Fall 2016
M-W 11:00 a.m. – 1:10 p.m.
Academic 2- 242
Instructor: Mercedes Vigón, Ph.D.
vigonm@fiu.edu or 305-919-5628
Office: ACII 317
Office hours:
M-W 10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m. or by appointment
This syllabus is your contract with the professor for the course:
Please read it carefully and ask questions if anything is unclear to you
Course participation signifies your acceptance of this contract
COURSE PREREQUISITES: Passed JOU 3117 News Writing & Reporting Workshop, RTV 3531 Multimedia Production and have full admittance to the SJMC.
If you have not completed all prerequisites you will be administratively dropped from this course.
Course Outline
Important Dates:
- Sept. 2- Labor Day, University closed
- Sept. 3- Last Day to add/drop
- Nov. 4 - Last day to drop with a DR grade
- Nov. 11 - Veterans’ Day, University closed
- Nov. 28-30 - Thanksgiving Break
- Dec. 9 - Final Presentations
- Dec. 19 - Grades available online
Course Description:
RTV 4320: Electronic News Gathering is an introduction into the competitive and deadline-driven world of TV news. Our classroom will be your first TV newsroom. Here, you will learn to plan, write and execute compelling and thought-provoking television news stories.
To cover the news, you must WATCH the news. We will cover and discuss the news of the day. Please come to class informed and ready with story ideas. These should be stories you are prepared to shoot and edit.
Objective:
- To cover both the theoretical and hands-on aspects of television news.
- To emphasize the unique demands TV professionals confront every day: the visual elements required to tell compelling television stories as well as research, reporting, interviewing, writing, shooting, editing and on-camera performance.
Outcomes:
By the end of the term students will:
- Demonstrate an understanding of broadcast writing style and the different types of script formats
- Proficiently plan and execute news stories for television and the Web building on the reporting and writing skills developed in other journalism courses.
- Proficiently produce broadcast journalism stories with attention to the details of composition, lighting, sound, editing and other post-production challenges.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the components of a newscast and how to build a competitive news show.
Required Readings, Watchings & Listenings:
- Aim for the heart: write, shoot, report and produce for tv and multimedia, Al Tompkins, ISPN 978-1-60871-674-6, CG Press, Sage, 2012.
- Remember you need to go out: national and international. Here, you will find INSPIRATION on how to produce local stories that matters. READ & LISTEN:
- The New York Times
- NPR
- Students will be required to immerse themselves in local and national news by reading and monitoring newspapers, television news reports and news websites. Remember how different is the Miami you know from the Miami you see on the news. Do not forget to cover the undercovered!
- Students must have a memory card for field recording (more details during camera training)
- Audio headsets.
- All students need a “Portable external hard drive” for storage of all their video and news stories (hard drive of at least 500 GB)
- Course handouts.
LIBRARY USE:
Research materials such as public documents, directories, data bases, newspapers and other periodicals required for the editorial aspects of broadcast writing are available in the FIU Libraries and you ask me to see which materials are available online.
Suggested Materials:
I’d like to have you explore using your cellphones to record video this semester. These are not required, but certainly recommended since your video must to be stable and your sound quality crisp. If you choose this option instead of checking out gear, please be clear that I will not accept video that is not shot on a tripod or sound shot without a microphone. I suggest you also use the following app to shoot:
- ProMovie app: (the paid one): http://promovieapp.com/
- Stabilizer with lights:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F2LP7TD/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Lav:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MSKI46R/ref=od_aui_detailpages01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Depending on which phone you have, you’ll need the apple headphone adapter so you can plug your lav to your iPhone (you can find this one on Amazon): https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-lightning-to-3-5mm-headphone-adapter-white/5622278.p?skuId=5622278&ref=212&loc=1&extStoreId=510&ds_rl=1266837&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1266837&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7a-W1ICJ3wIVRksNCh36KwJpEAQYBCABEgIkMPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
- I also recommend you have personal access to Premiere on your laptops. You will be editing a lot and will need it.
Professional Values and Competencies:
The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications requires that, irrespective of their particular specialization, all graduates should be aware of certain core values and competencies and be able to:
- Understand and apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press for the country in which the institution that invites ACEJMC is located, as well as receive instruction in and understand the range of systems of freedom of expression around the world, including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications;
- Demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and, as appropriate, other forms of diversity in domestic society in relation to mass communications;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact of mass communications in a global society;
- Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information; • demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity;
- Think critically, creatively and independently;
- Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work;
- Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve;
- Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness;
- Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts;
- Apply current tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work, and to understand the digital world.
Great Expectations:
- Students embark on an adventure from which both expect an active and stimulating exchange of ideas and knowledge. I certainly hope that you will find RTV4320 intellectually challenging and that this course will provide you with the basic skills for a career as media professionals. To insure this, let me set forth guidelines for what I expect from you:
- Preparation: Electronic News Gathering will demand a lot of your time. This is going to be a very hectic term. You will be required to be present in class, during lab time and to do much of your work, whether on your own or with a partner, outside of class. All of this effort will give you the foundation to be a professional in the visual journalism field. This takes work and practice. I advise you not to take this course if you think that you will not have enough time to prepare.
- Evaluations: You will be required to evaluate your project partner's knowledge, skill and commitment. I will use this evaluation to help students in their weak areas and to make sure that everyone is contributing to the work. The evaluation will remain anonymous; it will not be shared with your partner. Please be honest and fair.
- Attendance Policy: Regular class attendance is essential and absences will impact your grade. Random attendance records will be used as part of the final grade. Students are expected to arrive on time. I advise you not to take this course if you think that you will not be able to attend regularly and on time.
- Late Work: You are entering a business were deadlines are sacred. Get used to it. Regular projects will be accepted after their due dates but will be assessed two (2) late points per day. You are responsible for turning in all projects on the date they are due.
- Conduct: Please turn off cell phones and do not turn on your laptop. If you need to converse with a classmate please step outside the classroom. I reserve the right to drop you from the course if I find your behavior to be disruptive to the class.
• Make-up work and extra credit assignments: I do not give extra credit assignments. You may be able to make-up a missed quiz or other class work only if you can provide documentation of an emergency (illness, death in the family, car accident, etc.). Or if FIU policy requires an academic accommodation.
• Effective Communication: Good writing is essential. All your work will be evaluated on content and writing (spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and clear and effective communication).
• Office Hours: I am always pleased to meet with students. My office hours are on the top of this syllabus. If you need to meet with me outside this time frame please make an appointment.
• Academic Misconduct: Plagiarism is not tolerated. Plagiarism results in an automatic "F" for the course. As FIU students, you are expected to strictly follow the honor code regarding academic honesty. Florida International University outlines your responsibilities as follows:
Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook.
Misconduct includes: Cheating – The unauthorized use of books, notes, aids, electronic sources; or assistance from another person with respect to examinations, course assignments, field service reports, class recitations; or the unauthorized possession of examination papers or course materials, whether originally authorized or not. Plagiarism – The use and appropriation of another's work without any indication of the source and the representation of such work as the student's own. Any student, who fails to give credit for ideas, expressions or materials taken from another source, including internet sources, is responsible for plagiarism.
- Any student who fails to meet these expectations will receive an "F" for the course grade and will be reported to the Chair of the Department, as well as the Dean of the School.
- Written work may be subjected to Turnitin.com.
USE OF SJMC PHOTO & VIDEO EQUIPMENT:
Equipment must be reserved by calling the Equipment Room (305 919-4548). Students must call at least 24 hrs. in advance.
CARE OF EQUIPMENT:
It is your responsibility to be extremely cautious with the field gear and editing equipment. When you've checked out the gear you've reserved, take a moment to look it over to see if anything is wrong and report it immediately. If anything happens to the equipment while it is checked out in your name, you will be responsible for the cost of repairs or replacement. Our technicians will check every piece of equipment when you return it for signs of misuse or damage. Please, return every piece of equipment in the same condition it was in when you took it out.
NEVER LEAVE EQUIPMENT UNATTENDED! BE AS PARANOID AS YOU HAVE TO BE. THE EQUIPMENT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPAIR EQUIPMENT YOURSELF. You may turn a 50-cent problem into a $500.00 problem.
Grades will be withheld if you damage or lose equipment and fail to pay for the repairs or replacement.
EQUIPMENT CHECKOUT RULES. When you check out equipment it must be returned no later than 10:00a.m. the next weekday. Failure to abide by this policy will result in a loss of equipment privileges. You and your partner will be deducted 2 late points per day from the grade for that project.
CARE AND USE OF COMPUTERS:
Students are expected to treat all hardware and software in the labs with care. You will be removed from the course, given a failing grade, and face possible university disciplinary action and criminal prosecution if you:
- Intentionally damage the equipment
- Knowingly infect a computer with a virus
- Destroy or tamper with the lab computer programming
- Duplicate software in a lab
- Snoop through files other than your own
Grades:
| Project 1: video basics VO-SOT |
5% |
| Broadcasting writing assignments |
10% |
| Project 2: tracked VO-SOT |
10% |
| Project 3: The Basics Package #1 |
15% |
| Project 5: Local News Event Coverage Package #2 |
20% |
| Project 6: Long Format Package #3 |
30% |
| Attendance, participation and peer evaluations |
10% |
For most projects you will be allowed to work in two (2) person teams but you will share project grades with your partner. The makeup of the teams will change as we move through the course.
The student newscast will be recorded at the SJMC TV Studio and post-production will be done in our labs.
Each project will be judged on the following criteria:
- Reporting enterprise and depth
- Journalistic principles
- Quality of writing and how well video matches audio
- Steadiness, composition and aesthetic quality of the video
- Editing proficiency
- Diction, enunciation and other elements of delivery
Final Grades will be assigned according to the following scale:
A = 95 - 100% (your work is exemplary according to the previous criteria)
A- = 90 - 94% (your work is mostly exemplary according to the grading criteria)
B+= 87 - 89% (one or two projects are exemplary; the rest are proficient)
B = 82 - 86% (one project is exemplary; the rest are proficient)
C+= 77 - 79% (your work is proficient)
C = 72 - 76% (your work does not fulfill the minimal professional requirements)
D = 62 - 66% (your work lacks quality)
F = 0 - 59%
You will be required to revise and re-edit your projects.
Additionally, grades will be assigned based on the following criteria:
A/A-: Stories that meet the criteria above and require minor tweeking to be published and/or broadcast.
B-/B/B+: Stories that demonstrate a serious and solid effort but require more than minor tweeking to be published or broadcast.
C/C+: Stories that require major reworking, writing is deficient and production values are substandard.
C-: Stories that require so much reworking that only pieces of it are salvageable.
F: Stories that are not salvageable because they do not meet most of the criteria above or have errors of fact material to the story or have been plagiarized.
Helpful Links:
NATIONAL NETWORK NEWSCASTS:
GET INSPIRED news programs, with long format stories that matter:
DO NOT hide behind the OBJECTIVITY excuse. Use your frustration for the greater good. Examples of stories with a clear intention:
Other resources:
- "TV News Search and Borrow," or https://archive.org/details/tv, allows you to keyword search and then view online and for free, clips from TV news programs from a variety of U.S. source. And here you have some tips in how to use it.
- "News lab video," writting strategies to work around script challenges
- SJMC Equipment Room and Software Wiki:
Essential resource for all equipment room related questions, as well as questions about and access to software, manuals, equipment, etc.
|