NewsTeam Class

NewsTeam Boulder Syllabus Spring 2018
(JRNL 4624/5624)

Class Times and Locations
Tuesdays and Thursdays - Armory 209 – 8:00am to 12:50pm

Click to see the NewsTeam Timetable

Course Instructors

Paul Daugherty, CMCI Journalism Senior Instructor Office: Armory 203A Phone numbers (O): 303-492-0867 (M) 303-588-5894 (preferred) Email: Paul.Daugherty@colorado.edu Office Hours: Wed. 9am to 11am or by appointment

Gayle Brisbane, CMCI PhD Candidate Office: Armory 113 Email: gabr1762@colorado.edu Office Hours: right after the show on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Teaching Assistants (TA’s)

Joey Getty, CMCI Masters Student Email: gettyj@colorado.edu Phone: 303-525-4674

 

Additional Important Phone Numbers
CMCI Front Desk                      303-492-5007
Studio Master Control              303-735-2043
Editing Suite (Armory 216)      303-492-4556             
Steve Jones (production staff)  303-492-8919

What you get out of this course depends on what you put in. 

Many NewsTeam alums find successful careers, and you can be among them! The best way to set yourself up for success is to do your best job. Be diligent, earn good grades, attract fans in class, on and off campus. Your accomplishments will be reflected in your resume and you'll have gained the confidence you need to succeed in your chosen profession.

NewsTeam Boulder will equip you with the skills and experience you need to launch your broadcast career. In this class, consider yourself a seeker, embarking on a journey towards your goals. Whatever those goals may be we want to help every one of you achieve them! Hard work lies ahead, but the payoff for those who go the extra mile will mean not only getting an 'A' in class, but getting a job in the broadcast profession!

NewsTeam is the capstone for broadcast news majors and is considered to be an advanced level reporting course. Because we’re a news operation, with assignments that have quick turnarounds, it helps if you can be more flexible with your schedule to arrange for interviews and production work. If you’re taking an overload of credits, then you run the risk of becoming overwhelmed. If this is the case, then we recommend you take NewsTeam some other semester when you have fewer courses and commitments.

Time Management is a Must!
The skills you learn are also transferrable to many aspects of the broadcast and video production professions. But you’ll also be expected to put your time management skills to the test. Our suggested ways to improve those skills: schedule your activities appropriately -- know the difference between quantity and quality; learn to prioritise the activities that will be most beneficial to your ultimate career goals; and use your electronic devices for scheduling purposes. Other ways to improve your time management ability:

• Set calendar deadlines in advance

• Story pitches need detail and development – really give some thought to your story ideas, which will help you narrow down your focus and avoid wasting your efforts on gathering information and materials that are not relevant to the story

• Allow time for travel (add 1/2 hour minimum)

• Allow time in case things go wrong (1-2 hours per shoot - Murphy's Law!)

• Double your estimated edit time (if you think it will take 1 hour, make it 2)

  
  

Communication is Key
The entire newscast can be affected if something goes wrong with your story. In this event, communication is crucial. You need to contact both your instructors and the producer. If you’re sick and can’t make it to class, contact your instructors and the producer. If you see an error in a graphic, the assignments schedule, or even a bad edit, then say something. Confusion, tension, frustration all set in when we don’t communicate, and then the process of producing a newscast, and running a class, becomes even harder. We’re all working in a multi-faceted team and well-landed plans are something we can feel good about. But not everything goes according to plan and some things are not always within our control. We need to catch problems as early as possible so stay in touch!

Reporting Diversity Stories
We’re about preparing students for professional work in diverse and inclusive media environments. Greater diversity in your reporting will convey greater accuracy and fairness, helping individuals in our audience see themselves in others. To ensure that we give voice to underrepresented members of our community, diversity in your reporting MUST be your moral imperative. We expect you to consider in your stories diverse groups to compel fair treatment of sources and to encourage the practice of empathy and compassion, allowing us to reach new, diverse audiences. We take diversity and inclusiveness seriously at the CMCI. In several ways, excellence in journalism is impossible without intentional and careful attention to diversity issues. But there are also legal requirements that faculty and students are expected to follow:

• Discrimination And Harassment  The University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working, and living environment. CU-Boulder will not tolerate acts of discrimination or harassment based upon Protected Classes or related retaliation against or by any employee or student. For purposes of this CU-Boulder policy, "Protected Classes" refers to race, colour, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation or political philosophy. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against should contact the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSC) at 303-492-5550. Information about the OIEC, the above referenced policies, and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be found at the OIEC website. 

• Accommodation For Disabilities  If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to your professor a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or by e-mail at dsinfo@colorado.edu. If you have a temporary medical condition or injury, see Temporary Injuries guidelines under the Quick Links at the Disability Services website and discuss your needs with your professor.

• Religious Holidays  Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In NewsTeam, please indicate, within the first two weeks of the semester, whether you are going to be absent due to religious observances. See campus policy regarding religious observances for full details.

• Honour Code  All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behaviour. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honour Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-735-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Additional information regarding the Honour Code policy can be found online.

• Classroom Behaviour  Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioural standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, colour, culture, religion, creed, politics, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, disability, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. We will gladly honour your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise us of this preference early in the semester so that we may make appropriate changes to our records. For more information, see the policies on classroom behaviour and the student code.

Disruptive Behaviour
We’re open to any of your criticisms regarding how we conduct the class as long as your concerns are addressed constructively. But we refuse to tolerate any disruptive behaviour that includes openly belligerent challenges towards class policy and requirements. If a student displays such brash insolence, our policy is to first meet with the student to address their attitudes and arrive at an amicable solution. But if the behaviour persists, we will not hesitate to report the student to the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution.

The Teaching Staff

Paul Daugherty, CMCI Senior Instructor

Paul Daugherty is an award-winning public affairs producer and documentary filmmaker. He has a master's in broadcast news and management from CU and worked over 20 years in the profession, the majority spent at Rocky Mountain PBS where he produced, photographed and edited numerous public affairs shows. His speciality is producing nature and science documentaries and educational videos and is avidly interested in science communication, which involves science outreach to the public. Paul is the faculty adviser for the Emmy-winning student-produced video podcast series, CU Science Update. His original documentaries include Jump Steak, about the issues and concerns surrounding the human consumption of kangaroos; the reality series Zoo Keeper Journal, (shot in Africa, Australia, and New Zealand); Space Class, an educational series produced in conjunction with NASA partners; Project Pisces, a NASA/ University of Hawaii at Hilo collaboration to develop habitation structures on the moon; Urban Ark – The Story of the Denver Zoo; the Emmy-winning Colorado.Now public affairs series and the historical documentary series Rocky Mountain Legacy. Paul also worked as a photographer/editor on Covering Columbine, a documentary and DART Foundation project that covered the topic of reporting trauma;  Paul is a Colorado native, but has family in Wellington, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. He has an adopted koala named Belvedere, who lives in Australia's Ballarat Wildlife Sanctuary just north of Melbourne. His next projects include a documentary about CubeSats, alternative agriculture and, in development, a documentary about the secret life of echidnas and their value to Australia's ecosystems.

Gayle Jansen Brisbane, CMCI PhD Candidate

Gayle Jansen Brisbane is a third-year PhD Student in Journalism Studies. She has a Masters degree in Professional Writing from the Chatham University. Her research focus has been women in sports media and Christianity, politics and the media. She is also interested in documentary production. Before entering academia she spent 20 years working as a sports anchor/reporter and a morning show feature reporter. She was nominated several times for an Emmy award for her work. In her 16 years at FOX 10 in Phoenix she reported from two Super Bowls, several College Football National Championship games, a World Series, the NBA Western Conference Finals, NBA and MLB All-Star games as well as NHL playoffs. Her niche was producing and writing off the field/court short form features on super star athletes like Charles Barkley, Tim Tebow, Kurt Warner, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O'Neal, Wayne Gretzky, Serena Williams and Larry Fitzgerald to name a few.  Prior to working in Phoenix, Gayle was a sports anchor/reporter at KEZI-TV ABC in Eugene, Oregon.  She did it all, also working as a videographer, editor and producer. She produced and hosted a weekly sponsored series called Oregon Outdoors, participating in a variety of outdoor activities like skydiving, rock climbing, kayaking and scuba diving.  In addition, she hosted a national series for the Outdoor Life Network called Great Hikes. She is an adventurer in her free time as well, traveling extensively overseas. She successfully summited Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa and finished the Monaco Marathon. Though her greatest joy has been becoming a mother of identical triplet girls in 2010.

Teaching Assistants

Joey Getty, CMCI Masters Student

Before enrolling as a journalism graduate student at CU-Boulder, Joey Getty was a factotum (look up this word - it's a great word). He has been a painter, a warehouse worker, a delivery driver, a tutor, a movie theater ticket-ripper, a three-time intern, a multimedia contractor, a freelance writer and a journalist. Getty lives and breathes stories, particularly those that point out absurdity, expose injustice and provoke philosophical debate. One of his favorite projects was working with a team of journalists and documentary filmmakers to uncover widespread wage theft in Minnesota.

Class Expectations - What you'll be doing

Read, Watch and Listen

How we’ll evaluate your work
You will be evaluated based on your level of participation in class, the content, execution, originality and creativity of your work, and especially meeting deadlines. However, simply fulfilling these requirements will not earn you an A. To get an A you need to do Exemplary work that shows you’ve gone the extra mile in your efforts.  

• Showing up for class and participating in its activities is important to make the course work meaningful.

• Being respectful of others. The students who are your peers today will be your work colleagues tomorrow. Don't burn your bridges before you even get started.

• Meet deadlines. Let’s be clear – deadlines mean something in this profession. Therefore, missing deadlines will lower your grade. Work hard on your time management skills.

• Get to know your profession by monitoring what professionals are doing. Watch the news, watch documentaries and even go to movies. There are many videos on YouTube that will help you study your chosen craft.   

• Meet regularly with your instructors to get in-depth feedback on your work, to pitch stories and to get pointers on improving your efforts. We very much want to establish a rapport to help you succeed.
  
  

ABOUT LATE WORK
Extensions are granted only if there is a compelling reason, but this happens rarely. We will definitely not grant extensions the day before the assignment is due. Extensions will be considered if you can show your work and efforts. Your effort is considered in the grade, but the end product shows whether you fully understand the material. We welcome your questions and will gladly offer help if you ask for it.

For the most part, late work will not be accepted. 

Assignments
Students work each week to produce a live newscast and a live election coverage on election night in November. With the smaller class size, each student will likely work as producers twice, anchor at least twice, report 2-3 news packages and report 2 feature stories. And as a final assignment, students will create an e-Portfolio along with a resume reel to showcase their work to potential employers.

Anything that airs on NewsTeam must represent original work. Work that you did in other classes or extracurricular activities, such as CU Buff Sports Live or CU Independent cannot be recycled into NewsTeam unless given prior approval. In addition, NewsTeam work cannot be used in other classes or in extracurricular work (such as CU Buff Sports Live or CU Independent) unless given approval by the instructor(s).

If you read this far, please email Paul.Daugherty@colorado.edu and pledge the following words, "I will submit only original work for NewsTeam. I will not produce work in other classes or extracurricular activities and then recycle it for NewsTeam without prior approval. Finally, I will not produce work for NewsTeam that is used for other classes or extracurricular activities without getting approval first." 

Recommended Reading
There are no required texts, however, we recommend three books that we think you'll find helpful.

·       Broadcast News Handbook: Writing, Reporting & Producing in a Converging Media World, 

·       The Broadcast Journalism Handbook: A Television News Survival Guide,

·       It Takes More Than Good Looks To Succeed at Television News Reporting, 

Required Materials  - click here to learn more

You will be responsible for tracking your own work. Don't leave anything on lab computers and expect it to be there when you need it. Keep your work on a personal hard drive so you can take it with you. Don't contact us months after class and ask us to send you your work.

Also, saving your work on a portable drive makes it easier for us to connect to any of the lab computers.

Grading
It’s a given that we all have made plenty of mistakes! But mistakes are part of the learning process. Just don’t dwell on them. If you want to be a good learner, then be honest with yourself. Feel free to acknowledge your mistakes and to acknowledge when you're confused and move forward with the experience you learned. Be proactive about your education and ask for help when you need it. We don’t simply want to reduce the quality of your work to a letter or number. We will strive to provide you with constructive feedback, to help you improve upon your work so that it comes closer to meeting professional standards. We encourage you to make appointments to see us so we can discuss your work and suggest ways for improvement.  Your instructors will not chase you down to give you grades. The responsibility for finding out where you stand with your grade is yours.

Also, your instructors are not above learning from their students. If you wish to share something that you feel will benefit the class, then by all means do share. We'd love to hear from you.

Click to learn more on Grading