Blogging Assignments
Each blogging assignment this semester requires one single post. It is due by the deadline shown on the Schedule page.
The post should be 300-500 words, grammatically correct, and suitable for reading by your future employers.
Each blogging assignment will be graded as follows:
Grading
- 2 points: An acceptable post that meets the assignment criteria and the deadline.
- 2 points: An acceptable comment posted on someone else's post (for the same assignment); see criteria below. Your comment must be posted within 24 hours after the deadline for the post.
- 1 point: No grammatical, spelling or other errors.
Total: 5 points
Comment Criteria
Say something substantial. You may disagree or agree, but you must add something to what the original poster wrote. What you add must not repeat what you wrote in your own post!
Blogging 1
Find and watch two (2) journalistic videos from ONE of these newspaper Web sites:
- The Washington Post (NOTE: Do NOT choose a video from OnBeing for this assignment.)
- The New York Times
- Las Vegas Sun
- The Spokesman-Review
- Toronto Star
Provide a direct link to each video. Ideally, use the title of the video as the link text in your post.
Be sure you're looking at a VIDEO! No slideshows!
Compare the two videos. Note at least one good thing about each video. (If you can't think of anything good to say, find a different video!)
Answer this: Does the video tell a story? Explain your answer.
Blogging 2
Explore ONE of these Flash journalism packages:
- Broken Trust (HeraldTribune.com, Sarasota, Fla.)
- Lebrew Jones and the Death of Micki Hall (Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y.)
- Why are food prices rising? (Financial Times, London)
- U.S. Presidential Candidates - Issues Matrix (MSNBC.com)
- Reporting for Duty (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Please choose a package you have NOT looked at before.
- Spend a fair amount of time with the package -- at least 30 minutes.
- Do not write about every single thing. Select the best and the worst. What stands out?
In your blog post, provide a direct link to the package, and use the title of the package as the link text in your post (as I have done in the list above).
Capture at least TWO (2) screenshots from different parts of the package and include them in your blog post. If you have forgotten how to crop and resize in Photoshop, use the tutorial.
Describe your experience with the package. DO NOT tell me what you clicked and what you saw -- by describing your experience, you will write what interested you, confused you, made you curious, or made you feel frustrated. If you wanted more, say so. If you looked for something and couldn't find it, say so.
Do not summarize the contents of the package.
Focus on your experience as a user of, or a visitor to, this piece of journalism. Was it satisfying or good? WHY? Or why not?
Blogging 3
This is your final assessment of the course, similar to what you wrte at the end of the last semester. My goal is to have you reflect on what you learned and how useful you think it might be. Feel free to offer constructive criticism; it is very welcome and will not hurt your grade!
The post should assess what you learned. Note: "assess" is different from "list."
Please link to your final project in a SEPARATE post in your blog. Make an obvious text link even if you also use a screen capture.
