Spring 2020 (MWF)

Remote & Live (Synchronous) Lecture: MWF

Complete assigned course materials before class begins.
Annotate all assigned course materials in Perusall before class begins.

Course Calendar

Week	Assigned Course Materials & Assignments Due
Week 1.1 3/30	Due: ● Read: Syllabus
Week 1.2 4/1	● Romano, C. (2009, November 15). We Need ‘Philosophy of Journalism.’ The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Week 1.3 4/3	● Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics ● Society of Professional Journalists: Ethics Toolbox ● National Public Radio: Ethics Handbook
Week 2.1 4/6	● Randall, D. (2016). Chapter 12 Ethics. In The Universal Journalist – Fifth Edition (pp. 169-184). London: Pluto Press. ● William, P. (2018, August 17). ‘White Voice,’ Blackface, and the Ethics of Representation: When is it fair to speak with someone else’s voice?
Week 2.2 4/8	● Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. (2015). Ethical Decision Making. ● Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. (2015). A Framework for Ethical Decision-Making. ● AP Stylebook exercises
Week 2.3 4/10	● The Poynter Institute: Codes of Ethics and Conduct ● Rojas, R. (2015, December 4). Landlord Lets Reporters into San Bernardino Suspects’ Home. The New York Times Due in Canvas Fri. @ 5pm PST: ● Write and submit a post via Canvas of at least 400 words that addresses “how this case puts the pursuit of truth and professional ethics directly in tension and make a case for how journalists should conduct themselves in such a situation.”
Week 3.1 4/13	● Cronin, M. & McPherson, J. (1995). Pronouncements and Denunciations: An Analysis of State Press Association Ethics Codes from the 1920s. In J&MC Quarterly, 72(4), pp. 890-901. ● Gallagher, W. (1972, May 21). Someone must search for the facts…. From 1972 Commencement, Franklin College. Franklin, IN. ● Wihbey, J. (2013, May 14). Justice Department vs. AP: Perspectives on a First Amendment Fight
Week 3.2 4/15	● Poynter: Hearts and Guts: Writing the Personal Profile Associated Press Stylebook exercises ● Tenore, M. (2013). USF’s The Oracle bans email interviews, following other student papers. ● Optional: LaForme, R. & Hare, K. (2017, July 20). This tool will help your long-distance interviews feel more face-to-face. Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Pitch 3 ideas for Profile – you will receive feedback
Week 3.3 4/17	Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● AP Stylebook Quiz #1 ● Basic outline for Profile
Week 4.1 4/20	● Purdue Online Writing Lab: The Components of “Newsworthiness.” ● Bissinger, B. (1998, September). Shattered Glass. ● Academic Integrity Overview – completion required to submit final draft of Profile
Week 4.2 4/22	● Purdue Online Writing Lab: How to Write a Lead ● Scanlan, C. (2003). Writing from the Top Down: Pros and Cons of the Inverted Pyramid. ● AP Stylebook exercises Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Rough draft and peer review
Week 4.3 4/24	Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Final draft of Profile
Week 5.1 4/27	● Hindman, E. B. (2006). Jayson Blair, The New York Times, and Paradigm Repair. Journal of Communication, Vol. 55, Issue 2, pp. 225-241.
Week 5.2 4/29	● AP Stylebook Quiz #2 ● Montopoli, B. (2005). Distorted Story Spawns Distorted Theories. Columbia Journalism Review. ● Hedges, C. (2013). The Disease of Objectivity is Killing the News. Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Pitch (3) ideas for Story #1 – you will receive feedback
Week 5.3 5/1	● Buchen, C. Kay, J., High, K. Independent Media in a Time of War. (2003). UCSD VPN required to access the film Due by 10:50am: ● Post a 100-word comment to the prompt re: the video in the Canvas Discussion forum. Then respond in at least 50 words to one of your colleague’s posts.
Week 6.1 5/4	● Singer, J. (Spring 2010). Journalism ethics amid structural change. Daedalus, Vol. 139, No. 2, pp.89-99. ● Ward, S. (2018). Chapter 1 Why Disrupt. In Disrupting Journalism Ethics: Radical Change on the Frontier of Digital Media, pp.1-12.
Week 6.2 5/6	● AP Stylebook exercises
Week 6.3 5/8	Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Basic outline for Story #1
Week 7.1 5/11	● Ward, S. Digital Media Ethics. University of Wisconsin-Madison. ● Ward, S. (2018). Chapter 5 Disrupt the public sphere – detox. In Disrupting Journalism Ethics: Radical Change on the Frontier of Digital Media, pp. 71-87.
Week 7.2 5/13	● AP Stylebook Quiz #3 ● Nieman Reports. (2016). How Newsrooms Handle Graphic Images of Violence. Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Rough draft and peer review
Week 7.3 5/15	Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Story #1 Final Draft
Week 8.1 5/18	● Deggans, E. (2012, October 23). Why ethics and diversity matter: The case of Trayvon Martin coverage
Week 8.2 5/20	● AP Stylebook exercises ● Wihbey, J. (2015, May 20). Racial bias and news media reporting: New research trends
Week 8.3 5/22	Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Pitch (3) ideas for Story #2 – you will receive feedback
Week 9.1 5/25	● No synchronous lecture in observance of Memorial Day
Week 9.2 5/27	● Ward, S. (2018). Chapter 6 Shape of a Future Ethic. In Disrupting Journalism Ethics: Radical Change on the Frontier of Digital Media, pp. 88-96. ● Velazquez, F. (2020). Journalism with a Purpose: A Q&A with Lewis Raven Wallace
Week 9.3 5/29	● AP Stylebook Quiz #4 ● Explore Freedom Forum Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Write a 200-word synthesis on the other virtual exhibit you visited, addressing what the risks are for trying to adhere to a system of ethics as a journalist.
Week 10.1 6/1	Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Basic outline of Story #2
Week 10.2 6/3	Due in Canvas by 5pm PST: ● Rough draft and peer review
Week 10.3 6/5	● Groups assigned for office hours on Zoom
Finals 6/8	Due in Canvas by 10:59am PST: ● Story #2 Final Draft

COMM 132: Journalism Ethics

Spring 2020
COMM 132

Course Description

Welcome to COMM 132 “Journalism Ethics.” This course dissects the “code of ethics” in the field of print/digital Journalism. We will analyze and critique cultural, economic, and political impacts that ethical frameworks have on content production and industry expectations, primarily within the United States. Students will explore various genres of journalistic storytelling and put ethics-based theories into action online by producing and workshopping their creative content. Students will utilize the Associated Press Stylebook and develop critically conscious content that draws from various methodological approaches to journalistic writing including the inverted pyramid structure. Although we are living in stressful, uncertain times, we will make it through this remote-learning experience with written and digital memories that capture a profound moment of ethics in journalism history.

Course Objectives

This course involves 4 central objectives:

1. Develop and cultivate story ideas that become the foundation of your stories
2. Locate the information and content that will support each story idea
3. Produce story outlines and rough drafts that eventually culminate into polished final drafts that conform to certain rules of the Associated Press Stylebook
4. Confirm the accuracy of information in each draft so that it is ready for potential submission to industry outlets if you are seeking to produce writing-based examples for the job market

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Analyze the role that ethics play between journalists and the public
2. Navigate the Associated Press Stylebook while understanding its ideological function
3. Assess and understand the complexities of ethics-based controversies through the
   exploration and analysis of case studies

Course Requirements & Assignments

10%	Weekly Canvas Exercises (Discussions, Individual Responses, Story Ideas)	10 points
10%	Perusall Annotations of Course Readings (At least 50 words per annotation)	10 points
10%	AP Stylebook Quizzes (4 open-book, timed, and graded in Canvas)	20 points
10%	Profile (rough draft, peer review, final version) due Fri., April 24 @ 5pm PST	10 points
30%	Story #1 (rough draft, peer review, final draft) due Fri. May 15 @ 5pm PST	30 points
30%	Story #2 (rough draft, peer review, final draft) due Mon. June 8 @ 10:59am PST	30 points
100%	TOTAL	110 points

Weekly Canvas Exercises

Weekly Canvas Exercises account for 10 percent of your final course grade. They are recorded through online activities and include your posts in Canvas Discussion forums, individual responses, and story ideas for the profile, Story #1 and Story #2 – all submitted via Canvas. I understand that life is rapidly changing due to the pandemic. Students, faculty, and staff face incredible challenges, and synchronous (live) remote learning for the entire quarter under these unstable conditions is unfeasible and unrealistic. To the best of our technological abilities, Discussion will occur via both synchronous (live) and asynchronous (pre recorded or pre-existing) online activities. If you have an ongoing or sudden serious medical concern or family emergency, please communicate with me before deadlines when possible. If you are worried about missing deadlines, please consider e-mailing me to communicate your challenges. It is your responsibility to: (a) visit Canvas Modules for lecture materials and communicate with classmates to obtain additional student insight on what you missed; (b) complete the readings and annotations for the class in Perusall; and (c) attend the professor’s virtual office hours for a de-briefing on course materials if you would like. It is your responsibility to catch up by asking a classmate for virtual lecture notes and using Canvas to access course materials. You may also schedule a virtual Office Hours appointment by signing up here or sending Dr. Iatarola an e-mail at biatarol@ucsd.edu to discuss questions you have about anything related to the course.

Perusall Annotations of Course Readings

In Perusall, which you can access via our Canvas course page or by using your UCSD credentials here (https://app.perusall.com/), you will respond each week to Monday’s assigned readings with an annotation of at least 50 words. Please use the platform as a digital method of engaging with each other about what you are reading. Your annotations should address in at least 50 of your own words topics such as: what you find interesting or problematic about the article and why; how arguments or positionality affect the ethical framework of journalism as a local and/or global industry; questions or concerns that arise while reading the assignment; how the reading helps you better understand the current conditions between the public and journalists, etc. These are suggestions intended to guide your comments beyond “This is cool. This is interesting. I don’t understand.” Each response is worth 1 point, which is 1% of the 10% total grade for Perusall Annotations of Course Readings. Due dates for each annotation are listed in Perusall. A successful completion of the annotations includes: each a minimum 50 words per response, the use of appropriate source citations when necessary, paraphrased ideas rather than direct quotations, an in-depth level of engagement with the assigned reading(s), and organized sentences, syntax/sentence structure and basic knowledge of writing conventions. For full credit, please submit your response by each assigned deadline. Responses submitted past the deadline will receive 70% credit until 5pm, Friday, Week 9.

Canvas AP Stylebook Quizzes

There are four (4) open-book, timed, announced quizzes that aim to help prepare you for understanding how the Associated Press Stylebook operates as a linguistic and ideological tool for the masses in print/digital media. They are completed and graded in Canvas. They account for 10% of the course grade. You will complete them using your technological device. Specific due dates are noted in Canvas.

Profile | Story #1 | Story #2

Each writing piece is an opportunity to practice your digital interviewing skills, drawing from an ethical framework necessary to produce each written work. The process of production entails “pitching” story ideas, which you will submit via Canvas, drafting outlines and a rough draft to ensure completion, interviewing subjects through digital means that account for social distancing guidelines, peer review with AP Stylebook considerations in mind, and submitting “polished” drafts. More detailed instructions with a specific word count for each piece will be discussed in synchronous lectures and published in Pages in Canvas prior to the deadline.

Copyright of Course Materials at UC San Diego

Dr. iatarola’s lectures, syllabi, and course materials, including PowerPoint presentations, quizzes, surveys, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by U.S. copyright law and University policy. Dr. iatarola is the exclusive owner of the copyright in those materials she creates. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own use. You may also share those materials with another student who is enrolled in or auditing this course. You may not reproduce, distribute or display (post/upload) lecture notes or recordings or course materials in any other way — whether or not a fee is charged — without her express prior written consent. You also may not allow others to do so. If you do so, you may be subject to student conduct proceedings under the UC San Diego Student Code of Conduct.

Course Resources, Policies, and Grading Information

Platform

This course will be using an online learning management system (LMS) to manage content and grades. Canvas is best viewed in Google Chrome. Zoom may unexpectedly be used to conduct (a)synchronous lectures, which will be recorded and made available to students. Should you need any technical assistance with Canvas, please alert your instructor and send an email to servicedesk@ucsd.edu. In the header of the email, please write “Canvas”. Make sure to include your name, course title, and contact information in the email body. A representative will get back to you within 48 hours (Monday through Friday). Each Canvas assignment displays the due date.

Required Readings, Videos, and Course Supplies

This Canvas course contains PDFs and links for most materials. You will need to use your UCSD VPN login credentials on your authenticated device to access UCSD course materials that require VPN for access. Given the impact of COVID-19 on students’ educational experience and access to resources, a personal laptop, tablet, or smartphone with reliable Internet access will help facilitate emergent outcomes. UCSD students are eligible for the Loaner Laptop Program.

Principles of Community & Anti-Racist Pedagogy

This course calls on all of us to cultivate a classroom environment built on mutual respect and anti-racist pedagogy. This means honoring (y)our responsibility to ensure the safety and comfort for all peers and instructors so we can collectively confront racial and environmental injustices. It is to recognize (y)our biases and make space to listen to and learn from peers and instructors who hold identities and experiences different from (y)our own.

Sexual Harassment

All incidents of sexual harassment or gender harassment should be reported by the complainant to either a person in a supervisory capacity or the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.

Name and Gender Pronouns

Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me early in the quarter so that I may make appropriate changes to our records.

Disability and Accessibility

I am dedicated to making this course accessible to enrolled students despite these challenging circumstances. If something is inaccessible to you due to disability reasons, life’s obstacles, or COVID-19 impacts, please communicate with me so that I can help you succeed in this course. I will work with you to ensure that you can participate fully in the course. If you require accommodations or services for disabilities, please communicate with me immediately, register with the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD), and complete the necessary steps in the OSD Student Portal to obtain a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter. This letter is required for eligibility for requests. The statement for COVID-19 accommodations has been updated on the OSD website: https://osd.ucsd.edu/resources/covid-19.html. Students who have specific concerns are encouraged to email their Disability Specialist or the general OSD email account at osd@ucsd.edu. To obtain services from OSD, you must apply to that office directly. For more information: check the OSD website; call: 858.534.4382 (Voice) or 858.534.9709 (TTY) — reserved for people who are deaf or hard of hearing; or email: osd@ucsd.edu

Academic Integrity

Appendix 2: UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship:
Student work is run through Turnitin. “To uphold academic integrity, students shall:

Complete and submit academic work that is their own and that is an honest and fair representation of their knowledge and abilities at the time of submission.

Know and follow the standards of the class and the institution.
Thus, no student shall engage in an activity that undermines academic integrity or facilitates academic integrity violations by others. This means:

1. No student shall procure, provide, or accept any material that contains questions or answers to any examination or assignment unless the student’s possession of the material has been authorized by the instructor.
2. No student shall complete, in part or in total, any academic work (e.g., examination, assignment, paper) or obtain academic credit (e.g., attendance, participation) for another person.
3. No student shall allow any academic work or academic credit to be completed or obtained, in part or in whole, for themselves by another person.
4. No student shall plagiarize or copy the work of others and submit it as their own work.
5. No student shall employ aids in undertaking course work or in completing any exam or assignment that are not authorized by the instructor.
6. No student shall alter graded class assignments or examinations and then resubmit them for regrading without the instructor’s permission.
7. No student shall submit substantially the same material more than once without prior authorization from the instructor, such as a paper that was written and submitted in another class.”

Letters of Recommendation

Tenured faculty are in a more equitable position than lecturers to advocate for your success in letters of recommendation (LORs). As a lecturer, occasionally I produce a very limited number of letters during the academic year, provided that: 

• the student has completed at least one course with me
• the student provides an up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV) and/or a resume
• the student produces and shares written context (e.g., a statement of purpose for graduate school or written synopsis of career plans) that highlights what they are aiming to accomplish and why they are applying for the opportunity
• the student includes basic information in writing about the opportunity
• the student checks in occasionally and converses with me at least 2 months in advance about plans that may require a LOR
• the student submits a request with a signed waiver (available upon request) at least six weeks before the deadline(s). 

If you are applying to graduate school, Dr. iatarola will write no more than two (2) total letters for you. Requests must be submitted simultaneously. The recommendation process is time-consuming and extends beyond submitting a generic letter that speaks to your character or aspirations. For a thorough breakdown of what this LOR process entails, visit Requesting Letters of Recommendation.

Course Assessment and Grading

For students who elect to receive a letter grade for this course and for more information about UCSD’s grading system, please visit About Grades on TritonLink. In this course: 

A – You have excelled in ALL THE REQUIREMENTS for this class, producing excellent work, which includes exceptional written assignments that incorporate an exemplary understanding of the readings and/or concepts for the class when necessary.
B – You have performed WELL OVER THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for this course by producing good written work, which includes good written assignments that demonstrate a competent understanding of the readings and concepts for the class when necessary.
C – You HAVE MET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for this class, producing satisfactory written work, which includes acceptable written assignments that demonstrate a basic understanding of the readings and concepts of this class when necessary.
D – You HAVE NOT MET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for this class, producing poor written projects that reveal problems in understanding basic concepts of this class.
F- You DID NOT COMPLETE COURSEWORK THAT MET THE MINIMUM requirements for this class.

Subject to Change Policy

Information and due dates contained in the course syllabus and Canvas, other than the grade policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate. If you have an ongoing or sudden serious medical concern or family emergency, please communicate with me when possible.