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 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM CALENDAR 2003-2004 |
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Journalism Courses
JRN 014 Journalism: Reporting I Lect: 3 hrs./Lab: 4 1/2 hrs. This course teaches the basics of reporting for newspapers: interviewing, clear writing, critical thinking, accuracy, story organization, news judgment, ethical considerations, meeting coverage, court coverage, handling press conferences, and dealing with bureaucracy and P.R. Instruction includes role-playing and writing drills, followed by reporting assignments of increasing difficulty. Students cover trials, inquests and events at City Hall. The emphasis throughout is on reporting as investigative journalism.
JRN 015 Journalism: Introduction to Broadcasting Lab: 6 hrs. This is a laboratory course. This course provides students in the university graduate program with the basics of news writing for broadcast and news gathering both in radio and television. Along with the necessary technical skills, students learn to write for the ear as well as for the eye. They report and produce programs in simulated newsroom conditions.
JRN 016 Journalism: Print Reporting Lect: 3 hrs./Lab: 5 hrs. Students in the program for university graduates are introduced to gathering and writing news for newspapers and online in a computer lab. They cover stories at city hall and criminal courts, as well as doing specialized reporting and profiles. Students are coached in clear thinking, clear writing, interviewing and story organization.
JRN 017 Journalism: Copy Editing/Layout Lect: 1 hr./Lab: 1 hr. First year graduate students are given practical experience in editing news and feature articles, learning the importance of accuracy, precision and style. Skills include tightening writing, sharpening leads, applying Canadian Press style, headline writing, cutline writing, and the principles of layout.
JRN 018 Journalism: Introduction to Magazine Writing Lect: 3 hrs. First-year graduate students are introduced to the craft of magazine-style feature writing through lectures and a series of assignments, including a feature article. Topics covered include finding a focus and developing a thesis; research and interviewing techniques; use of dialogue; developing characterization; openings and endings; and the place of personal voice.
JRN 050 Journalism: Broadcast Reporting Lab: 7 hrs. This is a laboratory course, building on skills developed in first and second year. Students will spend one day each week in a simulated newsroom. They will be required to write copy, line up newscasts, report on air, edit and script tape reports, while producing newscasts for television and radio. They will begin to incorporate current affairs techniques and news features into their broadcasts. Prerequisites: JRN 101 and JRN 240.
JRN 051 Journalism: Copy Editing and Newspaper Layout Lab: 3 hrs. Students are taught to ensure that a story is accurate and readable, to understand style, make a story fit an allotted space, and write headlines. Different approaches to layout, design and typography, and picture use are covered. Students will gain a working knowledge of newspaper production through editing, headline writing, selecting news and pictures, and designing pages. Prerequisite: JRN 014.
JRN 053 Journalism: Print Reporting Lect: 3 hrs./Lab: 4 hrs. A newspaper lecture/laboratory course in which students learn news judgment and news writing skills, building on what they learned in Reporting I. The course also improves interviewing techniques, note-taking speed and ability to meet deadlines, skills as useful for online writing as for newspapers. Students learn to propose feasible story ideas. Units of time are spent reporting for The Ryersonian. Prerequisite: JRN 014.
JRN 054 Journalism: Advanced Magazine Writing Lect: 3 hrs./Lab: 5 hrs. Through theory and practice, students come to grips with the nonfiction writer’s craft. Technique—including structure and transitions, writer’s voice, tone and cadence—is discussed with an eye to developing individual styles. But the emphasis is on writing and rewriting. The aim is to produce work that meets the highest magazine standards. Prerequisites: JRN 016, JRN 056, JRN 057, JRN 102, JRN 311.
JRN 055 Journalism: Advanced Magazine Editing Lect: 3 hrs. The focus here is on the full range of skills required of senior editors on major magazines. The topics covered include developing story ideas, refining an editorial concept, assigning and editing articles, main display writing, magazine design, the role of the advertising and circulation departments, libel and defamation and web site development and on-line editing. Students in the course develop a prospectus and web site for a new magazine. Prerequisites: JRN 056, JRN 057, JRN 102, JRN 017.
JRN 056 Journalism: Magazine Reporting Lect: 3 hrs./Lab: 4 hrs. The aim is to bring students to an understanding of the nonfiction writer’s craft — what it is and how it works — and to set them on the road toward mastering it. The idea is to combine the excitement of great storytelling with the study of the techniques that make it possible. Lectures cover structure and transitions, writer’s voice, cadence and the artistry of a well-turned phrase. Regular writing assignments — from descriptive exercises to a web article to a fully-realized magazine piece — will put such theory into practice. Prerequisites: JRN 241 and JRN 027.
JRN 057 Journalism: Magazine Fundamentals Lect: 3 hrs. The emphasis in this course is on the acquisition and application of editorial skills, especially those at the entry level. Students receive hands-on instruction in copy editing, proofreading, display writing, checking, computer skills and QuarkXpress. The course is also an introduction to how editors practise their craft, providing a sense of the domestic magazine industry generally as well as the working environment at individual magazines. This course leads to both Advanced Magazine Editing and Magazine Masthead. Prerequisites: JRN 058 and JRN 112.
JRN 058 Journalism: Introduction to Magazines: Feature Writing Lect: 3 hrs. This course offers an introduction to the feature writing form and to the professional practices of magazine writers. Topics covered include interviewing skills, basic writing tools, and how to develop story ideas and craft queries and outlines. The course work includes a number of writing assignments, including a short feature article.
JRN 090 Journalism: Magazine Masthead Lab: 4 1/2 hrs. Senior students learn how to produce a consumer magazine by producing one. It’s the Ryerson Review of Journalism, a perennial award winner that showcases their writing, editing and production skills. Students also handle the business side of the Review, including circulation, advertising and promotion. In addition, student staff contribute articles to the Ryerson Review of Journalism Online, the web version of the RRJ. Thus they experience at first hand the full range of magazine publishing. Prerequisites: JRN 016, JRN 056, JRN 057, JRN 102.
JRN 101 Journalism: Introduction to Broadcasting - Radio Lect: 1 hr./Lab: 3 hrs. This course introduces the techniques of reporting and writing news for radio to first-year students in a laboratory-class situation that simulates the operation of a broadcast newsroom. It teaches technical skills; the emphasis is on news gathering and writing—knowing what is to be said, why it is important and how to write it for radio.
JRN 112 Journalism: Introduction to Online Journalism Lect: 2 hrs. Students learn how to navigate sources and computer technologies to locate, analyze and present information. The course emphasizes the techniques necessary for media professionals in the largely interactive setting of online journalism (web sites) and new media—beyond the print and broadcast delivery data. Topics include: Internet and web searching, statistics, spreadsheets and databases. (formerly second half of JRN 027).
JRN 113 Journalism: Information Resources for Journalists Lect: 2 hrs. This course in fact-finding and accuracy covers the elements and principles of information organization and research techniques, including both offline and online resources. It emphasizes search strategies for gathering information from libraries, government agencies, institutions, associations, the Internet and expert sources. (formerly first half of JRN 027).
JRN 240 Journalism: Introduction to Broadcasting-TV Lab: 4 hrs. This course introduces the techniques of reporting and writing news for television to second-year students in a laboratory setting. Students learn how to shoot and edit news stories; the emphasis, however, is on news gathering, editorial judgement, story development and news reporting. There are some exercises in a simulated television newsroom. Prerequisites: JRN 101 and JRN 014.
JRN 243 Journalism: Media Law Lect: 2 hrs. An introduction to the laws that govern the daily operations of journalists. The emphasis will be on the laws of libel, contempt, and privacy, and the reporter’s rights when dealing with police and courts. It will also examine the influence of the Charter of Rights on journalism.
JRN 300 Journalism: Covering Diversity Lect: 1 hr./Lab: 2 hrs. Journalism students learn how to write for an audience that is increasingly more diverse, and to view ethnocultural diversity in a wider journalistic context involving issues of fairness, balance, readership and news judgement. It discusses how people with different racial, cultural and religious backgrounds participate in and view the media, identifies problems in how minority groups are portrayed, and allows students to develop reporting practices that avoid labelling and stereotypes. Winter term only. Prerequisite: SOC 300. Exclusion: SOC 507.
JRN 310 Journalism: TV Production Techniques Lab: 3 hrs. This course introduces students to the hardware and techniques used in television production, and how those tools are used to support the editorial message. Students will be introduced to the operation of a television studio, editing suite, and electronic news-gathering equipment. Through hands-on assignments students practice the technical, artistic, and logistical skills necessary to produce news reports and short documentary features for television. Prerequisites: JRN 101, JRN 240, JRN 340.
JRN 312 Journalism: Research and Story Editing Lab: 3 hrs. This course is designed to teach the fundamentals of research and story producing for broadcast. The emphasis is on the identification of story ideas and angles and the gathering of background information. Interviewing techniques are also introduced. The role of research in news, information, and documentary programs is examined. The emphasis is on practical exercises and programs. Prerequisite: JRN 240.
JRN 340 Journalism: Media Ethics Lect: 3 hrs. Journalism Ethics: This advanced course prepares graduate students for many of the ethical problems they will encounter as professionals. Students work from case studies, discuss ethical issues as they arise in current media, and write research papers on issues that they choose in collaboration with the instructor. Broad themes covered at length include conflict of interest, rights of privacy, plagiarism, and the dangers and possibilities in the use of “fictional” narrative styles in feature writing for newspapers and magazines.
JRN 341 Journalism: Broadcast Technology Lect: 1 hr./Lab: 1 hr. This course is designed to strengthen technical skills required for television production. Students will learn how to storyboard, sequence, interview and shoot with standards used in the broadcast industry. Students work from JRN 902 lab class and will be critiqued during class time. Through hands-on assignments students practice techniques used in news reporting and short documentary features for television. Prerequisite: JRN 015.
JRN 410 Journalism: Broadcast Reporting Lab: 8 hrs. This course is a broadcast journalism internship. Students will spend six weeks at a professional broadcast venue where the student will be expected to perform duties assigned by the broadcaster. Students can either arrange their own internship or be assigned by the Instructor. Prerequisites: JRN 015, JRN 310, JRN 312, JRN 050.
JRN 412 Journalism: Documentary Survey Lect: 4 hrs. From the newsreel to the newscast, a look at the great and not-so-great moments in Broadcast Journalism. Students will screen archival film and radio reports from the early days of broadcasting. Through the work of great journalists in the field students will track the development of programs and programming. They will follow broadcasting from its infancy to the latest developments in network news. Prerequisites: JRN 015, JRN 312, JRN 310, JRN 050.
JRN 413 Journalism: Newspaper Internship Lab: 8 hrs. This course is a newspaper internship designed to give graduating students exposure to writing for publication in a daily or weekly newspaper. Students will spend up to six weeks working in a newsroom assigned to them by an Instructor or pre-arranged by them with the Instructor’s approval. Students will be expected to work at a professional level and will be scheduled by the newspaper. They will be required to work a 40 hour week or more and may be required to do shift work. Prerequisites: JRN 016, JRN 017, JRN 051, JRN 053.
JRN 800 Journalism: Television Documentary Lab: 6 hrs. This is a laboratory course in documentary production. The emphasis is on effective storytelling through the medium of the television documentary. Particular emphasis will be placed on the relationship between the audiovisual and written elements of a documentary. Students will form production teams that will plan, write, shoot, and edit documentaries. A significant amount of work will be done outside of class time. Prerequisites: JRN 015, JRN 310, JRN 312, JRN 050.
JRN 801 Journalism: Radio Documentary Lab: 6 hrs. This is an advanced laboratory course in the craft of planning and preparing radio documentaries. Attention is given in the classroom to the technical, editorial, ethical, and artistic issues that are involved in documentary production. Students then go into the field and assemble a variety of radio documentaries that will vary in length, form and technique. Prerequisites: JRN 105, JRN 312, JRN 241, JRN 050.
JRN 802 Journalism: Investigative Techniques Lect: 3 hrs./Lab: 3 hrs. This course assists students in gaining the necessary skills to create investigative pieces for publication on a freelance basis for traditional and new media, including The Ryersonian and other mastheads. It emphasizes the use of documents and computer-assisted techniques, the Internet, website creation and online journalism skills. Prerequisites: JRN 016 and JRN 053.
JRN 803 Journalism: Free-Lance Writing Lect: 3 hrs./Lab: 3 hrs. Deals with the differences in structure, logic, and philosophy between reporting and article writing for magazines. Among subjects covered are the in-depth interview, the cross-check interview and the research involved for both; pre-story, preparation and development, finding the “angle’ or point of view; anecdotal and other writing approaches; making the “think” piece readable; the use of facts and examples to balance and substantiate opinion and statement; logic, clarity, structure, drama, humour, and rhythm—the architecture that breathes life into a story. Also covered are the pitfalls and rewards of staff and free-lance writing, the development and selling of ideas, how to tailor stories to editors’ specific length and market requirements, how to “fix” or rewrite your stories; what you should know about primary and secondary markets. Prerequisites: JRN 016, JRN 050, JRN 053.
JRN 804 Journalism: Newsroom Leadership Lect: 3 hrs./Lab: 3 hrs. This course develops skills needed by the thinking editor, including motivating writers, coaching them on ideas, story structures, leads, writing style and content. Supervisory skills are introduced through challenging, real-life case studies. Prerequisites: JRN 051 and JRN 122.
JRN 901 Journalism: Radio Masthead Lab: 9 hrs. (4 days per week for 6 weeks). This is a laboratory course. Graduating students are taught the technical, artistic, and editorial skills involved in the writing and production of news and current affairs radio programs. For a concentrated period of four weeks, students are required to produce a regular news and current affairs radio program. Prerequisites: JRN 312, JRN 310, JRN 015, JRN 050.
JRN 902 Journalism: Television Masthead Lab: 9 hrs. Students in this course are required to produce each week a number of newscasts of varying content and duration. Students are responsible for all aspects of the production: shooting, editing, writing, reporting and performing. The main emphasis of JRN 902 is on visual storytelling, interviewing, news judgement, professionalism and teamwork. Prerequisites: JRN 310, JRN 312, JRN 015, JRN 050.
JRN 903 Journalism: Newspaper Masthead Lab: 9 hrs. Graduating students work as staff on the School of Journalism’s newspaper, The Ryersonian. They are responsible for the operation and production of the paper from the assignment of stories, reporting, picture-taking, editing, headline writing, and page design through to paste-up of pages ready for printing. Students serve in a variety of editorial positions in the preparation of news, commentary, and feature stories for the paper. Prerequisites: JRN 016, JRN 051, JRN 053, JRN 122.