Curriculum

The Reporting I class begins with the basics of short form stories in a variety of formats and genres. After a progression of reporting classes, the curriculum culminates with each student producing a thirty-minute documentary. Our Art of Video Editing class coincides with the Advanced TV Reporting class to give extra support to the production of the documentary. News Doc students have the opportunity to take electives university wide.

The students’ work has won many awards from the Academy of TV Arts and Science Student Awards, the Christopher Awards and American Women in Radio and Television and appeared in many prestigious film festivals. They have also received travel grants from the National Television Academy Foundation and the Student Academy Awards.

Required courses: Television Reporting I; Writing, Reporting Workshop I; Television Reporting II, and Advanced TV Reporting, Press Ethics, Visual Thinking, Political Cinema or a documentary related seminar; TV Newscast.

Students must take at least one documentary seminar course: Political Cinema or Master Class in Documentary.

A typical (full-time) schedule

Semester 1: 11 points

Writing, Research, and Reporting I
Television Reporting I
Media Ethics

Semester 2: 14 points

Television Reporting II
Elective (Recommended – Digital Newsroom)
Seminar (Recommended – Political Cinema or Fall Semester Master Class in Documentary) or elective
Visual Thinking

Semester 3: 11 points

Advanced TV Reporting
Internship
The Art of Long Form Video Editing
Seminar Master Class in Documentary option or elective

Required Courses

GRADUATE TV REPORTING I – Elemental Storytelling – (JOUR-GA.1040)

This beginning course introduces students to all aspects of short form storytelling including shooting, editing and writing. The course begins with visual storytelling and then expands to different storytelling techniques for different kinds of topics, from traditional news reporting to the cinema verite style. By covering neighborhoods in New York, students learn to develop story ideas, conduct interviews and structure a story. Detailed script analysis is combined with in-depth discussions of student work. This course also includes viewing assignments based on understanding the historical development of the form. Students work in teams of two.

GRADUATE TV REPORTING II – (JOUR-GA.1172)

Prerequisite: JOUR-GA.1040 (required)

This intermediate second semester course builds on the storytelling skills learned the first semester by doing a combination of magazine, short investigative and enterprise stories pieces as well as assignments aimed at preparing them for long form documentary work. Students also learn how to write a proposal and treatment for their half-hour documentary project.

GRADUATE ADVANCED TV REPORTING – (JOUR-GA.1175)

Prerequisite: JOUR-GA.1040 and JOUR-GA.1172 (required)

This class is unique to our news and documentary curriculum. The focus of the course is on developing an interesting in-depth story that will have a complex story structure and style. The emphasis is on understanding process, from research skills to the final edit of a documentary length story. Students work on advanced interviewing techniques and more complex methods of gathering audio and video, effective writing to pictures. The goal is that students understand how style can enhance the meaning of the story. Research and primary shooting occurs over the summer with the equipment support from the department.

The professor works closely with the students in and out of class with attention to every detail of the production process. This means the student learns how to pitch a story and present it during the various stages of production. This one on one contact is an essential part of the learning process and distinct to our program.

WRR I: NEWS & DOCUMENTARY – (JOUR-GA.1021.009)

The best journalism flows from logical thinking, solid research, and comprehensive journalism. Through short deadline pieces and longer writing assignments this class will simulate a newsroom and teach you how to think like a journalist. New York City will be your reporting lab and you will be sent out into the city hunting for stories from day one. While the primary focus of this class is text and photography, the skills that will give you a strong journalism foundation that can be used in any media. The final project is a substantial multi-media site on a chosen topic.

PRESS ETHICS – (JOUR-GA.0012.002)

This course offers through the case method a critical examination of current and recurring ethical and legal issues in journalism. Areas covered include reporting practices, roles of editors and executives, conflict of interest, sources, defamation and privacy, criminal justice and national security.

LONG FORM VIDEO EDITING – (JOUR-GA-1182.07)

The class will explore the complexity of long form visualization and the various structural options possible through editing. It will examine not only how stories get told, but the different ways of telling them. Through various exercises the students will experiment with various approaches and editing styles. Simultaneous with this class, students will be working on their own documentaries in Advanced TV Reporting. Whereas that class is more focused on concept and structure, the editing class will look closely at specific editing choices and techniques.

VISUAL THINKING – (JOUR-GA.1148)

The class explores the complexity of documentary visualization through cinematography. It will examine not only how stories get told, but also how we might inspire new ways of telling them visually. This class will immerse the students in the challenges of different approaches and shooting styles through production exercises and through significant documentary examples.

Required courses: Television Reporting I; Writing, Reporting Workshop I; Television Reporting II, and Advanced TV Reporting, Press Ethics, Political Cinema or a documentary related seminar; TV Newscast.

TV NEWSCAST: THE DIGITAL NEWSROOM – (JOUR-GA.1070)

(Open to all graduate journalism students)

Students learn broadcast writing skills in a real time situation by producing a live broadcast that goes out over the NYU cable to the dorms and public buildings. The emphasis of the class is on developing news judgment under tight deadline pressures. The students in the class perform all the editorial and technical roles on the newscast and report stories as well. We have national and international video footage from the CNN Pathfire news service and we have the AP ENPS news system that provides wires and software for formatting the newscast. Interview skills are developed during the newscast with in-depth newsmaker interviews. Positions are rotated to give students a sense of the different roles in a newsroom and the importance of teamwork.

Select a Seminar

POLITICAL CINEMA – (JOUR-GA.1182.11)

In contemporary war, “the other” is viewed not only as an enemy to be fought but, often, as one to be eliminated. How do journalists and filmmakers fight against (or, alternately, reinforce) such deadly representations? This class will focus primarily (though not exclusively) on one of the world’s most conflict-ridden regions–the Middle East–though it will also explore films from Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and the United States. Through journalistic readings and film screenings, we will explore how “the other” is constructed: politically, aesthetically, ethically. This class is designed for anyone interested in contemporary politics and history, especially those of the Mideast; the journalism of conflict and violence, and the ethical questions associated with them; filmmaking; and film criticism.

MASTER CLASS IN DOCUMENTARY – (JOUR-GA 2004)

This course, while not a production class, is designed to give students the opportunity to learn each stage of the documentary filmmaking process from the best working professionals in their field. Each week we will watch a documentary and meet someone who had a pivotal role in the making of that documentary. Our guests will include producers, directors, cinematographers, sound engineers, editors, writers, film composers and sound mixers. These professionals will share their experience and expertise with the class and answer questions about their work thereby providing a foundation of insight into the decisions, tools and skills that go into the making of good documentaries. Class discussions will explore the creative and technical decisions involved in the making the film.