposed to this editorial and to include evidence for their position. They should outline the underlying principles or assumptions upon which their argument is built.
• Have students write an editorial on a controversial issue and deliver it to the class as an impassioned speech. After, have them discuss their performance and decide what aspects were fair comment and what might be considered prejudicial or unethical.
• Have students develop the arguments for only one side of an issue. Ask them to analyze the finished editorial for any unethical arguments. They might then write the editorial from another side of the issue. Again, they could analyze the finished editorial for unethical arguments.
• Letters to the editor are the readers’ way of expressing their opinions. They are usually short, contain no libellous information, and include the names of the writers. Have students review examples from recent newspapers and note any similarities and differences.
• Have students develop a new look for the editorial page of a local or provincial newspaper.
• Columns are one person’s opinions. They are identified by a consistent logo and by-line. Have students final examples of writers’ columns (sports, entertainment, politics, interior design, etc.). Have them select a type of editorial column they would like to write, and then write their own column.

Feature Stories and Reviews

Features are not intended to deliver the news firsthand but to educate, illuminate, and entertain. They profile people who made the news; explain events that influenced the news; analyze what is happening locally, nationally, and internationally; examine trends in a changing society; and entertain.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• listen to understand and learn
• compare, contrast, and evaluate texts
• recognize the importance for journalists of researching, interviewing, and reporting
• identify conventions of feature stories
• demonstrate fact gathering, research, and writing skills necessary for in-depth reporting
• conduct an interview skillfully
• write effective interview stories
• develop feature writing skills.

Suggested Activities

• Have students find several examples of feature stories in a daily and weekly newspaper. Have them classify the features. Are they human interest stories, personality profiles, backgrounders, trend stories, or in-depth stories?
• Have students examine the lead and organization of several feature stories. How does the writer entice the reader into the story? Have students explain and give examples of various types of feature leads--narrative lead, contrast lead, question lead, quote lead, staccato lead, and direct address. Ask students to compare the feature stories with "hard news" stories.
• News and feature writers gather news and stories from investigative research. Preparation, research, accuracy, and questioning skills are all very important in investigative journalism. Have students develop and discuss possible interview questi ons, then conduct an interview and prepare a feature story profiling another student in the class.
• Have students tackle a sports issue. They might consider the role of sports in a scholastic setting, the costs of financing sports and athletes, sports injuries, or pressures placed on athletes. After interviewing players and coaches, they can write a feature article on their findings.
• Have students examine several reviews of the same film, video, or music. How are the reviews organized? How does each review open? How does it deal with content? What is the opinion of the reviewer? Ask students to view the video or film or listen to the music, and then write their own review.
• Some tabloids do not carry news. Instead they focus on feature stories which tend to be based on gossip and misinformation. This form of tabloid "news" has its roots in "yellow journalism", in which the facts are tinted to make them more interesting. Front pages of these tabloids use sensational headlines to convince readers to buy tabloids. Have students consider the form and layout of two tabloids. What size and style of print is used? What visuals and photography? What audiences do tabloids attract? Do these audiences believe what they read? Why do people read these papers? What is reflected in each story? In the paper as a whole? What types of stories are featured? How are their accounts similar or different?

Additional Activities

• Have students read a story, narrative poem, or excerpt from a novel. Then, ask them to use the storyline to write as many different types of feature story leads as they can.
• One of the most important things a feature writer does is "set the scene". Using active verbs, colourful adjectives, and/or other techniques, the writer shows and tells what happened and captures the reader’s attention. Ask students to identify the techniques used by several feature writers.
• Interviews with numerous credible sources are essential to feature stories. Have students compare the styles of two or more interviewers (e.g., Pamela Wallin on Newsworld and Larry King on Larry King Live). They might role play several interview situations to practise their skills. They could videotape their interviews and critique their performance.
• Have students prepare ten questions they would ask the Prime Minister, Premier, mayor, band councillor, or principal. Have students work in pairs to role play the interviews. They could videotape the interviews and then critique them. What worked and what did not? What was appropriate and what was not?
• Have students examine several sport stories in a newspaper or magazine. What evidence is there of the writer’s knowledge of the game? What use was there of expressive language and descriptive words or phrases to create strong visual images of the action or issue? Have students write their own sports story about a coach or team in their community.
• Have students identify a lesser known sport that they feel needs more exposure and coverage. Have them write a feature explaining the key parts of the game--rules, scoring, terminology--and generating interest in the sport.
• Have students assume the role of a freelance writer. Ask them to choose an event or person currently in the news and then write two stories--one for a traditional daily newspaper and one for a tabloid. They should decide what audience their stories will target in each paper and what specific ideas their stories will reflect. They should write the two stories about the same event or person, and then create their headlines and plan the visuals that will accompany each story.

Literary Journalism

Journalists employ many approaches and styles when they are writing a story. Sometimes they employ techniques of the storyteller. They attempt to communicate the facts in an artful manner. This approach grew from what used to be called "new journalism" in the 1960s and 70s, and is now referred to as literary journalism. It is evident in the range of styles found in contemporary newspapers and magazines.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• recognize writing as a process of constructing meaning for themselves and others
• relate the structure of the work to the author’s purposes and theme
• recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
• identify the characteristics of new journalism and literary journalism
• experiment with literary journalism.

Suggested Activities

• New journalism was a term that was used when critics and writers became aware of a new style of journalism in the 1960s. In his book, The New Journalism, Tom Wolfe describes a trend whereby nonfiction writers adopted the techniques of realist novelists to bring power to their stories (Wolfe, 1972, p. 31). He cited the four following techniques as ones that brought about significant changes in journalistic writing:
  • Scene-by-scene construction.

    Writers told their stories by moving from scene to scene rather than reporting only historical facts. They sought to bring the people involved to life for the reader, so the reader could experience the human context of the story.

  • Use of dialogue.

    The primary way of creating character was the inclusion of dialogue. Wolfe says that realistic dialogue involves the reader more than any other device, and that dialogue defines character more quickly than any other means.

  • Use of third person point of view.

    Scenes were presented to the reader through the eyes of a particular character, so that readers could feel as though they were inside the character’s mind and could understand his or her actions and emotions. This technique meant that the journalist had to do exhaustive, first-hand research.

  • The recording of everyday details.

    Wolfe says that the details of everyday life were once considered irrelevant in journalism, but that the writers of so-called new journalism understood that these details could be symbolic and contribute to social understanding. According to Wolfe, the recording of such details as habits, customs, attitudes, clothing, and food contributes to an understanding of a person’s "life status" or beliefs about his or her position in the world.

  Have students examine the journalistic styles of the 1960s and 1070s (i.e., new journalism or "gonzo" journalism). They might consider the work of Tom Wolfe or Hunter S. Thompson. What is particularly effective in their work? How does the style fit the subject matter? What is not effective? Why?

• Since the 1970s the criteria that define literary journalism have changed, and the inclusion of fictional writing techniques is now only one of several defining criteria. In her book The Art of Fact, Barbara Lounsberry (1990) lists the following as the characteristics of literary nonfiction:
  • Documentable subject matter chosen from the real world rather than the writer’s imagination.

    Anything in the natural world is subject matter for the literary nonfiction writer. The following are examples:

    • the lives of individuals (e.g., one person’s struggle)
    • human institutions (e.g., government)
    • cultural groups (e.g., country music fans)
    • events (e.g., current events)
    • the natural world (e.g., environmental stories).
  • Exhaustive research.

    In order to bring the full world of the stories alive, the writer must conduct extensive research and be able to verify every detail.

  • The scene.

    Lounsberry says that the scene is a necessary element in making a story "artful". Instead of reporting on a story, the writer of literary nonfiction recasts the story so that it has life and depth.

  • Fine writing and literary prose style.

    Writing cannot be literary without attention to language. Literary writers must be in complete control of their use of language, whatever their prose preferences are. Lounsberry says that "… polished language reveals that the goal all along has been literature" (p. xv).

  In his book, The Literary Journalists (1984), Norman Sims contends that the change in journalism came about as writers began to see private lives rather than dominant institutions as sources of information. He says that literary journalists saw the need to immerse themselves in complex subjects in order to establish their own perspective and authority, so that they could do more than simply report the facts as presented to them.

  Sims gives the following as characteristics of literary journalism:

  • Immersion.

    Literary journalists invest a great deal of time and effort learning about their subject. They usually begin with an emotional connection to the subject, and then immerse themselves in learning everything they can about the world of the subject and the people involved.

  • Structure.

    Literary journalists believe the same about structure that fiction writers do: structure contributes to meaning. Therefore, structure is not simply linear. It is carefully controlled by the writer and is unique to each project. Where a portion of the story is placed, and what it is placed next to, will profoundly affect the meaning the reader constructs as he or she is engaged with the story.

  • Accuracy.

    The ethical commitment to accuracy has not changed with the advent of literary journalism. If a writer wishes to adopt a voice of authority on a subject, then he or she must be knowledgeable and present accurate information. Dialogue, for example, can not be invented. If real people speak, then the dialogue must be direct quotation.

  • Voice.

    Sims says there is no one voice that defines contemporary literary journalism. One writer might use a first person voice, where he or she is very much a part of the story. Another might remove himself or herself from the story and concentrate on the subject’s own reality. The commonality is that all literary journalists consider voice a factor in what they do, and struggle to find the right voice for their story.

  • Responsibility.

    Literary journalists who often immerse themselves in people’s lives and develop personal relationships with their subjects, must recognize that they have a responsibility to themselves and their subjects when the writing becomes public. Although there are no easy answers regarding what is ethical to make public, writers do have a responsibility to let their subjects know what they are doing in their research and why. Because of the subjectivity of much literary journalism, responsibility, purpose, and consequences are things the literary journalist considers.

  Have students examine the work of contemporary literary journalists. What makes their work stand apart? What elements of traditional reporting are found? What elements of literary journalism mark their writing? Are there any publications which tend to publish literary journalism? Any which seem to avoid it?

  Have students write a feature article which reflects the characteristics of literary journalism.

Photojournalism

Good photographs show readers what is happening. Print journalists use photographs to capture attention, break up large areas of print, provide information, provide entertainment, give readers a sense of being there, and show the feelings and reactions of people involved in events.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
• listen with purpose and concern for ideas
• recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
• identify conventions of feature stories
• understand the major functions of photographs in publications
• recognize the impact of effective photography
• take effective photographs
• understand photo layout, cropping, sizing, and writing cutlines
• recognize how computers and desktop publishing are used in commercial journalism
• experiment with design and layout using a computer and desktop publishing program.

Suggested Activities

• Have students view The Best of Life. What was the most powerful image? Why was the image successful? What are the principles of effective photojournalism? How can images add impact to a story? What other features can an image add to a story? Are there some images that should not be shown? Why or why not?
• Have students examine the front pages of several daily newspapers. What photos were used? Why? Were they used effectively? Did they complement the stories? What could be improved?
• Have students take a picture of "their school". "Their school" might mean different things to different people and photos can capture and construct individual perceptions. Have students brainstorm different views and perceptions of their school. They can form groups of five to plan their shots. They can then execute the actual photographing individually. They should plan for each shot and consider whose camera will be used, when and where, the cost, the angle, and the purpose. When the film is developed, they can work in a group to lay the images out in a magazine format (including advertising, cover, and feature stories). As an alternative, they could work alone and write a newspaper story. They should consider: What is their overall message? What are the different means for "shaping the reality" of their school? How will their photograph(s) contribute to the story?

Additional Activities

• Have students trace an issue that has been covered over time in the press (newspaper or magazine). Ask them to clip the photos associated with the stories and to mount them in chronological order on a sheet of paper. They should note the name of the publication, the date, and the source, and then evaluate how the photographs, infographics, and art contributed to the coverage. Were they helpful? Were they unethical in any way? Effective? Did the photographs reflect particular points of view?
• Have students shoot a roll of 35 mm film on a particular topic, theme, person, or place. They should pay careful attention to the rule of thirds. Ask them to create a photo essay and to write the accompanying captions and story.
• Have students prepare a photo file for a photo page. They should include a dominant photo, several small photos of varying size, suitable captions, a headline, and a short story. Their work should show good layout/design.
• What topics would make a good full-page photo essay for a school newspaper? Have each student select a topic and take the photos. Students should select the pictures carefully, crop and size them, prepare the layout for the photo page, and write the copy (including cutlines and headlines) that will accompany the photos. Students can exchange work with others and critique each layout and photo.

Magazines

Although magazines follow many of the conventions of the newspaper, there are differences, includingpurpose, appearance, types of stories, intended audience, circulation, and advertising.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
• listen with purpose and concern for ideas
• analyze and evaluate their own and others’ writing
• compare, contrast, and evaluate texts
• recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
• identify conventions of feature stories
• differentiate among the kinds of magazines
• recognize how pervasive information is in contemporary society
• profile a magazine
• understand how magazines serve both readers and advertisers
• evaluate how advertising affects magazine content
• understand organizational patterns of magazine articles
• compare general-interest and special-interest magazines
• compare the design and layout of various magazines
• explain how titles and articles are used to sell magazines
• assess the role magazines play in their lives.

Suggested Activities

• Have students bring as many different magazines as possible from the library and from home. Ask them to browse through them and classify each in one of the following categories: sports, news, women’s, men’s, nature, health and fitness, entertainment, finance, science, hobbies and crafts, farming and ranching, pets, games and puzzles, history, political, travel, cars and motorcycles, humour, literary, romance, science fiction, and mystery. As a class, discuss criteria for judging the quality of a magazine. Students can compare two or more magazines of the same category: How are they alike? How are they different? Do they compete for the same audience or do they appeal to different audiences? Which do students think is the better magazine? Why?
• Have students choose a magazine from those collected and prepare a profile of the magazine based on the following:
  • Cover: Notice the title, date, price, picture, and information included on the cover. How does it capture the reader’s attention?
  • Format and Cost: Notice the size and weight, quality of paper, size/kind/spacing of type, photographs/illustrations/drawings/cartoons, and use of black-and-white or colour visuals. What impression do these factors make?
  • Contents: List the subject of each feature article (e.g., diet). What percentage is fiction? Nonfiction? List the subject matter of each shorter article (e.g., tips, reviews, commentary). Who are the people who contribute to the magazine?
  • Advertising: How many pages of ads are included? What percent of the total is this? List the kinds of products advertised and how many ads for each category appear (e.g., six car ads, three travel ads, five personal hygiene product ads). What audience is targeted by the ads? Age? Socio-economic group? Specific interest?
  • Audience: To whom is the magazine communicating?
  • Ownership and Cost: Who is the publishing company? What other publications does the company produce? With what other enterprises is it associated? What is the cost of one issue? What is the subscription rate? How frequently is the magazine published? Is the magazine worth the cost?

  Then, have students prepare a profile of either a popular teen magazine or the person who is the magazine’s idealized "target". Does the magazine provide information, entertainment, and advertising that realistically matches the students’ lives? Or does it present an ideal world? Is this a world of which they would like to be part?

• Have students select a broad topic such as fashion, money, or poverty. Ask them to brainstorm possible working titles appropriate to their subject. What magazines would be interested in receiving articles with their working titles? They might write an article for one of these magazines.

Additional Activities

• Ask students to consider what type of magazine they read most frequently. Sports? News? Women’s? Men’s? Nature? Health and Fitness? Entertainment? Finance? Science? Hobbies and Crafts? Farming and Ranching? Pets? Games and Puzzles? History? Political? Travel? Cars and Motorcycles? Humour? Literary? Romance? Science Fiction? Mystery? What differences distinguish these categories from each other? What attracts students to these magazines? What magazines would they not want to read at all? Why?
• Ask students to survey their class. What are the most popular magazines? What are the contents of the top three magazines? Have students categorize the articles found in the magazines (e.g., beauty, politics, medicine, fashion, careers, celebrities). How many stories are found in each category? Have students make a list of the people who are depicted in the photographs. Why is a particular person depicted? Does the person have special skills? Knowledge? Wealth? Beauty? How many of the magazines appeal to men and how many to women? Why? What is the portrayal of males and females in illustrations and stories? At what audience is each magazine aimed? How does each cover suggest this? What is each magazine saying about males and females? About different cultural groups?
• Have students find a magazine article that expresses an author’s opinion or takes a stand on an issue (not an editorial, column, or review). Ask them to identify the main ideas in the article and explain how the writer developed these ideas. Did the article serve the writer’s purpose? Did the style of the article fit the magazine’s profile?
• Have students compare and contrast news coverage on one issue in several magazines (e.g., Time, Maclean’s, Newsweek, Life, Alberta Report, U.S. News, and World Report). How do the magazines differ from one another in format, content, and tone? How are they similar? Have students note where the stories are placed, how colour is used, and the use of boxed inserts. They should also examine typeface, photo captions, charts, graphs, and maps. What bias is indicated in the different magazines through word choice and the inclusion or exclusion of certain details? How are the different editorial positions of the magazines indicated by their coverage of the news?
• Have students consider the kind of attention they give to magazine advertisements. Have them analyze ten advertisements in male and female fashion magazines. They might examine the claim and the images of each, including:
  • Visual Features: General mood of the ad and how it is created, typeface and its location, colour scheme, white space and where the eye is drawn, location and shape of product.
  • Language Features: Name of product, tone of language in the ad, claims and appeals (e.g. needs, fears, desires), puns, and other devices.
  • Advertisement as a Whole: Major "hooks" it uses to attract and hold attention, propaganda techniques it employs in its claims and images, intended target of the ad, values or ideology underlying the ad, the overall effectiveness of the ad. Does the ad appeal to reason, emotions, or both? Which ad is the most effective? Why?
• Have students create their own ad. Ask them to review the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (see the bibliography for grade 11 English language arts for annotation). Does their ad meet the standards?
• Have students review and then plan an electronic magazine for the Internet. Have them consider their purpose, audience, appearance, types of stories, links, and advertising.

Module 2: Electronic Journalism

Radio, television, and the Internet are pervasive in contemporary society. As do print media, the electronic media require good reporting and quality writing. They also must deliver the important news to their listeners or viewers in a clear and ethial manner.

Foundational Objectives

The foundational objectives are to be developed throughout the course and as they apply in each module. The foundational objectives for Journalism Studies 20 are as follows.

Students will:

• recognize and appreciate the role of journalism in contemporary society and in their personal lives
• recognize and explore the ways in which print and broadcast media create and present a message
• recognize and create the various forms, conventions, and styles of journalistic writing
• recognize the attributes of quality journalism and the legal, ethical, and moral issues which confront the free press
• develop the speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, and representing skills needed to create various print publications and broadcast productions.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• recognize speaker’s attitude, tone, and bias
• relate the structure of the work to the author’s purpose and theme
• recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
• prepare a dramatic reading
• recognize the difference between writing for electronic media and writing for print media
• understand the requirements for reporting news using radio, television, and the Internet
• consider how electronic media, including the Internet, have changed journalism and will continue to affect it in the future
• apply understanding of print journalism to the electronic media
• identify the conventions of the electronic media
• understand and demonstrate copy editing for the electronic media
• recognize how pervasive information is in contemporary society
• understand the role of advertising in the electronic media.

Suggested Activities

• Have students consider how much of a one-hour radio segment on a particular station is devoted to news. How much local, national, and international news is presented? How much sports? How much weather? Are there special programs centred on important local issues? Are there in-depth interviews? Is there a forum for opposing viewpoints? Does the station use its newscast to entertain or to inform the listener? Are there any in-depth or investigative stories? Are the news reporters disc jockeys who read wire service reports or are they journalists? What is the source of the news? Students might compare several radio stations.
• Have students consider how much of a 30-minute local television newscast is devoted to commercials. How much local, national, and international news is presented? How much sports? How much weather? Does the station use its newscast to entertain or to inform the viewer? Are there any in-depth or investigative stories in the newscasts? How much time in newscasts is devoted to trivia (e.g., parades, shopping centre promotions)? What is the source of the news? Are there differences between television stations?
• Have students consider two or three on-line magazines or news sites. What is the format and context of each? Who are the readers? Who are the owners?
• Ask students to consider who owns the news outlets in their community. Do the same people own the newspaper, radio, and television stations? Who controls the Internet? What does this imply? Is this good or bad? Who controls radio and television programming--the audience, the management, the advertisers, the recording or film studios, the government? Who controls the Internet "programming"? Is one format more democratic than another?

  Ask students to review the federal Broadcasting Act and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) guidelines. How do the Act and the CRTC pertain to the local radio and TV stations? How are requirements met by their local outlets as they pertain to ownership and control "by Canadians so as to safeguard, enrich, and strengthen the cultural, political, social, and economic fabric of Canada" and the "high stand, using predominately Canadian creative and other resources"? What is the specific mandate of the CBC? How does the mandate differ from that of a private broadcasting station?

• All stations try to make sure that their newscast is selected by viewers. They try to convince viewers that their news covers many events, is up-to-date, is important, is truthful, and takes advantage of the latest technology. Ask students to consider how these ideas are suggested by the opening of the newscast. Have them describe the graphics, music, voice over, and opening shot. What is suggested by each? Ask students to describe the set and the person or persons reading the news (i.e., appearance and voice qualities). What is suggested by these elements?
• Have students obtain several copies of newspaper wire stories and then prepare them for radio, television, and/or the Internet.
• Sports and weather are important parts of most television newscasts. Ask students to obtain a copy of a daily newspaper and then write a one-minute script devoted to sports and a one-minute script devoted to weather using information from a newspaper.
• Television talk shows have become very popular. Have students review the listings and subjects for a week of programs. How are the programs similar? Different? Ask students to watch two of these shows and analyze them for their content, production techniques, and the interviewing style of the host. What are some of the students’ conclusions?

Additional Activities

• Television stations often show their "station identification" symbols, either between programs or intermittently during programs in one corner of the screen. Have students choose a station and examine its identification. What do they see in the image? What in the image might attract them to the station? Have students compare several symbols for different stations. How do they differ in their reflection of the stations’ mandates?
• Have students keep a record of each story used in a television newscast. Have them note the name of the story, the setting (i.e., international, national, regional, local), the subject matter (e.g., politics, business, disaster, human interest), the kind of report (e.g., script read by an anchor, script read by an anchor with background visuals, videotaped story by a reporter, on-the-spot reporter), and the length of the story in minutes and seconds. What does their research tell them about how various types of news are reported? Would they have covered any story differently? Would they have chosen a different order?
• Television stations must decide what events to cover, which facts to include, which people to interview, and what to say about the images shown. They consider what the audience will find interesting and how good their visuals are. Words and pictures must be harmonized. These decisions often tell the audience a particular story or give a particular slant. Have students select one television news program and analyze the words and the pictures presented for bias. Could different pictures and words have been chosen to give a different slant? Is it possible to present the news in a completely objective manner?
• Have students compare the leads on television accounts with those in a newspaper. How do they differ? Why? Which approach is better? Why?
• Stories for broadcast are generally shorter than those for print and do not contain as many details or as many direct quotations. Because the viewer cannot go back and reread the story, television must be clearer and easier to comprehend. Have students obtain a script for a television newscast and practise reading it. Ask them to take the local newspaper and prepare three of the stories for broadcast. The first story should be read by the anchor, the second read by the anchor with background visuals, and the third presented as a videotaped story by a reporter.
• Have students watch a local evening television newscast. Is the station doing any in-depth work? Students can prepare an in-depth investigative report for one story that they believe is important.
• Have students attend a school sports event and create a five-minute sportscast or feature for television or the Internet. Encourage them to consider angles such as crowd, weather, excitement, support, and the game itself.
• Have students analyze a recorded television interview. Were the questions soft or hard? Were the answers predictable? How could the interviewers have done a better job? Do newspaper reporters tend to be tougher interviewers than broadcast journalists?
• Have students write and record a five-minute newscast for television.
• Have students produce a news magazine video production. First, each student should write a proposal for the production, explaining content, treatment, objectives, personnel, and equipment requirements. These proposals should be considered by the class before one is selected for a class project. The author of the selected proposal can become the producer and divide the class into production teams of two, with each team responsible for one segment of the production. One team member is a reporter and the other a camera person. Each team should submit a script and shot list before production begins. Teams can edit their segments "in camera".
• Radio phone-in programs claim to give listeners an opportunity to express their opinion. Have students listen to a phone-in program for a period of one week. Have them list the topics that are discussed (e.g., politics, social issues, sports). Who decided upon these topics? Who gets to talk most? Who gets the last word in the discussions? What biases are apparent in the host? The guest? The callers? Who is the audience (age, sex, interests)? How many solutions to problems were proposed? How might advertising affect phone-in programs?
• Have students prepare a 15-second radio public service announcement for a campaign against drinking and driving, using a script of 50 or fewer words. Ask them to consider a target audience and sound effects. They should record their announcement, paying careful attention to emphasis, fluency, and pacing.
• Have students prepare a public service announcement to advertise a charity drive or to report a missing person.
• Have students plan two commercials for television to promote school events or products. They should decide on the events or products and the target audiences, as well as on the purpose/intent of the commercials. They can select the time spots they want for the commercials and then work out their approach. Are they going to use humour? Emotional appeals? Jingles? Testimonials? Dialogue? Sound effects? Music? Students should script their commercials and then record them.
• Have students plan, conduct, and record for both radio and television an interview with someone in their community. How does the medium affect the interview?
• Have students prepare a broadcast of a play-by-play presentation of a game played at their school. They should include the introduction, three commercial breaks, and an interview with one of the players.
• Have students listen to several world radio broadcasts (e.g., Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio France, British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Deutschland, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and compare the style and format of each broadcast. What news stories are included? What perspective is presented? What feature articles are broadcast (e.g., science and technology, tourism, business)? What image do these broadcasts create of the country of their origin?
• Have students prepare a radio documentary on an important issue in their community.

Module 3: On Assignment (Project)

The project in this module allows students to focus on a particular area of journalism and to explore it in more depth.

Foundational Objectives

The foundational objectives are to be developed throughout the course and as they apply in each module. The foundational objectives for Journalism Studies 20 are as follows.

Students will:

• recognize and appreciate the role of journalism in contemporary society and in their personal lives
• recognize and explore the ways in which print and broadcast media create and present a message
• recognize and create the various forms, conventions, and styles of journalistic writing
• recognize the attributes of quality journalism and the legal, ethical, and moral issues which confront the free press
• develop the speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, and representing skills needed to create various print publications and broadcast productions.

Specific Learning Objectives

Students will:

• recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
• determine and plan a project in one area of journalism
• complete and present a project
• demonstrate responsible journalism
• understand the limitations that may be imposed on student journalists, depending on school policy
• recognize the value of teamwork and co-operation.

Note: Each project is presented as a group project that could be adapted (refocused and narrowed) to a project for an individual student. For example, the newsletter project could be focused on an area of interest for the student and his or her community. The magazine project could be narrowed to a series of feature articles as a result of the student’s investigation of a particular issue. The television or radio production project could become the preparation of a video or audio documentary about a topic of concern to the student. The advertising project could become a series of print advertisements for a particular product. The home page project could be focused on a topic of interest to the student.

Sample Projects

Community or School Newspaper

Students will:

• speak to clarify and extend thinking
• listen with purpose and concern for ideas
• understand how a newspaper is produced
• prepare a school or community newspaper targeted at a particular audience
• demonstrate effective writing and design.

Project Guidelines

• This is a group project. Have students review the roles of a newspaper staff. Have them decide upon roles for each group member (e.g., reporters, managing editor, photojournalist, advertising editor, copyreader, etc.).
• Have students determine the type of newspaper (e.g., literary, tabloid, community weekly) and types of stories (e.g., hard news, soft news, human interest) they want to include. They need to determine the balance (e.g. international, national, local) of coverage and decide upon audience and distribution.
• Have students set deadlines and determine budgets. They should also decide, with the teacher, how their project will be evaluated.
• As work comes in, the managing editor needs to oversee the selection of stories, ads, and photos.
• Items are taped to layout sheets to produce the final "newspaper". Alternatively, students can use desktop publishing software if they have access to the software and a computer.
• The layout is "printed" (e.g., photocopied) and distributed.

Print or Internet Magazine or Newsletter

Students will:

• speak to inform
• listen to understand and learn
• understand how a magazine or newsletter is produced
• prepare a magazine or newsletter targeted at a particular audience
• demonstrate effective writing and design.

Project Guidelines

• This is a group project. Have students review the roles of magazine/newsletter staff. Have them decide upon roles for each group member (e.g., reporters, photographers, advertising editor, managing editor, copyreader, etc.). If students are producing a weekly newsletter, roles can be rotated so that group members have different roles to play for each edition.
• Have students determine the type of magazine and audience. They need to determine the frequency of publication (e.g., weekly might be appropriate for a newsletter, while a quarterly or a term publication might be best for a magazine).
• Have students set deadlines and determine budgets.
• Students need to determine the types of stories and ads that they want to include. For example, a school newsletter might include stories and news from student council, teams, clubs, counsellors, teachers, and administrators. Students also need to consider the format (e.g., a tabloid form).
• Have students decide upon circulation and the distribution method.
• Students need to assign a managing editor to oversee the selection of photos, stories, ads, etc.
• Have students prepare the final product. It may be professionally printed in tabloid form or photocopied within the school.

Television or Radio Production

Students will:

• speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
• listen to understand and learn
• understand how a radio or television production is created
• prepare a simulated television or radio broadcast
• demonstrate effective writing and production techniques.

Project Guidelines

• This is a group project. Have students review the roles of a television or radio station writing, management, and production team. Students need to decide upon the roles for each member of their group and to appoint a station manager.
• Have students write for a simulated television or radio broadcast. They need to include advertisements, newscasts, sportscasts, weather, interviews, and public service announcements. They might also include movie and record reviews, documentaries, talk shows, open line shows, and disc jockey or video jockey comments.
• Have students set deadlines and determine costs.
• Have students prepare tapes for presentation to the class.

Creating and Selling Advertising

Students will:

• listen with purpose and concern for ideas
• understand the role of business and advertising in journalism
• write effective advertising copy
• recognize the importance of market research
• prepare an effective ad
• present a sales package.

Project Guidelines

• This is a group project. Have students review the roles of an advertising writing, sales, and production team (company). Have them decide upon roles for each member of their group.
• Have students determine a publication or broadcast medium with a specific audience. Have them prepare a marketing survey to evaluate the needs and interests of this audience.
• Have students select several companies that do not currently advertise in this publication or broadcast medium and have them prepare a sales package which includes an audience perspective and three potential ads.
• Have students consider audience, purpose, effectiveness, and ethics when preparing their ads.
• Have students, as a role play, present their sales package, with a realistic rate sheet, for a particular company.
• Have students determine what adjustments need to be made and then have them write and produce, with appropriate visual and sound effects, a series of ads/commercials for the product or service.

Creating a Home Page

Students will:

• speak to clarify and extend thinking
• locate, assess, and summarize information from a variety of sources
• understand how a home page is planned and produced
• design and produce a home page with hypertext links
• demonstrate effective writing and design.

Project Guidelines

• Have students form groups to review various Web sites. Small groups could report their findings to the rest of the class, perhaps demonstrating their favourite Web site.
• Have students review themes or topics that are important to them, their school, or their community. They should consider what local, national, and international audiences might be interested in these themes or topics. They might consider news, co lumns, feature stories, entertainment, weather and sports, arts information, reviews, discussion groups, a question of the week, community events and organizations, advertising, promotions, etc.
• Have students decide how their home page will look and what links it will have. (At least six links are usually found on a page.)
• Have students write a draft introduction that greets the users and describes the purpose of the page.
• Have students create the appropriate icons and logo.
• Have students make the hypertext links.