Broadcast Journalism Course Requirements
Prerequisite: English 11R, successful performance on the Comprehensive English Regents.
This course is an in-depth, practical application of the media as our contemporary communicator. Students in this combined English/communications course will create projects including editorials, news reports, a 10- 15 minute news program, and a research paper. Students will view a wide array of news programming including cable and network news, investigative-reporting programs, Internet news outlets, blogs, and documentaries. The students will produce special projects that will focus on the planning/writing and production of school/community/world news stories and events. A study will be made of journalistic views on contemporary problems and ideas. Students will be expected to have access to TV news programs, and will be assigned to watch some news coverage of their choice in connection with weekly news evaluation tasks. Excellence in writing, computer and communication skills are important in successfully completing this course.
This is an ideal course for students who are self-directed. Due to the workshop nature of the course, there will be times that some students may complete their work earlier than others. Once production-related assignments are complete, students will have the option to work on their weekly news/feature evaluation assignments, their journals, or their quarterly projects. Anything other than these tasks will not be considered class participation, and will negatively impact student’s grade.
** This course requires in-class daily participation and extra work beyond class.
Attendance: Regular attendance at school is the prerequisite for academic success. All students at Longwood High School are expected to be present in their classes every school day unless legally absent. Any illegal absence from a class is considered a “cut.”
1st cut: Detention “A.” Parent/guardian/student contact.
2nd cut: Detention “A” Parent/guardian/student contact.
3rd cut: Detention “B” Meeting with administrator/ administrator
makes parental contact.
Lateness: Teacher will record all tardiness. Late arrival to class causes disruption to all students in the class. Therefore, all students should make every effort to arrive to class on time. Unexcused tardiness will result in the following consequences:
1st offense: Verbal warning by teacher.
2nd offense: Parent/Guardian notified by teachers.
3rd offense: “A” Detention.
4th offense: “B” Detention, Administrative Parent/Guardian
conference.
Notebook/Journal Requirements: Required 3-ring loose-leaf binder. Teacher will give further instructions pertaining to the notebook requirements. Sections should be maintained for journaling, projects and weekly news evaluations.
ü Expect periodic notebook checks and quizzes.
ü Students are responsible for all assignments given in class as well as homework.
ü Students are responsible for assignments they may have missed if absent from class.
Grading Procedures: Your grade will be determined based on the following:
Class participation…………………………………20% MINIMUM
Homework………………………………………………..20%
Tests/Weekly News Evaluations………..20%
Quizzes/Journal……………………………………20%
Quarterly Projects…………………………….…20%
The specific method for calculating your class participation points can be found on the English Department Rubric, which can be found on the English Department website. It is possible to get a 0 in participation for a given day if student is present but off-task (for example, sleeping in class.)
Quarterly Projects: Each quarter, students will complete a written project. These will contain elements of research, writing, presentation/production. Some projects may include a group component while others will be independent. The written component will be done outside of class.
ü Production (where relevant) will take place on designated days. Students need to refer to their “work for the week” schedule and plan accordingly. If a day is designated as a production day, students need to be prepared to use the time for that purpose. Class time spent working on tasks that are not pertaining to Broadcast Journalism will result in the loss of participation credit for that day.
Quarter 1: The Editorial: Students will research and write their own editorial. Topics will be selected from a list distributed early in the 1st quarter.
Quarter 2: The Peabody Awards. Students will select a winning piece of Broadcast Journalism and research the piece and the producers of it…They will respond to the question: What makes this selection worthy of the award? What elements does it include that set it apart in its field? What did the producers/directors do that made it an excellent example?
Quarter 3: Media and The Internet: Students will view selections from online news sources and analyze the ways in which news is presented. Content will include Web-casts, blogs and video-based/streaming news selections.
Quarter 4: Student-Produced News Program. Each student will plan and film his/her own 15-minute News Program. Written plan, including production worksheet time-line, will accompany final production. All filming will be completed in class on designated production days. Content must be approved prior to production. Program must include a minimum of three features and one “breaking news” story. Programs will be viewed and critiqued by the class as they are filmed.
Assignments are expected to be turned in on the due date. Due to the Journalistic nature of the class, in most cases, late work will not be accepted. Deadlines are significant to Broadcast Journalism class. Students will be required to keep a journal. There will be a minimum of 2 required entries per week. These will be checked periodically throughout each quarter. It will not be acceptable to turn in the entire quarter’s work all at once. The intention of a journal is to chronicle the events/contents over a period of time.
Final Exam: Final exam will address topics selected from all material/technology /methods covered throughout the school year. Students will reflect on methods and content.
Additionally, the following letter was mailed home regarding changes in the content of this course:
June 15, 2006
Dear parents:
Your son/daughter has registered to take the Broadcast Journalism course as his/her senior elective in English for the 2006-07 school year. I am happy to inform you that due to a larger student enrollment in the course than we have previously experienced, we are planning some exciting changes.
The increased number of class sections will enable us to plan a number of hands-on production projects for students to participate in throughout the year. The class will view a number of documentaries and other examples of news-type programming, and closely examine the ways in which the media both influences and mirrors our society. Additionally, there are required writing projects and a research paper that are included in the course outline.
Students who have registered for this course will be familiar with the fact that this is the class that in the past, produced the “morning news show,” a short daily program in which students reviewed the morning announcements. As part of our expansion of the course, and in order to provide more opportunities for each student to be more fully engaged with viable production-based projects, we have opted to eliminate the daily news show from the course outline. It is important that students understand this clearly, so that their expectations of the course will be realistic.
Parents, please review this information with your child with the understanding that the course requires students to be self-directed. Given the workshop nature of the course, there will be times when class sessions are devoted to students’ projects. Students will need to plan accordingly and make the most of these opportunities.
Enclosed is a course outline for your review. Please sign and have your child return this letter to his/her guidance counselor as soon as possible in order to secure a seat in next year’s course. This letter is the confirmation that your son/daughter has reviewed the course outline and understands the requirements. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Poulton
Ms. Reiter
Ms. Libassi
Longwood High School English Department