JOUR 7040 - International News Lab

This is the course blog for JOUR 7040. I will post the syllabus, exercises and your assignments here. So make a note of the URL and check back regularly! Your final articles will appear on ijs-global.com.

Each team will produce a Soundslides project. You will need to photograph your subject, record and edit audio and put everything together in Soundslides (loaded on the computers either side of the central aisle and on the two by the door nearest the pantry.

Course notes

Thanks to Olive who pointed out that I had not updated the deadlines for the final project. Please note that due to the Easter break, I have FURTHER postponed the deadline until: 12 NOON ON TUESDAY, APRIL 14.

Assignments, Course notes

1. Sign up for IJS

2. Soundslides:

• Guitar Lessons at the Central Area Senior Center: An 81-year-old Seattle woman loves taking guitar lessons. No narration, nice story, several interviews skillfully edited together.
• Cockfighting in Puerto Rico: Awesome photos, wonderful audio that puts you at the scene. After viewing this no one can be left in any doubt about what cockfighting is about.
• After the Riots: A Soundslides about the housing projects in Paris, by the British newspaper The Guardian. Exceptional storytelling and great use of sound.
• Death of cockle pickers of Britain’s Morecambe Bay - Three Years later: - The Guardian, UK

Sample files: http://ijs-global.com/class09/Samplesoundslide2/

Soundslides - download from http://www.soundslides.com

Tutorials:

• Popphoto

• Knight Center

Audio

1. Soundbooth - Tutorial

2. Audacity is a free sound editing program - get it here

Tutorials:

• Super-Fast Guide to Audio Editing (PDF) and Editing Audio With Audacity (PDF) by Mindy McAdams.
• Audio section of the J-Learning website.
• “Chapter 7: Digital Audio and Podcasting” from Journalism 2.0

Conversions - http://media-convert.com/

Class exercises

We’ve covered a lot of ground in recent weeks.

We’ve looked at some of the technical side and some of the editorial side.  You have written features and sidebars, including vox pops and backgrounders, used photos and in some cases video and audio.

You are (or should be) pulling together a final feature that will knit some or all of these elements together.

So it is time to take a bit of a breather and look at the big story. Read more…

Course notes, Handouts

Today we’re going to look at:

1. WRITING

The importance of backgrounding (and backgrounder vs backgrounding)

Take a look at these stories chosen at random: Read more…

Course notes