The Daily Plan-it / Dean of Students Blog, Columbia J-school

Please note that this document is updated regularly! Last updated 12/13, 2:48 p.m.

12/13/2007 Updates

• Producing a Magazine B with Jim Kelly will meet on Fridays, 2:30-5:30 pm

12/12/2007 Updates

• Second section of Business Reporting added - Prof. Paul Ingrassia

11/27/2007 Updates

• Literary Journalism will meet Fridays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

11/26/2007 Updates

• Christopher Lehmann-Haupt will teach the Literary Journalism workshop
• Elizabeth Pochoda will teach the Magazine Editing elective

M.S. Spring 2008 Curriculum Guide

TO: All M.S. Students
FROM: David A. Klatell, Vice Dean
RE: Spring Curriculum

Here is the program of instruction for the spring term. Full-time M.S. students are required to take a 6-credit Reporting and Writing Seminar, a 6-credit Media Workshop, the Master’s Project and fulfill the requirement for a 3-credit journalism elective or an approved 3-credit graduate course outside the school.

In addition, all full-time magazine concentrators will be automatically enrolled the Delacorte Evening Lecture Series (one-half credit). Part-time students concentrating in magazine may elect to take the lecture series in spring 2008 or 2009.

Students should read this material thoroughly and, after discussing the options with their advisers and the various instructors, rank their preferences on the online ballot (available as of November 21, 7:00 a.m. from the DOS Blog).

Enrollment in classes may be subject to the consent of instructors and most course enrollments are necessarily limited. As a result, some students may be assigned to classes that may not be among their top three picks. This is done as fairly and equitably as possible. If circumstances warrant, it may be possible to add a second section for certain classes, with different instructors. However, we cannot guarantee that we will add sections to any course, no matter the demand.

The curriculum reflects the best judgment of the faculty and administration, based on our many years of experience, and is not a popularity contest. We reserve the right to add, delete or move courses (though we try to keep this to a minimum) and sometimes have to change instructors if schedule conflicts become intractable. Students are required to rank their preferences for seminars, workshops, and electives.

Students should be aware that evaluations of courses by students in previous years are available for your perusal; they are available at www.columbia.edu/cu/journalism/evaluations/.

The on-line ballot will be activated at 7:00 a.m., November 21. Your completed ballot must be submitted on line no later than November 28, 7 a.m. All ballots received during this time will be considered equal – this is not a “first-come, first-served” process.

The Journalism School’s spring semester begins Tuesday, January 22, when the first draft of Master’s Projects must be submitted to your adviser by 10 a.m. Students completing broadcast or new media projects should consult with their advisers regarding the format of the first draft. Deadlines for subsequent master’s drafts have been set for February 25 and March 24, both days at 10 a.m. You will receive detailed instructions as those dates grow closer.

Please Note: Wednesday, January 23 there will be a full-day of mandatory programming for full-time M.S. students; all others are welcome. Workshops begin Thursday, January 24 or Friday, January 25. Seminars begin either Monday, January 28 or Tuesday, January 29. Journalism School electives start Wednesday, January 30.

Classes taught elsewhere in the University begin the week of January 22 (except for Law & Business School courses which may begin earlier). Be sure to check with your instructors for exact dates and times.

Required courses for full-time students:
1. Advanced Reporting and Writing Seminars (J6002y), 6 credits
2. Media Workshops (J6011y), 6 credits
3. Master’s Project II (J6041y), 3 credits
4. Spring term electives (J6010y), 3 credits

How a Week Looks in the Spring:

• Monday and Tuesday: Reporting and writing Seminars
• Wednesday: Most Electives and time for Master’s Projects
• Thursday and Friday: Most Workshops
• Saturday and Sunday: Some Electives and Workshops

Note: Many courses require special class meetings (field trips, editorial meetings, etc.) in addition to the listed class time. All students, particularly those in the part-time program, should check with the faculty to ascertain if their course has such additional requirements. Many faculty members have posted these on the school web site, linked to their name on the faculty page or to the course description in this document.

Advanced Reporting and Writing Seminars
J6002y (6 credits)
The disciplines of reporting and writing are structured around specialized subject areas or style techniques. These seminars usually require two full days each week on Monday and Tuesday - you should carefully check the schedule of each course by consulting the faculty or their class schedules posted on the web site.
They are listed below with the instructors (see later pages for fuller course descriptions). Because accommodating all first choices is unlikely, students must indicate six choices. In filling out the ballots, students should list specific seminars in order of their preferences.
Note: Admission to some seminars requires the instructor’s approval in advance (see course descriptions below). If you have been selected by Judith Crist, Sam Freedman, or Ari Goldman you will be asked to indicate so on your ballot. These classes will be filled prior to the ballot, so if you have not been pre-selected by the professor, you will not be able to submit a ballot requesting those classes.

All professors are allowed to select 10 of the students who ballot for their class as a first choice; the remaining seats are filled by the Dean of Students office in a manner that is intended to equalize students’ success in getting at least some of their first-choice classes.

The Seminars (J6002y):

• Book Writing – Sam Freedman
• Business & Economics Reporting – Cheryl Strauss Einhorn
• Covering Education – LynNell Hancock
• Covering Religion – Ari Goldman
• Writing About the Arts – Claudia Roth Pierpont
• The Deadline in Depth – Laura Muha
• Human Rights Reporting – Bill Berkeley
• Covering Race and Ethnicity With an Authentic Voice – Arlene Morgan and Alice Pifer
• International Affairs Reporting – Josh Friedman
• The Investigative Project – Walt Bogdanich
• The Journalism of Tomorrow – Stephen Isaacs
• National Affairs Reporting A – John Martin
• National Affairs Reporting B – Richard Wald
• Covering Conflict – Judith Matloff
• Personal & Professional Style – Judith Crist
• Science Reporting – Steve Hall
• Stabile Investigative Seminar – Sheila Coronel
• Business & Economics Reporting - Paul Ingrassia

Workshops
J6011y (6 credits):
Media workshops include a number of options: broadcast (TV — Nightly News, Documentary, Magazine Production, and Radio), newspaper (Bronx Beat, Columbia News Service), magazine (Producing a Magazine, Magazine Writing, Literary Journalism) and New Media. Students devote at least two days each week, usually Thursday and Friday, to the workshop. Note: schedules vary widely, so you should check with the faculty member for details or his/her posting on the web site.

All professors allowed to select 10 of the students who ballot for their class as a first choice; the remaining seats are filled by the Dean of Students office in a manner that is intended to equalize students’ success in getting at least some of their first-choice classes.

The Workshops (J6011y)

• Television Documentary – Jon Alpert
• Nightly News – William Wheatley
• Radio - John Dinges
• Television News Magazines – Betsy West
• Literary Journalism – Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
• Magazine Writing A - John Bennet
• Magazine Writing B – Stephen Fried
• Magazine Writing C – Cathleen McGuigan
• Producing a Magazine A - Victor Navasky
• Producing a Magazine B – Jim Kelly
• New Media A– Duy Linh Tu and Carla Baranauckas
• New Media B –Adam Glenn and Russell Chun
• Bronx Beat – Addie Rimmer
• Columbia News Service – Bruce Porter

Master’s Project II
J6041y (3 credits) — a continuation of Journalism J6040x

Master’s Project Deadlines:

• Jan. 22: First draft of all Master’s Projects (for audio/video projects, the “work cut”) will be handed in to your advisor by 10 a.m.
• Feb. 25: Second draft of all Projects (for video projects, a “rough cut”) will be handed in to your advisor by 10 a.m.
• Mar. 24: Final versions of all Projects handed to the Academic Dean’s office, in Room 701, by 10 a.m. No changes are allowed after this deadline. This copy is ultimately filed in the library.

Note: These deadlines are strict and must be met. Your adviser may require additional deadlines and drafts.

Electives
6014y (3 credits)
All full-time M.S. students are required to take an elective for at least three credits at the graduate level in the spring term — either inside or outside the school. Most Journalism electives meet once a week for lectures and/or seminar discussions, and require reading as well as written assignments. Outside electives must be approved by the Dean of Students office.

For outside course information, please see: http://snipurl.com/1tn6z

The Electives (6014y)

Advanced Computer Assisted Reporting – Tom Torok
• Advanced Photojournalism - Sara Barrett
• Broadcast News Management - David McCormick and Lloyd Siegel
• Feature Writing A - Alexandra Peers
• Feature Writing B – Hugh Eakin
• Graphics in the Newsroom - Hannah Fairfield Wallander
• The International Newsroom – Ann Cooper
• Magazine Editing – Elizabeth Pochoda
• Narrative Writing A - Kevin Coyne
• Narrative Writing B – Jacob Levenson
• New Media Elective – Jennifer Brown & Jennifer Johnson
• News Editing – Nancy Sharkey
• Opinion Writing – Gwenda Blair
• Politics and the Press in America - Evan Cornog
• Radio Documentary – Alex Blumberg
• Sports Journalism – Sandy Padwe
• Stabile Investigative Techniques - J. Robert Port
• Tough Choices: Decision-Making in Journalism – Michael Shapiro
• History of American Journalism – Andie Tucher
• Covering Ideas – Alexander Stille
• 20th Century Politics, Revolution and Literary Journalism – Michael Janeway

Delacorte Evening Lecture Series
J6050y (1/2 credit)
Thursday 7pm - 8:30 p.m.
FT magazine concentrators are automatically enrolled in the Delacorte Magazine Lectures, to be offered Thursday evenings 7-8:30 p.m. from February 7 through April 24. All other students are invited to attend. Part-time students concentrating in magazine may elect to take the Lecture Series in spring 2008 or 2009.

InternshipJ6099y (1/2 credit, optional)
Internships must be pre-approved by the Office of Career Services and the Dean of Students office. A student who undertakes an internship at a media organization can earn an additional academic one-half credit if the work consists of serious journalistic enterprise. At the conclusion of the internship, the student must submit a written description of what he or she has accomplished and learned in the internship, and an official of the media company must send a separate letter corroborating that and evaluating the student’s performance.

SEE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS AFTER THE JUMP.
(more…)

Here are the three Spring 2008 M.S. classes for which there is an application process. With each is information on how to apply. You need NOT have attended the sessions to apply.You will know the results of the application process before the balloting begins.

ALL APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 5 P.M.

1. Book Writing - PROCEDURE (from FAQ section of Prof. Freedman’s site):

   You email me a brief memo about it– anywhere from 100 to 300 words. Do not ask for a conference; it is your job to frame the idea. Send me the email at sgf1[at]columbia.edu. And if I respond by asking for changes or clarifications — and the odds are that I will — make sure that you send your reply to me promptly. Remember, you cannot be admitted into the course without my permission.

2. Covering Religion - PROCEDURE:
   Read about the course and apply online

3. Personal & Professional Style - PROCEDURE:
   Please see details here: Personal & Professional Style Information & Application Instructions

Prof. Michael Shapiro will be holding an information session on this exciting, new, spring elective:

DAY: Thursday
DATE: November 15
TIME: 12-1 p.m.
LOCATION: 607B

More information on the class is below. Questions to Prof. Shapiro at ms106@columbia.edu.

Decision-Making in Journalism (3-point spring elective)

A ponderous title for what might be better called The Boss Class. Students are put into the position of having to make decisions not only as reporters but as editors, station managers, publishers, in a word, bosses.

The approach is a novel one at the school – the Case Method. It works like this: students are given an actual, true life case, a narrative about an event in the life of a news gathering organization in which someone has to make a decision, or series of decisions, whose impact will be felt by employees, sources, subjects of stories and, in some instances, the industry. The case is the jumping off point for classroom discussion in search of a solution, an answer, a decision. Each narrative leads, inevitably, to a crossroads, a point at which a decision must be made – but which is not necessarily clear, and for which there is no “right” answer.

Does a cable news station, for instance, air a breaking story on an accusation of scandal, with nothing but a lawsuit to propel the story? What is the first step a newspaper editor should take when he decides that his newsroom must be revamped if it is to survive? Does a documentary film producer exclude footage that will alter the balance – and perhaps the thesis — in her piece?

Students will be expected to write memos each week, arguing for a particular decision. In addition, students will be expected to supplement the case-based arguments with additional reporting on the issues those cases raise.

The class will make use of on-line and multi-media components, in conjunction with CCNMTL.

Personal and Professional Style with Judith Crist

The nature and demands of this course make it necessary to limit the class size.

It is offered to students who have mastered the basic mechanics and techniques of journalistic prose and are interested in developing and refining a personal literary style within a journalistic framework, appropriate to editorials, columns and reviews.

There are basic assignments and free-choice exercises, with concentration on intra-group and self criticism, and good reporting. This class is not for the thin of skin!

Students must submit one sample of their best writing and, in no more than 350 words, a statement of their interest in the course. These are to be emailed in the body of the message to Dean Huff, at mgh2@columbia.edu, who must receive them by 5 p.m., Monday, November 12, 2007.