Classes in Review
My 9-part series about classes I took at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications in 2007.
Preview: Classes in Review Series
I decided not to take a class for this second half of the summer, so that I can concentrate on my three jobs and 465 personal projects (like redesigning this Web site).
While I am appreciating the extra free time, I miss class. So I thought this would be a good time to write about some of the classes I’ve taken and what I got out of them.
Classes in Review: Advanced Editing
One of the first things that we discussed was verifying stories.
An editor hears about a great story for the next days’ paper. There is only one source for the story and no names, no way to double-check the facts. But oh, god, it’s a good story. And there’s no real reason for your source to lie to you, is there?
Classes in Review: Advanced Editing pt2
Some things to think about from my abstract on this discussion:
In political coverage of candidates, journalists are likely to focus on the big dogs, ignoring the puppies. In doing this, the story becomes more about who wins than about the issues being addressed by the various candidates.
Classes in Review: Advanced Editing pt3
My favorite thing about this class was that our professor was Web-savvy enough to make us think about how to take articles online. We had 2 different class blogs, he encouraged us to use Google Docs and Spreadsheets to collaborate, and he didn’t mind when I jumped in with my crazy online ramblings that no one really gets.
Classes in Review: Next
Tomorrow I’ll start on Reporting. My blogging time got eaten by the “To Do List†Monster today.
Classes in Review: Reporting
I made the mistake of overloading myself the semester I took reporting. I never believe people when they say a class is hard. My classes have always been as easy as the teacher was engaging. With 15 credits and a part-time job, between Mike Foley and Ted Spiker, the class wasn’t hard, just time consuming.
Classes in Review: Applied Fact Finding
In class we reviewed news stories that were seeded or based entirely on analysis of public records. I learned how to find local and state records on all topics: “campaigns and elections, property, business, health care, court procedures, environment, education, online and library research, FOIA requests, computer-assisted reporting, and Excel.†(from her description of the class)
Classes in Review: Advanced Online Media
Advanced online media was one of my favorite classes, because it finally hit my level of geek. I was honing my CSS skills, learning Flash, and talking about online journalism…all the things that make me excited. Even better, the famous Mindy McAdams was our professor.
Classes in Review: Conclusion
I’ve loved almost all of my journalism classes so far. And my professors are some of the most passionate, dynamic people I know. I’ve got one year left, and then I’ll be writing from the real world. Hopefully, I’ll be writing from a newsroom, and I’ll be surrounded by passionate, dynamic people.