Since Fall 2004, I have taught:
ADVANCED MAGAZINE EDITING (MAG 409): The class functions as a magazine staff to produce a single-issue magazine. Most recent syllabus.
MAGAZINE EDITING (MNO 608 and MAG 408): How editors decide which stories and approaches work; inside view of a magazine newsroom; diagnosing problems in stories and editing copy; writing headlines, captions, and other aspects of "selling" stories to the reader; hands-on fact-checking; the editor's role in art and design; integrating the Web into everything that we do. Most recent syllabus.
MAGAZINE MANAGEMENT (MNO 600): Teams of students create startup magazines, with an editorial plan and fully developed prototype. The winner of a bakeoff at semester's end will be the magazine title that our grad students produce as their capstone course. Most recent syllabus.
NEWS REPORTING & WRITING (NEW 617): Beat reporting, feature writing, and enterprise -- finding and telling original stories that go far beyond official handouts. Weekly deadlines with detailed editing comments and frequent brainstorming on stories with me as your editor. Lectures and guest speakers on reporting and writing techniques. Links for lectures on document-based reporting and Web-based reporting. Most recent syllabus.
MEDIA LAW (COM 698, COM 505, COM 506): The laws, regulations, and legal risks that affect journalists and media companies, with a dual emphasis on history (how we got to this point) and news (how the law changes constantly). I've also taught media law to Newhouse Television, Radio and Film students, with an emphasis on entertainment law. Most recent syllabus.
LEGAL REPORTING: Understanding how legal reporting can enrich all beats, and what the big stories and best reporting practices are on law-related beats (courts, cops, legal issues). Go to the Carnegie Legal Reporting Program Web site for more on this program, including details on it core course, "News Perspectives on Crime, Courts and Justice," and on my legal reporting segment offered in all advanced news reporting classes. We offer advice on curriculum design and careers to all Newhouse students interested in covering the law. The News Perspectives course also may serve as a journalist's intro to the Legal Studies minor at SU.
LAW, POLITICS AND MEDIA (NEW 500 AND LAW 839): How the courts and the rule of law are influenced by public pressure and journalists. Click here for the guest speakers list and read the most recent syllabus here.
STARTING A MAGAZINE: Independent study in business basics, business-plan creation, and shaping the editorial and business missions of a new consumer magazine.
Before I joined the Newhouse faculty I taught the following course at New School University in New York:
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: How to use people, documents, and databases to find stories and patterns that have gone undiscovered. A critical look at the role of investigative methods in all in-depth reporting, and the role of the investigative mindset in independent, tough-minded journalism. |