11/30/15 Bob Dotson Unit

http://www.today.com/news/40-years-american-storytelling-veteran-nbc-news-correspondent-looks-back-t51216

Mon, 11/30 (Dotson 9-19) - Topics/Angles - “Lives Lost”

Tues, 12/1 (Dotson 20-27) -Collect Information - “Cave Rescue”

Wed, 12/2 (Dotson 28-39) - Interviewing - “Ruby Bridges”

Thur, 12/3 (Dotson 43-52)- Segues - “Pearl Harbor”

Fri, 12/4 (Dotson 53-61) - Writing Tips -   “Atlanta Bombing”

Mon, 12/7 (Dotson 62-70) - Standups -  “Boys of Summer”

Tues, 12/8 (Dotson 75-87) - Beginnings and Endings - “San Francisco Earthquake” & “Susan Smith Trial”

Wed, 12/9 (Dotson 87-101) - B-Roll  - “Top Cop”

11/23/15 - Wag the Dog

Discussion

1. Why is this movie called Wag the Dog? What is the “dog” and what is the “tail”?

2. Satire is intended to make fun of institutions, ideas and persons in order to criticize them. How would you sum up the critique of the role of media in American politics given in this movie?

3. To achieve its effects, satire tends to exaggerate the qualities it wishes to make fun of. What kind of exaggerations do you find in this movie? Did you find them amusing?

4. Do you think there is an element of truth in the portrayal of the mass media and spin doctors given in this movie?

11/20/15 - Shattered Glass Reflection

For reading time today:  https://vimeo.com/30824692

1. What does this movie say about society’s expectations from journalists? 

2. If everything and everybody in Glass’ stories were made up, was what Glass did such a bad thing?  Who did it hurt?

3. Can you think of similar instances of either academic dishonesty or plagiarism in the past few years?  Do you know what Jayson Blair did?  What James Frey did?  Who Hwang Woo-suk is?  What Brian Williams did?

4. What penalties did Glass face? Do you think they were adequate?

5. Watch the “60 Minutes” interview with Stephen Glass. Do you believe Glass in the interview? Why or why not?

11-13-15 Law & Ethics

We will continue with law and ethics today.

Start by reading this article:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/384176/justice-jesse-ventura-was-right-his-lawsuit-j-delgado

10/26-11/6 Shooting Your Stories

Shoot and Edit your first stories.

9/25 - 9/28

We will go down to the studio today and get training from Jay from BCTV on the cameras.

9/24/15 Watch Blaze Weekly

Today we are going to watch and evaluate yesterday's Blaze Weekly show as a class.

5-29-15 Advertising/Photoshop

CREATE AN ADVERTISEMENT ASSIGNMENT

Assignment: Come up with the concept for a product you think the world needs. It can be as logical as a new cereal with banana flakes in it or as far-fetched as golf balls that glow in the dark. Then do the following:

1. Design a logo for the company that will sell this product. If you aren’t a natural artist, you will be better off designing something that is easily reproduced — something with simple circles or lines.

2. Create an advertisement for the print media (either newspaper or magazine) as follows:

Create a color magazine ad of an appropriate size (10"h x 8"w) that includes the product.

You will post these ads to your blogs and present them to the rest of the class during finals day. You will describe the ad, talk about the target audience, and describe what type of magazine you would use for advertising your product.

3/2/15 Bob Dotson "Make It Memorable" Unit

Mon, 3/2
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/19333758/ns/today-today_people/
Hand out Dotson Books
Writing a Story Notes

Tues, 3/3 (Dotson 9-19)
Law/Ethics Quiz?
Topics/Angles
“Lives Lost”

Wed, 3/4 (Dotson 20-27)
Collect Information
“Cave Rescue”

Thurs, 3/5 (Dotson 28-39)
Interviewing “Ruby Bridges”

Fri, 3/6 (Dotson 43-52)
Segues “Pearl Harbor”

Mon, 3/9 (Dotson 53-61)
Writing Tips “Atlanta Bombing”

Tues, 3/10 (Dotson 62-70)
Standups, Beginnings and Endings “Boys of Winter”

Wed, 3/11 (Dotson 75-87)
Peer Editing “San Francisco Earthquake”
B-Roll
“Susan Smith Trial”

Fri, 3/12 (Dotson 87-101)
Speaking
“Top Cop”
Bob Dotson Wrap Up
Test?
Transition to Stories

2/17/15 Premiere

For reading time today:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

We will finish our Premiere training today.

2-13-15 Cameras

An example of a one-minute movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR_PzFZgsHU&feature=related

Broadcast Journalism Camera Assignment

ASSIGNMENT PURPOSE:
Shoot and edit (in camera editing) a one-minute video that meets the focus statement.

Rules:
*Try to vary your shots (LS, MS, CU, etc.).
*Use camera movements sparingly (only when needed).
*Each person in your group must appear in the video.
*Please add pre-roll and post-roll to your video.
*You have one class periods to plan, shoot and edit the assignment.
*Each assignment will be viewed by the entire class.
*Before we view your completed video, someone in your group will read your focus statement aloud to the entire class so we can see how well you met the assignment.

Sample focus statements:
*Just one more step and it would’ve all been different.
*The picnic was going well until a bee came along.
*Someone in the quartet is singing off-key.
*Uh oh. The silly campers locked themselves inside the van.
*It’s easy to quench a thirst at school.
*It’s so hard to find a quiet place to study.
*Pat, the new student, is so hot.
*Okay, who stole my cell phone?
**You can make up your own focus statement if you clear it with me first.

Pre-production is the most important aspect of any shoot.
1. What is your story? How does it begin and end?
2. Who are your characters?
3. Where does your video take place (locations)?
4. What types of shots do you want for each scene (establishing shot, LS, MS, CU, etc.)?
5. Is there any type of conflict? Conflict resolution?
6. I would suggest either creating script or a storyboard to help guide your video project.

2/12/15

For reading time today:  http://www.kare11.com/local/land-of-10000-stories/

We will continue learning Adobe Premiere today.

2/9/15 Remote Truck Training

Today we will go down to the studio to get trained for BCTV events.

2/6/15 Writing

For reading time today:  http://www.pulitzer.org/

We will write our stories in news format and in literature format today.

2/5/15 Writing a Story Lesson

For reading time today:
http://www.Digg.com


Try to remember the most exciting thing you ever witnessed--a daring rescue, a momentous sporting event, the birth of a child. Imagine that someone has approached you immediately after the event and has asked you to describe it. Are you now a journalist? That is, is the story you are about to recount journalism, or is it some form of literature?

The answer depends on what kind of "story" you present. Is it a strictly factual account of people, places, and events? Does it primarily tell who, what, when, where, why, and how? Most of us would probably agree that this kind of story is journalism. At its core, journalism is an attempt to convey timely, useful information--that is, "news"--to readers or viewers in a truthful way. It may use sounds and pictures, but its primary vehicle is language.

Is your "story" is an imaginative evocation of the event? Have you employed creative use of sounds or figurative language? Is your purpose to elicit an emotional response from your audience? Have you invented details to deepen the meaning or effect of the story? We are inclined to think of this kind of story as literature. In its various forms--fiction, poetry, drama, even some forms of nonfiction--literature generally seeks to enlighten or move us through the imaginative use of language and incident.

Though different at their cores, journalism and literature are not always distinct. That is, while some of the qualities described above help to characterize them, they also share a number of similarities. Both, after all, primarily use language to capture and convey the human experience. Someone has famously proclaimed that journalism is "history in a hurry," suggesting that news reporters record the events that ultimately tell the story of people on earth. Similarly, literature often provides glimpses of not only the events of a time period, but the general mentality of its people. Both journalism and literature also capitalize on interest. In his essay "The Philosophy of Composition," Edgar Allan Poe emphasized the value of originality in creating a poem, and someone else once defined news as something with an unusual quality, noting that a dog biting a man is not news, but a man biting a dog is. Finally, both journalism and literature seek to effect change or move their audiences. A newspaper's job, it has been said, is to "raise hell." Some literary works, such as Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, also raise hell. Others, such as the satires of Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, may effect a different kind of change by making us aware of the weaknesses in our personalities. Still others--the lyric poems of Poe and William Shakespeare, for example--heighten our awareness of the world or perhaps merely entertain us. In any case, all literature has some kind of impact. In short, journalism and literature are similar in many respects. In fact, we might consider journalism as a literary genre--that is, a type of writing with its own set of conventions.

YOUR TASK:
Choose something that happened to you today (or any time in your lifetime) and write a paragraph in which you "cover" it as a journalist.  Post it to your blog as an assignment.

If you have time, try to evoke this event in a brief work of literature. How are the two pieces of writing different? How are they similar? How might you write a third account that combines elements of journalism and literature?

2/2/15 Advertising

For reading time today: http://www.superbowl-commercials.org/

We will watch Super Bowl commercials today in class.

What is the company?

Who is the target audience:

What persuasive method used (humor, action, celebrity, human interest, etc.)?

How were camera shots and editing used to enhance the message?

What is the slogan/message for the company?

Was the message effective? Why or why not?

1/27/15 - 1/29/15 - Studio Training

We will be in the TV studio learning about equipment today.