Journalism has often been referred to as the first draft of history, so it is natural the two fields have been closely aligned in our diverse society. Modern historians examine past articles and reports for information, while journalists refer to historical sources for contextual information about an issue or story. Regardless of era, mass communications shape public opinion and inform the public. These basic concepts -- understanding and researching journalism history -- are the focus of our two-hour weekly meeting in Journalism 322.
Students who complete this course will learn:
First, you must attend class to succeed. Attendance will be taken and graded activities will occur during our weekly three-hour meeting. Students are permitted one absence. Following any further undocumented absences, the student's grade will be reduced a full letter grade. Each subsequent absence will result in an additional letter grade reduction.
Second, plagiarism in this course will not be tolerated. There is no excuse for unauthorized reproduction of another's work, especially in a journalism course. Likewise, if a test is not taken or another deadline not met, a doctor's note is required for an extension to be considered. Without a legitimate doctor's note, a missed exam, research paper or presentation will result in a grade of zero.
Third, all online lectures are required to be watched. Each week a quiz will gauge your familiarity with the online material.
Fourth, The Orion or Tehama Group commitments are not considered an acceptable excuse for tardiness or absences; you will be penalized with the same severity as any other unexcused absence. Please inform me if you are pressured to miss class by an editor or other superior at the newspaper.
Fifth, the readings are required. Although we may never discuss these in the classroom this material is essential to your understanding the subject and appear on each exam.
There are two required reading components in this course: the online readings that appear at right and an journalism text to be addressed by a class group.
The online readings are all required; these have been purposefully limited in length to ensure that students read this material. Some discuss journalism from an era or individual; others are historical articles by journalists that capture news of the era. Context of both types of articles will be provided in class.
All students will be assigned a group that is responsible for reading and presenting a journalism text of historical significance. These are the texts to be assigned to 3-4 students each:
There will be weekly quizzes based on online lectures, three exams based on general course material, and one group presentation that introduces the class to a recognized journalism history text. Here is the grade breakdown:
All tests, quizzes and large presentations will be graded on a 100-point scale. Students' numerical to letter grades are based on the following:
Matthew Blake Department of Journalism CSU-Chico
mdblake@csuchico.edu (530) 898-3608