Needs Assessment
Current state:
Interested writers initiate contact with the Collegiate Times with a desire to participate as a columnist with the paper. These writers may or may not have a background in journalism, but as current students have met the university standards for enrollment (e.g. have met the basic English composition requirements, or the equivalent English as a second language testing criteria).
Desired state:
As a member of the Collegiate Times staff, the writers will need to be able to compose articles for the newspaper that meet the mission of the Collegiate Times while abiding by the accepted standards of journalistic ethics and adhering to the Associated Press journalistic styleguide. The writers should be able to compose an article and submit it to their section editor in time for printing.
The composition of the article should include enough information to inform readers on relevant materials and perspectives, so when appropriate the writer should be able to conduct professional interviews to supplement their assignments.
Gap:
Because the writers are new to the collegiate newspaper and may have no background in journalism or journalistic writing, they must become familiar with: the mission of the Collegiate Times, standards of journalistic ethics, and AP style.
To facilitate composing an article, the writers need to learn appropriate interviewing procedures.
*The mission of the Collegiate Times will not be covered in this instruction, so that the learning materials can be used by a variety of collegiate newspapers.
Interested writers initiate contact with the Collegiate Times with a desire to participate as a columnist with the paper. These writers may or may not have a background in journalism, but as current students have met the university standards for enrollment (e.g. have met the basic English composition requirements, or the equivalent English as a second language testing criteria).
Desired state:
As a member of the Collegiate Times staff, the writers will need to be able to compose articles for the newspaper that meet the mission of the Collegiate Times while abiding by the accepted standards of journalistic ethics and adhering to the Associated Press journalistic styleguide. The writers should be able to compose an article and submit it to their section editor in time for printing.
The composition of the article should include enough information to inform readers on relevant materials and perspectives, so when appropriate the writer should be able to conduct professional interviews to supplement their assignments.
Gap:
Because the writers are new to the collegiate newspaper and may have no background in journalism or journalistic writing, they must become familiar with: the mission of the Collegiate Times, standards of journalistic ethics, and AP style.
To facilitate composing an article, the writers need to learn appropriate interviewing procedures.
*The mission of the Collegiate Times will not be covered in this instruction, so that the learning materials can be used by a variety of collegiate newspapers.