No class today

Still sick. See you on Wednesday.

Justice reviews story before publication

This is just kind of strange. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy required prior approval of a story by a student newspaper before he'd agree to allow it to cover his appearance at the school.

Fines for pirating music

Here's the NY Times story on the Boston University student hit with $675,000 in fines for downloading music illegally.

Sounds like he got some bad legal advice from the Harvard professor who defended him in court.

The partisan divide

Here's a look at how cable news networks have attracted a much more partisan audience during the last decade.

Newspaper circulation continues decline

Here is an LA Times story with the most recent data on the current decline in daily newspaper circulation.

Abandon the Web?

Here's an American Journalism Review story about a Rhode Island daily newspaper that is building a pay wall around its Web site in an effort to drive readers back to its print product, where the money's to be made.

Coach relents in battle with student media

We haven't talked about this story in class, but we probably should. For the last month and a half or so, UM football coach Bobby Hauck has refused to talk to the UM student newspaper, the Kaimin. Well, he finally relented this week, but only after the story when national, with the coach drawing condemnation from the likes of ESPN.com and SporsIllustrated.com.

No quiz

No current events quiz tomorrow. I'm too busy. We'll talk a bit about the news of the week in class.

Wednesday discussion

Hope you are all are enjoying your Monday off from class. On Wednesday, Kellyn Brown, editor of the Flathead Beacon, will be in class so that you can get the word straight from someone who is still in the trenches, working at an actual newspaper.

As I mentioned, Brown will be talking to you about the newspaper's coverage of the Rehberg/Barkus boat crash. This will be your chance to talk to someone charged with making decisions about what aspects of the story the Beacon reports to its readers, and what it doesn't and why.

For class it would be a good idea to review these stories in the Beacon (and keep an eye out for updates Tuesday night):

Barkus doesn't remember much

Beacon discusses BAC issues

And here is an example of some good reporting from the Missoulian getting the point of view of the campers who first responded to the crash.

If there are heroes in this tragedy, these folks fit the bill.

And it wouldn't hurt to scan the SPJ Code of Ethics, to be found here.

Have a good week. I'll see you on Friday.

Boat crash update

Not much new here, but I still want all of you to take a look at this story from the Daily Inter Lake. Read it, then note the comments from Montanaeasy56 and HF Davidson regarding the confusion about who is speaking about the condition of the injured man near the end of the story. The story shifts from one speaker to the next without first alerting the reader.

On Wednesday we'll begin our discussion about the basic news story. In addition, we'll talk briefly about transition grafs and how to guide the reader from speaker to speaker without confusion (we'll give trans grafs even more attention later in the semester).

You'll need this

A link to the SPJ Code of Ethics. Start getting to know this important document. The SPJ Code is second only to the AP Stylebook in terms of its importance as a resource for journalists.

A world without journalism

What happens if newspapers go away? Here are some possibilities.

Important policy is determined by who shouts the loudest.

No one is there to ensure the courts operate transparently.

Your assignment is to read these stories and make at least one post to this blog by the start of class Friday. Extra credit if your post includes a link to a relevant news story.

All the President's Men

Someone from the media center will be in class Wednesday to start the movie. I'll be back Friday to to continue the film and give you a CE quiz. I'll have the folks at the media center come back on Monday to finish the movie.

You'll need to be an active viewer while watching the movie as there will be a quiz next week and questions about the film will be on your final. The movie presents in dramatic fashion some of the ethical questions journalists face when reporting important stories. It is a movie, so the the film takes some liberties to heighten the on-screen drama, However, it remains a fairly straight forward, almost documentary-style take on the Washington Post's investigative work on the Watergate break in and the following cover up.

The following instructions will help you prepare for the quiz and final exam questions to come.

Your instructions are simple. Review (in other words, READ) the SPJ Code of Ethics before you watch the film. Then consider the four main sections of the Code — Seek Truth and Report It, Minimize Harm, Act Independently and Be Accountable — and evaluate the work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein at the Washington Post as they investigate the Nixon administration and the Watergate break in.

Be prepared to tell me how the reporters measured up to the Code in each of the four areas, citing specific examples from the movie and the code itself.

Also, pay special attention of the reporter’s use of anonymous sources. Identify the area in the Code that addresses the use of anonymous sources and evaluate the reporters' performance in this regard. Have they been ethical in their dealings with anonymous sources? Have they promised a source anonymity when it was not ethical to do so?

We will talk about the movie and the Code in greater detail next week. In the meantime, enjoy the nice weather and get caught up on your stories.

Pulitzer Prize winners announced

The Pulitzer Prize winners for 2008 were announced today. Take a look at the winners here. Be advised: The breaking news photo winner's work of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike in Haiti isn't for the faint of heart.

IP column and current events

To all, here's a link to the inverted pyramid story we discussed before break.

Also, we'll have a CE quiz in class tomorrow. On the agenda: Somali pirates and tea bagging. And more bad news on the local economic front.

Cheers,
Rob

Current events info

You know there will be a question about the AIG bonuses, so pay attention to this ongoing story.

Here's a local story on the stimulus bill.

Some good news on the local job front.

Midterm news

We'll have our midterm on Friday, March 27. Material covered will include:

Chap. 1
Chap. 3
Chap. 4
Chap. 5

Story structure lecture
Ongoing AP stylebook lecture
Death of a Boy case study
SPJ Code of Ethics

Quiz material

A dusty Flathead.

Planning in Evergreen.

Unemployment stats

Here's an interactive map from the NY Times that shows unemployment stats from across the country. Scroll over Flathead County and you get the stats our our corner of the world. There's a related story worth reading (think Friday's quiz). It focuses on El Centro, Calif., where unemployment is more than 20 percent. There's a lot of useful information there. By the way, enrollment at El Centro Community College is up 11 percent.

Changing music business

This story about U2's latest album isn't directly relevant to a news writing class, but from the broader perspective of how mass communication is changing in the music business, it's a telling story.

The last of the mega bands finds ways to get the word out, including a week of appearances on David Letterman.

More quiz news

Crime is up in the Flathead Valley.

Quiz time

Here's a story we've talked about a bit. Payden, are you paying attention?

There will certainly be a WR Grace trial question. Here's the latest, but there may be something else in Thursday's paper.

And there will be a question about Obama's speech Tuesday.

And there's this interesting news on Iraq.

Sorry I've been a little cranky this week. I'll try to be on my best behavior Friday.

And remember, even though I may have shredded your first effort, that's my job. All of you have the talent and intellect to put me in my place by mastering the craft of hammering out a news story.

Saving Word files

A few notes on sending your first drafts, which are due by midnight Friday.

Send it to robbreeding@fvcc.edu. It bounces a copy to my Netscape address as well. I'm keeping an eye on my spam folder to make sure your stories don't get lost there.

Saving as a Word 2003 version is easy on a PC. When you save there will be a line at the bottom of the window for the file name. Just below that is a line says "save as type." You can just change the type to Word 2003 there.

If you can't save as a 2003 version, just send me a .docx. I figured out a way to convert the files on my laptop.

We'll talk about this in class on Monday.

First story lineup

Here's what I've got so far for story assignments. Remember, first drafts are due at midnight, Friday Feb. 20 (yes, I've extended the deadline six hours). I need a Word attachment e-mailed to me by that deadline. If you haven't yet read the guidelines for the first draft, take a look the post below.

Payden — Enrollment increase
Jade — New play opening
Ashley — FVCC copes with snow daze
Julia — Program for returning students
Maggie — Institutional scholarship application deadline approaching
Joseph — ?
Chelsea — ?

Joseph and Chelsea, I still need to know what you're working on. If you don't have an idea yet, consider one of the following.

— $35 per semester bus pass for FVCC students
— Late starting Spring classes still available for students who need units
— Upcoming event: John Fraley talks about his book, "Wild River Pioneers" about the history of settlement along the Middle Fork Flathead River at FVCC on Feb. 25
— Upcoming event: FVCC Blood Drive on Feb. 26

Stylebooks are in the bookstore

I've heard from the folks in the bookstore that our AP stylebooks have arrived, and that some of you have already started picking them up.

Define 'rough' draft

I promised a little more explanation on the drafting method we will use for your stories. As mentioned, I'm expecting your first draft to be e-mailed to me (Word attachment please) by 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20. We may at times use the phrase 'rough draft' interchangeably with first draft, but I don't what you to get the idea that the draft you turn in will be nothing more than a bunch of hastily assembled notes. The first draft of a basic news story from a professional journalist will really need only minor tweaking in the editing process before it is ready for publication.

None of you are professional journalists, yet. So I suspect your first drafts will require significant rewriting in the drafting process. Try not to get too discouraged when that first draft comes back covered in chicken scratches from yours truly. That's how I teach and you learn. Someday maybe some of you will be editors or journalism profs and you'll get to inflect the same torture on others. It's a circle of life kind of thing.

Back to what I'm expecting next Friday. Your first draft should include all the components of the news story as I outlined earlier in the semester. Remember, they are:

Headline
Lede
Backup for lede (should contain lede quote)
Impact
Background
Elaboration
Ending

You should have your three sources. At least two quotes, preferably from different sources.

Even if you have all these things, I may ask you to revise, rewrite or even reinterview. That's the nature of this process, and that's the nature of being a cub reporter.

So the bad news is that I'm going to ask you to rework these stories multiple times. That can be a maddening process. But the good news is that with just seven of you in the class we'll have plenty of time to make sure each of you gets it, that all of you can succeed in learning the basics of writing a news story.

Another advantage of the drafting method is there really isn't a final deadline for your stories (well, there is the end of the semester). You will be able to revise and rewrite until the story is ready to be graded. If that takes a week, great. If it takes until May to get it right, that's what we will do.

So give me you best next Friday. Some of you, especially those who have zeroed in on a story and are already at work, should be in good shape. Those of you who are still unsure about a story idea, I'll stay after class Friday and make sure you have a topic before you leave. Even if you don't have time for interviews on Friday, you should at the very least make some phone calls and set up some interviews for early next week. Have a good Thursday and I'll see you Friday.

Oh yeah, I'm looking for stories 400 to 500 words in length.

The future of newspapers

Here are a couple of stories on NY Times blogs about the state of the American newspaper.

One explores micropayments

The other features essays from some top journalism pros

These are just FYI for now. We'll be talking about these topics throughout the semester and will surely come back to them in one form or another.

I'll be here after all

Hey folks, it looks I'll be in class Wednesday after all. The good news is that we'll get to spend quality time together. The bad news is that the deal for the freebie quiz is off, for now.

In the meantime, here are some stories you might want to take a look at for Friday.

This story has an FVCC angle

And this is probably the story of the week

Scott Crandell is back on for Feb. 20, so maybe we can cut a deal for the CE quiz next week.

The next chapter we'll be taking a look at is Chapter 3 — Interviewing, and then Chapter 4 — In Their Own Words.

Who isn't named in this story, and why?

Daily Inter Lake

What guidance does the SPJ Code of Ethics provide?

We'll use this story as our first blog assignment. I'd like each of you to comment on the above story and the ethics behind leaving out the name of one of the news subjects. You need to make at least one blog post by noon on Friday. Multiple posts will improve your score on this assignment. You can continue to respond through the weekend, and we'll discuss in class on Monday.

Remember, these decisions are rarely black and white. Is there both rationale to leave the name out, as well as to include it?

I'll be out of town on Friday, Feb. 20, but Scott Crandell, the news editor of the Daily Inter Lake, has agreed to teach the class that day. So you'll have a chance to ask the person who made the call about his rationale for leaving out the identity of someone involved in this news story.

Looks like quiz material to me

NY Times

Daily Inter Lake

Stories to read

Here are a couple news stories that are likely to turn up on your current events quiz Friday, Jan. 30.

Daily Inter Lake

NY Times

More on the basic news story

Here are some examples of the basic news story, or inverted pyramid, in local newspapers.

Daily Inter Lake

Missoulian

Here's a feature story that doesn't follow the structure we've discussed for the basic news story. Think about how it differs from the story structure we discussed in class.

Missoulian feature

Chapter 1 on Friday

We'll begin reviewing Chapter 1 in your text on Friday, Jan. 30.

SPJ Code of Ethics

Here's a link to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Click on the ethics link in the left-hand column, then the Code of Ethics link on the upper right. Once there you'll see a link to the PDF version on the upper right. If you want to print a hard copy, link to the PDF which arranges the Code on one page. Here's a link to the PDF.

No class Wednesday

To all, a reminder. I won't be in class on Wednesday, Jan. 28. We won't have class that day.

I have a few other obligations that will take me away this semester, but I'll make plans so that you won't lose learning opportunities on those days.

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to FVCC's News Writing and Reporting Class. I will use this blog as means to communicate with you, and to provide you will useful information to use in and out of class.

Bookmark this site and get used to viewing it each day.

That's all for now.