DIGITAL JOURNALISM JOUR 4398

Fall 2017 syllabus (subject to change)

Class sections: T/Th 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m., ULee 283 | 2 p.m.-3:20 p.m., ULee 288
Course blog: smudigitaljournalism.wordpress.com

Jake Batsell, M.A., Associate Professor

214.768.1915 (office); 214.529.2978 (cell); jbatsell@smu.edu
Twitter: @jbatsell | LinkedIn | Instagram
Office: Umphrey Lee 282C
Office hours: T/Th 10-11 a.m.; 12:30-1:50 p.m. (or by appt./Skype/FaceTime)

This course serves as your humble guide to the rapidly changing universe of digital news. Media
careers in the 21st century require an audience-centered mindset in which journalists and all media
professionals must possess a versatile set of multi-platform reporting skills and fluency in social
media while also upholding the timeless journalistic standards of news judgment, accuracy,
fairness and truth. Convergence and interactivity are the prevailing reality in todays media
workplaces, and you will get a strong dose of both in this course. You will learn how to use social
media as a tool for audience engagement and self-promotion; gain an understanding of basic Web
analytics; try your hand at real-time reporting through live blogging and tweeting; become
proficient in the basics of HTML code; shoot and edit digital photos; gather and edit audio to
produce multimedia projects and NPR-style audio segments; and create or optimize your own
portfolio website as a first step in establishing a sophisticated personal brand. You will create high-
quality, multi-platform news content and develop a professional digital presence while practicing
the core values that, even in a changing media landscape, remain the industrys bedrock
standards. Ultimately, this course boils down to a single question to continually ask yourself:

How can I connect digital audiences to trustworthy information that fascinates me?

LEARNING OUTCOMES
This course fulfills the following University Curriculum requirements:

Capstone
Students will be able to apply a cumulative understanding of interdisciplinary/
disciplinary practice.
Students will be able to produce a record or artifact showing some original achievement
in research, synthesis, creative endeavor, exploration, or other production.

Information literacy proficiency

Students will be able to select and use the appropriate research methods and search
tools for needed information.
Students will be able to evaluate sources for quality of information for a given
information need.

Oral communication proficiency

Students will be able to select, organize and use appropriate evidence or information to
suit a specific or targeted audience.
Students will be able to use appropriate vocal and visual cues to deliver a presentation
to a specific or targeted audience.
To achieve the learning outcomes described above, you will:

Acquire and polish multi-platform skills

Write thoroughly reported, succinct blog posts supported by reliable links.
Learn to code (HTML and CSS).
Gather and edit audio.
Shoot and edit still photos.
Produce multimedia content, including photo and audio slideshows and/or social videos.

Approach the news as a two-way conversation, not a one-way lecture

Think of your audience by pursuing stories that matter most to your readers/viewers.
Appreciate the art of journalistic curation and aggregation in which you use your
reporting skills to sort through the cacophony of the Web to find credible information.
Harness social media to commit acts of journalism and participate in the news.
Understand audience metrics that drive the new media landscape.
Embrace non-linear news presentation that empowers your readers to experience the
news however they want, in whatever order they want.
Adopt the digital-first mentality that every major news organization now embraces.

Sharpen and expand your journalistic storytelling

Embrace versatility. The dueling categories that long defined journalism print vs.
broadcast, reporters vs. photojournalists, on-air talent vs. behind-the-camera
professionals are quickly dissolving. Be a jack of many trades.
Put the story first. Above all else, think of yourself as a journalist who has an ever-
increasing assortment of tools and technology to bring the story to your readers.
Know how to write for digital audiences. Use SEO in leads and headlines. Gear your
writing to meet the needs of time-pressed readers. Meet users where they already are.
Adopt a sense of urgency. When news breaks, pounce! Commit acts of journalism.
Demonstrate continued proficiency in reporting, writing, grammar and AP style.
Take your readers to the scene with vivid multimedia storytelling.

Develop a sophisticated personal brand on the Web

Create or optimize a personal portfolio website that showcases your best journalistic
work, while simultaneously creating a professional presence on LinkedIn.
Build a savvy social media presence on Twitter that highlights your talents.

Required course materials:

Journalism Next (3rd ed.) by Mark Briggs (2015, CQ Press). Buy at bookstore or online.
Analytics 101: Understanding Digital Metrics, a self-directed course produced by The
Poynter Institutes News University. Cost for course and assessment: $19.95.
Self-paced HTML code tutorial, www.codecademy.com.
Chapter 2, Engaged Journalism: Connecting With Digitally Empowered News Audiences
by Jake Batsell (2015, Columbia University Press). Provided by instructor.
Free case study from the Case Consortium at Columbia University.

Optional course materials:

Wireless lav mic for your mobile phone. Two options: Rode smartLav or Movo LV1
Staying up to date: Assignments and readings will be posted on the course blogs Whats Next?
page. Follow the latest news in digital journalism by subscribing to e-mail newsletters and Twitter
feeds as part of your daily media diet. Two examples I find useful are the American Press
Institutes daily Need to Know newsletter and the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University.
Sharing and commenting on a story about the changing media industry is one option for your
weekly act of engagement on Twitter.

Attendance: Treat this class as if it is a job. You are expected to be in every class, show up on
time and turn in work on time. If you must miss class or lab, contact the instructor in
advance, just as you would your editor or boss at work.

Roll will be taken every day. Any student who misses the first day of class may be dropped. With
three or more unexcused absences, you could be dropped or receive an F. Absences also will
factor into your class participation grade. You get one free pass for an unexcused
absence. After that, each unexcused absence will result in an automatic deduction of
at least 10 points from your class participation grade. An absence will be considered
unexcused unless you are able to provide a doctor's note or some other good reason within 24
hours of an absence. Acceptable reasons for missing class include a verifiable illness, family
emergency, religious holiday or approved school trip. Again, contacting me ahead of time will
always help your case. Those with an unexcused absence will receive a zero on that days class
activity and will not be able to make it up.
The SMU Health Centers Class Excuse Policy includes a PDF file that you can download
(https://www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/HealthCenter/FrontDesk/ClassExcusePolicy) and submit to
me for consideration of an excused absence. This form must be filled out fully for me to consider
your absence as excused. If you consult a physician for an illness and receive specific certification
for a recovery time, absences will be excused if I am given a form from the physician's office.
Ethics: The following ethical guidelines apply to all written and multimedia work for this course
and student media.
Dont cover a story on any activity in which you are involved or to which you have a
close personal connection. Dont use family members or significant others
(boyfriend, sibling, parent, roommate, etc.) or friends as primary sources.
Rely entirely on YOUR OWN reporting and journalistic curation skills. When blogging,
verbatim material from another source must be directly quoted with explicit attribution,
as well as a link back to the original source. Even if paraphrasing, ALWAYS LINK to
the original sources that inform your blogging. If background information or quotes are
taken from a website, proper attribution is required, including explicit attribution and a
link to the original source.
Inform all sources that you are working on a story for Web publication. You must
always tell your sources that the story you are reporting could be published
or aired on multiple platforms. Your work could appear on news sites both on and
off campus. Your stories, in other words, are for public consumption and your sources
must know that.
Do not use anonymous sources unless approved by the instructor.
Missing deadline will be penalized harshly. Unapproved late stories will receive an
automatic F.

Exams: For your midterm and final exams, you will evaluate professional news sites and
multimedia packages under deadline conditions, based on principles discussed in class.
Grading: Specific criteria on each item will be discussed later, but heres the overall structure:

Multimedia storytelling: 300 points 30%

1 radio story (100 points)
1 photo slideshow (50 points)
1 social video or audio slideshow (150 points)

Social media presence: 100 points 10%

20 Power Tweets* (Two per week - 5 points each)
* Can also use Instagram or Snapchat for up to half of your class requirement, but for class
credit, you must upload video files of your Power Snaps or Power Instas to YouTube or Vimeo.

HTML coding (Self-paced Codecademy course): 50 points 5%

NewsU Analytics 101 course: 50 points 5%

Digital and Mobile Reporting: 100 points 10%

Two published blog posts (50 points each)
* Original reporting for a campus news outlet (smudailycampus.com, SMUStyle, HerCampus, etc.);
a professional news outlet (GuideLive, D Magazine, etc.); or your established personal blog.
Optional Speed Team shifts (25 points each)*
* You may work two Speed Team shifts in place of one 50-point blog post.
* Working a digitally minded shift for SMU-TV also can receive Speed Team credit, provided
that you are not already receiving credit for another course.

Class participation (Pre-class assignments, 150 points 15%

& assignments guest speakers, discussions,
attendance, DMN diversity audit)

Personal branding: 100 points 10%

Portfolio website (75 points)
LinkedIn assignment (25 points)

Midterm exam (News site assessment) 50 points 5%

Final exam (Interactive news package assessment) 100 points 10%

__________________________________________________________________
Total possible 1,000 points

Semester grades: 925-1,000 A

895-934 A-
865-894 B+
825-864 B
795-824 B-
765-794 C+
725-764 C
695-724 C-
665-694 D+
625-664 D
595-624 D-
Less than 595 F
As are rare and are awarded only for truly excellent work. Very good work receives a B; average
work a C; below average a D. This is in accordance with SMU regulations. I am happy to discuss
your grade for any project. If you wish to protest a grade, a formal process is available.

Guest speakers: Professional journalists and other relevant speakers will be invited to class during the
semester. Active participation is required and graded.

Classroom computers, laptops and cell phones: Please follow common courtesy. Yes, this is a
Digital Journalism class. But that doesnt mean its acceptable to play games on Facebook during class,
or to catch up on e-mail. Computers and laptops should be used to take notes or for class activities
only. Check your e-mail or social networking sites before the start of class, when class ends, or if there
is a break during class. Out of courtesy to your classmates and to the instructor, texting, e-mailing,
Web browsing and social media posting should be avoided during class unless they are germane to a
course activity. I welcome tweets that offer questions or comments during a class lecture or
activity just use the hashtag #j4398.

Failure to adhere to these policies will result in an automatic deduction of at least 10 points from
your class participation grade.

Headphones: Always bring headphones or earbuds to class, particularly when we get into the
multimedia section of the course. You will frequently need headphones for in-class activities.

Saving your work: Save and back up all of your work on an external hard drive.

Academic dishonesty: Plagiarism, fabrication and resubmission or double submission of work

performed for another class all are considered to be acts of academic dishonesty and a violation of
the SMU Honor Code. Any of the above violations will result in an automatic failing grade on the
assignment and a written referral to the SMU Honor Council and Dean of Student Life. For further
details, see the Division of Journalism and university-wide policies outlined on the next two pages.

Excused absences for extracurricular activities

If you are participating in an officially sanctioned, scheduled university extracurricular activity, you will
be given the opportunity to make up class assignments. It is your responsibility to make arrangements
with your teacher prior to any missed assignment. (See University Undergraduate Catalogue.)
Religious observance
Religiously observant students wishing to be absent on holidays that require missing class should notify
me in writing at the beginning of the semester, so we can discuss, in advance, acceptable ways of
making up any work missed because of the absence. (See University Policy No. 1.9.)

Disability accommodations
Students needing academic accommodations for a disability must first register with Disability
Accommodations & Success Strategies (DASS). Students can call 214-768-1470 or visit
http://www.smu.edu/Provost/ALEC/DASS to begin the process. Once registered, students should then
schedule an appointment with the professor as early in the semester as possible, present a DASS
Accommodation Letter, and make appropriate arrangements. Please note that accommodations are not
retroactive and require advance notice to implement.

Campus carry law

In accordance with Texas Senate Bill 11, also known as the campus carry law, SMU remains a
weapons-free campus. Specifically, SMU prohibits possession of weapons (either openly or in a
concealed manner) on campus. For more information, please see:
http://www.smu.edu/BusinessFinance/Police/Weapons_Policy.
The Division of Journalism has adopted the following policies. By enrolling in
this class you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions:

Reporting standards for all media projects

Your story will be graded on content: is it fair, is it newsworthy, is it well sourced? Is the story
organized, are all questions answered, and is all information properly attributed? Are direct quotes
preceded by strong transitions in print stories? At least 5 points may be taken off for problems like
these. For errors of fact, expect 10 or more points off.

How to earn an "F" on any media project

Miss a deadline. Misquote or misrepresent someone. Rewrite or submit a story or package that
was produced for another class. Fabricate or plagiarize.

Plagiarism and Fabrication

Plagiarism is stealing someone's words or ideas and passing them off as your own. Fabrication is
making stuff up. Both strike at the heart of the journalistic process, where proper attribution and
fact checking are paramount. As mentioned above, plagiarism and fabrication in this course will be
addressed in the harshest manner possible, including referral to the honors council.

Reporting and Sourcing

You are required in all cases to fully disclose your identity and purpose to sources, and any
promises of anonymity or other special arrangements with sources must be discussed with your
instructor before such agreements are made. Under no circumstances should you grant a source
the right to review or approve your story (though you may agree to check quotes for accuracy).
You must always tell all of your sources that the story you are reporting could be published or
aired on multiple platforms. Your work could appear on news sites both on and off campus. Your
stories, in other words, are for public consumption and your sources must know that. Friends,
colleagues, and family members are not acceptable sources. Unless you have cleared the source
with your instructor, expect at least 5 points to be taken off for each unacceptable source. A
special note: This policy provides academic guidance to students regarding work in Journalism
classes and is not in any way intended to impose a legal standard of care for student journalists.

Grants of Anonymity*
Students should avoid using unidentified sources whenever possible. There are times, however,
when the only way to get a story is to offer anonymity; such offers should be a last resort after
repeated attempts to go on the record have failed and the student has received permission from
the instructor. Information may be on the record, on background, not for attribution or off the
record. These are prearranged agreements between a reporter and a source, which govern how
specific information can be used. These deals must be agreed to beforehand, never after. A source
can't say something then claim it was "off the record." That's too late. Most sourcesand even
many journalistsdo not understand what these terms mean. If a source requests some degree of
anonymity, the journalist should make sure the terms are clear, as follows.
* with thanks to the NYU Journalism Handbook for Students

On the Record
Anything the source says can be reported, published, or aired. All conversations are assumed to be
on the record unless the source expressly requests -- and the reporter explicitly agrees -- to go off
the record beforehand. The reporter should be sure to mark notes clearly so that it's possible to
see what's on the record and what is not at a later date. Never rely on memory and always try to
get back "on the record" as quickly as possible.
On Background
This means you may use what the source gives you without using the source's name. In effect it
confers anonymity on your source, but allows you to work with the information the source has
provided.

Not for Attribution

This means that a reporter agrees not to identify a source by name. Identification is provided only
by reference to the source's job or position. That identification must be agreed upon by the
reporter and the source, and is almost always given in a way that prevents readers from
discovering the source's specific identity. The reporter should make sure the attribution is accurate
and should press the source to allow the attribution to be as specific as possible. For example, a
reporter would want to attribute information to "a high-ranking official in the Justice Department,"
rather than "a high-ranking law enforcement official," if the source agrees beforehand.

Off the Record

You may not use the information unless you can confirm it with another source who doesn't insist
on speaking off the record. The information is offered to explain or further a reporter's
understanding of a particular issue or event. In general, it is best to avoid off the record
conversations; another option might be to converse off the record and then try to convince the
source to agree to waive the agreement.
CLASS SCHEDULE / FALL 2017
Each weeks updated readings will be listed on the course blog; schedule may change.

Week One: Aug. 22 and 24

Introduction/class structure. The Five Pillars of digital news.

Week Two: Aug. 29 and 31

Tweeting/Instagramming/Snapping with purpose. SEO basics, headlines, analytics, aggregation.

Week Three: Sept. 5 and 7

Social journalism and the art of blogging. Guest speaker: Tiney Ricciardi fromThe Dallas Morning News.

Week Four: Sept. 12 and 14 (NewsU Analytics 101 assessment due by 11:59 p.m. Sun, 9/17)
Engaged journalism and approaching news as conversation. Web design, HTML, CSS.

Week Five: Sept. 19 and 21

Live blogging and real-time reporting.

Week Six: Sept. 26 and 28 (Codecademy assignment due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1)
Branding yourself for job opportunities in digital media. ePortfolio + LinkedIn assigned.

Week Seven: Tuesday, Oct. 3 (NO CLASS THURSDAY, OCT. 5 BATSELLS AT #ONA17 IN D.C.)
Midterm exam on Tuesday.

Week Eight: Thursday, Oct. 12 (NO CLASS TUESDAY, OCT. 10 FALL BREAK)
Introduction to multimedia storytelling.

Week Nine: Oct. 17 and 19

Principles of audio gathering and editing. GarageBand practice exercise.

Week Ten: Oct. 24 and 26

Principles of photojournalism. Guest speakers: Stella Chavez and Eric Aasen from KERA-FM and KERA.org.

Week Eleven: Oct. 31 and Nov. 2

Multimedia storytelling techniques. Working lab for radio stories (due by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2).

Week Twelve: Nov. 7 and 9

Soundslides practice and working lab for photo slideshows (due by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9).

Week Thirteen: Nov. 14 and 16

Storyboard meetings. Class will not meet; our appointment is your only attendance requirement this week.

Week Fourteen: Tuesday, Nov. 21 (NO CLASS THURSDAY, Nov. 23 THANKSGIVING)

Digital Journalism Job Summit, featuring recent alumni.

Week Fifteen: Nov. 28 and 30

Working lab for multimedia projects (due by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29). Course wrap-up.

FINAL EXAM for 11 a.m. section on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 11:30 a.m.

FINAL EXAM for 2 p.m. section on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 11:30 a.m.
KEY ASSIGNMENT DATES DIGITAL JOURNALISM, FALL 2017

Week of Aug. 28
Weekly Power Tweets begin.

Week of Sept. 11
Blogging assignments begin. First post due no later than Friday, Oct. 6.

Sunday, Sept. 17
NewsU Analytics 101 assessment must be successfully completed by 11:59 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 30
Codecademy HTML assignment must be successfully completed by 11:59 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 3
Midterm exam.

Thursday, Nov. 2
Radio stories due by 11:59 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 9
Photo slideshows due by 11:59 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 29
Multimedia projects (social video or audio slideshow) due by 11:59 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 1
Finalized Web portfolios and LinkedIn profiles due by 11:59 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 4
Last call for second blog posts (or speed team shifts) by 11:59 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 9
FINAL EXAM for 11 a.m. section. (Exam begins at 11:30 a.m.)

Wednesday, Dec. 13
FINAL EXAM for 2 p.m. section. (Exam begins at 11:30 a.m.)