Journalism (Broadcast) 0369

This introductory study of broadcast media (television, film, and internet) aims to analyze and criticize the mass media through the perspective of the humanities. The course will include technical instruction in the aforementioned media, including: mass media theory, writing for the ear, editing news script, video-editing, camera operation, and news show production; it will examine the substantive and scholarly aspects of all three mediums. The main thrust of the course is to prepare students to produce Trojan Vision, Daphne High School’s news show. However, if a student is more interested in the study of film with the goal of moving into production, this course can accommodate those pursuits. Readings will be informative and deconstructive in nature, and students will strive to develop media literacy as well production skills. This course is a prerequisite for Advanced Broadcast Media Studies.

Course Objectives

•   Students will write in Broadcast Style conforming to the ethical and practical principles that guide it;

•   Students will become media literate;

•   Students will develop reading habits that keep them aware of current affairs, local, national, and world;

•   Students will learn to understand story structure and elements of news shows;

•   Students will become proficient in attributing sources, getting information right, avoiding libelous speech, and understanding the ethics behind news reporting;

•   Students will apprehend the side of news media not known to most consumers of news;

•   Students will learn and employ field-reporting techniques;

•   Students will master the on-camera interview, both in the field and in studio;

•   Students will learn to use images to tell stories;

•   Students will learn to write to video;

•   Students will learn the basic operation of a video camera;

•   Students will produce basic news stories (vo, vo/sot, rdrs, news packages)

•   Students will learn how to edit news stories on computers;

•   Students will begin to produce news shows that feature their news stories;

•   Students will create projects unrelated to news (commercial spots, music videos, PSAs, promotional pieces, and graphical introductions and transitions, etc.)

Course Overview

As technology continues to simplify the process and reduce the cost of producing broadcasts, your futures will demand leaders who can deliver insightful broadcast messages with skill. Producing these messages takes much more than a comfort with computer skills. Students in this class will master investigating stories, interviewing, writing tight scripts, speaking with poise and capturing the best angles on camera. All of this will also require a firm foundation of teamwork among everyone on the broadcast staff. It’s not just the world of journalism that is converging writing, speaking, capturing pictures and producing effective broadcasts. From business offices to church services to public services, the skills you learn in this course will follow you wherever your careers take you.

Daphne aims to broadcast council meetings with help of high school students