JOUR 3155: Publications Editing
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Basic Information
Prerequisites
Course Description
Expected Competencies
Competency Goals
Assignments and Activities
Workload
JOUR 3155: Publications Editing (3 credits)
- Multi-section course.
Prerequisites
- Major status
- JOUR 3004W and JOUR 3101
Course Description
This course will focus on the key aspects of editing publications (either for print or for the Internet), including copyediting, rewriting, exercising news judgment, presenting the news through page design, and managing the news process. Successful students will develop a thorough understanding of the AP style, hone their ability to improve copy, better understand legal, production and financial issues that confront publications, and integrate their knowledge in this and other journalism classes in a final project. The page design components of this class are merely the fundamentals and complement the visual journalism offered by the school. Software instruction is minimal; so students may want to use additional instructional material to supplement class presentations.
Expected Competencies
Basic Knowledge of:
- News judgment: how to recognize stories and shape their focus.
- Reporting: how to gather facts through interviewing or other means.
- Narrative skills: how to tell stories compellingly and write them clearly and fairly.
- Analysis: how to use critical thinking skills to evaluate the credibility and importance of information.
Competency goals for 3155
Develop and demonstrate the capability of:
- Editing and proofing any type of copy on deadline
- Being alert to and fixing the most common errors that copy editors confront
- Know how to efficient use reference books
- Designing a variety of print publication pages
- Writing headlines and other display typographic features
- Implementing the special needs of Web editing
- Understanding and being alert to legal and ethical concerns
Assignments and activities
Assignments, covered in the class and initiated in the lab component of the class, include exercises that demonstrate:
- Knowledge of the AP Stylebook and awareness of other reference materials
- Competencies in identifying and correcting spelling and grammatical errors
- Appropriate selection of stories for publication
- Rewriting for clarity and conciseness
- Improving the organization of stories
- Writing headlines and cutlines
- Designing basic print and Web pages using visual elements
Workload
This class includes two-and-a-half hours of class instruction and a three-hour lab each week with an average of an additional three hours in outside work.
During the first third of the semester, outside work will focus on the study of the AP Stylebook and the application of other reference sources. During the final two-thirds of the semester, most outside work will be an extensive of hands-on lab assignments and, especially, the development and completion of the final project.