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Teaching the Newspaper CourseRachele KanigelSan Francisco State University

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JOUR 609 Publication Lab

Newspaper production course in a journalism department

All students required to take at least once, most take at least twice, some take it three times

Prerequisites: Newswriting + Reporting (reporter/editors)

OR Newswriting + Photojournalism 2 (photographers)

Staff10-15 editors10-25 reporters6-15 photographers1-3 designers (sometimes not enrolled in

class – they may take independent study)

PublicationWebsite updated dailyNewspaper distributed weekly on

Wednesdays10,000 circulation

Class StructureClass meets twice a week, Mondays &

Fridays 9:35-10:50 a.m.Mondays: Story pitchesWednesdays: Critiques, workshops, guest

lecturers, discussions of ethical issues, panel discussions, brainstorming sessions, project planning sessions

Last 15 minutes of every class reporters & editors meet

Critiques

Communication

Grading reportersMinimum requirements:15 stories (roughly one per week)20 production hours (distributing the paper,

copyediting, writing headlines, background research for someone else’s story, man-on-the-street interviews)

Weekly story pitchesReporters turn in three portfolios, each after

about 5 weeks

Grading reportersPortfolio includes:Original draft of each story and story as it

appeared online or in printMemo for each story explaining how story

originated, problems encountered, how reporter and editor worked together

Weekly beat memos (story ideas)Production hours logSelf-evaluation formEvaluation of editors

Grading reportersPoint system:

Portfolio 1 Up to 25 pointsPortfolio 2 Up to 25 pointsPortfolio 3 Up to 25 pointsBeat Report Up to 5 pointsClass participation Up to 5 pointsBeat handoff Up to 5 pointsProduction hours (20)

1/2 point per hour

Bonus points 1 for each weekly awardTotal Up to 100

All work is graded AFTER PUBLICATION

so there is no problem with prior review.

Class activitiesSmall group discussionsStudents meet in small groups to select: Best headline Best story Best lede Best opinion piece (editorial, column, review) Best photo Best page designand address the question: What could we have done better this week:

Class activitiesStory huntSend groups of 3 (a mix of editors, reporters, photographers, designers) out on a story hunt to a different building or area of campus. Each group has to find: An upcoming event A profile subject A subject for a multimedia story A news storyEach team reports back to the whole staff.

Class activitiesBrainstorming sessionStudents meet in small groups to generate story ideas. Ask:

What’s challenging about being a student? What frustrates you about this school? How does the economy/budget cuts/upcoming

election, etc. affect students on this campus?

Have each group make a list of topics/issues and then turn them into story ideas

Class activitiesMeet your readersHave staffers go out in pairs with a stack of newspapers to different parts of campus.Instruct each pair to introduce themselves and the newspaper to passersby and engage potential readers in conversation. Ask:

Are you familiar with the newspaper? Do you read it? Regularly or occasionally? What do you like about the newspaper? What don’t you like about it? What stories should we cover?

Textbook

Instructors can order a free examination copy at wiley.com

Resources Golden Gate Xpress can be viewed at

http://goldengatexpress.org/ Syllabus available for download at

http://issuu.com/rachelekanigel/docs/sfsustudentnewspapersyllabus

Contact rkanigel@gmail.com