Syllabus – JRLC 5800: Enterprise Reporting for Sports

JRLC 5800: Enterprise Reporting for Sports

Fall 2016 Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-10:45am

242 Journalism

#gradysports_e

Instructor: David Welch Suggs, Jr., Ph.D.

wsuggs@uga.edu

706.363.0752

@welchsuggs (snap/insta/twit)

http://facebook.com/profwelchsuggs

Office: 228 Journalism

Office hours: 11am-12pm and 2-3pm Tuesday-Thursday, or by appointment

Mission Statement:

Enterprise reporting is the heart of journalism. The best work is done when you go out into the world and discover a story that needs to be told—about the way that society makes living difficult for an individual or group, how history and economics limit the opportunities available to someone, or how one group is able to take advantage of conditions in a way that disadvantages another group. Enterprise stories are about going beyond the surface news to understand why things are the way they are, and perhaps to point the way toward some solutions. Enterprise stories win prizes and make names for their authors, but they also aspire to make a difference in the world.

In the context of sports, enterprise stories are often about the interaction of sports and society, understanding how issues arising outside sports affect the conduct of teams and athletes, as well as vice versa. Others are about the politics and economics of teams and organizations themselves, which are changing quickly in the ongoing search for fans and revenue. We will read a number of these over the course of the semester.

And we will write them. This is an advanced seminar, and it will function primarily as a lab to discuss your own work and that of others. You will produce two story packages: one a solo effort and the other a team assignment involving everyone in the class. Both will be largely driven by you, with me functioning as a coach and editor more than as a teacher standing in front of the class and telling you what to do. These projects will last over the course of the semester as we delve into different aspects of the reporting and writing process to arm you with tools and skills beyond what you’ve done heretofore in Grady and the GradySports program.

I hope each of these projects will be published professionally and will do my utmost to make that happen. You’ll be releasing them publicly via Medium.com regardless. But the true measure of success is whether these stories help shine light on where it needs to be shone. The primary conversation we will have over the course of the semester is how to find those stories and how to shine that light, making sure it focuses on the right issues and the right people, being fair and ethical to all involved.

Learning objectives:

Continue developing good interviewing, storytelling, writing and editing skills.
Learn how to access public records and information relevant to sports enterprise reporting.
Understand how to read and interpret relevant legal and financial documents.
Read and analyze high quality sports enterprise writing.
Produce timely and marketable multimedia sports enterprise projects.

Required resources and equipment:

Associated Press stylebook, which you should have from JOUR3410, or (preferred) subscription to the online stylebook
Textbooks: Available from the bookstore or Amazon. Fine to rent or to rent as e-books, but if your career aspirations include any kind of writing, I’d suggest buying your own. I still use all of these.
Bell, Susan. The Artful Edit.
Clark, Roy Peter. Writing Tools.
The Sunday Long Read: Please subscribe to this excellent list of longform feature stories, curated by an ESPN senior writer. There are a few specific assignments during the semester involving them, but mostly this is a feast for you to read every week because you’ll enjoy them.
Poynter Language Primer: You’ll have to pay $12.95 for this. Instructions will be coming to your uga.edu email address from newsu.org.
Bring Your Own Technology: Per journalism department guidelines, students should bring to class every day a laptop that can access the Internet and perform at least basic multimedia editing.
A still/video camera and an audio recorder that allow you to capture and send files in digital format.
We’ll be doing some assignments using Dropbox Paper. Look out for an invitation in your uga.edu email.

Topics and schedule: see the Modules pages elsewhere on this site.

Grades: see the Module pages, but a summary of grades and deadlines can be found here.Note that all assignments are due by 11:59pm on the date listed on the modules pages. 12:00am the next day is late. If you miss deadline, you get a get a minimum of half off the assignment. No exceptions, unless you provide documented proof of a major medical or other emergency. Problems with technology or other equipment do not constitute excusable emergencies. If we are working on a tight deadline, you are responsible for testing your equipment ahead of the deadline.

Extra credit: There will be opportunities available throughout the semester, but the key one is participating in the Grady College Research Participation Pool. You can receive one point of credit on your final grade for each study in which you participate, up to three. Ask me or Dr. Wojdynski (bartw@uga.edu) if you have any questions.

Disability policy:

The University of Georgia is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for qualified students with disabilities in accordance with state and federal laws including the American Disabilities Act. Help for disabled students is available from the Disability Resource Center. More information is available at www.dissvcs.uga.edu. If you have a particular issue that needs to be accommodated, please share it with me as early as possible in the semester.

Academic honesty:

As a University of Georgia student, you have agreed to abide by the University’s academic honesty policy, “A Culture of Honesty,” and the Student Honor Code. All academic work must meet the standards described in “A Culture of Honesty” found here. Lack of knowledge of the academic honesty policy is not a reasonable explanation for a violation. Questions related to course assignments and the academic honesty policy should be directed to the instructor.

General guidelines:

All assignments and exercises are to be turned in by the designated deadline, unless I announce otherwise. If you miss deadline, you get a get a minimum of half off the assignment. No exceptions, unless you provide documented proof of a major medical or other emergency. Problems with technology or other equipment do not constitute excusable emergencies. If we are working on a tight deadline, you are responsible for testing your equipment ahead of the deadline.
Your assignments must be written to the assigned length. I will deduct 10% from the assignment grade for stories that are more than 10% shorter or longer than the assigned length.
Your assignments must conform to AP style and the rules of proper grammar. If you have more than five style and/or grammar errors in one assignment, I will deduct 10% from your assignment grade.
You must avoid factual errors, including misspelled names. The first one you make will automatically reduce your assignment grade by half. Any others, throughout the duration of the semester, will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.
For every assignment, you must provide the contact information (email address and/or phone number) for each of your sources by the assignment deadline. You can attach the contact information to the assignment. Failure to do so will result in an automatic 10% deduction in your assignment grade.
You must turn off your cell phones at the start of every class. Any exceptions must be approved by me. If your phone rings, buzzes or pings during class, it will count against your grade.
We will be working with social media and visiting web sites as part of our class work and discussion. But if you are online for personal reasons during class, you will be assessed an absence for that class.
You are allowed three unchallenged absences during the semester. Any absences beyond the three each will result in a two-point deduction from your overall class grade. If you have a major medical or other emergency that results in more than three absences, you must provide documentation. In general, I would classify a major emergency as something that keeps you out of all your UGA classes and activities for more than a week. I only want documentation for major emergencies. If you have a medical or other situation that keeps you out of class for just a day, that day will count against your unchallenged absences. I do not want documentation in those instances.
Being late counts as being absent.
Because you are covering beats in this class, you are allowed to miss class to conduct an interview or attend a media availability for class purposes, if you notify me at least 24 hours in advance. These absences will not count against your three unchallenged absences. However, if you do not provide 24-hour advance notice and/or I find out there was no media availability or interview – I will be spot-checking – I will deduct three points from your class grade for the absence. For other absences, you must notify me at least 10 minutes before the start of class that you will be absent.
While you are in class, and while you are representing the class, you are not a sports fan. Leave your loyalties at home. Do not wear team logos or any other sports-related clothing or other items to class, or to any event you attend or any interview you conduct for this class.Be aware that any form of plagiarism will trigger harsh consequences, possibly including a failing grade for the class and expulsion from the University. If you are unclear on what constitutes plagiarism, please check with me.