Sports Journalism in the Internet Age – Tufts – Fall 2012
Aug 19th, 2012 by Maria Burns Ortiz
SPORTS JOURNALISM IN THE INTERNET AGE – EXP-0059-F
TUFTS UNIVERSITY – FALL 2012
Tuesday, 6 – 8:30 p.m.
Olin 218
Instructor: Maria Burns Ortiz
Email: mariaburnsortiz@gmail.com
Phone: (260) 402-1172
Office hours: By appointment
Course site: www.mariaburnsortiz.com/tufts12 (Bookmark this page)
FOR A FULL SEMESTER SCHEDULE, CLICK HERE.
FOR A LIST OF WEEKLY READINGS/ASSIGNMENTS, CLICK HERE.
FOR STUDENT BLOGS, CLICK HERE.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Internet has undeniably changed the media landscape, but sports journalism may be feeling the effects greater than any other sphere. Sports enthusiasts have the ability to watch every game on television or their laptops. Fans can find streaming stats on the Web, read instant recaps and catch post-game press conferences on various sports networks.
So, how do sports journalists maintain their relevance now — and in the future? Through analyzing the current landscape and studying works of sports journalism, this course will seek to answer this question.
COURSE GOALS
This course will challenge students to think critically about media and examine works of sports journalism both in terms of writing mechanics and as literature.
A number of questions will be posed: How has sports journalism adapted to the evolving media landscape? Where is the field still struggling? What is the key to creating work that transcends the 24-hour news cycle? What constitutes quality sports journalism? Can these lessons be applied to the larger media landscape? The aim is that students will be able to develop well-formed and insightful responses to these questions as a result of the readings and in-class discussions. Ideally, this course will also change the lens through which students view sports journalism so that they are able to view the role it plays in a broader media context and also realize that good journalism transcends genres.
Course will also familiarize students with some basic journalism skills and tenants.
CLASS FORMAT
Classes will be discussion based. Students will be expected to participate in these discussions – using assigned readings, personal observations and existing knowledge to contribute to the dialogue. Students will be expected to ask questions as well as form and share opinions.
Students will be required to keep blogs and encouraged to read and comment on classmates’ blogs to foster an exchange of ideas.
Students will be expected to read/view/study the assigned materials. The vast majority of the works students will be assigned are works of journalism with the occasional academic piece. Students will be expected to analyze the works as individual pieces and within the broader context of sports journalism.
Each class will also feature a brief lecture on practical journalism skills. Students will take part in in-class exercises designed to simulate real-world situations.
Students will select a research topic that fits within the course’s subject matter, produce a work of online journalism (text, image, video, audio or multimedia) – that includes interviewing sources – and share their findings with the class in a brief presentation at the end of the semester.
GRADING SCALE
Grading will be done on a 10-point scale. Grading breakdown is as follows:
A – 10-8.1
B – 8-6.1
C – 6-4.1
D – 4-2.1
F – 2-0
GRADING CRITERIA
Grading will be broken down as:
Participation – 40 percent
Discussion – 15 percent
In-class exercise – 7.5 percent
Quizzes – 12.5 percent
Attendance – 5 percent
Blog – 35 percent
Blog assignments – 30 percent
Commenting on others blogs – 5 percent
Final project – 25 percent
Journalistic work – 17.5 percent
Presentation – 2.5 percent
Meeting progress deadlines – 5 percent
Participation: Students are expected to attend all classes, take part in group discussions and complete in-class exercises. Students should complete all readings and be ready to discuss them in class. Discussion is core to this course. Taking part in class discussion is essential.
Attendance: Because this course only meets once a week, attendance is crucial. Missing more than one class meeting will likely affect your final grade. Missing more than two classes may result in a failing grade.
Readings: All readings are to be completed for the week listed. Readings are subject to change throughout the course of the semester. All readings will be finalized no less than two weeks prior to the assigned date. (If you would like the confirmed readings further in advance, please contact me.) The vast majority of the readings for this course will be online news articles. On occasion, the instructor will provide additional materials either via email or as handouts.
Students will be responsible for purchasing/downloading, “Sportswriting in the Digital Age.” It is available for $2.99 via Kindle (you do not need a reader to purchase) or Smashwords.
Updated readings with links will be available at: www.mariaburnsortiz.com/tufts12
Quizzes and In-Class Exercises: This class will feature regular quizzes that will test students’ knowledge of the readings and materials being covered. In-class exercises will simulate real-world experience. The ability to make up quizzes/exercises will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Blogs: Students will be required to keep a blog and post assignments to it weekly. Posts should be well researched, informative and grammatically correct. Blogs will be graded primarily on content – whether students adhere to the assignment and whether posts reflect informed opinion (based on research, insight gained from readings, observation). Correct grammar and structure are expected. Blogs should be concise – remember, in journalism, longer does always not equal better. Posts should be up 24 hours before class meets. Deductions will be taken if blogs are posted late. Students should also be familiar with classmates’ blogs and comment when warranted to foster discussion.
Final project: Students will select a topic relating to sports journalism and produce a “journalistic work.” The final piece must be a work of online journalism (either text, images and text, video, audio or multimedia). Students must meet progress deadlines as noted in the syllabus. Students will give a short presentation to the class on their topic and their piece.
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