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Journalism Workshop

JOURN X473

41380

Journalism is undergoing historic change as citizen reporters publish on the Internet while mainstream news organizations race to add interactivity, context and diversity to their traditional focus on accuracy. Despite the changes in how journalism is done, the fundamentals of the craft remain steadfast. Get a practical, task-based introduction to news writing and reporting, and learn standards embraced by the best media practitioners—old and new. Study story selection and planning. Learn how to develop sources; interview and research; write fast, vivid and accurate articles; and revise and edit. You also get an introduction to multimedia and blogging, in addition to first person column writing, narrative and beat reporting.

Course Outline

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Course Objectives

  • Identify and produce news stories in a variety of forms
  • Develop reporting, interviewing and writing skills
  • Identify the larger story hidden within a news item and turn it into an enterprise piece
  • Gain confidence and knowledge needed to network among their peers
  • Acquire the basic tools needed to identify and pursue the style of journalism that interests you most

What You Learn

  • Definition and identification of news stories
  • Difference between a news story, an essay and an opinion piece
  • The ABCs of journalism
  • Necessary components of a news story
  • Preparation for interviews: common interview mistakes, thought-provoking questions and difference between powerful and weak quotes
  • The purpose of a lead
  • The inverted pyramid writing structure
  • Breaking news and preparation for a press conference
  • Difference between two main types of sources
  • How to research a basic story
  • Useful data and its utilization for story ideas
  • Sourcing multiple sides of a story
  • Beats, including their role in journalism; traditional beats; geographical, regional and contemporary beats; covering a beat; reporting on an event; and unusual beats
  • Multimedia stories
  • Basic elements of a podcast
  • Utilizing images to tell a story
  • How to source, research and tell a story using social media
  • Editing: style and ethics

How You Learn

  • Reading assignments
  • Discussion participation and assignments
  • Press conference story
  • David Downs event story
  • Final story
  • Writing assignments

Is This Course for Me?

If you are a blogger or just someone interested in learning from professional journalists how to improve your reporting and writing skills, this is the course for you. As an introductory course, it is not designed for School of Journalism students.

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Sections

Thank you for your interest in this course. Unfortunately, the course you have selected is currently not open for enrollment. Please contact the academic department at the email or phone number listed in the Notes section for more information.

This course applies to the following programs:

Professional Writing Program

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Required Courses

  • Effective Writing in the Workplace
  • Introduction to Public Relations Writing
  • Writing for Social Media: Prose That Works for Web 2.0

Electives

  • Writing Skills Workshop
  • Journalism Workshop
  • Writing the Feature Story
  • Editorial Workshop I: Introduction to Copyediting
  • Technical Communication I
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • Screenwriting: The Art of Visual Storytelling

Capstone Project

  • Professional Writing Program - Final Project

Learn More About this Program

Certificate Program in Writing

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Required Courses

  • The Craft of Reading
  • The Craft of Writing
  • Writing Skills Workshop

Electives (Literature)

  • American Fiction
  • Contemporary Voices: Speaking From the Margins
  • The English Novel
  • Fact or Fiction: Reading and Writing the Personal Essay
  • Great Novels You Always Meant to Read
  • Great Writers Steal: How the Work of Other Writers Can Inform and Inspire You
  • Mystery Fiction
  • Shakespeare
  • Short-Story Masterpieces
  • Meet the Writer: Guided Study and Discussion With Fiction Writers
  • Ursa Minor Production Class

Electives (Writing Workshop)

  • Exploring Creative Writing
  • Introduction to Writing Fiction
  • Intermediate Fiction Writing
  • Advanced Fiction Writing
  • Writing Genre Fiction: Science Fiction, Mystery, Romance and More
  • Mystery Writing
  • Developing the Novel
  • Screenwriting: The Art of Visual Storytelling
  • Screenwriting Workshop
  • How to Write a Story
  • Writing and Appreciating Poetry
  • Poetry Workshop
  • Poets Studied and in Conversation
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • Developing the Memoir
  • Developing the Memoir II
  • Journalism Workshop
  • Science Writing
  • Writing the Feature Story
  • Writing and Editing Internship Program

Courses of Related Interest

  • Children's Picture Book Writing Workshop
  • Story Lab
  • Writing the First-Person Essay

Learn More About this Program

Notes

Departmental contact: extension-letters@berkeley.edu? | ?(510) 643-1110

Prerequisites

In order to succeed in this course, it is recommended that non-native English speakers have achieved a minimum TOEFL score of 90. All other non-native English learners should instead consider COLWRIT X400.1 Academic Writing for ESL or COLWRIT X411 Business English for ESL Students. Please contact the department if you require any additional information.

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