Journalism 310 Investigative Reporting

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM

JOUR 310: Investigative Reporting 4 Units

Spring 2015 Class Day/Time: Wednesday, Friday, 10-11:50 a.m. Section: 21170 Classroom Location: ANN 209

Instructor: Gary Cohn Office Hours: Wednesday 9:30 to10 am and 2 to 3 pm and by appointment Office meeting place: ANN 209

Contact Information Phone: 310-699-5594 E-mail: [email protected]

Course Description

The goal of this course is to inspire you and teach you the practical reportorial and analytical skills and techniques and ethical principles that will allow you to portray and evaluate contemporary newsworthy events and become a responsible investigative reporter in our rapidly changing journalism landscape; lectures, discussions, hands-on exercises involving public records research. Prerequisite: JOUR 302, JOUR 303

The focus of the class will be on learning the fundamentals of investigative journalism: how to choose a subject for investigation; how to identify human sources and persuade them to talk with you on the record; how to conduct an interview; how to use documents, and how to organize large amounts of material and data and present it in a fair and compelling way.

This class is intended to give you a strong foundation of reporting and writing skills that should allow you to do more interesting stories than most other journalists do. While the focus will be on learning practical skills, you should also develop a better understanding of the principles of the First Amendment and the roles of an investigative journalist in our society. Also, we will be discussing the practical, ethical and legal aspects of investigative reporting in the context of our rapidly changing media landscape.

We will also spend some time learning about the history and traditions of investigative reporting – from the early muckrakers through Edward R. Murrow and Woodward and Bernstein to modern day investigative journalists. Finally, as this class will be made up of juniors and seniors almost exclusively, we will be discussing strategies for getting good jobs as investigative reporters at newspapers, magazines, online and broadcast organizations.

Overall Learning Objectives and Assessment

By the end of the course you should achieve the following:

* Understanding of in-depth and investigative journalism and the role of an investigative reporter. * Ability to generate story ideas for investigative and in-depth stories. * Ability to identify and develop human sources. * Ability to conduct in-depth interviews. * Ability to identify and use documents and databases - both electronic and paper. * Ability to use social media tools in reporting on investigative stories. * Ability to present data in a compelling way in stories. * Understanding of, and ability to use, the federal Freedom of Information Act and state open records and meetings laws. * Ability to organize large amounts of material. * Ability to write and present in-depth material in a compelling way. * Ability to plan for photos and graphics to illustrate in-depth stories. * Ability to work in collaboration with other journalists, as part of a team reporting effort. * Sensitivity to diversity issues in reporting and writing in-depth and investigative stories. * Commitment to accuracy and fair play. Understanding of ethical issues involved in investigative reporting * Ability to use multimedia skills to enhance investigative work

Assessments for all of the above will use the following methods and tools: Classroom discussions, written assignments, individual student conferences

Assignments and Assessment There will be five outside assignments and a final project. The five outside assignments are designed to teach you interviewing skills, the use of court and other public records, journalism ethics, the use of databases and federal and state open records laws other journalism techniques. Some of these assignments will require going to courthouses and locations in the Los Angeles area where public records are available. Assignment # 1: Suggest three investigative stories. Explain why you picked each story, how you would go about reporting each story and why you believe each of these stories would make a compelling and important story. One of the investigative stories should involve USC or campus-wide topics; a second should focus on the neighborhood or town where you grew up, and a third should focus on the neighborhood you live in while going to USC. Please explain your reasoning and proposed reporting techniques in detail. One of these ideas can be developed as your semester-long investigative project. (Worth 5 percent of your grade). Due before class on Friday Jan. 30.

Assignment #2: Select in-depth story (one that you would aspire to write), and interview the reporter about how he or she got the story idea, gathered the information, and wrote the article. This must be an investigative article or series (including sports), but not an editorial or a column. Cite your reasons for selecting the article. In your interview and in your paper, stress how the reporter came up with the story idea and how he gathered the information; public records used; interviewing techniques, the writing process, also discuss any obstacles that came up and how the reporter overcame those obstacles. The interview must be done in person or on the telephone (not by email, though you may use email for follow-up questions. Approximately 1,000 words. (Worth 15 percent of your grade) Due before class on Friday Feb 13.

Assignment #3: Use of Court Records -- Go to the state courthouse downtown and identify a court case in which a Hollywood, sports or political figure or local company or civic institution (such as a museum) is the plaintiff or defendant and that would make the basis for a good investigative story. Pull the court file and write a story proposal, explaining why you chose this case and summarizing some of the leads contained in the court files. Explain how you would use the case, as a starting point, and what other steps you would take to complete this investigative story. Be sure to include the case number and case and be specific when quoting or paraphrasing from court documents. This question is designed to test your skill at identifying and using court records, and your creativity at spotting and pursuing investigative stories. Approximately length: two pages. (Worth 10 percent of your grade). Due before class on Friday 20th

Assignment #4: You will have an assignment requiring you to draft letters to appropriate federal and state agencies under the federal Freedom of Information Act and state open records laws. (Worth 10 percent of your grade). Due before class on Friday Feb 27th

Assignment #5: You will have an assignment dealing with investigative reporting, ethics, privacy and accountability in the age of the Internet. (Worth 10 percent of your grade). Due before class on Friday March 13

FINAL PROJECT: You will be required to propose report and write one in-depth investigative story. This story should be approximately 2,000 words long and must include a significant amount of original reporting. If possible, your project should also include a multi-media component (interactive web site, video or audio, photographic slide show, etc). You will be expected to discuss the progress of your project periodically during class and in one-on-one meetings with the instructor. You should have a topic selected by the end of January at the latest. The final project will be due on Friday, May 1, the last day of class. Also please note that a progress memo about your final project is due on Wednesday April 15 (The final project is worth 40 percent of your grade). The goal of the semester-long project is to help you learn investigative techniques while pursuing a groundbreaking investigative story. A further goal is to get your project published. I will work with you to help you get your project published in a campus or professional publication.

Your work will be evaluated according to its publishable quality. The criteria are as follows: * A = Excellent work of publishable quality. Factors include quality of ideas, reporting, writing, originality and creativity, overall content, organization and adherence to AP style. * B = Good work. Publishable with minor changes. * C = Average work that requires substantial changes, including additional reporting, significant rewriting and correction of numerous style errors. * D = Poor. Work has serious flaws in terms of writing and reporting. * F = Unacceptable for these reasons: late (missed deadline), inaccurate, unfair, incomprehensible, factual errors or misspelled names. Plagiarism automatically results in an F.

IV. Grading Breakdown

Assignment and due date Points % of Grade Story Ideas Assignment Friday Jan. 30 100 5 Reporter Interview Assignment Friday Feb. 13 100 15 Court records Assignment Friday Feb. 20 100 10 Freedom of Information (FOIA) Assignment Friday Feb. 27 100 10 Ethics/Privacy issues Assignment Friday March 13 100 10 Final Project Friday May 1 100 40 Class participation and questions for guest speakers 100 10 TOTAL 100%

Class participation – Class participation is worth a total of 10 percent of your grade. You will be expected to regularly participate in class discussions and ask questions of me engage in discussions with your classmates and ask insightful questions of our guest speakers.

Assignment Submission Policy All of your assignments must be sent to me by email (word attachment please) at [email protected] before class on the due date. Please make sure your name and contact information is on all attachments. Please put the words J310 student assignment in the subject line of your email. You must hand in assignments by deadline. Lacking prior discussion and agreement with the instructor, assignments that are 1 day to 1 week late will be penalized one full grade (for example, “B” work would receive a “C.”). Assignments that are more than one week late will not be accepted and will automatically be given a grade of F

Required Readings and Supplementary Materials

The Investigative Reporter's Handbook: A Guide to Documents, Databases and Techniques, 5th Edition by Brant Houston, Len Bruzzese and Steve Weinberg.

The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston. I will periodically hand out or send you additional reading material. Much of this material will be investigative stories/case studies.

Laptop Policy Effective fall 2014, all undergraduate and graduate Annenberg majors and minors will be required to have a PC or Apple laptop that can be used in Annenberg classes. Please refer to the Annenberg Virtual Commons for more information. To connect to USC’s Secure Wireless network, please visit USC’s Information Technology Services website.

Add/Drop Dates January 30: Last day to register and add classes January 30: Last day to drop a class without a mark of “W,” except for Monday-only classes, and receive a refund February 3: Last day to drop a Monday-only class without a mark of “W” and receive a refund April 10: Last day to drop a class with a mark of “W”

Course Schedule: A Weekly Breakdown Important note to students: Please be advised that this syllabus is subject to change – and probably will change – based on the progress of the class, news events, and/or guest speaker availability.

INTRODUCTION and Part 1 – The Fundamentals and Traditions of Investigative Reporting; The practical and ethical considerations in dealing with human sources; Interviewing techniques; Observation and immersion journalism; We’ll also do some preliminary work dealing with public records.

Week 1 – (Wednesday January 14 and Friday January 16) -- Course overview; fundamentals of investigative reporting; choosing the investigative story; the investigative hypothesis; brief introductions to interviewing skills and public records research

Wed. January 14

Course introduction and goals. What it means to be an investigative reporter: a noble profession, one that can be used for good; the passion of an investigative reporter; the importance of gathering facts, information, and the pursuit of the truth. The importance of a clear, fair and persuasive presentation in writing the investigative story.

Information gathering: interviewing and public records. Thinking like a reporter. The many different ways of gathering information.

Where do ideas for investigative stories come from? What makes a good investigative story?

Ethics and standards: Review and discussion of ethics, stressing the school of journalism’s commitment to academic excellence and ethical behavior.

Reading assignment: Read pages 1-18 (The Investigative Process) and 108-119 (Ethics of Investigative Reporting) in the IRE Handbook (text)

Friday January 16

The roles, responsibilities and opportunities for investigative reporters, historically and continuing to the present day. Among other things, we will be discussing concepts of fairness, objectivity and privacy, and how they have evolved over time. We will use case studies during class -- for example, USA Today’s decision to break the story that tennis great Arthur Ashe had AIDS, despite Ashe’s wishes that the story not be made public. Assignment for Wednesday Jan. 21: Read Shipbreakers by Gary Cohn and Will Englund, and email me a list of at least six questions about the reporting and writing of the stories. Please also bring a copy of your questions to class. Read parts 1, 2, 3 (see links below) http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6144 http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6146 http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6147

Week 2 (Wed. Jan. 21 and Friday Jan. 23) – Anatomy of an investigative story (The Shipbreakers) and Interviewing Skills for the investigative reporter.

Wednesday Jan. 21 Anatomy of an investigative story. Case study: The Shipbreakers by Gary Cohn and Will Englund, an investigative series that documented the dangers to workers and the environment when old warships are dismantled.

We’ll go through everything from how the reporters got the story idea to the reporting and writing of the stories, as well as talk about the impact it had. We’ll talk about how the reporters took a story they discovered in the paper’s own backyard (The Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore) and pursued the story across the country and eventually to India. The series, published in the Baltimore Sun, won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.

This case study is used to show students how if they master the fundamentals of reporting and writing (covering a beat; getting people to talk on the record; using public documents, writing clear narrative and learning how to organize and analyze large amounts of material), they will be in a great position to report and write excellent investigative stories. This story will also be used to show students how they can start with a local story and pursue it nationally and globally.

Reading assignment: Read pages 67-88 (People Trails) in the IRE Handbook (text). Also read Loosening Lips: The Art of the Interview by Eric Nalder (available on blackboard and will be distributed to all students by email)

Friday Jan. 23

The art of the interview, basic interviewing skills and techniques: We will discuss the basics of good interviewing skills and their importance in investigative reporting.

Reading assignment for Sept. 10: Read pages 89-107 (Writing the Compelling Investigation) in the IRE Handbook (text) Assignment due before class on Friday January 30: Suggest three investigative stories. Explain why you picked each story, how you would go about reporting each story and why you believe each of these stories would make a compelling and important story. One of the investigative stories should involve USC or campus-wide topics; a second should focus on the neighborhood or town where you grew up, and a third should focus on the neighborhood you live in while going to USC. Please explain your reasoning and proposed reporting techniques in detail. Please think about this carefully, one of these ideas can be developed as your semester-long investigative project. Please email a copy of this assignment, and bring two additional copies to class.

Week 3 – Wednesday Jan. 28 and Friday Jan. 30 – The investigative story; How do you find groundbreaking investigative stories; Formulating and testing the investigative hypothesis; Dealing with sensitive sources; how to get people to talk with you about sensitive topics;

Wednesday Jan. 28: Investigative story ideas: Where do the ideas for investigative stories come from? We will discuss how investigative reporters find and pursue their stories, and we will discuss your ideas for semester-long investigative projects.

Reading Assignment for Jan. 30: Read Los Angeles Times stories about Arnold Schwarzenegger and women by Gary Cohn, Carla Hall and Robert Welkos, and a column by former LA Times Editor John Carroll. To be distributed.

Friday Jan. 30: Dealing with sensitive sources, also anonymous sources. We will discuss how to get people to talk on the record about sensitive topics. Among other stories, we will discuss the reporting, writing and decision-making that went into the LA Times’ controversial story about Arnold Schwarzenegger and his treatment women on movie sets and elsewhere. We will also discuss the pros and cons of publishing this story.

Reporter Interview Assignment: Select in-depth story (one that you would aspire to write), and interview the reporter about how he or she got the story idea, gathered the information, and wrote the article. This must be an investigative article or series (including sports), but not an editorial or a column. Cite your reasons for selecting the article. In your interview and in your paper, stress how the reporter came up with the story idea and how he or she gathered the information; public records used; interviewing techniques, the writing process, also discuss any obstacles that came up and how the reporter overcame those obstacles. The interview can either be conducted in person or on the telephone (not by email, though you may use email to set up the interview and for follow-up questions). Approximately 1,000 words. Due before class on Friday February 13.

Week 4 – Wednesday Feb. 4 and Friday Feb. 6 Individual meetings to discuss semester long project; finding and pursuing investigating stories while covering a beat

Wednesday Feb. 4 – Finding and pursuing investigating stories while covering a beat. We will discuss how reporters can find and report investigative stories while covering a local beat. We discuss how reporters can find and develop sources while covering beat, sources that can provide information for daily stories and longer-term investigative articles. Possible guest speaker.

Friday Feb. 6 – Individual meetings to discuss your semester-long project. You must bring a written proposal to this meeting. (Bring two copies, one for yourself, and one for me).

Reading assignment for Friday Feb. 13: Read pages 218-260 (Investigating Law Enforcement) in the IRE Handbook (text)

Part 2 – The use of public records in investigative reporting. During this part of the class schedule, we will be learning how to identify and use all kinds of public records, including court and police records, business and corporate records, nonprofit tax returns, and federal and state government agency records. We’ll also be learning how to use the federal Freedom of Information Act and state open records laws. We’ll also be learning how to organize material in investigative projects. And we’ll be discussing the ethics of investigative reporting, the use and misuse of anonymous sources and learning how to assess credibility of sources.

Week 5 (Wed. Feb. 11 and Friday Sept. 13) – Covering law enforcement and introduction to public records.

Wednesday Feb. 11 – Public Records overview – An overview of the types of public records that is available through the federal, state and local government and on the Web.

Friday Feb. 13 – Investigative reporting and the criminal justice system, and introduction to court and law enforcement records. Among other things, you will learn how to identify, locate and use court records.

Court records assignment is due before class on Friday Feb. 20

Week 6 – Wednesday Feb. 18 and Friday Feb. 20 - Public records (continued) – Using the federal Freedom of Information Act and state open records and open meetings laws. Wed Feb. 18– How to use the federal Freedom of Information Act and state open records and open meetings laws in investigative reporting. Among other things, you will learn how to file federal Freedom of Information Act requests with government agencies, including a request to see if you have a FBI file – and how to obtain a copy if you do.

Friday Feb. 20 – We will continue discussing the use of federal and state open records and open meetings laws. This class will focus on state and local records.

Reading assignment: Read pages 337-352 (Investigating Nonprofit and Religious Organizations) in the IRE Handbook (text). Also read the magazine article “AARP’s Fees Often Sting Seniors with Costlier Insurance” by Gary Cohn and Darrell Preston Copies to be distributed by email

Public Records Assignment involving FOIA and state Open Records laws is due before class on Friday February 27

Week 7 - Wed Feb. 25 and Friday Feb. 27 - Public records (continued) --Business and Financial Records

Wed Feb. 25 – Investigating nonprofits, charities and foundations Nonprofit corporations, foundations and charities play a key role in our society. There is a public perception that nonprofits are small organizations doing work on behalf of the poor and underserved. While this is true to some extent, the reality is that nonprofits include huge multi-million dollar organizations, giant hospitals, and huge private universities. Many of these organizations are nonprofits only in name, and need to be held accountable in the same way as government and big corporations. Please bring a laptop computer or I-Pad/tablet to class because this will be a hands-on learning session.

Reading assignment: Read pages 301-336 (Investigating For-Profit Businesses) in the IRE Handbook (text)

Friday Feb. 27 – Corporate Records – As part of a session about investigating business and corporations, you will learn the basics of researching and investigating publicly- traded corporations. Among other things, you’ll learn how to use the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database known as Edgar to research publicly-traded corporations. Please bring a laptop computer or I-Pad/tablet to class.

Week 8 – Wed March 4 and Friday March 6 Ethics and accountability Wednesday March 4 -- Investigative reporting and ethics – We will discuss numerous case studies dealing with investigative reporting, ethics, privacy, the use of anonymous sources and related topics.

Assignment: Read material dealing with credibility of sources, including a review by Roger Ebert of the documentary “The Thin Blue Line.” To be distributed by email

Friday March 6 – Assessing credibility – How do you assess the credibility of sources? How can you tell if someone is telling you the truth? We will view and discuss the landmark documentary, The Thin Blue Line, in this class on assessing credibility of sources. The film will also be the basis for a discussion of the weaknesses of certain law enforcement investigations and the problems with eyewitness testimony.

Reading assignment: Read pages 434-448 (Investigating the Environment) in the IRE Handbook (text)

Ethics Assignment is due before class on Friday March 13

Week 9 – Wed. March 11 and Friday March 13 -- Investigating the environment and the green economy; investigative sports reporting

Wednesday March 11 -- We will discuss techniques for investigating the environment as well as several case studies of groundbreaking environmental investigative stories (copies will be distributed ahead of class)

Friday March 13 – Investigative sports reporting – Discussion of several case studies of groundbreaking investigative sports reporting – and lessons for reporters who want to pursue similar stories in the future. (Including the stories about performance enhancing drugs and professional sports). Possible guest speaker to discuss investigative sports reporting.

SPRING BREAK MARCH 16 – MARCH 21 – NO CLASS

Week 10 – March 25 and Friday March 27 – Data Journalism and Investigative Reporting

Wednesday March 25 – Guest lecturer dealing with data journalism. We will have a journalist and/or data professional that will lecture and teach about the use of data in investigative reporting, in the age of the Internet. Friday March 27 – Hands-on session dealing with data journalism, following up from Wednesday’s lecture.

Make sure you have finished reading The Hot Zone before class on Wednesday April 1

Week 11 – Wednesday April 1 and Friday April 3 --Science investigative reporting and medical/health investigative reporting

Wed. April 1 – Investigative reporting about science –We will have an investigative science journalist as a guest speaker, most likely a reporter or editor who worked on the Ebola outbreak stories in the United States and abroad. Most likely, our guest speaker will be Michael Muskal, a LA Times reporter and editor and a Pulitzer-winning editor at Newsday, who will discuss international investigative reporting, focusing on the Pulitzer-winning series he edited by Newsday reporter Laurie Garrett about the Ebola disease overseas. Michael also worked as a reporter and editor on the LA Times recent coverage about Ebola.

Reading assignment to be completed before April 3: Read pages 388-414 (Investigating Health Care) in the IRE Handbook (text)

Friday April 3 -- Health and medical related investigative stories – We will discuss the reporting and writing of investigative stories dealing with health care and medical topics, using case studies of outstanding health-related investigative stories. We also will discuss the use of health-related databases, and ways to put the human element into your health- related stories.

Week 12 – Wednesday April 8 and Friday April 10 Investigative reporting overseas

Wed. April 9 – Investigative reporting overseas – An introduction to investigative reporting overseas.

Reading assignment: Read Battalion 316 by Gary Cohn and Ginger Thompson. Copies will be distributed to students by email.

Friday April 10 – Investigative reporting overseas (continued) –We will continue discussing techniques and strategies for pursuing investigative stories overseas. Among other stories, we will discuss Battalion 316, a four-part series by Gary Cohn and Ginger Thompson that documented how a CIA-trained Honduran army unit kidnapped, tortured and executed hundreds of suspected subversives during the 1980s, with U.S. government knowledge and complicity. The series was a finalist for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. IMPORTANT NOTE: A progress memo detailing your progress, future work and obstacles encountered in reporting and writing final project is due before class on Wednesday April 15

Week 13 – Wed April 15 and Friday April 17– Organizing and writing the investigative story; Individual meetings to discuss your semester long project.

Wed. April 15 – Pulling the investigative story together – organizing and writing the investigative story. Possible guest speaker who has worked as an editor on investigative and longform print and online stories.

Friday April 17 -- Individual meetings to discuss the progress on your semester long projects.

Week 14 -- Wednesday April 22 and Friday April 24 – Recap of public records research, including online sites dealing with nonprofits, corporate and business records and campaign finance records, as well as court records. Investigative reporting and new job opportunities in the digital age; class discussion of student projects

Wednesday April 22 -- Review of public records research, including court records research and web sites dealing with nonprofits, corporate and business records and campaign finance records, as well as court records.

Friday April 24 –Investigative reporting in the digital age – We will discuss the new opportunities available for students and journalists to do investigative reporting in the digital age, including investigative web sites such as Pro Publica and the Center for Investigative Reporting, as well as opportunities and strategies that students and journalists can use in seeking funds for freelance investigative stories.

Week 15 – Wednesday April 29 and Friday May 1 -- Continued recap of public records research; review of interviewing techniques; continued discussion of job opportunities in the investigative field; review of final projects and continued discussion about getting those projects published.

Wednesday April 29 – Continued recap of public records research that will be of continuing use to students as they take on professional journalism and other jobs after graduation.

Friday May 1 – Last Day of Class – A review and discussion of final projects and tips for getting those projects published. Your final project is due today. There is no final examination in this class.

IX. Policies and Procedures

Internships The value of professional internships as part of the overall educational experience of our students has long been recognized by the School of Journalism. Accordingly, while internships are not required for successful completion of this course, any student enrolled in this course that undertakes and completes an approved, non-paid internship during this semester shall earn academic extra credit herein of an amount equal to 1 percent of the total available semester points for this course. To receive instructor approval, a student must request an internship letter from the Annenberg Career Development Office and bring it to the instructor to sign by the end of the third week of classes. The student must submit the signed letter to the media organization, along with the evaluation form provided by the Career Development Office. The form should be filled out by the intern supervisor and returned to the instructor at the end of the semester. No credit will be given if an evaluation form is not turned in to the instructor by the last day of class. Note: The internship must be unpaid and can only be applied to one journalism class.

Statement on Academic Conduct and Support Systems a. Academic Conduct Plagiarism Presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11, Behavior Violating University Standards https://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct, http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct/.

USC School of Journalism Policy on Academic Integrity The following is the USC Annenberg School of Journalism’s policy on academic integrity and repeated in the syllabus for every course in the school:

“Since its founding, the USC School of Journalism has maintained a commitment to the highest standards of ethical conduct and academic excellence. Any student found plagiarizing, fabricating, cheating on examinations, and/or purchasing papers or other assignments faces sanctions ranging from an ‘F’ on the assignment to dismissal from the School of Journalism.” All academic integrity violations will be reported to the office of Student Judicial Affairs & Community Standards (SJACS), as per university policy, as well as journalism school administrators.”

In addition, it is assumed that the work you submit for this course is work you have produced entirely by yourself, and has not been previously produced by you for submission in another course or Learning Lab, without approval of the instructor.

b. Support Systems Equity and Diversity Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or to the Department of Public Safety http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/online- forms/contact-us. This is important for the safety whole USC community. Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The Center for Women and Men http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm/ provides 24/7 confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage https://sarc.usc.edu/ describes reporting options and other resources.

Support with Scholarly Writing A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students.

The Office of Disability Services and Programs http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.htmlprovides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations.

Stress Management Students are under a lot of pressure. If you start to feel overwhelmed, it is important that you reach out for help. A good place to start is the USC Student Counseling Services office at 213-740-7711. The service is confidential, and there is no charge.

Emergency Information If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information http://emergency.usc.edu/ will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.

Policy on attendance -- You will be expected to attend class regularly and be on time for class. If you are sick or have a family or personal emergency, you must send an email ([email protected]) or text (310-699-5594). If possible, this notification should be sent prior to the start of class.

About Your Instructor

Gary Cohn, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, has been a journalist for more than two decades at newspapers, magazines and online web sites across the United States.

Cohn has worked for the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and for columnist Jack Anderson in Washington. He is currently lead investigative reporter for Capital & Main, an online investigative web site that covers politics and public policy in California, and also writes regularly for Juvenile Justice Information Exchange.

Prior to moving to southern California, Cohn served for two years as Atwood Professor of Journalism at the University of Alaska at Anchorage.

Many of Cohn's stories have exposed wrongdoing and resulted in significant reforms. In addition to a Pulitzer, Cohn has won numerous other national journalism awards, including an IRE Medal, a George Polk Award, two Selden Ring Awards and two Overseas Press Club Awards. He graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo and lives with his family in Santa Monica.