This outcome chart features links to MediaSmarts lessons and activities that support the learning objectives for Journalism Studies 20.
This course is comprised of three modules:
- Print Journalism
- Electronic Journalism
- “On Assignment” independent student project
Supporting MediaSmarts resources will be listed for the first two modules.
Module 1: Print Journalism
Foundational Objectives:
Students will:
- recognize and appreciate the role of journalism in contemporary society and in their personal lives
- recognize and explore the ways in which print and broadcast media create and present a message
- recognize and create the various forms, conventions, and styles of journalistic writing
- recognize the attributes of quality journalism and the legal, ethical, and moral issues which confront the free press
- develop the speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, and representing skills needed to create various print publications and broadcast productions
Specific Learning Objectives
Introduction to Print Journalism
Students will:
- recognize and appreciate the role of journalism in contemporary society and in their personal lives
- recognize and explore the ways in which print and broadcast media create and present a message
- recognize and create the various forms, conventions, and styles of journalistic writing
- recognize the attributes of quality journalism and the legal, ethical, and moral issues which confront the free press
- develop the speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, and representing skills needed to create various print publications and broadcast productions.
Lessons
Truth and Accuracy: Gathering and Writing the News
Students will:
- recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
- evaluate the quality and reliability of various forms and examples of journalism
- recognize what is news
- recognize the elements of a news story
- distinguish fact from opinion
- understand effective news gathering and editing techniques
- use the inverted pyramid style of news writing
- write various types of news story leads and news stories
- quote accurately, paraphrase where appropriate, and use appropriate attribution methods
- recognize the differences between a news story and sports writing
- write clear, informative sports stories
- write effective headlines
- understand the purpose of a news release
- understand the role of a news bureau
- use a journalism style guide
Lessons
- Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!
- Television Newscasts
- Writing a Newspaper Article
Ethics and Journalism
Students will:
- speak to clarify and extend thinking
- recognize a speaker’s attitude, tone, and bias
- analyze and evaluate their own and others’ writing
- evaluate the quality and reliability of various forms and examples of journalism
- state and evaluate an author’s theme, tone, and viewpoint
- recognize the importance for journalists of researching, interviewing, and reporting
- understand the rights and responsibilities of the press
- understand the legal limitations on the media
- understand the limitations that may be imposed on student journalists, depending on school policy
- understand the concepts of libel and slander
- understand the concepts of stereotyping and ethnocentricism
- evaluate the concept of objectivity
Lessons
- Crime in the News
- Bias in the News
- Perceptions of Youth and Crime
- Political Cartoons
- Television Newscasts
- The Front Page
Editorial Writing: Enlightened Opinion
Students will:
- speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
- present their point of view in a written work
- assess an author’s ideas and techniques
- recognize the importance for journalists of researching, interviewing, and reporting
- understand the role of the editorial
- recognize various types and functions of editorial material
- write effective editorials
- identify the components of the editorial page
Lessons
Literary Journalism
Students will:
- recognize writing as a process of constructing meaning for themselves and others
- relate the structure of the work to the author’s purposes and theme
- recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
- identify the characteristics of new journalism and literary journalism
- experiment with literary journalism
Photojournalism
Students will:
- speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
- listen with purpose and concern for ideas
- recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
- identify conventions of feature stories
- understand the major functions of photographs in publications
- recognize the impact of effective photography
- take effective photographs
- understand photo layout, cropping, sizing, and writing cutlines
- recognize how computers and desktop publishing are used in commercial journalism
- experiment with design and layout using a computer and desktop publishing program
Lessons
Magazines
Students will:
- speak to share thoughts, opinions, and feelings
- listen with purpose and concern for ideas
- analyze and evaluate their own and others’ writing
- compare, contrast, and evaluate texts
- recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
- identify conventions of feature stories
- differentiate among the kinds of magazines
- recognize how pervasive information is in contemporary society
- profile a magazine
- understand how magazines serve both readers and advertisers
- evaluate how advertising affects magazine content
- understand organizational patterns of magazine articles
- compare general-interest and special-interest magazines
- compare the design and layout of various magazines
- explain how titles and articles are used to sell magazines
- assess the role magazines play in their lives
Module 2: Electronic Journalism
Foundational Objectives
Students will:
- recognize and appreciate the role of journalism in contemporary society and in their personal lives
- recognize and explore the ways in which print and broadcast media create and present a message
- recognize and create the various forms, conventions, and styles of journalistic writing
- recognize the attributes of quality journalism and the legal, ethical, and moral issues which confront the free press
- develop the speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing, and representing skills needed to create various print publications and broadcast productions.
Specific Learning Objectives
Students will:
- recognize speaker’s attitude, tone, and bias
- relate the structure of the work to the author’s purpose and theme
- recognize the importance for journalists of interviewing, researching, and reporting
- prepare a dramatic reading
- recognize the difference between writing for electronic media and writing for print media
- understand the requirements for reporting news using radio, television, and the Internet
- consider how electronic media, including the Internet, have changed journalism and will continue to affect it in the future
- apply understanding of print journalism to the electronic media
- identify the conventions of the electronic media
- understand and demonstrate copy editing for the electronic media
- recognize how pervasive information is in contemporary society
- understand the role of advertising in the electronic media.
Lessons
Tip Sheet