You are tired of reading poorly sourced, boring, badly written, and downright annoying news articles and want to try it for yourself. You gather a group of friends who agree and start a news agency of your own! Can't be THAT hard...
Objectives:
Describe the differences in language and format between articles, columns, blogs, advertisements, interviews, news reports, reviews, and written correspondence.
Exhibit proficiency writing in at least two different genres.
Practice high-quality writing and editing under time constraints.
Description: You will create a news website which must contain specific elements and may contain a combination of others (as explained below). The articles will be due at the end of class on Friday, after which time no more editing of articles is allowed. You may continue to produce other elements until next Thursday, at which point you will present your site to the class.
You will split into six groups of four. You must assign the following positions and include them on the "contact" page of the website (bio pictures are recommended):
The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the overall product (the "team leader") and determining which journalists receive which assignments. They will also coordinate the presentation to the class on Thursday (next week). They must ensure each article is reviewed by at least two group members (not including the author) before they are published, and must keep a record on who edited which pieces.
The Webmaster is responsible for compiling all finished articles in a word document, as well as publishing and updating the website in a timely manner.
The Columnist's job is to create an article for the column for each day of work (Thursday and Friday), explaining problems encountered by the team and reflecting on their team dynamic.
Investigative journalists are responsible for fact-based articles and interviews. These are the people who may be sent out of the classroom while bearing appropriate credentials.
Photographer/videographer (for news articles or advertisements)
General guidelines:
No plagiarism, or your entire news agency (not just the culprit) will be "shut down," all will receive a zero, and will complete alternative assignments. Cite your sources!
No journalists will be allowed outside the classroom without a press pass. Each team will receive only one press pass.
Each team member (regardless of position) must submit at least one required element and at least one optional element from the list below.
Occasionally, breaking news may appear on "The Wire" (a fictional news agency) with details about the story. These will not be announced, only published. You will receive 2 bonus points for publishing a piece on a breaking news story first.
You may write articles on any topic as long as they are appropriate for class and fit with the genre of the piece. Your news agency may be focused on international news, domestic news, gossip, travel, etc. but must be approved by James first.
Points will be deducted for grammatical (points on a case-by-case basis) or factual errors (4 points deducted for publishing a false news report). Making up quotes/statistics etc. is only allowed when expressly stated.
Requirements: Each team must turn in the following (all formatted correctly for the genre, check your textbooks and the internet for more information):
One column for each day (written by the Columnist, see above for details)
Two letters to the editor (written as if you are a reader of the paper)
Three news reports (receive 1 bonus point if written on a breaking news story)
A total of 25 points from the following options:
Blog (at least three articles) = 15 points
Column (at least two pieces) = 7 points
Interview piece = 5 points each
News report (required pieces don't count towards points) = 5 points each
Review (movie/book, 2 bonus points if one assigned in class) = 5 points each
Opinion piece = 5 points each
Other piece (travel and leisure, gossip, etc.) = 4 points
Original comic/crossword puzzle (1 bonus point if includes vocabulary from unit) = 3 points each