Political Reporting

Catalog description

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. COURSE OVERVIEW. Develops advanced reporting and writing skills through coverage of political actors, campaigns, institutions, policies and/or public debate. Emphasizes journalistic forms such as straight news, analysis, commentary, deadline reporting and/or long-form enterprise work. Coursework may involve interviewing public officials and stakeholders, sourcing public records, verifying factual claims and writing for publication under real-world time constraints. Engages legal and ethical challenges common to political reporting through case-based analysis and professional decision-making. RELEVANCE AND APPLICATION. Prepares students for careers in journalism, strategic communication, public affairs, political campaign messaging and media production requiring accuracy, fairness and accountability in public-facing work. Reinforces transferable skills in source evaluation, poll evaluation, fact assessment, editorial judgment and deadline coordination. Supports media literacy and civic readiness by strengthening the ability to interpret competing claims and document political developments with clarity and restraint. DEEPENING UNDERSTANDINGS. Reveals how journalistic credibility is constructed through sourcing, structure, transparency and consistency with professional standards. Highlights how political information circulates across formats such as news stories, speeches, commentary, newsletters, podcasts and/or social media. Encourages attention to how misinformation, framing or selective emphasis influence interpretation, requiring constant assessment of reliability and relevance. Explores ethical and legal issues regarding public records laws and the First Amendment. TOPICS AND THEMES. May include study and practice of interviewing, source development, fact-checking, news and feature structure, commentary and analysis writing, polling interpretation, deadline reporting and long-form enterprise work; consideration of media ethics, transparency, fairness and public accountability in coverage of elections, legislation, policy debates and/or political conflict. Course material may involve disputed events, competing narratives or controversial figures engaged for purposes of journalistic evaluation. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification or approval of instructor.