Journalism I

Explore a career in journalism and learn how to write a news story, a feature story, and an editorial. Throughout this course, you will learn best practices for conducting research and interviews, analyzing the reliability of sources, and self-editing.

Major Concepts:

• The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution
• Freedom of press
• History of American journalism
• First amendment issues
• Advancements in technology
• Types of news mediums
• Characteristics of a journalist
• Gatekeepers of journalism
• Different types of journalist
• Careers in journalism
• How to conduct research
• Analyzing the reliability of sources
• Informative news reporting
• The inverted pyramid and writing a lead
• Elements of strong writing (grammar)
• Interviewing a source
• Formal vs. informal writing
• Revision process and self-editing
• Feature story writing (narrative writing)
• Code of ethics
• Making ethical decisions in news reporting
• Slander and libel
• Narrative writing techniques
• Using images and technology to enhance writing
• Ethical sharing of images
• Using details and anecdotes to tell a story
• Writing effective conclusions
• Revision process and self-editing
• Giving a strong presentation
• Argument techniques and appeals
• Pathos, ethos, and logos
• How to recognize propaganda
• Editorial story writing (argument writing)
• Claim and counterclaim
• Listening and speaking skills
• Evaluating a speech for effectiveness
• Identifying credible sources
• Writing a rebuttal
• Varying syntax
• Revision process and self-editing