JOUR 4855 / 5855
Newspaper Workshop
Fall Session, Oct. 19 to Nov. 16, 2007
Main Instructor: Dean Jobb (djobb@dal.ca).
Office: Room 162. Phone 422-1271 ext. 143
Goals: In this workshop, we will produce five issues of the Halifax Commoner, a weekly newspaper. Each student will have the chance to try various forms of newspaper reporting – hard news, feature writing, analysis, narrative writing, columns, editorials, investigative reporting, graphics, pictures and photo essays. We will strive to break stories and to build on stories that have appeared in the local media. Students will be encouraged to freelance stories to local dailies and weeklies.

You will pitch story ideas, help develop the ideas of others, and work to strict deadlines. You will learn how to take photos, edit stories and write headlines and cutlines. You will learn how to design and lay out pages using InDesign. And you will work as a team to ensure the paper is finished on time, the copy is error-free, the photos are engaging and the stories are accurate and compelling.

Required Texts: The Canadian Press Stylebook (14th ed., 2006) and CP Caps and Spelling (17th ed., 2005). Available at the King’s bookstore.

Instructors:
Workshop instructor Dean Jobb (djobb@dal.ca)
InDesign layout & production Kate Ross (kate.ross@ukings.ns.ca) Ext. 160
Photography Michael Creagen (mcreagen@gmail.com)
Phone: 455-3498

Schedule – Week 1:
The workshop begins with four days of intensive training in:
‘ Generating story ideas;
‘ Reporting and writing news stories;
‘ Editing copy, writing headlines and cutlines;
‘ Page design, layout and production using InDesign. 

Tue. Oct . 9 9:30-12:30 Intro to Workshop (Dean) Vroom

2:00-4:30 InDesign & Layout (Kate) Production (Mac) Lab


Wed. Oct. 10: 9:30-10:45 Developing Story Ideas (Dean) Vroom

11:30-12:30 Intro to Photography (Michael) Vroom

2:00-4:30 InDesign & Layout (Kate) Production Lab
Thurs. Oct. 11: 9:30-10:45 Reporting & Writing (Dean) Vroom
Reading: CP Stylebook, “Common Faults” and “Writing,” pp. 150-59, 163-71.

11:00-12:30 Photography (Michael) Vroom
Reading: CP Stylebook, “Pictures,” pp. 355-60.

2:00-4:30 InDesign & Layout (Kate) Production Lab

Friday. Oct. 12 9: 30-12:30 Reporting, Writing & Editing (Dean) Vroom
Reading: CP Stylebook, “Editing,” pp. 172-6; “Headlines,” pp. 406-410, ”Writing Captions,” pp. 364-5.

2:00-4:00 InDesign & Layout (Kate) Production Lab

Note: We will arrange a story meeting for the first issue during the first week.


Schedule and Deadlines – Five production weeks:

We will produce the first issue during the week of Oct. 15, and four more issues during the weeks of Oct. 22 and 29, and Nov. 5 and 12.

Monday-Tuesday Reporting and Photography
Debriefing – before starting to write, all students must meet with Dean at his office to discuss the story (approach, possible ledes, whether more research is needed, etc.)

9:30 a.m. – Daily reporters and assignment editor meet at Dean’s office to discuss assignments (unless story is already assigned)

6:00 p.m. – Deadline for daily reporters to submit stories (in hard copy) to Dean for editing.

Tuesdays

9:30 a.m. – Daily reporters and assignment editor meet at Dean’s office. (Edited daily stories will be returned for revision, which are due at the Wednesday 11 a.m. deadline for final versions of stories.)

4:00 p.m. – Photo Deadline: All photos, with identifying information, must be filed to the Commoner drive. If your story does not have a useable photo, your story may not run and you will lose marks.

6:00 p.m. – StreetLevel Deadline: Photos and text must be filed, edited, adjusted, cropped, laid out and proofread.
6:00 p.m. – Story Deadline: First draft in (hard copy) of all stories (weekly deadline stories as well as those written for Tuesday’s daily deadline) to be submitted to Dean. Edited stories will be returned to your mailbox by 9 a.m. Wednesday, so you can make revisions in time for the deadline for final drafts.

Wednesdays

11:00 a.m. – Deadline for revised stories: All stories must be filed to the Commoner Drive “stories folder” for the week by 11 a.m. The issue and assignment editors must read and edit all stories by 1:30 p.m.

1:30-7:00 p.m. – Page Production (Production Lab)

7:00 p.m. – Deadline for first proofs of all pages

7:00-8:00 p.m. (or a bit later) – Proofreading and corrections. Note: Everyone helps proofread and correct pages.

Thursdays

9:00 a.m. – Final check of pages (Production Lab) (issue and assignment editors only)

10:00-11:30 a.m. – Story meeting (Vroom)

1:00-3:00 p.m. Class: Best Practices in Newspaper Journalism (Dean) Vroom (Seminar schedule and reading list to come)

Fridays

9:30-11:30 a.m. – Post-mortem on current issue (Vroom)

Evaluation: Your work for each issue will be worth 20% of the total mark for the workshop. Marks will be based on: 
 

-- story ideas
-- reporting and writing
-- photos
-- meeting deadlines
-- editing of copy and photos
-- page design and production
-- attendance / work ethic
-- teamwork

You will lose marks for sloppy writing and reporting, factual errors, spelling mistakes, typos, poor grammar, failing to file usable photos and not using CP style.

Deadline Policy: If you miss a deadline for filing copy or photos, your work may not be published and you will lose marks for that week.
Duties of Editors, Reporters and Photographers:

Each student must sign up for one editing position during the workshop – either as assignment editor, issue editor, or photo editor. As well, each student must sign up for at least one week as a daily reporter. A sign-up sheet will be posted Tuesday Oct. 9 on Dean’s office door – first come, first served.

-- Assignment Editor: The assignment editor helps formulate and clarify story ideas and coordinates the reporting. The assignment editor leads the story meeting and must be ready to present themes and story ideas. Once stories are assigned, he or she guides reporters as they do their research, prepare for interviews and prepare to write. The assignment editor also compiles a calendar of upcoming events and updates promotional ads for the other workshops.

-- Issue Editor: The issue editor works closely with the assignment editor and is in charge of production day. He or she works with the photo editors to select the best pictures, copies finished pages for Dean and other students to proofread, and selects an experienced reporter or editor to conduct the post-mortem. The issue editor also writes a lead editorial putting the week’s focus theme into context.

Note: On production day, the assignment and issue editors collaborate to edit all stories (after Dean has vetted them, and once revisions have been made) and decide where they will run in the paper.

-- Photo Editors (2): The two photo editors for each issue take any pictures the reporters are unable to take, compile StreetLevel, and select and edit photos to be offered to page editors. One or both may also undertake a photo essay, under Michael’s direction. Note: Photo editing is a two-week commitment. We need two photo editors for the first week, and one of them must agree to be a photo editor for the following week’s edition, to assist in training. The new person each subsequent week also must make a two-week commitment. Kate will arrange PhotoShop training sessions on Monday afternoons for that week’s photo editors (other students interested in learning PhotoShop are welcome to attend).

-- Reporters and Page Editors: Students who do not have one of these jobs on a given week will report and write stories for the Tuesday 6 p.m. deadline. On production day, they will edit and lay out one or more pages. (Note: Reporters do not edit or lay out their own stories, with the exception of photo essays). Writers and editors must adhere to Canadian Press style for spelling, capitalization, titles and word usage. Refer to Caps and Spelling and the CP Stylebook, “Tools and technical guides,” pp. 191-352. All other spellings must conform with the Oxford Canadian Dictionary.

-- Front Page Editor: Each week, a student will volunteer to design and lay out pages 1 and 2.



Procedures for filing stories and submitting photos:

Writers must put a focus sentence at the top of each story. The focus sentence should be short and simple, and must contain an active verb. For example, “N.S. premier quits politics to run kilt factory.”

Slug each story with a word that identifies it clearly, plus your name: For example: rave (Your Name), or: rave (drug sidebar) (Your Name)

Once your first draft has been vetted by Dean, polish or rewrite your story and move it to the stories folder for that issue on the Commoner drive. Page editors go to the stories folder to retrieve stories to edit.

StreetLevel: We run 10 answers to a question of the week. Each one has a picture of the person, full name, and some ID (usually a job title) Note that if the person is a student we should say what the person is studying, what year, and at which university: i.e., fourth-year psychology student at Dalhousie. If the person is retired we should say from what. Not just “retired” but “retired welder.” The StreetLevel question should be open-ended to solicit interesting answers. Although we can use only a sentence or two from each person, keep digging until you get an interesting answer.

The photo editors prepare the StreetLevel pictures and captions and lay them out on facing pages. Five people must be facing in one direction, 5 in the other, for layout purposes. It’s a good idea to have more than 10 people to work with and to take 3 photos of each person – face-on and from either side.

Photos: You are expected to take photos for your own stories or to make arrangements for the photo editors to take them. You must take a minimum of 10 photos, from various angles, composed horizontally as well as vertically. Reporters are responsible for downloading their photos into the computer system for editing and must identify every shot. We need:

— Full names (left to right) and I.D. (age, address, job title or whatever
is relevant) for each shot.
— Photographer’s name and reporter’s name.
— A brief cutline identifying the photo and the story to which it relates.

How Production Day Unfolds:

On production day, the issue editor and photo editors select stories and photos for each page and assign pages to page editors. Page editors are responsible for copy editing, rewriting and checking stories on their pages, as required. Page editors must consult with the reporter and the issue editor about major changes, and with photo editors on the pictures to be used and how to present them.

Follow this routine when doing page production:

1. Gather all stories and pictures for your page.
2. Read the stories, noting potential headlines, decks and pull quotes, and how long the stories should be. Do not edit them at this point.
3. Select the photos you will use.
4. Design the page on paper (and have Kate or Dean approve it) before you do it in InDesign
5. Do a layout in Indesign, leaving space for headlines, pull quotes and cutlines.
6. Insert each picture onto the page.
7. Carefully edit the story, then import it to your page. Check all major changes with the writer.
8. Write headlines, pull quotes and cutlines.
9. Make two proofs of the page, one for Dean and one to post on the blackboard for others to proofread.
10. Make corrections and changes, then proof the page again and give it to a second person to proofread. Make any further corrections, then make two more proofs. Post one on the blackboard and mark it FINAL. Give the other to the issue editor. Once we’re finished, Kate will prepare the pages for the printer.

Distribution: The Commoner is printed on Thursday and delivered to King’s by noon Friday. It is distributed over the weekend to about 30 regular distribution points. In addition, reporters and photographer must mail a copy to any source who requests one. Ask Kelly Porter for envelopes and postage.

Post-mortem: The issue editor will invite an experienced local newspaper journalist to do the post-mortem on Friday morning. This person must be contacted well in advance and given copies of the final page proofs. All students should read all pages before the post-mortem. Copies will be in your mailbox by Thursday afternoon.

Intellectual Honesty: Plagiarism is a form of academic fraud. It is a writer’s presentation of the work of another person in such a way as to give the reader reason to think it is the writer’s own work. Self-plagiarism is the submission of work by a person which is the same or substantially the same as work for which he or she has already received academic or professional credit. Plagiarism is considered a serious academic offence, which may lead to loss of credit, suspension or expulsion from the university, or even the revocation of a degree. For more information, see the King’s calendar, pp. 38-44 and the Dalhousie University calendar, pp. 34-35.

Students with disabilities seeking academic accommodations should register as soon as possible with Student Accessibility Services. Phone 494-2836, e-mail disabilities@dal.ca, or visit the Killam Library, G28. Website: http://studentaccessibility.dal.ca