2023 – Spring

Reporting Pop Culture

Course Number: JOUR-GA 1182.016

Day & Time: Tue | 5:00 PM – 8:40 PM

Location: 20 Cooper Square, Room 659

Instructor: Jen Ortiz

What we consume says a lot about us — especially when our eyes and ears are the ones indulging. From the celebrity scandals and cancellations we group chat about, to the music we preorder, to the movies that drag us down Reddit and Wikipedia rabbit holes, and the TV shows we’d cancel plans for, our pop culture habits say something. About our values as a culture. Our anger. Our anxieties. And it’s our job, as journalists, to point that out. Which is what we do in thinkpieces, profiles, reviews, hell, even in TV recaps. And that’s what we’ll do in this class. We’ll focus on developing your pop culture reporting skills through crafting our own hot takes, thinkpieces, profiles, and more. Classes will be structured around some lectures and a lot more discussion, course readings, pitch meetings, peer editing, in-class writing exercises, and guest speakers. All pop culture tastes welcome — there is no such thing and too lowbrow, in my opinion!