Journalism 101

Here is the course I will be teaching this spring at UCSD, as it will be listed in the course catalog for the literature department.

This is an introductory reporting course for adrenaline junkies, adventurers and true storytellers. In this practical journalism workshop students will learn how to write and report a basic news story, pitch and deliver a feature, turn around a lively profile, keep a blog, and perhaps pound out a passionate personal essay. The class will introduce different journalistic forms and discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of each. We will debate the role of journalism in society, and how (and why) journalism must evolve in the 21st century. On occasion guest journalists will speak.
Students will be required to read a newspaper daily, and must be ready to discuss print and on-line news coverage in each class. We will read and analyze articles from local and national newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the San Diego Tribune, the Huffington Post and the Onion. Students will complete this course having reported real stories, and been edited as if for publication. In addition to submitting articles, active class participation will count significantly towards the final grade.

Would you sign up?