Course Review - Journalism

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Course Review - Journalism

Is your review about a course in Journalism? If yes, then you are at the right forum; otherwise, kindly post the review at the appropriate forum. Please, give the course title and relate some of your experiences throughout the semester in your review. You may also review the textbook. In addition, you may want to make comments in the Homework Questions and Answers Forum by giving answers based on your previous knowledge.

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Adelaide
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Joined: 2011-07-05
Journalism - News Editing
I have a love/hate relationship with Journalism classes.  They tend to annoy me because of all the guidelines that need following.  You can't just write a news story, you have to research the proper term for a word.  You also have to include only real facts without adding personal opinions.  While I realize that Journalism is a popular field, I only took two courses in it because it was required for my major, not because I liked it. In any case, one of the classes required for my major was a News Editing class, taught by Dr. Paula Quinn, a professor that I had for another Journalism class where I didn't do so great grade-wise.  I didn't like her in the former class at all, but I came to appreciate her capabilities as a teacher throughout this class. Dr. Quinn is a very interesting character.  You'll grow to enjoy her strange stories about aliens and conspiracies just as much as her lessons about editing.  She assigns a lot of paperwork to edit, which can be hard to finish if you are taking multiple classes per day, but they don't take too long.  Normally it's either editing a small news story or developing one of your own based on a pre-existing story.  Nothing too bad. The best part about the class was the actual work experience that we were able to do thanks to Dr. Quinn's associations with the Public Relations Department.  They were developing a small book about their team's travels and work experience in Barcelona, Spain.  The entire class took part in editing the book, which needed tons of work.  It was nice to see my edits and sentence changes in an actual book for once, and I found it to be enjoyable. Take Dr. Quinn if you're willing to work hard for your grade.  Ultimately, the class is worth it, and even gives you work experience to boast about before landing a permanent job.
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I have noticed that a lot of
I have noticed that a lot of journalism professors can be really quirky, too.  If he or she has experience in the field, the class can be really enjoyable because he or she will always have a plethora of interesting stories to share. As for the class itself, I have found it to be a little bit dull, although I will admit that I just happen to find the format of writing new articles to be very boring, especially if the subject matter I am writing the article on is not that exciting to begin with.  I thought the class was okay. 
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lawyerkhan
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Joined: 2011-10-21
Journalism Course
A fact is that the journalism classes are not usually as interesting as the field of journalism is. The reason probably is that the good journalists are usually too busy working in the fields and poor journalists join universities and colleges. They do have academic soundness of minds because of their vast experiences of teaching at various places but they lack knowledge in the practical way. Practical knowledge is important as far as field of journalism is concerned. That is delivered by only few colleges and universities. Most of the educational institutes are in practice of teaching theory which include the basic concepts of journalism. In practical approach to teaching they teach the editing at the most. The good and bad practices of journalism along with inside knowledge usually do not come under discussion. Students are usually innocent and they don't know things that happen in the practical field. For the same reasons it is best to let them know about the ethics of business as well. That will groom up their personalities more and when they follow the profession of journalism at later stages then they would become better humans. Ethics of journalism should be taught as a separate course to students in that way.
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Journalism Course
I took a course on Journalism when I was the student of class 11. I didn't want to be a Journalist, but I want to know the system of working of the journalist. This curiosity made me interested in taking this course. I thought that journalism is a very easy job! This course showed me the real life of a Journalist. They all are very good detective! (Keep far from Journalist! :D). But, really, the life of a journalist is very difficult, maybe most difficult. Journalism course taught me how to do well in this occupation. You cannot do well, if you are lazy. It was a basic course of Journalism. We came to know the basic way to do journalism. How the journalists complete their project, how to take a critical interview, how to talk with people, etc. I have learned a lot from this course. Journalist is a very interesting occupation. It is very challenging too. Every journalist should be very intelligent. Although I don't want to be a journalist, this course has taken away my misperception about journalism. 
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betterintheory
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Journalism
During high school I worked at the local newspaper part time after school, giving me a real interest in journalism. So not only did I take this course, but it was my initial major. I wanted to be a sports writer, get to go to all the games and tell the tale. Live the dream. Eventually, my interests changed, which is a common story of a young person being surrounded by new and exciting things everyday. But I think this is a good course to take whether you have any intention of going into the field or not. It gives you a good perspective on the media in general.
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journalistic ethics
My all-time favorite class was journalistic ethics. We were able to examine current news stories and apply the principles to them. The textbook was a pre-press publication by the professor. The class was applicable to real life, not just theory.  It has helped me to scrutinize my own actions and writing to see if they hold up to the ethical standards I learned in this class. Although this was not a required course it has helped me to conduct myself accordingly with the thought of being in the public's eye. Sometimes getting the scoop or the hot story is not worth the cost to people's personal lives.
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RE: Journalism Course
Rizvi11 wrote: I took a course on Journalism when I was the student of class 11. I didn't want to be a Journalist, but I want to know the system of working of the journalist. This curiosity made me interested in taking this course. I thought that journalism is a very easy job! This course showed me the real life of a Journalist. They all are very good detective! (Keep far from Journalist! :D). But, really, the life of a journalist is very difficult, maybe most difficult. Journalism course taught me how to do well in this occupation. You cannot do well, if you are lazy. It was a basic course of Journalism. We came to know the basic way to do journalism. How the journalists complete their project, how to take a critical interview, how to talk with people, etc. I have learned a lot from this course. Journalist is a very interesting occupation. It is very challenging too. Every journalist should be very intelligent. Although I don't want to be a journalist, this course has taken away my misperception about journalism.  Journalism to me is one of the most powerful tools in life for many various reasons.  I took a course in journalism but dropped it and never took it again. I find your post candid and probably even true when it comes to misconceptions about journalism that a lot of people have, however, I think there are a lot of assumptions in the post that aren't very clear. Do you think journalism is the most difficult occupation or course in the world? I personally don't think you can do well in any occupation if you are lazy. Also, why do you think journalism is so challenging and important?
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Journalism Course; Final
I was a versatile man whole through my life. So wherever there is mystery, I become very much curious about that. This mentality urged me to take the course journalism. I have no desire to be a full-time media professional, but I might want to be a freelance journalist. In Bangladesh, there are several universities where journalism is taught, as a graduation course. But it is four years lengthy. That is why I have chosen to take a six-month diploma course. I am almost at the end of my course. It is a very interesting course. After this course, I would like to make a realization that everybody should know journalism for their daily use. Actually, most of us overlook a matter happening beside us. But if we read between the lines of matter, we can have a clear image of the matter. I want to be eco-journalist, as Bangladesh is in an intensive threat of global warming. I want to make people aware of global warming by my writing and making documentary video. I have learned most of the craft for journalism, but I wish to have a further advance course from abroad, if I get any chance. Hopefully, my work will help the disaster vulnerable people of Bangladesh.
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WRT 303 - Public Writing
Although this course is not specifically designated as a Journalism course, it was one that was required of Journalism majors at my alma mater of University of Rhode Island. Journalism was such a swollen program that people were required to take other courses as a means of taking stress off of the over-burdened classes and professors. This course was taught by Professor Matthew Ortoleva who is also in charge of most of the scientific and technical writing courses offered at URI. In this course he required students to come up with a cause that they were firmly devoted to and thought needed a champion (I used vegan and vegetarianism), and to defend it through public writing methods throughout the term. Not only did he have us make brochures, write newspaper articles and send them to papers in our area, and write letters to public officials in our area advocating for our cause but at the end of the term he had us make a presentational booth and held a time for all of the writing department to come and take a look at them and ask us questions. Although this was a very rigorous and challenging course, I felt that it benefitted me in the end because it showed me that I could make a big difference with my words. It also showed me that language needs to be different to be considered official in the public sphere as opposed to within the scholarly realm.
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At my college we had four
At my college we had four classes. Romanian-English which I attended, Romanian-French, French-English and Journalism. Because one day I got bored I decided to attend one of the classes at Journalism, my bad luck was that I had no idea what they were about. They learn how to get their information, how to put them together in an article and after that how to publish it. They are given a certain subject and they were supposed to gather accurate information and write that article. What I have noticed is that many of them do a lot of mistakes, especially when they have to write their sources. I learned that a good article has to be no longer than 300 words and it has to be made up of concrete information. When you are a journalist you have to be able to move fast and type even faster. You will have to know how and most important when to ask the questions in order to get the most useful answers. Try not to do many stories at once because you not have time and make sure that you don’t miss anything when you put your article together. People usually believe what they read and it is your job as a journalist to tell them the truth, unless until now the truth was still a lie.
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News Production
College: Cuesta College Course: News Production Instructor: Prof. Howe This course worked on the production of the college newspaper The Cuestonian and was the reason why I changed my major from History to Agricultural Communications. Prof. Howe is a great advisor and gave excellent critiques to help improve the work of the paper, but always maintained that he was only an "advisor" and that the newspaper was ultimately left to our decisions as students and editors. The last semester that I worked with the Cuestonian, we were able to not only have a print edition, but we developed an online version with original online content. I was personally responsible for a lot of the online content, including a Jay Leno "Jaywalking" clone where student's across the campus were asked questions about student life. This course was an easy pass as long as you met deadlines on every edition (there are five per semester). Student's were required to turn in at least one article per edition along with a photo. Very easy work.  Course Score: 9/10; a great GPA booster and a lot of fun to do as well. If you are looking for an elective and you are a good writer, this is a must take and looks better on your resum than basketweaving. 
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First Journalism Class
I still remember my first Journalism class vividly and fondly. Each and every one of us had to state why we choose it as our Major. The reasons were pretty much the same for most of us:  is seems interesting, it sounds easy, you meet fascinating people, you travel, you get the girl/guy, press passes to concerts and other puerile reasons. The first hour of the class was all about the Professor debunking every single reason we put forth. The second part of the class was about the Professor putting our hopes and dreams back together and giving us a glimpse into the extraordinary career path of a journalist. (In case you haven’t noticed, I’m very fond of this course) Pros and Cons: You have to a lot of independent research, keep up with the news (very important, since the latest events and approaches to them will be discussed in class) constantly work on improving your skills (be they written, oral or presentation). It might seem boring at first, since you need a theoretical foundation to delve deeper into the subject. On the bright side: it’s very easy to freelance, you will learn concrete skills ( such as flash, video editing, Photoshop) you will become more creative, and it builds character. For those of you who are naturally inquisitive and enjoy doing research and going down rabbit holes, I full heartedly recommend this course. Your endeavor will be to present the best quality information and serve the public good.   Presentation skills are learned along the way. Let’s not forget impartiality and truthfulness – they are a must for those who even consider this field of study/work.
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News Production
In my senior year of Mass Communications, I took a class called News Production. I was part of a class of twelve people where we reported on local campus news. Our news show aired on the local PBS station in the city.  My professor, who was also the Executive Producer, was very strict on deadlines and stories. if he didn't like our video clips, interviews or stand-ups he would make us redo the package before the due date. The class was very cut edge because everyone obtained their own interviews, shot  their own video footage, and edited their own video. On top of that, we rotated roles of director, teleprompter, audio director, floor director, camera operator and producer. Each person was basically a one-man-band. Editorial meetings were tedious but quite short because we were always rushing out to do work int he field.  One story I can remember in particular that I did was on the Westboro Baptist Church protestors. I woke up extremely early to get my day started to basically stalk them around the city. I ended up shooting at two churches where they were on site and shooting later on that evening at an event they held on my campus. I had about 30 minutes worth of video which I trimmed down to a 1 minute and  45 second package. I completed all my interviews, shooting, voice-overs, editing and script writing within four days. It was the greatest experience I've had in a journalism class thus far! You will really have a chance to learn the up and downs of this field in an actual hands-on TV/Print class. At that moment, you will really discover your strengths and weaknesses in the field. 
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I greatly enjoy the writing
I greatly enjoy the writing aspect of Journalism. I have no interest in the field because I’m not much for keeping up with current events or interviewing people. Still, the style of Journalism is actually quite fun. The course I took was on writing leads specifically. We went into other aspects, but that first sentence was the most important. I remember phrases like, “if it bleeds it leads.” Journalism can be so violent. Still, I enjoy the structure. In real Journalism, you’re told how many words to write. No matter how much information you have, the goal is to keep the article within that limit. The first sentence, especially, must have all the important elements of the story. I really enjoyed this class, and Professor Deck was really good at it, having worked for a rather large newspaper in the area. The class also helped me hone my editing skills. The instructor would give us sentences that we had to fix according to AP style. Honestly, I had a lot of fun in that class. On a side note, The Paper, with Michael Keaton, is supposed to be an accurate description of the Journalist’s life. Unfortunately, it seems to be a difficult movie to fine.