Instructor: Willie Schatz University of Maryland, College Park
Office hours: By appointment Spring semester 2001
Phone: H: 202 387-0953; W: 202-986-9323. E-mail: willie@his.com
If you want to talk, call me anytime. If I’m not there, I’ll get back to you. If you’d rather correspond electronically, I live on my email.
Description:
An introduction to editing for print and broadcast media, emphasizing usage, grammar, critical thinking and professional judgment as they apply to content, copy editing, design, style, use of photographs and headline writing. The editor-reporter relationship will be analyzed. The editor’s role in developing stories and assigning them will be discussed. Content editing, judgment, libel and ethical issues also will be covered. Prerequisite: C or better in Journ. 201.
Goals and Objectives:
When the class is finished you will have become a competent, skilled copywriter, headline writer, photo editor and caption writer. You will have surmounted the difficulties of word usage, editing marks, grammar and punctuation. You will be a savvy judge of online content and of hard copy stories. And your Web site will be the stickiest in cyberspace.
Required tools
1. Creative Editing, Third Edition (Bowles/Borden, 2000)
2. The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, 1999.
3. Webster's New World Dictionary or Webster's New World Compact School and Office Dictionary, 1997 or later.
4. Creating Online Media—A Guide to Research, Writing and Design on the Internet, Carole Rich.
5. A ruler showing picas and inches
6. Pencils and erasers (NEVER use a pen for copy editing)
7. Blank formatted 3½-inch floppy disks.
Useful references
The Careful Writer (Theodore Bernstein); The Elements of Style (Strunk & White)
Preparation
Read the Diamondback and at least one other area daily newspaper every day. Watch how television covers the news. Listen to how radio does the same. See how the online news sites treat the topic. Think about the differences. Read a weekly news magazine of your choice.
Assignments are due at the beginning of class. So are you. That means 10:00, NOT 10:01. Late assignments and late attendance receive no credit. Think of it as missing the deadline.
Procedures
Each class will consist of a lecture, discussion and lab work. Papers must be typewritten. Editing on paper MUST be done with a pencil. Bring your stylebook, your pencils and a floppy disk to each class.
To help you become copy editors to die for, you are required to bring to class one mistake in the publication of your choice. I prefer newspapers, but I can live with magazines and ezines. Factual errors, misspelled words, AP style mistakes and violations of accepted design principles receive full credit. Spacing and composing errors will receive half-credit. The offending mistake must be clipped or photocopied and attached to a typed sheet with your name, the name and date of the publication and the nature of the error. If you make a spelling mistake or a grammatical error in your explanation, you get no credit. So EDIT YOUR COPY before you give it to me. Be warned that I take no prisoners on this one.
Grading
Assignments: 15%; quizzes: 15%; midterm: 25%; final: 25%; participation: 20%.
Academic integrity
The College of Journalism’s grading system reflects these professional standards:
Fabrication. Any fabricated assignment will result in an automatic F for the course and the student will be brought to the Office of Judicial Programs for penalties up to and including expulsion.
Plagiarism. Any plagiarized assignment will result in an automatic F for the course and the student will be brought to the Office of Judicial programs for penalties up to and including expulsion.
Factual errors. Any factual error—including misspelled proper names (people, places and things, such as institutions) results in a zero for the assignment. The assignment nevertheless will be edited and discussed.
Missed deadlines. An assignment handed in late—one minute past deadline—results in an automatic zero for the assignment. The assignment still will be edited and discussed.
Libel. Any potentially libelous wording in an assignment means an automatic zero for the assignment.
If you have any other questions about what constitutes academic dishonesty, please consult the university's Code of Academic Integrity.
Miscellaneous
If you have a physical problem or a learning disability that may affect your performance, please make an appointment with me to determine what accommodations can be made. If you have any questions about assignments, procedures or schedules, ask me.
Please enter the room ready to discuss the assigned reading.
The instructor reserves the right to change the schedule as necessary.
At least two guest lecturers will appear during the semester.
Course Schedule
Date of class Topic Assignment (Due at start of class)
1. Jan. 30 Introduction
2. Feb. 01 Knowing the news Read Jan. 31 Washington Post and bring it to class
3. Feb. 06 Editors galore Bowles pp. 5-14, 42-45
4. Feb. 08 Copy editing Copy-editing symbol exercise
5. Feb. 13 Nuts and bolts Bowles pp. 21-42, Exercise 4 on pp. 48-49
6. Feb. 15 Style Bowles pp. 57-68, Exercise 9 on pp. 51-52
7. Feb. 20 Fact checking Bowles pp. 141-161, Exercise 4 on pp. 79-82
8. Feb. 22 Assignment editing Bowles pp. 93-104 & AP libel section, chapters 1-3
9. Feb. 27 Libel, privacy Bowles pp. 167-185 & AP privacy section, chapters 4-6.
10. March 01 Headlines Bowles pp. 239-263 & count headlines on how-to sheet.
11. March 06 Ethics Bowles pp. 191-211
12. March 08 Photos, graphics Bowles pp. 271-293
13. March 13 Review Cropping exercise
14. March 15 Midterm exam ----------------
March 19-23 SPRING BREAK
15. March 27 Typography Bowles pp. 223-238
16. March 29 Layout Bowles pp. 303-337, 347-349
17. April 03 Photos, graphics Bowles, pp. 271-293
18. April 05 Nurturing the reader Math test
19. April 10 Responding to criticism Letter replies
20. April 12 Broadcast news TK
21. April 17 Broadcast ethics TK
22. April 19 News services Bowles pp. 105-114
23. April 24 Dealing with writers/Quotations TK
24. April 26 Online editing Bowles pp. 115-117
25. May 01 Online research TK
26. May 03 Online design Bowles pp. 338-346
27. May 08 Magazines TK
28. May 10 Jobs TK
29. May 15 Review
30. May 22 FINAL 1:30