Journal+Syllabus


 * Newspaper Course Syllabus 2013-2014**
 * Room 101, Period 7**

720-423-7013
 * Instructor:** Matt Spampinato | matt_spampinato@dpsk12.org | [|http://www.tjjournal.com]

(**ISBN-13:** 9780465012626) apstylebook@ap.org See it at: [|Barnes & Noble] or [|Tattered Cover] or [|Amazon] Students are required to purchase their own copy of the AP Stylebook for use as a reference guide, which will be invaluable to them throughout their writing careers.
 * Required Books:** //The Associated Press Stylebook 2009//


 * Required Materials:** Spiral reporter’s notebook (provided).


 * Optional Equipment:** Audio recording device (a very helpful tool for interviews). Students with "smart phones" can usually download an audio recording app. I will also have several available for checkout.

It is my goal to train students to be excellent writers and reporters (in both style and mechanics). Whether they choose to use these skills in the field of journalism (which many of our alumni have) or elsewhere, I believe they will find their college and/or career paths to be highly enriched by their experience on the //Journal//. Since students have applied and been accepted on to this staff, they are expected to be highly motivated to becoming top-notch student journalists.
 * Course Overview:** In this yearlong course, students will write and publish articles in the online school newspaper, The //Thomas Jefferson Journal//, that are intended to inform, entertain, and enrich the TJ community. Students will be given assignments in the general areas of News, Community, Biography, Sports, Living & Arts, Photojournalism, and Editorial. Students will benefit from instruction in journalistic style and mechanics as a group, in addition to receiving intensive, individual feedback and instruction on their specific writing performance.

Students are at times given the chance to choose assignments that may be of interest to them, but they are also expected to complete other assignments that may or may not be of their choosing. Optimally, we seek a good balance; however, all students must cover news articles that are assigned to them. Beginning this year, students will also be required to turn two of their articles per semester into audio pod casts, which will be produced in our recording studio and posted on our web site
 * Assignments:** Students will be expected to write a minimum of eight articles per semester (five news, three features with podcasts), which is approximately two per month; however, due to the complexities of news and event coverage, the pace and workload will ebb and flow to some extent based on the assignments. Students will always have at least one article on which to work, but often times multiple deadlines will be overlapping.


 * Deadlines:** In this course, students are considered to be employees of the //Thomas Jefferson Journal//. As such, deadlines are of paramount importance. One missed deadline will result in a loss of 20 points for the assignment. Two missed deadlines will result in a loss of 30 points, and a conference with the reporter and his/her editor. Three missed deadlines will require a conference with the reporter and his/her parent/guardian, during which time it will be determined whether the student will continue to be on the staff or pursue other interests.

• Reporters are given an assignment by me (or the editor), that will have a specific word count and due date, as well as some general instructions on what to include in the article. • Reporters submit their rough drafts to their editors on deadline. The editors review the work, and if it meets the guidelines, they then pass the work on to me with their comments and corrections. I then add my own comments, corrections, and a grade (worth 100 points), and then I have a personal conference with the reporter. • The reporter then is given a deadline for his/her final draft (with sufficient time to make corrections and conduct follow-up interviews, etc.), and then submits the final hard copy to the Copy Editor, who verifies that all corrections and improvements have been made. If further work needs to be done, the paper is returned to the reporter for corrections. • When the Copy Editor approves the article, the reporter must then upload the electronic version to the web site, where it is held for approval from the editor. • Finally, the reporter hands the final hard copy, stapled to the original edited version, to me. At publication time, I assign a final grade to the article (worth100 points).
 * Process:**

Additional grades are given for monthly editorial duties performed by the editors, as well as photographic duties performed by the photographers.
 * Grades:** For each assignment, students are given a grade on the rough draft (worth 100 points) and the final draft (worth 100 points). Since these grades are essentially averaged with equal weight, it is very important that the student do his/her very best work on the rough draft as well as the final draft.


 * Press Passes:** All reporters are granted a press pass, which allows them to pass through the halls in order to conduct newspaper business. They are not allowed to leave campus without written permission from a parent/guardian. Students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times.
 * Please Note:** This is a rare privilege that is granted our reporters by the administration, and no infractions or misuse of this press pass will be tolerated. This pass will be revoked if misused, which will make it impossible for the student to pass the class.


 * Office Hours:** The nature of this course requires quite a bit of out-of-class time to work on projects. Office hours (Wednesdays from 2:14 - 2:55 p.m.), is an opportunity of which all students should take advantage.

I would like to personally welcome all new and returning members of the //Journal// staff, and I challenge each of you to work hard; and I invite all of you to take ownership of this newspaper and to become part of one of the richest traditions at TJ: Excellence in Journalism. I think you’ll find that if you give this class your all, Newspaper will be one of the most fun and rewarding experiences that you have in high school!