This is an introductory level multimedia journalism course that will teach students the basics of journalism and news gathering, fact checking, field reporting and news editing skills. In present day journalism, we are told that finding a good story is not enough– we must also find engaging and innovative ways to present the news through various mediums in a world where attention spans are shorter than ever, and the devices on which we consume news are constantly transforming. But in order to grab audiences, we must understand the basic tenets of how journalism works. This course will form a foundation for students who aspire to understand how news and newsrooms work.nnThere are two kinds of readings in this class: works of journalism (news, explanatory reporting, personal essays, literary nonfiction) and works about journalism (theory, criticism, analysis).nnIn addition to the assigned readings, students should choose a news source and read it frequently – this could be a news app on your phone (Google or Apple News), a digital news site (such as Naya Daur, Soch Videos), or a newspaper (such as Dawn, The Express Tribune). This does not mean that students should read every single story produced by the news source of your choice – I expect students to develop news sense through the course of this class – an understanding of the type of news produced by a certain outlet, as well as patterns of reporting and writing. This will be helpful during discussions in class.
