Wednesday February 08, 2012

CCJ Books

The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect

Completely updated and revised
"The most important book on the relationship of journalism and democracy published in the last fifty years." – Roy Peter Clark, The Poynter Institute
We Interrupt This Newscast: How to Improve Local News and Win Ratings, Too

Just Released
A landmark study on what people watch and why. The most exhaustive study ever of local TV news -- what helps ratings, what drives viewers away, and what editorial approaches and story-telling techniques most influence viewership.

Elements of Journalism training: Portuguese journalists 10-day program

Journalists from the Luso-American Foundation who attended the CCJ program in Washington, DC benefited from an insider’s look at how American media outlets cover the news. Guided by experts, and The Elements of Journalism, the Portuguese journalists in attendance explored approaches to ensuring accurate, quality reporting. The journalists returned to Portugal, armed with real-life examples and tangible new ways to manage news coverage to produce dependable, trustworthy journalism.

June
15

Monday, June 15

Overview: The New Information Revolution – the Changing Media Environment
9:30 a.m. Preview, Schedule, Expectations, & Questions
10:00 a.m The State of the Media, the landscape of U.S. journalism
1:00 p.m. Visit: The Washington Post
Meet with Peter Perl, Asst Managing Editor
June
16

Tuesday, June 16

Overview: The Elements of Journalism – Engagement & Proportionality
9:30 a.m. A key task of journalism is to make the important interesting. But what is important? How might the journalist present this information to engage the reader, viewer or listener?

  • Is there a dichotomy between what people want to know and that they need to know?
  • How does the news organization define what is news? Does the community have the same definition? If not, what are the implications?

Discussion questions/activities:

  • Create a TV newscast line-up from nine stories. Are there identifiable patterns in the rundowns?
  • What journalistic reflexes drive decision-making about news coverage and story placement?
  • How appropriate are these reflexes to the audiences in terms of the news organization’s core purposes?
1:30 p.m. Finding a focus – using four questions to make important news engaging.

Discussion questions/activities:

  • Examine three stories covered by a Portuguese news organization.
  • What are these stories really about?
  • What information do readers need?
  • Who has that information?
  • What are the best ways to tell the story?
June
17

Wednesday, June 17

Overview: The Elements of Journalism – The Newsroom and the Community
9:30 a.m. Audiences can be found in communities defined by geography, but also exist in communities of common interest.

  • How does a newsroom know what’s going on?
  • Where does the newsroom get its news?

Discussion questions/activities:

  • Who are the people you talk to most often?
  • Who don’t you talk to?
  • Who are the experts on life (and problems) in your community and how can a journalist find them?
  • When interviewing, how can a journalist get people to open up?
1:30 p.m. Hyper-local community coverage: JDLand.com
Guest: Jacqueline Dupree, creator, JDLand.com

Also review:

  • DC area: http://dcist.com/
  • WNCN-TV hyper local sites: http://www.mync.com/
  • Seattle neighborhood news: http://www.myballard.com/
3:00 p.m. How to make an on-line map
June
18

Thursday, June 18

Overview: The Elements of Journalism – Bias and Verification
9:30 a.m. One of the most complex and contentious concepts in contemporary journalism is bias.

  • Should a news organization attempt to stamp out bias?
  • Or does bias provide strength and meaning to a journalist’s work?

Discussion questions/activities:

  • What is bias?
  • How do biases influence reporting (in both positive and negative ways)?
  • Examples of print and broadcast stories that exhibit bias. Are these biases appropriate? If not, how might the stories be changed?
  • If bias is appropriate, should the journalist do anything else?

Small group case study exercise.
1:30 p.m. Ethics in the New Media Age

Discussion questions/activities:

  • How might a journalist handle unsubstantiated stories that are being “reported” by other media outlets with varying standards?
  • What characteristics separate a more credible story from a story that has less credibility?
  • How should anonymous sources be handled?

Case studies-digital manipulation, www.Facebook.com, etc

Guest: Alicia Shepard, Ombudsman, National Public Radio and author of Woodward & Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate

June
19

Friday, June 19

Overview: Doing Journalism – Storytelling
9:30 a.m. Storytelling:

  • What are the elements of a great story in any medium?
  • What story structures work best in different media?
  • What’s different about writing for the Web?

Guest: Stan Heist, University of Maryland College of Journalism, former National Press Photographers Association Television Photographer of the Year
1:30 p.m Storytelling tools for digital journalists

Discussion questions/activities:

  • Twitter and other social media
  • Visualizing data
  • Online video
4:00 p.m. Test Flip cameras and shoot your own video

Week 2 calendar

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