Project Overview
Title
College Newspaper Orientation
Target Audience
New Collegiate Newspaper Reporters
Overall Goal
The overall goal of this college newspaper orientation course is to provide new staff writers at a college newspaper the necessary tools and abilities that they will need to successfully write their first newspaper article.
Rationale
With an open door philosophy at most school papers to aspiring writers, it is crucial that these individuals are exposed to the proper resources and are provided with the necessary tools for them to be successful in their new journalistic endeavor. According to Priscilla Alvarez, the current editor-in-chief of the Collegiate Times at Virginia Tech, their current hiring and training standards for their newspaper are minimal. "Students interested in contributing to the student newspaper typically reach out via email to get started. They are then directed to our training director who meets with students one-on-one to discuss the mission of the Collegiate Times as well as introduce them to AP style and our ethics code. After about an hour or so of training, they are prepared to choose a section of the newspaper to write for and move forward with the section editors." With such a basic orientation for new writers, Alvarez was supportive of the creation and implementation of a more comprehensive and consistent training program for new writers that they would be willing to implement at their newspaper.
Description of the Project
The budding collegiate writers should use the three learning materials, on their own time and before meeting with the instructional coordinator, to review principles of interviewing, AP style and writing considerations, and journalistic ethics. After reviewing the learning materials, the new writers should arrange to meet with the instructional coordinator, as currently occurs within the Collegiate Times training. The instructional coordinator will be provided with guidelines for assessing the new writers knowledge in the three topics above; this assessment will take place in a conversational manner- similar to how the Collegiate Times training currently takes place.
Scope of the Project
Through this orientation course, students will receive a thorough crash course in interviewing techniques, AP style rules, typical writing considerations, and the difference between ethical and unethical reporting. The instructional materials are meant to complement the current training program in place at the Collegiate Times - a one hour, one-on-one discussion with the instructional coordinator. It is expected that further applied and practical training will take place with the section editor to which the new writer is assigned; however, that outside of the scope of this instruction.
Media to Be Included
Material in the PowerPoints will be presented to students though the use of video and external web links form the main lesson site. Assessment materials will be available for download from the lesson site but will also be provided to students in hard copy for at the time of their lesson attendance.
College Newspaper Orientation
Target Audience
New Collegiate Newspaper Reporters
Overall Goal
The overall goal of this college newspaper orientation course is to provide new staff writers at a college newspaper the necessary tools and abilities that they will need to successfully write their first newspaper article.
Rationale
With an open door philosophy at most school papers to aspiring writers, it is crucial that these individuals are exposed to the proper resources and are provided with the necessary tools for them to be successful in their new journalistic endeavor. According to Priscilla Alvarez, the current editor-in-chief of the Collegiate Times at Virginia Tech, their current hiring and training standards for their newspaper are minimal. "Students interested in contributing to the student newspaper typically reach out via email to get started. They are then directed to our training director who meets with students one-on-one to discuss the mission of the Collegiate Times as well as introduce them to AP style and our ethics code. After about an hour or so of training, they are prepared to choose a section of the newspaper to write for and move forward with the section editors." With such a basic orientation for new writers, Alvarez was supportive of the creation and implementation of a more comprehensive and consistent training program for new writers that they would be willing to implement at their newspaper.
Description of the Project
The budding collegiate writers should use the three learning materials, on their own time and before meeting with the instructional coordinator, to review principles of interviewing, AP style and writing considerations, and journalistic ethics. After reviewing the learning materials, the new writers should arrange to meet with the instructional coordinator, as currently occurs within the Collegiate Times training. The instructional coordinator will be provided with guidelines for assessing the new writers knowledge in the three topics above; this assessment will take place in a conversational manner- similar to how the Collegiate Times training currently takes place.
Scope of the Project
Through this orientation course, students will receive a thorough crash course in interviewing techniques, AP style rules, typical writing considerations, and the difference between ethical and unethical reporting. The instructional materials are meant to complement the current training program in place at the Collegiate Times - a one hour, one-on-one discussion with the instructional coordinator. It is expected that further applied and practical training will take place with the section editor to which the new writer is assigned; however, that outside of the scope of this instruction.
Media to Be Included
Material in the PowerPoints will be presented to students though the use of video and external web links form the main lesson site. Assessment materials will be available for download from the lesson site but will also be provided to students in hard copy for at the time of their lesson attendance.