2016 - Spring

Advanced Reporting: Media Criticism

Course Number: JOUR-UA 301.003

Day & Time: Wednesday 10:00am-12:20pm

Location: 20 Cooper Square, room 657

Prerequisites: Foundations, The Beat

This is the Capstone course. Subject matter varies from section to section, but the basic skeleton of the course is the same across sections: the emphasis is on development of the ability to produce writing and reporting within a sophisticated longform story structure. The course involves query writing, topic research and reading, interviewing, and repeated drafts and rewrites, leading to a full-length piece of writing aimed at a publishable level and the ability of the student to present the reporting orally.

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This course will examine the role of the news media in shaping events, with students
looking critically at the intersection of politics and the press. From the campaign bus to
the White House briefing room, journalists are expected to vet candidates and hold
elected leaders accountable. While journalists often succeed in uncovering truth and
shedding light on policymakers’ decisions, they have also failed by promoting
misinformation and succumbing to groupthink and should be held accountable
themselves. These days, the media is facing an unprecedented volume of criticism from
all sides—liberal and conservative pundits, bloggers, independent fact checkers, and
engaged citizens on Twitter. But does this surge in media criticism help improve the
Fourth Estate or simply add static to an already noisy, hyper-politicized media
environment?