Investigative Reporting for the Daily Californian Journalism 198
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Investigative Reporting for the Daily Californian Journalism 198 Abbie VanSickle [email protected] 206.552.5597 (cell) Class time: Friday 2-3, IRP Conference Room Office hours: Friday 3-4 or by appointment This introductory course offers an overview of investigative reporting, aimed at giving students practical experience and guidance. The course assumes that students will have some reporting experience, primarily as reporters for the Daily Californian, although others may be admitted with the permission of the instructor. The course aims to give students classroom instruction in techniques, a background in the most relevant investigative work and, when possible, advice and instruction by practitioners. The course will examine the role of investigative reporting, the fundamental techniques that may be of use (data collection, interviewing, court records, etc.) and exposure to some of the ethical and legal dilemmas that reporters face. As part of the course, students will work on an investigative story of their choosing, preferably a piece for the Daily Cal, but any publishable-quality piece will do. There is no required textbook for this course, but required readings will be found in the course reader. The syllabus indicates the general schedule for the semester, but we may vary it a bit depending on the discussions and the pace. COURSE OBJECTIVES The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to investigative reporting, by learning techniques, by hearing from experienced practitioners, and by reading, listening to and viewing strong examples of investigative storytelling. By the end of the semester, I hope you will: ● Have an understanding of the basics of investigative reporting; ● Have read, viewed and listened to some of the best investigative storytelling; ● Gain an understanding of the challenges and techniques of investigative reporting; ● Gain confident in making public records requests and in asking difficult questions. SUGGESTED READING, WATCHING AND LISTENING “Writing for Story” by Jon Franklin Spotlight, the movie “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo “Without You, There is No Us: Undercover Among the Sons of North Korea’s Elite” by Suki Kim “Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital” by Sheri Fink “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot In the Dark podcast “Random Family” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc ASSIGNMENTS We will have short weekly assignments as a way to be able to reflect on what we’re studying and to practice the skills learned along the way. These won’t be long assignments, but they will help you to practice an important skill for a journalist--meeting deadlines. The deadline for each week’s assignment will be 5 p.m. on Wednesday. That ensures that I’ll have enough time to properly read and respond to assignments and to give classmates time to read and reflect on each other’s work. ATTENDANCE POLICY This class is discussion-focused, and I believe that students learn a lot from each other. Attendance is vital. Don’t miss more than one class during the semester, unless there are exceptional circumstances approved in advance. Notify me in advance before missing a class. ASSESSMENT This is a pass/no pass course. To pass the course, I expect you will have: ● Turned in all assignments on time ● Attended class and actively participated ● Demonstrated an understanding of the course objectives through your questions, comments and class assignments OTHER REQUIREMENTS & EXPECTATIONS 1) You are required to attend class on time. Consider the class time the same way you would an appointment for an interview on a reporting assignment. “Berkeley Time” doesn’t apply to this class. 2:00 means 2:00. We only have one hour, so let’s make it count. 2) Be prepared to discuss and engage with class topics and scheduled speakers the way you would prepare if you were interviewing a source. 3) Plan on being “laptops down, phones away” during most sessions. When computer or phone use is permitted, it will only be for note taking or viewing websites being discussed. No web surfing, email, texting, social media, gchat or completing other work that’s supposed to be done outside of class. Please bring paper and a pen to each class. 4) Turn in assignments by the deadline. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY & PLAGIARISM: The high academic standard at the University of California, Berkeley, is reflected in each degree that is awarded. As a result, it is up to every student to maintain this high standard by ensuring that all academic work reflects his/her own ideas or properly attributes the ideas to the original sources. These are some basic expectations of students with regards to academic integrity: Any work submitted should be your own individual thoughts, and should not have been submitted for credit in another course unless you have prior written permission to re-use it in this course from this instructor. All assignments must use "proper attribution," meaning that you have identified the original source of words or ideas that you reproduce or use in your assignment. This includes drafts and homework assignments! If you are unclear about expectations, ask your instructor. DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS: If you need disability-related accommodations in this class, if you have emergency medical information you wish to share with the instructor, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform the instructor as soon as possible by seeing him/her after class or making an appointment. If you are not currently listed with DSP (Disabled Students’ Program) but believe that you could benefit from their support, you may apply online at dsp.berkeley.edu. INSTRUCTOR BIO: Abbie VanSickle is a reporter for The Marshall Project, covering criminal justice in California. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, among other outlets. Prior to joining The Marshall Project, she worked as a staff reporter for the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley. She is a licensed attorney and practiced as a public defender in Seattle and worked on human rights in China and on behalf of genocide survivors at the ECCC tribunal in Cambodia. August 24 -- What is investigative reporting? What is investigative reporting? What do we mean by that term? What makes a story an “investigative” piece? We’ll have introductions. We will talk about how to define investigative reporting and stories. Before class, please take a look at these stories with an eye toward the sources the reporters used and the reporting process: Required Reading: “Fight Club” by Carol Marbin Miller and Audra D.S. Burch, Miami Herald https://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/florida-prisons/article177510156.html “An L.A. County deputy faked evidence. Here’s how his misconduct was kept secret in court for years,” by Corina Knoll, Ben Poston and Maya Lau, Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-brady-list-secrecy-court-20180809-htmlstory.html and the Brady List quiz: http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-brady-list-secrecy/. “The Throwaways,” by Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/09/03/the-throwaways “Invisible Lives: D.C.’s Troubled System for the Retarded: Forest Haven is Gone, But the Agony Remains,” by Katherine Boo, the Washington Post http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/washington-post-notably-work-katherine-boo “Origins of an Epidemic: Purdue Pharma Knew its Opioids Were Widely Abused,” by Barry Meier, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/health/purdue-opioids-oxycontin.html?rref=collection%2Fb yline%2Fbarry-meier&action=click&contentCollection=undefined®ion=stream&module=strea m_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection Assignment: To start off our discussion of investigative reporting, I’d like to know what examples inspire you. Before our first class, please email me ([email protected]) an example of a piece of investigative reporting that you admire. August 31 -- Story Ideas How do you find investigative story ideas on your beat? How do you know when you’ve got a good story? What are the elements that separate a story from simply a topic or area of interest? What background research should you do when you’ve found a story? Required Reading: “Three Simple Ways to Find Stories,” NPR Training -- https://training.npr.org/audio/3-simple-ways-to-find-story-ideas/ “Storytelling Advice from Sarah Stillman of the New Yorker,” https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/storytelling-advice-from-sarah-stillman-of-the-new-yorker/s2/ a711997/ “15 Rules,” Nieman Storyboard -- http://niemanstoryboard.org/stories/katherine-boos-15-rules-for-narrative-nonfiction-now-this-is- a-must-read/ “The Miseries of Eviction: An Interview with Matthew Desmond,” -- https://www.currentaffairs.org/2016/08/the-miseries-of-eviction-an-interview-with-matthew-desm ond Assignment: Use the techniques that we discuss to find a story that you’d like to pursue this semester. It could be off of your beat or another area of interest on campus or in Berkeley. Please write a pitch of no more than 250 words with your story idea. Be sure to include links to any other stories that have been written already and how your idea is different. September 7 -- Ethics In the past, I’ve taught a class in ethics toward the end of the semester, but it’s such a vital topic, particularly as you start off your reporting, that I’m moving it up this year.