Main Page > BS Journalism Studies (Morning/Self-Supporting) (After 2 Years ADP) > Basics of Reporting & Editing
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Basics of Reporting & Editing
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News Writing and Reporting, is a skill-based immersion in the world of journalism. Students will learn the foundations of journalism and the craft's two main components – reporting and writing the news. Course Objective 1. The course is designed to enable the students to craft clear, complete and unbiased accounts of breaking news in a deadline environment. Understand objective news coverage, neutral language, professional values and news judgment. 2. The course is designed to be an extremely rigorous and challenging experience. They will do a lot of writing in the classroom. There is also a heavy load of writing and other exercises to be done outside the classroom. 3. The course will also introduce students to the basics of news editing and design. They will learn how to edit stories and design pages on paper and computers while critically assessing the content of the news. 4. it aims to teach them the role of editors and the copy desk, 5. They will learn macro editing, i.e. editing with the big picture in mind. Topics will include accuracy, completeness, fairness, balance, sensitivity and legal issues. 6. The focus then will shift to micro editing, i.e. editing with precision. Grammar, punctuation, word usage, Associated Press style, and trimming stories will be discussed. 7. Next, students will learn how to write headlines, decks, and captions that tell and sell. Learning Outcomes Students will be able to 1. Evaluate the newsworthiness of information. 2. Comprehend the basic structure and format of a news story (lead, body, and conclusion). 3. Demonstrate an understanding of beat reporting 4. Examine basic journalistic principles such as accuracy, objectivity, fairness, independence. 5. Sharpen the ability, to sum up, a story’s key news in a single sentence, or lead. 6. Practice Associated Press style, attribution, the inverted pyramid structure, punchy leads, and the use of quotations and paraphrases. 7. Practice how to identify and find appropriate sources. 8. Understand the role of editors. 9. Edit copy precisely and consistently, using correct grammar and eliminating libelous passages and items in poor taste. 10. Have a solid grounding in English grammar. 11. Design basic news pages. 12. Understand the basic ethical issues confronting editors. Course Outline • What is news • Fundamentals of journalism – accuracy, newsworthiness, deadlines, objectivity and fairness. • Basic news writing skills – spelling, grammar, Associated Press style, attribution, the inverted pyramid structure, single-sentence paragraphs, crisp and compelling news leads, and the use of quotations. • Basic reporting techniques – rudimentary interviewing skills and the use of commercial databases the Internet and other sources to gather background material for stories and find news documents. • Basic reporting and writing of short (300-word) news stories – obituaries accidents speeches/meetings crimes Press Release Press Conference Social event • Introduction to Editing • The editor's role • Introduction to computers and copy-editing marks • AP Style book • Editing and the Law • Editing for style • Grammar: parts of speech, subjects, verbs; Conjunctions; Punctuation; Word usage • Headlines and decks • Translations from Urdu to English and from English to Urdu News reports The course will be bi-lingual. Students will be asked to write and edit reports in Urdu and English Evaluation Students will be evaluated in the class meetings focusing on the principles of reporting and editing. They will be required to attend the labs which will focus on their application. Consequently, it is imperative that they attend class and read the text so that they can apply in the lab what they have learned. Students must learn to work and act like a professional journalists, including meeting all deadlines and stressing accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. Students will take weekly quizzes in class on current events. Current events quizzes will focus primarily on local news and will acquaint them with local issues and people in Lahore. They will also be quizzed on state, national and international stories of significance. They will be required to read Urdu and English dailies. |
| Credit hours/ Marks:- 3 |
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