C-ID Descriptor
Lower Division Student Media Practicum I

• Writing and presentation of journalistic articles for print, online or broadcast
• Storytelling through written, visual, audio, video or other multimedia formats
• Copy editing
• Working under deadline
• Reporting and writing
• Photojournalism
• Broadcast journalism
• Online and multimedia journalism
• Legal issues
• Media ethics
• The business side of the publication (advertising, sales, distribution)

Production of a regular news or feature non-fiction product with a journalism emphasis by and for students and distributed to a campus or community audience. Must include weekly newsgathering activities; regardless of publication frequency.

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

• Define relevant news content
• Gather news information weekly
• Edit basic news and information into publishable form, with attention to accuracy, clarity, thoroughness, fairness, AP style, and media law and ethics
• Assess legal issues affecting media
• Assess ethical issues affecting media
• Develop effective design/layout for story presentation
• Develop news stories through written, visual, audio, video or other multimedia formats
• Determine the best format –print, multimedia, visual, etc.—for telling basic news stories
• Build a portfolio of completed projects for student media that demonstrates a range of storytelling formats/styles

Note: Equivalent courses should incorporate a wide range of these objectives for ALL students, especially frequent and regular newsgathering assignments, regardless of publication/production schedules; design/layout skill development; and experience developing a range of storytelling formats. Outlines should reflect the universality of these objectives.

Reporting and writing assignments across multiple platforms
Critiques; peer critiques
Professional protocols (meeting deadlines, attendance, adherence to ethics)

Harrower, Tim. The Newspaper Designer’s Handbook. McGraw-Hill

Kanigel, Rachele. The Student Newspaper Survival Guide. Wiley-Blackwell

Associated Press. Associate Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. Basic Books

Kessler, Lauren. When Words Collide. Wadsworth Publishing.

Strunk, William. The Elements of Style. Tribecka Books