This Just In: Breaking News

Catalog description

This course focuses on the practice of reporting and writing stories on short and rolling deadlines, also known as breaking news. In an age of push notifications, social sharing, and the potential for "fake news," demand for reporting that is both speedy and accurate has never been greater. Breaking news requires a skill set that is different from other kinds of reporting. Journalists must be able to recognize when breaking stories are happening, identify relevant sources, verify and attribute information, and create stories that provide appropriate context for their audiences, using a multitude of formats. This course will help you develop skills to create accurate, clear, compelling, and contextual accounts of breaking news in a deadline environment. Seven weeks of the semester will consist of a simulation involving students in two other MCVA courses: Case Studies in Public Relations and Producing Corporate Video. The simulation is designed to help you practice developing relationships with sources and understand the challenges of mediating a public forum in which a wide range of voices compete to be heard.