SYLLABUS
MACO 355
History and Principles of Journalism
Spring semester, 2005
Dr. Lloyd Chiasson
Office: 100-A Talbot Hall
Phone: 448-4632
Office Hours: M-W-F 8:30-9:30 a.m., 10:45-11:45 a.m., T-Th 8:30-11:30 a.m, and by appointment
Email: lloyd.chiasson@nicholls.edu
The development in the United States of newspapers, magazines, radio, television, advertising and public relations; ethical principles of American journalism.
Course Prerequisites
None.
To explore the historical development of journalism in this country by putting it into a larger political, economic and social context. In so doing, it is expected that the student will have a better understanding of the importance of communication systems historically and in the present.
Emphasis will be placed upon historical concepts and trends, rather than statistical information. Emphasis will also be placed on the development of reporting, the nature of news selection and how ethical standards, or the lack thereof, may have affected the news agenda. Other areas that will receive attention include reportage about the environment, minority and diversity issues, and the changing social fabric of American society. In addition, within each period essential events and important men and women will be highlighted.
Texts: Three Centuries of American Media, Lloyd Chiasson, ed.
Class meetings: MWF noon-1:20 p.m., Peltier 242
Attendance: Students with more than three unexcused (not university excused) absences will drop a letter grade with each absence. No exceptions.
You are expected to attend all classes. Verifiable and legitimate absences in which I am notified ahead of time will not result in lost points. You are responsible for all worked missed as well as handing in any assignments due. All assignments are due at the beginning of class assigned. No assignments are accepted late.
You are expected to participate in class discussions and activities. A portion of your final grade reflects participation. You will be expected to have read assigned material before class.
If you have a cell phone, either do not bring it to class or make sure it is turned off. 10 points will be deducted from your final average the first time it goes off. If it goes off a second time you will be required to withdraw from the course.
Note: Extracurricular activities such as work on student publications or with the student government do not qualify as an official excuse for anything. No exceptions.
(Tardiness is treated as an absence unless satisfactory explanation is made to the instructor at the end of the period (not at a later date).
Make-ups: Any missed assignments resulting from excused absences must be turned in at the beginning of the next class session or made up during the first class period the student attends following the absence.
Procedure for Conducting Class
This is a lecture course. Pertinent class discussion is expected, however, and will represent a part of each studentÕs grade. This means that students are expected to read the chapters ahead of time and that they are prepared for discussion each class.
Requirements
Students must complete all the work (i.e., tests, projects, presentation, papers, productions, writing assignments, etc.) required to receive a passing grade for this course. Completion of all the work required does not guarantee a passing grade. Failure to complete any required work will result in a grade of F for the course.
Portfolio
A portfolio is required of every mass communication student. The student portfolio will be presented in the capstone course of the studentÕs emphasis. Further details on the portfolio requirements may be found in the MACO Student handbook or from any MACO professor. All work in all MACO courses should be corrected and archived on disk and in hard copy for possible inclusion in the studentÕs portfolio.
Grading Policy
The grade scale is as follows:
A--100 to 90
B--89 to 80
C--79 to 70
D--69 to 60
F--59 and below
There are three exams, a combination of essay and objective, a research paper, and five analyses. Each exam is worth 25 percent of the course grade (75 percent total.) The summaries are worth analyses four percent. The research paper is worth 21 percent.
The essay section of the exams: One or two essays will include discussion, outside readings, and lecture material. The objective section of the exams: The objective portion primarily will be concerned with names, dates, and other basic material from lecture and the text.
The exams will cover the three major sections of the text. Exam 1: Chapters 1-5. Exam 2: Chapters 6-13. Exam 3: Chapters 14-30.
Research paper: A two- to three-paragraph idea for the paper is due Tuesday, Week 5. Due date for the research paper is Tuesday, Week 13. The paper must be submitted electronically as well as hard copy. If the paper is not submitted electronically (email) by classtime of the due date, it will not be accepted.
This paper must be a minimum of 3,000 words, not including bibliography and endnotes. The endnote and bibliography forms to be followed are the ones used in the textbook. If the student has any questions regarding this or presentation, he/she should consult the instructor.
About the topic: The student might consider historical scandals and the media, war and the media, minorities and the media, social reform and the media, a person involved with the media or who the media covered, OR the student might just pick a time period that he/she is interested in and do preliminary research to pick a topic.
All research papers must deal with topics before 1970.
The student should not wait too long to chose a topic, however, since the due date is well before finals.
Note: If the paper is not 3,000 words or the bibliography and endnotes do not meet the requirements, the paper will be considered unacceptable. If a paper does not contain endnotes or is missing a bibliography, it is unacceptable.
The research paper represents 21 percent of the course grade.
Note: The instructor must approve the topic.
Other important considerations about the research paper: No more than one fourth of the endnotes can be from Internet sources. The same is true of the bibliography.
1]The bibliography reflects all references used; the endnotes reflect all references used in the paper.
2] The endnotes follow the paper whereas footnotes appear on the page that the citation is given.
3] The order or presentation is paper, then endnotes, then bibliography.
Finally, do not ask the instructor how many endnotes and bibliographical citations are needed. A good job of research and writing will take care of itself. At this level, the student should know what is good work and what is not.
The analyses: These four summary/analyses represent four percent of the course grade. A minimum of 800 words each. A word count must be provided at the top of each analysis and analyses that do not meet the word requirement will be graded down.
The first analysis concerns itself with three different editions from three different years of the New York Times newspaper published during the 1860s. The second analysis is of three editions from three different years during the 1880s (newspaper of your choice). The third analysis is of three editions from 1910-1920 (newspaper of your choice). The four analysis is of three different editions of a magazine published before 1945 (magazine of your choice).
All four analyses should discuss the content of both news and advertising, and, in general, anything else that the student finds interesting such as make-up, etc. I do not want you summarizing stories. I want your thoughts about the news and the newspapers of the day.
Plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty will be dealt with severely, the minimum penalty being an F in the course. By taking this course, students agree that all assignments are subject to submission to Turnitin.com, an online plagiarism prevention and detection service. All work submitted to Turnitin.com will be added to its database of papers. Turnitin's privacy policy and a description of the service are available at http://www.turnitin.com. Specifically, this service compares your paper with Internet webpages, articles in databases, and all papers previously submitted from this university or any other. Turnitin then either confirms the originality of your work or gives the source of plagiarism. In cases of detected plagiarism, the paper and supporting evidence will be handled in compliance with the Student Code of Conduct (http://www.nicholls.edu/life/policy/code_of_conduct.pdf).
General Class Policies
1) No make-up assignments. It is the student's responsibility to meet all deadlines. If this course is to prepare the student for the "real world," then real world standards must apply.
Note: If you miss an assignment for legitimate reasons, you must present an official excuse, as well as the assignment, the next class period you attend.
2) Students are encouraged to meet with the professor to discuss research ideas or any aspect of the course that the student deems pertinent.
2) Students are expected to show common courtesy to one another and to the instructor. For example, do not read in class; do not chit chat in class; do not pack up book before the lecture is completed.
Last day to drop with a W
April 7
Bibliography
It is imperative that the student becomes familiar with resource materials available in the library. Students will use both primary and secondary sources.
Library materials, which can be useful in gathering data for research papers, are:
* academic journals
* government publications
* indices
* bibliographical collections
Texts include: A History of News by Mitchell Stephens, The First Casualty by Philip Knightley, The Press and the State by Brasch and Ulloth, Tube of Plenty by Erik Barnouw, The Abolitionists: Reformers or Fanatics? by Richard Curry, The Black Press by Armistead Pride, The Age of Reform by Richard Hofstadler, The End of American Innocence by Henry May, Ida Tarbell by Mary Tomkins. Shame of the Cities by Lincoln Steffens, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, A Treasury of Great Reporting by Louis Synder, Minnesota Rag by Fred Friendly, The American Constitution by Alfred Kelly and Winfred Harbison, and American Journalism by Frank Luther Mott.
Course Outline
Regarding lectures, this is tentative and dependent upon class progress and quality of class discussions. Besides the larger press periods, other lecture and discussion topics include the minority press, the labor movement, the womenÕs movement, and media involvement in social movements of the times, e.g., civil rights, Vietnam, gay rights, abortion.
The summaries, however, are due on Tuesdays as follows. The research paper must be turned in by Week 13, but may be turned in earlier.
Week l
*Introduction
Week 2
*The development of oral, written and print communication.
*Various theories of the press and how the press function within society
Week 3
Summary 1-Tuesday
*Colonial period
Week 4
Summary 2-Tuesday
*Revolutionary period
Week 5
Summary 3-Tuesday
Two or three–paragraph idea for research paper-Thursday
*Partisan period
Exam 1-Tuesday
*Antebellum
Week 7
Summary 4-Tuesday
*Frontier
*Penny
Week 8
*Penny
Week 9
*Modern
Week 10]
*Yellow journalism
Exam 2-Tuesday
*Overview of the electric century: television, radio, and movies
Week 12
*Cinema
Week 13
*Radio
Research paper-Tuesday
Week 14
*Television
*Conclusions
Finals Week
Exam 3 (Not cumulative)