TNT21 2013 Edition Booklet

TNT 21212013 Top submissions to Teaching News Terrifically in the 21st Century Vol. 2 Newspaper and Online News Division Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Page 2 Volume 2, 2013 About TNT21 This booklet shares teaching ideas honored in courses, though they may be tailored for specific versions 2013 in Teaching News Terrifically in the 21st Century, of those courses. For example, tips for teaching newswrit- the teaching ideas competition of the Newspaper and ing across media would be welcome, as would tips for Online News Division of the Association for Education teaching a specific type of reporting, such as public affairs in Journalism and Mass Communication. TNT21 was reporting, business reporting or environmental reporting. founded in 2009 to publicly acknowledge good ideas for Tips can address practical skills or conceptual foundational journalism courses: newswriting, reporting knowledge, showing, for example, how to teach students and editing. to report ethically or edit to avoid libel. Tips that help Ideas are accepted in three divisions: professors address the challenges of teaching in a world — Full-time faculty members where technologies are rapidly changing are especially — Adjunct professors welcome. — Graduate-student instructors Ideas are judged for their originality, innovative The competition awards prizes of $100 for the best nature, ease of application, completeness, writing and teaching idea from each group and gives certificates to whether they would work in more than one course and/ others whose work is honored. or at different types of schools. Deadlines for contest entries typically are in the TNT21 has been administered since 2009 by Susan summer, to allow instructors to enter materials outside Keith, an associate professor in the Department of the rush of fall/spring semesters, and are announced on Journalism and Media Studies in the School of Commu- the Newspaper and Online News Division listserv and on nication and Information at Rutgers University in New the JOURNET listserv. Teaching tips submitted should Brunswick, N.J., and one of the Newspaper and Online be suitable for use in newswriting, reporting or editing News Division’s teaching chairs. 2013 judges Erin Coyle, Louisiana State University Joel Campbell, Brigham Young University Patricia Dobson, Eastern New Mexico University Pamela B. Fine, University of Kansas Kyle Heim, Seton Hall University Kevin Lerner, Marist College David Loomis, Indiana University of Pennsylvania Mitchell McKenney, Kent State University John Oudens, The New York Times Craig Paddock, University of North Carolina Charlotte Bill Reader, Ohio University Scott Reinardy, University of Kansas Chris Roberts, University of Alabama Lisa A. Romero, University of Illinois Carol Schlagheck, Eastern Michigan University Robert N. Spicer, Millersville University Leslie-Jean Thornton, Arizona State University Volume 2, 2013 Page 3 First place, full-time faculty member Short and Tweet By Sue Burzynski Bullard final tweets on Twitter using a class hashtag i.e. University of Nebraska-Lincoln #201short. Types of courses the idea could be used in: How is the assignment innovative? What newswriting, reporting, editing makes this idea good for teaching in the 21st- century or preparing 21st century journalists? Target level: freshmen, sophomores, juniors, After students post “short and tweet” head- seniors, graduate students in a professionally lines, the professor pulls up Twitter, searches for oriented program the hashtag and show the entire class their work. This allows for an easy discussion of what makes What is the goal of the assignment or a clear but concise headline. It demonstrates Sue Burzynski Bullard teaches exercise? how headlines can be clever and interesting editing, reporting and multimedia The goal is to help students learn to write within tight constraints. It forces students to classes. She joined the Nebraska clearly and concisely. It reinforces William edit their own work. And it demonstrates how faculty in August 2008 after Zinsser’s advice in “On Writing Well.” He said, Twitter is a 21st century news wire because news a year as a visiting editor-in- “Examine every word you put on paper. You’ll outlets frequently post headlines and links. The residence at Michigan State find a surprising number that don’t serve any assignment outcome: Students learn the need University. Sue held a variety of purpose.” The exercise helps students learn to for clear, concise writing and understand that a editing positions during 21 years find the focus of stories. It helps editing students social media site can be a critical information- at The Detroit News, including write concise, clear headlines that pull read- sharing tool. three years as managing editor. ers into stories. It also helps reporting students In that role, she was responsible learn to summarize stories accurately and briefly How do you overcome pitfalls? for the day-to-day operation of — a skill they need as they craft their own ledes. Students need familiarity with basic head- the newsroom. She supervised line concepts and also need some understand- nearly 300 journalists and helped How does the assignment or exercise work? ing of Twitter before the assignment. I’ve used to integrate print and online Students are given copies of the same Twitter in other assignments in the class before newsrooms. She also worked as a stories. Each student must write a headline (in the Short and Tweet assignment, which helps reporter and editor at newspa- tweet form) summarizing a story in 120 charac- save time since they already have accounts and pers in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., ters or less. Students then must refine the head- familiarity. Occasionally, a tweet won’t show up Lansing, Mich., and Port Huron, line to 100 characters or less. Although Twitter under the hashtag on the Twitter stream. I’ve Mich. allows for 140 characters in a tweet, editors overcome that by having students read their often provide links to stories with their tweets, tweets aloud if they aren’t on the screen. which means they can’t use all 140 characters for headlines. Smart editors also allow extra space What is the impact of the assignment so tweets can be easily retweeted by others. or exercise? The professor provides copies of stories for Students learn quickly that concise, clear students. Ideally, the stories are features that can writing draws you into stories. It’s easy to entice readers via well-written headlines. The recognize good work. Students vote on best assignment takes one class period, depending on tweets/headlines. (Best headline writer wins how may rounds of stories students are assigned. candy). The exercise proves strong writing can Students are given a limited amount of time – be done in few characters, essential for edit- about 20 minutes — to read each story and write ing and reporting classes (headlines and ledes). tweets. One student wrote in a reflection: ‘Journalistic Students practice writing tweets in Mi- tweeting is a lesson in brevity and hooking your crosoft Word, using word count to check the audience simultaneously. When the limit is 100 number of characters they use. Forcing students characters, creativity and efficiency are forced to to go from a “first draft” of 120 characters to a develop. The most challenging aspect of journal- final tweet of 100 or less teaches them to omit istic tweeting is word choice. Every word must needless words and edit themselves. They post be chosen to convey an emotion, action or idea.” Page 4 Volume 2, 2013 First place, adjunct-faculty division Impact journalism: Learning from real-world public service reporting cases By Roy Harris radio news operations, and lets each student get Emerson College to know the reporters and editors involved. The class benefits when it sees and hears the individual Types of courses the idea could be used in: presentations, and can compare and contrast them reporting with the one presentation, or the award-winning Target level: juniors, seniors or graduate students local project, that all students see. in a professionally oriented program How is the assignment innovative? What makes What is the goal of the assignment or this idea good for teaching in the 21stcentury or exercise? preparing 21st century journalists? Roy J. Harris Jr., who has The assignment’s goal is to allow each student My observation has been that far too few taught as an adjunct professor in a class to totally immerse herself or himself in journalism classes take advantage of the investi- at Emerson College in Boston, a case of public service journalism that is being gative reporting resources in the area where the has been a journalist for some considered for a major prize – either a Pulitzer, an school exists. Making these connections between of the nation’s most respected Emmy, or an Online News Association award, for news organization and school results in a mutually news organizations for four example. The class first identifies finalists or -prob beneficial arrangement, since the news organiza- decades. From 1971 to 1994 he able candidates for the awards, and each student tion gets to use the classroom to review its suc- served as a reporter and editor chooses one candidate to learn about. Having cesses. It is a natural outgrowth of this approach for the Wall Street Journal, taken “ownership” of that project, she or he is then that journalists stress the online aspects of their including six years as deputy responsible for explaining why the project won or print or broadcast journalism. Thus each presenta- chief of its 14-member Los lost the contest in which it competed. tion will have a cross-functional look. Angeles bureau. He spent 13 years as senior editor of The How does the assignment or exercise work? How do you overcome pitfalls? Economist Group’s Boston-based The individual student presentations on the Students often are embarrassed contacting CFO magazine and CFO.com.

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