Welcome to Contemporary Journalism . This intermediate level course sharpens student news gathering, writing and editing skills and prepares them for the demands of journalism jobs in the 21 st century. Students write longer story packages, both in conventional print formats and in HTML language for Web distribution.
Students also discuss libel and ethical concerns that can affect their writing and careers.
After taking this course, you should be ready for an internship at a major news organization or for an entry-level job in journalism or a related field. While this is not an in-depth course in Web page design, you will emerge with your own web page and a portfolio of stories that you can use to market yourself. You also will know more about Web design and writing than most of the people currently employed at most news organizations. While many of the lessons will be set in a newspaper environment, the skills you learn also will benefit students interested in careers in magazine writing, writing for the Internet, broadcast journalism, public relations, corporate publications, government and politics, and many related areas. For this semester, I have overhauled this course to provide students with more information on Web writing, some experience with beats such as police, fire and court reporting, and greater exposure to handling speeches, press releases feature stories and computer assisted reporting and research.