Course Description for
Specialized Reporting:
Computer-Assisted Reporting

Return to Syllabi on Computer-Assisted Reporting

Or jump to the Syllabus or Readings or Mailing lists or E-zines or Key Web sites or Exercises.

Communications 438T

California State University

Specialized Reporting: Computer-Assisted Reporting

Spring 1999

Instructor:

Ron Campbell

E-mail: ron_campbell@link.freedom.com or ronjanec@gte.net

Telephone: 714/664-5030 (days), 714/962-8521 (eves)

Hours:

Class will be taught each Wednesday, 7 to 9:45 p.m., from Feb. 3 through May 26.

We will skip class March 31 because of spring break.

I have a prior commitment on April 14 but will assign you work in lieu of that class. Please review the Syllabus carefully.

During each class session there will be a 10-minute break around 8:30 p.m.

I'll be available to consult with you during the break and after each session. I encourage you to call or e-mail me immediately if you have a problem related to this class.

Please put the class title, Communications 438T, in the subject line so I can pluck your message from the large piles of garbage I get each day.

Purpose:

Students will learn the basic tools of computer-assisted reporting (CAR), including spreadsheets, databases and Internet browsers, and will explore more advanced topics such as statistics and data cleaning. We'll also review ways to avoid drowning readers in a sea of numbers.

Prerequisites:

All students must have a thorough background in traditional reporting methods. Strong writing skills are a plus.

Requirements:

Students are expected to attend each class and to participate in discussions. A series of readings will be assigned to expand on information presented in the lectures. Students will complete several exercises, critique published work and prepare a news story based on their own computer-assisted reporting.

Grading:

This is a skills class. I don't think sit-down tests would be a useful measure of your performance. Here is how I'll grade you:

• 30% Completion of skills exercises

• 20% Critiques of professional work

• 20% Class participation

• 30% Final paper

Plagiarism is unacceptable. If I catch you, I'll flunk you and report you to the department chair for additional discipline.

Text:

The textbook is Computer-Assisted Reporting: A Practical Guide by Brant Houston (St. Martin's Press). The first edition of the textbook comes with a PC-format disk of exercises. For the second edition (which I think we'll be getting), you'll need to download both the exercises and the backup data from the IRE site.

Readings:

In addition to the textbook, I will assign you outside reading from time to time. Most, probably all, of the reading assignments will be available on the Web.

Each week's reading assignment is intended to supplement material I already have introduced in class. You should complete the reading as soon after class as possible.

I've designed the class to build progressively, concept upon concept, skill upon skill. If my lectures, the supplemental readings and exercises fail to make something clear, please speak up.

Exercises:

We'll spend the first two-thirds of this class developing basic skills. By that point, you should be comfortable searching the Internet and analyzing data with spreadsheets and databases. You will fall hopelessly behind if you don't finish the exercises promptly.

Submit completed exercises at the beginning of class on the day due. Please submit them on PC diskettes, labeled with your name. A box of diskettes should last you the entire class. If for any reason you are unable to attend a class, submit your completed exercise by e-mail to my home address (ronjanec@gte.net) no later than 10 p.m. on the date the exercise is due.

Critiques:

Computers have profoundly reshaped American journalism. A decade ago, electronic news was synonymous with the three big television networks. Most newspapers used computers exclusively to set type. Today the once-proud networks are expanding Web sites and nervously eyeing 25-year-old Web journalists. Newspapers are unveiling major CAR projects almost weekly, and computers are helping to shape countless smaller stories.

You'll prepare two critiques during this class. The first, due March 3, will examine a news site or e-zine and should examine the site's credibility as well as the quality of the content and presentation. The second critique, due April 7, will examine a recently published CAR project; this second critique must summarize the CAR project's findings and methodology, assess credibility, presentation and importance.

Each critique should be about 1,000 words and should cite all relevant URLs.

Final paper:

You will find a dataset on the Internet, drawing from a list I supply or from your own search. You'll then analyze this dataset, develop tentative conclusions, arrange and conduct interviews and write a professional-quality story based on your research. A "nerd box" explaining your methodology must accompany the story.

(return to top)

Go here for the Syllabus.

Or jump to Readings or Mailing lists or E-zines or Key Web sites or Exercises.

(return to top)