Investigative Journalism & The Web

Day-To-Day

(**Subject to change at discretion of instructor. Events will happen in this class and we may not be able to plan for them.  Each Tuesday we will look at the week ahead and see what meetings and news needs to be covered and we will plan accordingly.)

PART ONE:  LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

WEEK I:

Jan. 24: Review syllabus. Introductions and begin overview of the semester.

ASSIGNMENT: Read as much background as possible on the tornadoes over the next several classes. Please follow these groups on Facebook: Monson Tornado-Volunteers, Monson Tornado Watch 2011 and Mass Bands Tornado Relief Concert.

READINGS:

*   Ch. 1 in Burstiner.

*   Ch. 1 in “Access.”

*  “After The Storm,” Boston Globe

*   “Tornado Damage Claims Total $175 Million,” WAMC

*   VIDEO REPORTS: Raw Video | “It Was Incredible” |  4 Reported Dead After Tornadoes | The Path of the Storm | “Dude, This Is Insane!“

*   MASSLIVE: More video reports

* Jan. 26: Fall Students’ presentation.  An overview of what worked and what didn’t work last semester.  Also, a look at time management.

WEEK 2:

Jan. 31: Review goals of the partnership with The Boston Globe.  What are we trying to do?

READINGS:

*   Ch. 2 in Burstiner.

*   Ch. 2 in “Access.”

*  “Social media a communication tool following tornado,” MassLive

*  “July 5, 2011:  Springfield tornadoes: One Month Later,” WGBH

*  “Family devastated by tornadoes kept from former home,” WHDH

Assignment: Set up the following accounts by the start of next class:

* A gmail account (email via Google).  Also, set up Google alerts for ‘Springfield tornadoes,’ ‘tornado recovery’ and ‘Western Massachusetts tornadoes.’

* A Facebook account:

* A delicious account;

* A Twitter account using Tweetdeck;

* A Flickr account;

* A vimeo or YouTube account.

Feb. 2: Setting up the story. DISCUSSION: Possible story ideas?  Outstanding questions? “Document State of Mind.”  What documents should we be tracking down?  Interviews?  Sources?

WEEK 3:

Feb. 6: Last day to Add or Drop with no record

Feb. 7: GUEST SPEAKER:  Karen King, Community Leader, Monson.

Assignment:  Memo #1:  Summarize the tornado story to date.  What questions jump out at you? What questions went unanswered from last semester? What storylines would you like to follow?  What aspect of the investigation intrigues you? DEADLINE: Hard copies due at the start of next class.

READINGS:

* Ch. 3 in Burstiner

* Ch. 3 in “Access.”

* Ch. 1 in Houston.

*  “Why Blog?  A Guide for Students,” Steve Fox

* “5 Tips for Blog Beginners,” Mindy McAdams

Feb. 9:   NO CLASS

ASSIGNMENT:  Blog Discussion — Please read “Murdoch, rivals alike face questions about coverage of hacking scandal” and weigh in with your thoughts on the Class Blog.

Feb. 10:  Class visit to The Boston Globe.  Please meet in front of the Fine Arts Center at 8 a.m.

WEEK 4:

Feb. 14:  BLOGS:  An introduction. What makes for a good blog?  What kind of blog entries are we looking for in this class?  News meeting.   DISCUSSION:  State of the tornado story.  Are there possible beats for coverage? Review Blog Grading Rubric.

DISCUSSION:   Research.  What’s the best way to approach research on this project?

ALSO: An initial look at some of the Web tools available to investigative reporters: RSS feeds, e-mail alerts, Twitter, Facebook.  Managing e-mail alerts and the flow of information into your Inbox:  How do you do it?

NEWS MEETING.

 Assignment:  Memo #2:  Initial thoughts on your beat.  What’s your end goal? DEADLINE: Hard copies due at the start of next class.

READINGS:

* Ch. 6 in Burstiner.

* Ch. 4 in “Access.”

* Ch. 2 in Houston.

*  “First Rule of Interviewing: Be Human,” Chip Scanlan

*  “The Zen of Interviewing,” Poynter

Feb. 16:    INTERVIEWING, Part 1.  Handling sensitive interviews.  Identifying yourself during this project. Part 2.  The keys to a good interview.  In-class exercise on Interviewing.

* ASSIGNMENT:  Memo #3:    Consider an issue that is sensitive to you and/or your family.  Develop a series of questions and interview approach on how you might approach the subject.  DEADLINE: Hard copies due at the start of class.

Feb. 17: 1-on-1 Meetings to Discuss Final Project.

PART TWO:  DIGGING DEEP

WEEK 5:

Feb. 20:  Holiday — Presidents’ Day

Feb. 21:  Guest Lecture:  Karen List on LAW & ETHICS:  A look at some of the legal implications of this investigation.  We’ll look at privacy, the rights of juveniles, trial coverage, libel and other legal issues connected with this case.

Over the next two classes we’ll talk about a number of issues, including:

• Identify intersection of your beat with the overall investigation;

• What (initial) questions are we trying to answer?  Where might the answers lie?
• Initial FOI requests?

READINGS:

*  Ch. 4, 12 in Burstiner.

*  Ch. 9 in Access.

*  Ch. 3 in Houston.

* “Arizona Tragedy: Resources for Journalists,” Dart Center.

*  “Wikileaks Taps Power of the Press,” New York Times

*  “The Real Lesson of the Tucson Tragedy,” TIME

Feb. 23:  DISCUSSION:  Finish Law and Ethics discussion.  Also, begin discussion on interviewing, ethics and sensitivity with sources.  Also, we’ll run through some ethical scenarios you may face in a 24-hour newsroom.

* ASSIGNMENT:   Memo #4:  Develop a source list for your beat.  Include names, titles, documents, Web sites, government sites, etc. DEADLINE:  Hard copies due at the start of next class.

WEEK 6:

Feb. 28:  News Meetings.   Talk about FOIA Requests.

READINGS:

*  Ch. 7-8 in Burstiner.

*  Ch. 1-2 in Houston.

*  Ch. 4 in Access.

*  “Giffords story: A lesson in leaping to conclusions,” Yahoo News

*  “NPR’s Giffords Mistake: Re-Learning the Lesson of Checking Sources, NPR

March 1:  News Meetings.  Reporting class.

* ASSIGNMENT:   Memo #5:  After reading the Yahoo and NPR piece, analyze what you would have done differently in covering the Giffords shooting. DEADLINE: Hard copies due at the start of next class.

Set up 1-on-1 Meetings for March 2: Discuss Final Project

WEEK 7:

March 6: News Meetings. Review FOI Requests.   

READINGS:

* Ch. 9 in Burstiner.

* Ch. 3 in Houston.

* Ch. 5 in Access.

*  Ethics Crashes on the Digital Media Highway, Bob Steele

March 8: News meetings.  Updates.

* ASSIGNMENT:   Memo #6:   Beat update. Please include an initial timeline for all your Final Project interviews and how they will be conducted.  DEADLINE: Hard copies due at the start of next class.

PART THREE:  REPORTING, INTERVIEWING

WEEK 8:

March 13: Last day to Drop with a ‘W’

March 13: News Meeting: Beat Updates. Also, the role of data in investigations.

ASSIGNMENT:   Memo #7:   Outline of your Final Project game plan. Please include timeline of needed interviews.  DEADLINE: Hard copies due at the start of next class.

READINGS:

*  Ch. 10 in Burstiner.

*  “City firehouses still stuck in racial divide,”  The Boston Globe.

March 15:   More on data.

WEEK 9:     SPRING BREAK (March 17-25)

WEEK 10:

March 27:  News Meetings, status updates.

 READINGS:

*  Ch. 11, 13 in Burstiner.

March 29:  Working Class:  Work on drafts of your final project.

ASSIGNMENT:   Memo #8:  First Drafts of Final Project due to me by start of class on April 5.

WEEK 11:

April 3:  News Meetings, review drafts.

READINGS:

*  “The Oil Spill Tracker,” The New York Times

*  “Online News Association winner,” California Watch

April 5:   Final Project Discussion.

April 6: Team Meetings

WEEK 12:

April 9:  Field Trip to The Boston Globe (tentative.)

April 10:  News Meeting.

READINGS:

*  “Driven to Distraction,” Driven to Distraction.

April 12:  Peer review of drafts.

ASSIGNMENT:   Memo #8:  Second drafts of Final Project.  DEADLINE: By e-mail on April 17, 5 p.m.

PART FOUR:  Pulling It All Together

WEEK 13:

April 16:  Patriot’s Day. 

April 17:  No class.  Monday schedule followed.

ASSIGNMENT:   Memo #9:  FINAL drafts of Final Project.  DEADLINE: Hard copies due at the start of next class on April 26.

April 19: Peer edits.

WEEK 13:

April 24:   News Meetings.  Review Final Drafts.

April 26:  TBD.

WEEK 14:

May 1:  LAST DAY OF CLASS. CLASS PARTY!

June 1:  One-year anniversary of tornadoes.