Reporting for a Community Website

University of California, Berkeley
University: University of California, Berkeley
Location:

Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley

Duration: 7 weeks
Credits: 10 ECTS
Professor: Various/tbc

Module Overview

The class is an opportunity to improve print and multimedia skills by reporting for one of three community websites operated by the school: Mission Local, Oakland North, and Richmond Confidential. Students will write city, regional and state stories that are grounded in a large urban area underserved by traditional news outlets in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is also an opportunity to try or improve skills in writing, editing, photography and video.

This class meets formally once a week for an editorial meeting. Students and editors discuss assignments, schedule deadlines, and resolve reporting problems.

Learning Outcome

  1. How to write stories, produce video, audio and slideshows for a local news site
  2. Familiarity with principles of American journalism
  3. Improved writing and reporting skills

Typical Methods of Assessment

Based on instructors’ daily interactions with students based on the quality of their reporting, editing and production.

Indicative Reading List

  1. “California: The Great Exception” by Carey McWilliams, UC Press.
  2. “Paper Trails: A Guide to Public Records in California” by Stephen Levine and Barbara Newcombe, Center for Investigative Reporting, California Newspaper Publishers Association.
  3. “California: America’s High Stakes Experiment”, by Peter Schrag, The New Press.

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