Journalism (JOUR-GA)

Discusses exceptions to the First Amendment language that ?Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.? Subjects covered include prior restraint of the press, libel, invasion of privacy, news-gathering problems, shield laws and protection of sources, free press and fair trial, and broadcast regulations by the FCC.

Explores the ethical questions facing working journalists. Focuses on specific cases, both real and hypothetical. Through readings, papers, and class discussion, students analyze the ethical problems raised by these cases and develop their own systems for making ethical decisions.

This course offers through the case method a critical examination of current and recurring ethical and legal issues in journalism. Areas covered include reporting practices, roles of editors and executives, conflict of interest, sources, defamation and privacy, criminal justice and national security.

This course is expressly designed for graduate students outside of the Journalism Department. Writing for A Wide Audience is grounded in the idea that expertise is a wasted (and often unlovely) thing if not shared with non-experts. The purpose of the course is to help students specializing in a wide range of disciplines to learn how to write for the public — people outside their academic discipline. Students will work on writing that is rigorous, but never jargon-riddled or obscure; accessible to readers who don’t share their expertise; and compelling to people with little previous knowledge of its subject.

This course is expressly designed for graduate students outside of the Journalism Department. Writing for A Wide Audience is grounded in the idea that expertise is a wasted (and often unlovely) thing if not shared with non-experts. The purpose of the course is to help students specializing in a wide range of disciplines to learn how to write for the public — people outside their academic discipline. Students will work on writing that is rigorous, but never jargon-riddled or obscure; accessible to readers who don’t share their expertise; and compelling to people with little previous knowledge of its subject.

This course examines what makes journalism different now that it runs on a digital platform. Readings and discussion will focus on making sense of the large shifts that accompany the move to digital production and distribution in professional journalism, including the "always on" web, the lower barriers to entry, the rise of social media and "the people formerly known as the audience," the ease of production using digital tools, the "unbundling" of news packages that were well adapted to prior platforms, the loss of monopoly status among news organizations, and the re-voicing of journalism in a more interactive environment for news. By comparing press ethics and key working concepts under the "old" system and the new codes that have emerged in the digital era, students will be able to hone in on what is different for professional journalists today, which is knowledge they will need for the remainder of the Studio 20 program

This course will introduce you to the world of science journalism by looking at scientific topics that are at the cutting-edge of current research and also have profound implications for the way we live.

Topical issues in journalism. Subjects vary: media criticism, perspectives on race and class, global journalism, and others.

Workshop I is taken the first semester; Workshop II, the second semester. Provides a foundation in the principles and practices of basic news reporting. Includes lectures on reporting principles and techniques, study of specialized areas of reporting, and completion of increasingly challenging in-class assignments. Students use New York City as a laboratory to gather and report actual news events outside the classroom. A special section of Workshop I is offered for students in the cultural reporting and criticism concentration. A special section of Workshop II is offered for students in the Business and Economic Reporting Program.

Workshop I is taken the first semester; Workshop II, the second semester. Provides a foundation in the principles and practices of basic news reporting. Includes lectures on reporting principles and techniques, study of specialized areas of reporting, and completion of increasingly challenging in-class assignments. Students use New York City as a laboratory to gather and report actual news events outside the classroom. A special section of Workshop I is offered for students in the cultural reporting and criticism concentration. A special section of Workshop II is offered for students in the Business and Economic Reporting Program.

Students read from the works of some of the best English and American journalists, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Margaret Fuller, Charles Dickens, Stephen Crane, H. L. Mencken, Ernest Hemingway, Edward R. Murrow, Lillian Ross, James Baldwin, and Tom Wolfe. Special attention is paid to tone, voice, and imagery and to theories of reporting. Some sections are tailored to specific themes.

This beginning course introduces students to field reporting. Students learn to develop story ideas, write to picture, structure a story and conduct interviews and shoot and edit. Beat assignments cover a variety of topics in the neighborhoods of New York. As the course develops, detailed script analysis is combined with in-depth discussions of the completed pieces. A discussion of aesthetics is supported by viewing a variety of documentaries. Students work in teams of 2. They use small DV cameras, linear and non-linear editing systems.

This course will explore the wave of innovation that is sweeping journalism as a result of the digital disruption that is altering or destroying news companies’ business models. Students will examine the history of innovation in journalism, the causes of the current business disruption, the reinvention of Old Media, the creation of new models, and the nature of innovation itself. They will try their own hand at innovation, creating basic prototypes for a new journalism form or new business.

In Studio 2, students in the Studio 20 program, and others who request to take the course and receive permission from the instructors, tackle one large project in web development: as a team. The project chosen will vary from term to term, but it always be an adventure in web journalism, and it will always have a media partner-- typically a news organization or existing journalism site that wants to do something new or collaborate with Studio 20 on an extension of its current editorial presence. Students participate in all phases of the project: background research, news ecosystem analysis, technology assessment, design and conception, prototyping, editorial work flow, content production, testing, launch, feedback and adjustment, de-bugging, iteration and evaluation. They collaborate actively and in person with the media partner. They learn to divide up tasks and coordinate the different parts of the project. They try to push the envelope and do something effective but also innovative in web journalism that meets the partner's goals, works for the users and adds to the reputation of Studio 20.

Portfolio is the first in a two-course workshop, during which you will learn the basic building blocks of literary reportage: generating ideas, refining those ideas into pitches, and developing those pitches into pieces of roughly 1,500-3,000 words. The class also covers interview and reporting techniques, structure and outlines, scenes, and dialogue.

A course for ambitious writers who want to learn to read the way professional writers read, explicating the structure and language of well-crafted narratives and learning how to apply those lessons and techniques to their own work. Close readers and careful thinkers are wanted.

This class will allow graduate students to develop a comprehensive set of skills that will prepare them for a career in video journalism. This is a holistic course that will expand the scope of the newscast and meet the needs of a wide range of students. It will also introduce the idea of entrepreneurial journalism for those students with a video emphasis. Students will be able to develop their reporting and writing skills, achieve fluency with a wide range of newsroom production tools and gain basic understanding of how to produce a newscast and, through a rotation, focus more heavily on field reporting, advanced editing and camera techniques, and live reporting. The class will also encourage media crossover and experimentation.

Over the course of the semester, students develop technique in basic photography, audio and video production. At the same time, they are constantly expanding their journalism capacity with real world practice – focusing on the core skills of research, interviewing and digesting and presenting important information. While much of what we focus on is of a technical skills nature, our main priority is to learn and practice the essential elements of visual storytelling and reporting.

Magazine reporting exists on a variety of platforms and communication channels: Tweets, online posts, blogs and features, listicles, and multimedia, from photo essays, to podcasts, to videos. “Digital Magazine” will teach students how to practice magazine journalism in different multimedia formats: from conceptualizing, shooting and producing photo essays, reporting and recording audio pieces to producing and shooting their own video stories. 

The class explores the complexity of documentary visualization through cinematography. It will examine not only how stories get told, but also how we might inspire new ways of telling them visually. This class will immerse the students in the challenges of different approaches and shooting styles through production exercises and through significant documentary examples.

The class will explore the complexity of long form visualization and the various structural options possible through editing. It will examine not only how stories get told, but the different ways of telling them. Through various exercises the students will experiment with various approaches and editing styles. Simultaneous with this class, students will be working on their own documentaries in Advanced TV Reporting. Whereas that class is more focused on concept and structure, the editing class will look closely at specific editing choices and techniques.

This intermediate second-semester course is run like a local news operation. The students work individually as reporters some weeks and as crew other weeks. They cover beats and dThis intermediate second-semester course is run like a local news operation. The students work individually as reporters some weeks and as crew other weeks. They cover beats and do short investigative and enterprise stories as well as cover breaking news and NYU-related stories that air weekly on NYU Tonight. A three-hour editorial meeting provides the time to pitch and plan stories as well as critique finished pieces. Shooting and editing are done as needed with an open schedule. Students have full access to the DV equipment and editing systems throughout the week. Students edit their in-depth pieces on the Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing system.

Students produce in-depth newsmagazine pieces that strengthen their reporting and stylistic skills. The class works as a production team and holds editorial meetings every week. Students have the freedom to produce their stories according to their own schedules outside of class. Students have access to digital and beta cameras and edit on nonlinear systems

Covers methods of popularizing scientific, technical, and medical information for the mass media with emphasis on producing work that meets the standards of professional publication or broadcast.

Acquaints students with a broad view of culture and of cultural journalism as an ongoing public conversation, while providing an introduction to the basic concepts and practice of cultural criticism. Emphasizes the connections between aesthetic and social issues.

A variety of specialized reporting courses is offered on a rotating basis

Teaches students how to write arts criticism that combines clear, vivid prose and a distinctive individual voice with close analysis of specific works in such media as music, literature, art, movies, dance, and theatre. Surveys late 19th- and 20th-century history of criticism.

Focuses on developing the in-depth reporting skills needed to depict social and cultural milieus with accuracy and power. Students examine the problems and challenges of reporting on social worlds created by identities, places, occupations, institutions, and interests.

Provides a solid basis for understanding many of the elements involved in covering medicine, including the biology of cancer, environment-related illness, epidemiology, and the precepts of sound medical research and peer review. Students are required to write several stories from press releases, conferences, and developed interviews.

Designed to train students to write balanced, informative articles about environmental issues and alert them to the special problems reporters face covering a beat that is often highly charged and highly politicized. For this reason, the investigative aspects of environmental reporting are emphasized.

A journalist, even a science journalist, must be able to see through lies and to shed light on facts that certain people would rather keep hidden. This course is designed to give you the tools to do precisely that. By the end of the semester, you’ll be able to sniff out lies and find the facts to uncover them; you’ll also be relentless -- once you sink your teeth into a juicy story, you won’t let go. This course gives SHERP students mathematical knowledge, investigative reporting techniques, and computer skills that will help them cut through hype and obfuscation, and it will do it by having SHERPies perform first-rate investigations on important scientific or medical topics. After completing this course, students will be formidable -- and dangerous -- reporters

Audio Reportage will teach you how to craft a story in sound. We’ll review crucial concepts of audio reportage by studying narrative theory; at the same time, students will apply that theory by producing two pieces over the course of the semester.

The ethical and legal rigors of journalism set professionals apart in a crowded market and help protect the public from the spread of misinformation. In this course, you’ll survey many of journalism’s core ethical issues—what it has gotten right, and, equally important, what it has gotten wrong—questions of sensationalism, bias, diversity, major scandals, effects on the public’s perceptions, and an exploration of the current digital upheaval. To better understand what journalism has been and what it might be, students consume a selection of media and delve into the specifics of radio, TV news, and the Internet, as well as exploring “fake news.” We consider watershed legal cases, including the First Amendment, landmark legal cases such as Branzburg v. Hayes, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, and the Pentagon Papers, as well as a look at shield laws, the use and misuse of anonymous sources, and more.

Learn to spout off story ideas, track down interviews, cover live events, structure hard news, and construct a compelling nut graph. In this newsroom crash course, you’ll collaborate with a global cohort to write, edit, produce and promote an online publication. Each week, we’ll cover the nuts and bolts of reporting the news and get you out in the field conducting interviews, taking photos and writing stories. Then you’ll work together as editors, art directors, and social media mavens under the guidance of an experienced instructor. You’ll build a solid portfolio of clips to showcase your talent to future employers.

Dissect great works of journalism for story, character, dialogue, scenes, structure, transitions, verb tense, point of view, style and impact. The goal is to create memorable narrative non-fiction stories that hold a reader’s attention to the last word. We’ll operate like a newsroom to maintain a class online publication with students working to write, edit and publish stories, blog on a topic, find and post art and photos, track traffic and analytics, and market the site by engaging in social media.

Teaches the practical skills required of a nonfiction magazine writer, as well as how to focus an article for a particular market. Emphasis is on producing pieces that both inform and entertain through the careful use of language and the cultivation of an effective, powerful style. Each student writes a magazine-length article of publishable quality.

Journalists who can successfully navigate these turbulent media times must be equal parts journalist and entrepreneur. This course is two-pronged. We’ll look at the business of journalism, the latest trends in revenue strategies, and the growth in not-for-profit publishing. We’ll consider which strategies are failing and which are succeeding (for now) by looking deeply at examples of media companies’ business plans, financials, and reputations. We’ll also walk through the steps of conceiving of your own media startup. You’ll learn about seed and venture capital, marketing and tracking traffic. All along the way you’ll be workshopping ideas for a business. The semester will culminate with the drafting of a business plan and pitch to a panel of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists for feedback.

Investigations require a wide range of techniques for gathering information. You’ll learn how to formulate a strategy for effective reporting, gather the needed information from interviews, documents, and online sources, form relationships with sources to gain deeper knowledge, and structure an investigative piece. The work focuses on collecting information from sources such as government agencies, legal source material, and databases and the use of spreadsheets to analyze information.

The frame of a shot, the quality of light, and the lilt in your voice — the most nuanced techniques can turn a story into a groundbreaking message. You’ll learn to overcome the challenges of multimedia storytelling, focusing on video, still images, and audio as effective reporting tools. This course will involve a lot of learning by doing, using easily accessible equipment like smartphones and audio recorders, as well as more advanced equipment for those with access.

Students will be given practical experience as on-air reporters, mastering news writing, audio recording and video editing, best practices in lighting and sound, on-air interviewing and production for digital and television media. Learn to produce a newscast that is relevant, engaging and distinctive, while learning broadcast news-editorial and operational processes

We are living in a golden age for audio journalism. Podcasting is a special medium that lends itself to communicating the news in an immediate and intimate way. It also affords a unique form of storytelling. It’s also a meaningful entry point for new and diverse voices with platforms that can grow quickly and widely. This online course will provide you with the tools to tell your own audio stories while learning practical skills to help you build your career. We’ll cover the basic concepts of audio storytelling, including pitching, story structure, reporting and producing, finding tape, and editing. You will produce reported audio stories to develop professional-level skills in editorial and production. By the end of the course, you will be able to identify, pitch, report, and produce professional-sounding audio stories in the podcast format.

This elective course will teach students the basics of photojournalism as well as explore its history and evolution through lectures, discussions, assignments, and editing sessions. Topics include a brief history of photojournalism, ethics, being on assignment, editing images for publications, documenting a place, capturing an event, environmental portraiture, and how to build a photo essay. Students will produce assignments under the pressure of deadlines, and during the final weeks of the class create a narrative photo essay. While students enrolling in this class are not expected to possess a basic knowledge of photographic technique, each must have a DSLR, mirrorless or smart phone that can shoot in camera RAW mode.

This seminar focuses on in-depth magazine stories and non-fiction books. We’ll dissect great stories, books and book proposals for story, character arcs, dialogue, scenes, analysis, structure, transitions, verb tense, point of view and style. The goal is to figure out how memorable magazine features and narrative non-fiction books that keep your attention to the very last page are created, then to take what we’ve learned and apply it to our own work.

Now that you’ve completed your classroom education and built up a solid list of clips, it’s time to use it to land a job, internship, or promotion. Whatever your goals, you’ll work with an experienced mentor to learn the real-world skills of pitching, freelancing, applying, paying taxes–the kinds of things that can trip up a reporter of all experience levels. But don’t stress–we’ll focus a whole course on helping you reach your next career goal.

Focuses on a broad cultural theme, allowing students to pursue a variety of interests. Students read and discuss relevant works of cultural journalism, explore an aspect of the topic in depth, and produce a substantial writing project.

Students who have completed more than half the required courses may receive permission to intern with area publications or broadcast stations. Their work is evaluated by executives and editors of the cooperating news organizations.

A student works with one professor on a substantial project combining readings with in-depth writing.

Students will acquire in-depth, theoretical and practical knowledge of Digital Audio Workstations using Pro Tools software through a weekly, lab-based workshop. Each class will be a combination of lecture and immediate application. An emphasis will be placed on creating sessions, audio recording, audio editing, file management techniques, mixing techniques, backups and stereo mix-down.

This course will introduce student audio reporters to the basics of sound design, and prepare them to work with the audio engineers, mixers, sound designers, and composers. After taking this class, they’ll be able to hand over their stories well organized, perhaps even lightly mixed, saving time and money! Also, they’ll be able to communicate more effectively what their musical desires are and give mix/score notes that are pointed and productive. The skills in this course can be applied to any reporting beat, any style of story, regardless of format.

This course examines the roots of podcasting in non-fiction audio, placing narrative podcasts in historical context. The innovation of podcasting was a revolution not just in format, but also in the dynamics of broadcasting: who holds the power to amplify the voice and reach mass audiences. In this course, students engage critical questions around authority, power, identity. Students will be armed with a deep catalogue of audio and production references, to serve as significant reference points for critical analysis of non-fiction audio work. Students will analyze audio work, break down ideas of perspective, objectivity, civic engagement and historical dialogue. We will explore how commercial, financial, or institutional factors influence programming and editorial decisions and learn to analyze and interrogate those interactions critically. And, urgently, what is the role and responsibility of the audio journalist (as distinct from others in media)?

This is an advanced production course that combines the rigor of journalism with the poetry of sound montage. In it, students will learn how to produce powerful documentaries using non-narrated storytelling techniques. You will learn to combine compelling interviews, scene tape, archival material, and music into a strong narrative, and will leave the course with an understanding of how to create audio stories of broadcast caliber. Students will learn to observe, document, and create stories that immerse listeners in people’s lives and histories. We will listen and analyze non-narrated stories in a variety of forms: Audio Diaries, Historical Documentaries, Experimental Audio Montage, and Personal Stories. Students will create stories in a variety of styles: an audio postcard, a profile and a final documentary. Through an intensive editing process, these documentaries should be well-crafted and professional enough for broadcast.

This exceptional class introduces you to video storytelling and insights from the documentary directors and producers themselves. The course consists of weekly screenings of mostly current and some classic documentaries, followed by discussions with the directors joining the class. Students have the opportunity to ask questions and to learn about the making of films and the industry as well. The documentaries screened reflect different styles but all are centered around social issues and social change. This class provides a unique experience to understand the motivation, production, distribution and meaning of a documentary.

In this course, you’ll develop your voice and your reportorial skills, enhance your understanding of the way magazines and websites operate, and prepare for a career in an industry that has changed even since you started reading this paragraph.

In Studio 3, students put together everything they have learned in the Studio 20 concentration by finding a willing and suitable media partner for a final project in innovation. It is the culmination of two years of focused study. Working with a media partner, students each have to design and execute their own project in innovation. Studio 20’s currency is “good problems.” Meaning: some new and improved thing the partner should be doing, or could be doing, but isn’t doing now. Student projects last for one semester (always in the fall) so they have to study the problem, do their research, design an approach, test it, troubleshoot, finish and present the work by December 15— all while coordinating closely with the partner.

This seminar focuses on the various components that comprise in depth magazine stories and non-fiction books. We'll dissect great modern and classic magazine stories, books and book proposals for story, character arcs, dialogue, scenes, analysis, structure, transitions, verb tense, point of view and style. The goal is to figure out how to create memorable magazine features and narrative non-fiction books that keep your attention to the very last page, then take what we've learned and apply it to our own work.

What is “literary reportage”? Sometimes called “literary journalism,” “narrative nonfiction” or the “literature of fact,” it might best be thought of as a way of weaving characters, reporting, research and stories together in order to create something that appeals to the general reader. In my opinion, literary reportage is less a subject to be studied than it is a collection of practices, insights, techniques, guidelines and formulas to help a writer explore the subjects he/she cares about, and share that passion with an audience in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible.

This is an advanced course in the reading and practice of essay writing, with a rigorous focus on the mechanics of the essay. How does a great essay work? We will examine the elusive elements of precision, originality, and style. Over the course of the semester students will focus on developing and refining their own critical voice. Critics under discussion will include: Vladimir Nabokov, Kenneth Tynan, Elizabeth Hardwick, Randall Jarrell, Virginia Woolf, Janet Malcolm, Jonathan Franzen, David Foster Wallace, John Updike, and James Wood.

In this course, we’ll tackle the challenges of producing successful profiles, with an emphasis on practical solutions to frequently encountered problems. (Topics will include composing a seductive yet brainy lede, translating jargon and technical arcana for lay readers, wresting vivid scenes from dull subjects, and handling uncooperative subjects.) We’ll study how various journalists, writing about figures in a broad range of fields, from politics and retail to scholarship and the arts, have negotiated the profile’s challenges. We’ll read pieces by some of the genre’s most talented practitioners and meet several of those journalists in class.

A student works with one professor on a substantial project combining readings with in-depth writing.