Journalism (JOUR)

This course provides students an overview of the basics of journalism, beginning with how to assess the news value of an event or situation, how to develop story ideas and how to put together a story. Much attention is paid to writing clearly and accurately and developing interviewing skills. The course also introduces students to the changing media landscape and the various multimedia platforms available to journalists today. Journalistic ethics are a focus as well. Guest speakers include working journalists from the Washington media community. There will be several short writing and reporting assignments and a final project.

This course is intended to give students a firm grasp of the skills necessary to produce online news content as well as an understanding of the forces that are driving the rapidly changing and diversifying online news industry. The course includes units on photojournalism, podcasting and video creation. Note: Students should have taken JOUR-100: "Intro to Journalism" before taking this class. "

Career planning is not a single event but an ongoing process. This one-credit course will help students in the journalism minor or those considering a career in journalism a chance to create or refine a process for securing internships, part-time work, and post-graduation jobs. Through self-assessment, job exploration, and discussions about the nuts and bolts, students will learn how their liberal arts education prepares them for the workforce, inventory the skills they already have and map out a way to hone those they will need, and identify potential career interests.

Taylor Swift can move the needle of global economies. George Clooney’s opinion can rock a president’s re-election campaign. And Harvey Weinstein was the tipping point of the #metoo movement. In this course, we’ll examine the role of the journalist as interpreter, investigator and critic of pop culture. From in-the-moment red carpet coverage to classic Vanity Fair celebrity interviews to comprehensive cultural critiques and deep institutional investigative reporting, we’ll explore how journalists work to uncover and decipher the impact of political, social, and economic moments played out on a variety of platforms to mass appeal. How does journalism capture and translate pop culture moments in fashion, television, music, books, food, art and sports? What makes a successful piece of cultural criticism? The class will invite students to use a variety of critical approaches to question the role of popular culture in our lives. Students will cover a pop culture event, review a pop culture product, write about a pop culture trend and analyze the power of a pop culture artifact or phenomenon by determining its impact and significance on society.

Journalism typically focuses on covering the news of the moment — the fire, the election, the drug or crime problem. “Solutions Journalism,” a movement that was founded in 2013, takes a different approach. It employs rigorous, compelling, evidence-based reporting that focuses on responses to problems with the goal of enlightening and empowering readers. These stories provide insights and solutions so that communities can more effectively tackle serious issues to build a more equitable, sustainable world. By analyzing and reporting what has worked, and is working, Solutions Journalism stories can help provide a roadmap for bringing about meaningful change. In this course, students will identify, analyze and deconstruct Solutions Journalism stories to understand the process. Assignments will include using these reporting and writing techniques to produce effective Solutions Journalism stories.

What makes a good poll? How do you know when to trust one? Surveys are a mainstay of political journalism, a critical tool for calculating American public opinion. Polls are also important in understanding political motivation and messaging, particularly in campaigns. But polls are often overused, misused and misinterpreted. With a focus on the 2026 midterm elections, this course will give students the tools to follow best practices for reporting on polling, decipher what makes a good poll (and a bad one), understand the challenges the polling process has faced over time, and look for the pitfalls in real time. This course will be taught by Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent. Students will have the opportunity to see, first-hand, how NPR/PBS News/Marist polls are put together, participate in NPR results meetings to walk through the data, and will interpret the data for themselves to produce stories.

This course provides journalism students with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively cover courts, legal proceedings, and the judicial system. Students will learn how to navigate court systems from local to federal levels, understand legal terminology and procedures, analyze judicial opinions, and report accurately on complex legal matters while meeting the demands of modern news media. Through a combination of theoretical instruction, case studies, and practical reporting exercises, students will develop the expertise needed to serve as informed intermediaries between the legal system and the public.

This course explores the role journalists, news organizations and social media platforms play in fostering conflict and promoting peace. The rise of misinformation and disinformation, the upheaval of the economic models supporting news coverage, and the surging popularity of new forms of information-sharing has contributed to a growing conversation about the real and the ideal conceptions of this role, including the ethical considerations governing the role of an observer and the tradition of journalistic objectivity in coverage of conflict, from culture and politics to war. Students will gain insight with discussion of real-world dilemmas faced by those reporting on conflict and peacemaking efforts in the United States and around the world, as well as the ethical guidelines currently guiding those processes.

Covering the City Washington, D.C. is a vibrant city that has seen tremendous change in recent decades. Students will learn about the history and layout of Washington, how city government, courts and agencies work, and how gentrification and development have impacted many neighborhoods. Students will visit various areas in Washington, meet reporters who cover the city, attend neighborhood meetings, and meet community leaders and activists. The goal of the course is to give students the skills, knowledge and understanding to cover any city. Prior Journalism courses/experience will be helpful.

Telling the story of another person, community or scenario comes with great responsibility. The deeper the dive, the richer the story. In this course, students will examine the concept of immersive, first-person narrative journalism while considering the purpose, logistics and ethics of the practice. Students will hone their observation skills, interviewing techniques and story style to produce a final work of immersive narrative nonfiction.

This class will focus on sharpening reporting skills, from quick street interviews to deep-dive document searches. Students can expect to have daily exercises in fact-finding and researching, learn investigative skills, assess cultural competency, explore trauma reporting and work on interview techniques. A variety of reporting styles will be discussed in class, and a variety of assignments will get students into the streets of Washington to practice reporting skills and training.

Opinion writing has been an integral part of journalism since the first newspapers appeared -- and in the digital age, opinions are more ubiquitous and seemingly more popular than ever. Good opinion writing draws on the same ingredients as other forms of journalism: solid research and reporting, clear thinking, and vigorous style -- including, when possible, a dash of wit. This course will be both a seminar and a writing workshop. It will examine how opinion writers construct convincing arguments in many forms: editorials, columns, op-eds and criticism. Through writing assignments and class discussions, students will learn to do the reporting that is the foundation of credible opinion pieces and will develop critical thinking and writing skills required to convey their views clearly and persuasively.

This course will introduce students to the work of a field journalist, learning how to quickly navigate unknown places, people and points of view to discern what is real, what is right, and what is truthful. The class will hear from global correspondents, interact with local Italians, and simulate the real-world experience of a foreign correspondent writing for a major news organization. You will also get to research, write, and compose articles in various different media formats, such as print, podcast, and vlogs; all culminating in a portfolio of work. The course will be taught abroad at Villa Le Balze in Fiesole, Italy. Students may enroll by application only. Visit studyabroad.georgetown.edu to apply and for further information.

The Congressional beat may not be the most glamorous reporting job in Washington D.C., but it is the engine and epicenter of everything that happens in this town. Every political wind blows through the Capitol, and every government agency has to answer to its inhabitants -- making it a gold mine for stories, for those who can navigate its marbled halls. This course will steep students in the world of Hill reporting, by learning first-hand from the masters of the trade, including reporters and photographers whose faces and bylines are household names. They will tour the Capitol, and learn the ins and outs of how to work its corridors for sources. And they will have the opportunity to try their hands at Congressional coverage, by reporting and writing Hill-focused stories.

How do you effectively cover a billion-dollar industry devoted to high-stakes games, die-hard fans and elite athletes? In this class, you will get a foundation for reporting on the world of sports, with a focus on writing: how to write scene, how to write with a voice, how to understand the social issues that permeate sports, and how to become a watchdog for wrongdoing in sports. You'll also learn about the sports media industry and its constant evolution. The class will be grounded in writing, but we’ll discuss multimedia, audio and television journalism, too. More than anything, get ready to read—and to talk about what you’ve read. The best way to become a good sports writer is to be a reader of good sports writing. Joan Niesen is a sports writer whose work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, online publications and podcasts over the course of her decade-long career. She most recently worked as a staff writer at Sports Illustrated, where she covered everything from football and hockey to golf to women's basketball.

Designers, bloggers, photographers, editors, publishers, politicians and activists all influence our global fashion industry today — be it from Nigerian fashion week to organically grown hemp apparel to the latest retail pop-up on M Street. The goal of this class will be to not only equip journalists with the multimedia skills needed to report on the dynamic world of fashion but to train them to perceive the financial, environmental, humans rights and artistic impacts of dress and style. Students will produce a variety of news stories and consider the many ethical issues shaping the future of fashion.

In this course, students will examine the current state of the laws that affect journalists and think critically about how advances in the digital news media (e.g. online newspapers, the expanding blogosphere, increased reality video programming, etc.) have created challenges for reporters, publishers, courts and lawmakers. The course will be geared toward future journalists rather than future attorneys. No legal knowledge will be assumed, and the first class will include an explanation of the American legal system. The goals for the semester will be: (1) to understand general media law concepts and their origins; (2) to examine the current state of the law and to discuss what changes lawmakers could make to accommodate new technology; and (3) to apply general media law concepts to everyday consumption of news media and to reporting and publishing activities. There will be a midterm examination on media law concepts that will constitute 50% of a student’s final grade. The remainder of the grade will be based on practical exercises and a final paper. (Elizabeth Hanson Soja has practiced media and First Amendment in both private firm and nonprofit settings, where she has advised all types of journalists and media outlets. She earned her undergraduate degree at Georgetown and graduated from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) School of Law in 2006.)

Part of Journalism’s mission is to tell the stories of those who are disenfranchised, marginalized or oppressed, the stories of those who are most vulnerable to injustice and inequality. But is journalism really about justice? Should it be? This seminar will explore ways to report on social justice topics, through Opinion writing, Solutions Journalism, Immersive Journalism, Movement Journalism and Investigative Journalism.

How is “new journalism” meeting the new world of journalism? Magazines are a unique type of media—and thus uniquely positioned in the digital age. This class is designed to equip aspiring journalists with an understanding of the nature and evolution of magazines, “new journalism,” and narrative writing. You will examine case studies of online successes and failures, and try to begin to understand the profound transformations underway throughout society, as well as the benefits, dangers, and challenges that these changes present to modern magazines. While this class will include a special focus on online writing, it will also cover fundamentals of narrative non-fiction—including how to conceive and pitch ideas, report and interview, and structure a long-form story. A mix of lecture and seminar, this class will include story workshops and in-class discussions. Students should expect a heavy, weekly reading load and regular writing assignments, including a final project. (An accomplished author and new media expert, Garrett Graff is the editor of Washingtonian magazine. His writing has appeared in Wired, New York, and The New York Times. A veteran magazine writer and editor, Denise Wills, who holds both a B.A. and master’s from Georgetown, is the senior features editor at Washingtonian.)

The art of the interview is a fundamental part of newsgathering. When a story breaks, how do you get information? When you’re investigating a story about corruption, how do make sure it’s air-tight? By asking the right questions. This seminar will explore how interviews form the basis of your reporting. We will learn how to conduct interviews for reporting and how to get your interview subject to open up. We will also learn how interviews can reveal information about your subject. Students will also be expected to put together regular reports using the techniques learned in class. Several top journalists will visit and discuss the strategies and techniques they use. This class will include a mixture of lecture, discussion and in-class activities. Students will have weekly reading, viewing and listening assignments along with regular writing and reporting assignments. Guy Raz is an award-winning correspondent with NPR. He’s reported from 40 countries and covered three wars. He is the former weekend anchor of NPR’s All Things Considered and now hosts NPR’s TED Radio Hour.

JOUR 373 “Washington Confidential” Professors Barbara Feinman Todd and Maureen Corrigan Washington, D.C., the nation’s center of politics and government, attracts many of the best and the brightest, people who come here for a time to “brand” themselves through press conferences, photo ops and tweets that demonstrate proximity to power. But is also a place where real people live, as did their forebears, and where history’s ghosts dwell. This course explores how some of the premier writers and journalists of the last 150 years have read the capital city. Why do novelists, poets and filmmakers portray Washington the way they do? It is a place that engenders fiction that masquerades as non-fiction and vice versa. Roman a clefs and anonymous sources abound. Do journalists in this town approach the exercise of power – played out in the corridors and back rooms of deal making-- fundamentally differently than novelists? What is it about this city that lends itself more readily to being immortalized by journalists than novelists and poets? How is Washington politics and the powerbrokers who practice it represented in literature and journalism? How are the butlers, the nannies, the refugees, the undocumented, the ghostwriters, the maître ds, the body men, the interns – those behind the scenes and on the margins – used in literature and journalism to tell stories? How is Washington as a character itself portrayed in these various genres? Taught by English professor and book critic Maureen Corrigan and journalism director and former political ghostwriter Barbara Feinman Todd. Assignments: Two papers 5 to 7 pages each (one journalism-related, one literature-related) A substantial mid-term One group presentation (4-5 students, 30-minute presentation, after mid-term)

In this course, you will learn the technical and journalistic fundamentals of broadcast news production from behind and in front of the camera. While the focus will be on television news, much of what you learn will be applicable to the many digital platforms. You will learn to be a producer coming up with your own story ideas and how to combine them with the creative techniques necessary for broadcast news production. You will critique current news stories, learn how to make your own successful story pitch, fundamentals of how to use a video camera, interviewing and on- camera skills, and how to edit your own stories using a top non-linear editing system. You will learn firsthand how much work goes into each story and the challenges you face creating a compelling product for air under deadline. You will experience the thrill of creating your own television news stories! In addition to the textbook, students will be required to purchase a portable hard drive that runs approximately 100 dollars. (Bill McKnight spent six years as the Field Production Manager for CNN in Washington, DC, and twenty-five years as a photojournalist, multi-media journalist, chief photographer, and news manager for WUSA in Washington, DC. He has worked with many of the best local and national journalists, photographers, editors and producers and he has received eight Regional Emmy Awards for outstanding producing, editing, and videography.) Credits: 3

In this age of rapid globalization and heightened cross-cultural contacts, nations, communities, and individuals are working to reaffirm their own identities and values. In the United States, one of the most precious values is free speech, embedded in the First Amendment to the Constitution and regarded as a primary tenet of American democracy. But arguments and controversies over the boundaries, if any, of free speech have become frequent and intense, and all the more so in the era of electronic communication. This seminar will examine the dialogue taking place within the United States and around the world on these issues. We will discuss international and domestic protests over politically sensitive cartoons, controversies over Holocaust denial, whether hate speech should be banned, whether the media can ever be legitimately constrained on national security grounds, whether anti-gay religious activists have a right to disrupt military funerals, whether pornography and violent lyrics deserve protection, and whether campus speech codes have a positive or negative effect. Through court cases, we will examine the debate in this country over what it means to be patriotic and whether patriotism requires Americans to say, or prohibits them from saying, certain things – and look at how the standards have changed over the years. We will also ask whether other countries' attitudes toward free speech and the other First Amendment freedoms should influence US foreign policy toward those countries. Examples of constraints on speech in our daily lives and work, intentional or unwitting, will also be considered, as will the recent trend toward erasing the memory of things in our history that we now find repugnant and removing the names of people responsible for such things, whose reputations are being revised or re-examined, from buildings and programs that long honored them. The sources for our conversations will include both scholarly and popular materials -- writings and statements made by the participants in these debates, a classical treatise on liberty by the political philosopher John Stuart Mill, media reports, commentary by scholars and journalists from different societies and perspectives, as well as your own experiences and conclusions about what you can and cannot, or should and should not, say. A brief essay, analyzing the readings and the issues for each session, will be due in class most weeks. There will also be a major paper and a group project, but no final exam. Sanford J. Ungar is a veteran journalist who wrote for The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The New York Times Magazine, and was host of "All Things Considered" on NPR. He served as dean of the School of Communication at American University, was director of the Voice of America in the Clinton administration, and recently stepped down after thirteen years as president of Goucher College in Baltimore. The author or editor of six nonfiction books, he is now a distinguished scholar in residence at Georgetown, a visiting lecturer in Government at Harvard, and a fellow of the Lumina Foundation.

It's the most esteemed job a reporter can have — a stint on the White House beat. But what's it really like? This course will go behind the scenes in The West Wing to see how the media is covering the Biden Administration. Students will hear first-hand from some of the country's best print and broadcast reporters and producers. They will also get the perspective from an award-winning still photographer and a former White House Press Secretary. Students will also have the opportunity to attend a White House Press Briefing. Although this course is a seminar, students - through writing assignments and class discussions, will learn how to construct a fair and balanced White House story.

Government-media relations has changed significantly as communications technology continues to allow each side to convey information and context more directly into the popular bloodstream without the other -- or at least without as much deference to the other. The co-dependence that has historically existed was already being upset by today’s “prosumers” -- individuals who can now produce and consume news and information right from their own back pockets -- but it is being further disrupted by a steady breakdown in the public’s trust of government and media institutions. This course will try to make sense of this new environment and explore potential solutions. Students will produce response papers and one final paper. Guest speakers with experience from the State Department, Pentagon and media will visit. (John Kirby served the Obama administration as both Pentagon Press Secretary and State Department Spokesperson. He retired from the Navy as a two-star admiral and was most recently the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.)

As an entertainment journalist, understanding the intersection of race and pop culture is vital to successfully covering (and uncovering) what makes Hollywood tick. From #OscarsSoWhite to the Kardashians’ rampant cultural appropriation, this course will thoughtfully examine the myriad ways that race, racial identity and racism infiltrate all aspects of entertainment. Students will be expected to stay well-versed in pop culture news, produce response papers, collect compelling data and manage a carefully curated list of sources, all building up to a final long-form reporting project that attempts to answer a specific question/problem within the entertainment world. Guest speakers from USA Today, ESPN’s The Undefeated, The Washington Post and the New York fashion community will drop in to enhance class discussions and offer reporting wisdom from the trenches.

Broken News: the changing landscape of media This is a course designed to take students inside the media landscape in an age of rapid change. The answer to questions such as, “Who is a journalist?” and “What is news?” has changed dramatically. Bias, opinion and advocacy are now the hallmarks of this age of social media dominance and cable news saturation. News organizations have been forced to grapple with their own shortcomings on diversity as they cover social change and awareness. Through it all, the foundation of quality journalism is alive and well — if you know where to find it. This is not a HOW TO course, rather it’s a how to UNDERSTAND the media course as we scrutinize the news landscape. As a class we will examine the impact of President Trump’s attack on a free press, coverage of #MeToo and the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. Other topics will include the evolution of political coverage and the impact of 9-11 on the media. Led by David Gregory, the former NBC News White House Correspondent and Moderator of Meet the Press, the course will feature in class interviews with leading media figures of our day.

Crime has been a feature of the news media since the first printing press was launched. Now, the proliferation of outlets for crime coverage – podcasts, blogs, social media, true crime TV – has expanded the realm of crime news in important ways, beyond just who-shot-whom. Taught by Tom Jackman, a veteran crime reporter for The Washington Post, this class will hear from not only top national journalists from NBC, The Post and the Daily Beast, but also a police chief, a prosecutor, a judge, the parents of a murder victim and more, analyzing not only how the media do their job, but the impact they have on the system and the public. Crime and the maintenance of public order are one of the rough measures many citizens use to decide whether their government is working properly or not. Students will make their own decisions through two quizzes, a midterm paper and a final exam.

This class will provide students an opportunity to do real-world, serious investigative reporting by gathering documents, learning data analysis and interviewing in the field. Through lectures and guest lecturers, students will learn how to search for the characters and scenes, score accountability interviews and focus on key findings. Students will spend the last few weeks of the course vetting, editing and polishing stories. The goal will be to produce stories that are solid and important enough to publish.

Data has become a part of virtually every news beat in the industry. Journalists need to know how to turn records into quantifiable information and work with publicly available datasets. This course will walk through the basics of working with data. Students will learn how to acquire, analyze and vet data from a variety of sources using Excel, Python and other tools. They will also take a look at some of today's most innovative data journalism techniques. This course will be taught by ProPublica reporter Neil Bedi, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting in 2021.

Advanced Video Storytelling is tailored to those interested in producing compelling stories for all video platforms. Students will bring together the finer creative points from multiple genres including commercial production, documentary production, news production, and non-narrative storytelling into one creative, hands-on class. This course will provide students with both theory and practical techniques using top professional cinema cameras and editing systems to learn how to capture the viewer’s attention through compelling sequences, shots, lighting styles, creative audio and story structure. AVS will give students the option to choose their favorite genre and types of stories for multiple class projects. AVS will also focus on the concept of subjects telling their stories in their own voices, without heavy narration or reporters on camera. Students will identify visually compelling stories, learn to master video and edit systems, take part in video shoots at different locations, make successful pitches and attend story sessions where the work is critiqued by both the class and media professionals. Jour 374 or familiarity with video production and editing on Adobe Premiere are highly recommended.

This course explores the cornerstone of any journalistic endeavor: how to report and publish ethically. Students will examine vital questions not only from the vantage point of journalists but also from the perspective of survivors, sources, public figures and the public who need trustworthy news to make big decisions. Built primarily on in-class discussions, working through case studies and engagement with lectures and guests, students will also be evaluated based on several multimedia assignments over the course of the semester.

This course provides students a working understanding of the U.S. economy, its vast significance in people’s lives, and the basics of how to cover it. Students will have the opportunity to do in-depth research into topics of their own choosing, and explore the real-world impacts of economic and business policies and events both past and present. The class includes the roles of consumers and workers and major business sectors, financial markets, technology, and the federal government in the U.S. economy. It also introduces students to the nature of the modern business corporation and its influence on business leaders’ behavior. Students are introduced to the mysteries of the corporate financial statement. The course also gives a brief overview of the dynamics of the global economy. Taught by John McKinnon, who covers Big Tech companies and their current battles in Washington for The Wall Street Journal. He's previously covered the White House, Treasury and tax and fiscal policy.

Reporting on small countries provides insights into bigger, global issues. This seminar will explore problems facing everyone – climate change, nuclear threats, unstable economies – through the lens of three areas: Nepal, Rwanda and Afghanistan.

This course will explore the traditional dynamic, evolving norms and current practice of presidential press coverage, and the impact of those patterns on both the White House and the nation; the larger historical forces and long-term trends driving changes in each of those areas; and the theoretical questions, logistical challenges and ethical dilemmas presidential coverage can pose for journalists, along with practical methods used to navigate those issues. The course will include journalistic assignments to be completed both inside and outside the class session, as well as analysis and discussion of current presidential press coverage, readings from academic and journalistic sources, and conversations with leading White House reporters and former presidential spokespeople.

Covering Presidential Campaigns will examine the news media’s role in the race for the White House, with a special focus on the unfolding 2024 contest. We’ll assess the evolution of the media’s role over the years and the complicated relationship between campaigns and the press, which can be both adversarial and symbiotic. We’ll look at strategies that journalists use to cover campaigns and how campaigns provide a window into the state of the country. Guest speakers will include working journalists and political professionals, and assignments will give students an opportunity to practice interviewing, reporting and writing in real-world scenarios.

This course will immerse students in reporting on national politics and policy for a regional readership interested in learning how what happens in the nation’s capital affects them where they live. Tal Kopan, deputy Washington bureau chief for the Boston Globe, will guide students as they learn and practice the skills they need to report on Washington for any audience, with a special focus on the readers of one of the nation’s leading local newspapers. Students will receive guidance in developing and reporting their own story ideas, as well as the opportunity to contribute on a supervised team to projects and coverage at a major news organization. The course will fulfill both an elective and the experiential learning requirement for the journalism minor. NOTE: Please email Journalism Program Director, Rebecca.Sinderbrand@georgetown.edu, or Asst. Director Ann Oldenburg (ao600@georgetown.edu) for information on entry i NOTE: Please email Journalism Program Director, Rebecca.Sinderbrand@georgetown.edu, or Asst. Director Ann Oldenburg (ao600@georgetown.edu) for information on entry into the course.nto the course.

Journalism minor candidates interested in doing a second internship for academic credit can do a one-credit tutorial if they have successfully completed Media Techniques. Pass/Fail

At its core, journalism is about relaying the experience of the individual. Actions taken at the highest levels of government have a direct bearing on the lives of those far from the corridors of power. In this course, students will learn how to report on policy and politics by focusing on the lived experience of real people, particularly those in underserved communities. They will read and analyze multiple examples of the form, hear from experienced writers who have devoted their careers to this narrative nonfiction approach, and practice their own reporting in this genre. The course will be taught by Washington Post correspondent Robert Samuels, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for "His Name Is George Floyd."

What happens when Congress puts a countdown clock on TikTok’s U.S. existence? When the Justice Department alleges that Google’s search engine is a monopoly? When Elon Musk wants Space X to become a shuttle bus to the moon? When AI models and social media allow disinformation to spread virtually unchecked? When cryptocurrency crashes? This course aims to explore how journalists cover the complex intersection of government policy and commerce. We will take advantage of our location in Washington to dissect the development and enforcement of that policy, and, as journalists, will report and write stories that help translate the topics into accessible articles. Throughout the course, you will be introduced to leading news organizations and reporters in this field, who will provide insight into the process that shapes the coverage they produce and the skill sets required to produce it. You will additionally (via special application) have the opportunity to contribute to a brand-new book project with Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Brody Mullins focused on the history of business and lobbying in Washington, and how a growing set of Democratic progressives and Republican populists are both using U.S. antitrust laws to rein in Big Tech companies and other large, consolidated industries. Note: Students who take advantage of this option will be able to use that activity to fulfill the professional experience element for the journalism minor.

How much of a news story can - or should - involve turning a spotlight on the storyteller? This course will explore some of the tradition, debate and process that helps journalists develop their own answers to that question. Students will examine the technique and impact of examples ranging from a simple acknowledgement of the writer serving as a reader proxy to narrative arcs that center the reporting journey to works that turn a journalistic lens on reporters themselves as a way into a larger story — or as the subject itself, with journalism that edges into memoir. Students will analyze the ways first-person reporting has been used from the earliest days of professional journalism on just about every beat and topic and in just about every format possible. What are the benefits, limits and tradeoffs of the approach? Students will read and discuss successful first-person reporting, both historic and current; meet with leading journalists and bestselling authors who have mastered the form; and produce their own first-person journalism, including short-form, long-form, and live presentation.

Telling the truth is the foremost obligation of journalists. But approaching, discovering, understanding and communicating the truth are all more complicated processes — technically and philosophically — than they may initially seem. This course aims to help young journalists establish a clear view of truth as an idea and as a professional principle to guide their work from a moral standpoint as well as a technical one. The course will be split into two phases. In the first phase, we will consider the challenges of conceiving of the truth in contemporary American society. There will be short, accessible readings from John Rawls and his commentators, Stanley Fish, and Jean Bethke Elshtain, which will help us make sense of how we think and speak of truth in America today. We’ll go over the readings in class discussions, and also connect the themes under consideration to current events as they unfold in the news. In the second phase, we will address problems in discovering and interpreting the truth in investigative journalism scenarios, using some of my own work as case studies. We will talk though reporting challenges, ethics in truth-telling, and the application of opinion-style analysis to reported material. Case study materials will include audio, video, visual and written elements. We will discuss each item in class, and I will also invite colleagues of mine who have worked with me on these projects to come and speak with students as well. Evaluation will be based on classroom participation and two medium-length written assignments.

Reporting on politics is one of the most important services journalists provide the public. This class will explore what it means to report truthfully and effectively about politics, politicians and political campaigns. We’ll examine the intellectual frameworks journalists use, both explicitly and implicitly. We’ll examine the platforms used to convey political messaging. We’ll examine the tension found in writing about the horse race of campaigns and polling. We’ll learn about fundraising, social media, opposition research and disinformation. We’ll debate how political journalism can be improved, and we’ll report and write stories about voters, policies and politics in general. Among our guest speakers will be some of the nation’s most distinguished political journalists.

Reporting in conflict zones is a balancing act between information and narrative. While reporting facts journalists are at the core storytellers, and often find themselves explaining loss, destruction and death. This class examines the process of unraveling, explaining and analyzing the many facets of danger, disease, death and hatred but also reporting on the resilience of humanity. The class will focus on three extensive and complex conflicts: war in Afghanistan, the Rwandan Genocide and the conflict in Somalia as well as on connected humanitarian disasters. Students will be graded on class participation, one in-class group presentation, and two papers on pre-approved topics. The class will be taught by Donatella Lorch, a foreign correspondent for 25 years in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Europe, has reported on more than a dozen wars, conflicts and humanitarian disasters for the New York Times, Newsweek, NBC NEWS and National Geographic as well as worked for UNHCR, UNICEF and USAID. The course will also feature journalists and writers with experience in recent wars as guest lecturers.

News organizations are integral to American democracy and the public’s understanding of world affairs. Throughout history, the role of the foreign correspondent has been crucial to disseminating information and raising awareness of global policies as they played out on the ground. But as news organizations have cut back on reporting from other countries, government officials and the president continue to make historic decisions regarding international affairs. This course will explore the causes and consequences of these developments, in recent past and now. Students will evaluate and assess how the media operates, both as watchdog and pawn of government sources and institutions. The class will scrutinize certain case studies, including the Iraq War, to examine the relationship between the government, the people and the press.

This course examines the journalistic record and political discourse around U.S. immigration policy, particularly from the post-9/11 Bush administrations to now. We’ll focus on contemporary government action, but will also place our current moment squarely in the larger context of the construct of an “American” identity from the 20th century to today. Drawing from the fields of political and social science, history, law, and journalism, the course will engage students in ethical and academic debate on the social, economic, and geopolitical factors that spur migration and the roles of governance, authority, democracy — including the press — in responding to it and shaping public opinion and policy around it. The course will require students to conduct research and reporting of their own with primary sources and the officials, writers and communities who have both shaped and also been shaped by the increasingly urgent debate over the “American Dream,” in the U.S. and around the world

Since Galileo, governments and politicians have attacked or ignored science when its truths are inconvenient. Writing about science, especially in relation to climate change and the environment, is vitally important and challenging in the era of political polarization. This course will cover the basics of reporting and writing about science and the environment. Guest journalists will share how they craft accurate and engaging science journalism for websites, newspapers, television and radio. Visiting scientists will give the students a chance to conduct an interview and try translating the scientists' research into lively copy. Students also will visit a longterm climate change research site and attend hearings on Capitol Hill or at federal agencies so they can witness the current political struggle over science and the environment. This course also will give students experience in pitching stories to a jury of their peers and editing each other's copy. Taught by Elizabeth Shogren who has covered the environment and science for the Los Angeles Times, NPR, High Country News and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Journalism is often seen as deadline work: immediate, devoted to the emerging story, a first draft of history at best. But for many of us, long-form nonfiction writing is one of the most reliable and pleasurable ways for us to encounter the lives of others in depth; and long-form journalism is the basis for memoir, current affairs, biography, and other forms of fact-based-storytelling. In this course we’ll read two dozen outstanding works of long-form nonfiction – articles, essays, books – with attention to the ways they enable writers and readers to access the experience of others in depth. We’ll work through subject areas that demand complexity (the self; social change; strife and conflict; the earth and climate; religion and the spirit); and we’ll master strategies that allow writers to “go deep” in a relatively short span of time and space. Students will write short nonfiction pieces and then write and revise a long-form article or essay. Paul Elie is a senior fellow in the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and a regular contributor to The New Yorker; his long-form journalism has appeared there and in The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times Magazine, and his two books, The Life You Save May Be Your Own (2003) and Reinventing Bach (2012), were National Book Critics Circle Award finalists.

Nearly two-thirds of the planet is covered by water, and much of that space is ungoverned and ungovernable. The world’s oceans include a surprising cast of characters, including vigilante conservationists, wreck thieves, maritime mercenaries, defiant whalers, offshore repo men, sea-bound reproductive rights advocates, clandestine oil dumpers, elusive poachers, abandoned seafarers, and cast-adrift stowaways. This course will immerse students in a largely overlooked realm of the planet that is rich in investigative and narrative opportunity but distinctly difficult to cover. In particular, this class will accomplish two goals: 1) To help you think about a reporting terrain — in this case a watery one — in a new way and specifically with an eye toward mining fresh and viable story ideas from this foreign realm, and 2) To help you look critically at the process of distribution in journalism for the sake of thinking creatively about new ways to transform and disseminate storytelling.

This course is tailored to offer training to students broadly interested in journalism, science writing, creative nonfiction and foreign affairs/international reporting. You will receive an immersive experience in how to both develop international works of investigative journalism, and how to get them in front of a global and multilingual audience. Throughout the semester, you will also participate in monthly labs, where you remotely work alongside the Outlaw Ocean Project’s staff on a current ongoing investigation. This will typically involve sifting through documents, combing open-source footage, and establishing supply-chain connections. When the investigation is published, the cohort of students will be cited. In addition to developing the skill of finding viable stories and crafting them as pitches, as well as thinking creatively about new methods of distribution, you will in this class become fluent in science and human rights writing about activities and actors on the high seas.

Is the CIA rendering cartel members to blacksites in El Salvador? Is the Pentagon deploying psychological operations in a bid to annex Greenland? This course will arm students with the tools to run sophisticated national security investigations that can challenge power in the darkest corners of government and change laws. Joel Schectman, an award-winning Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, will teach students how to develop projects that reveal malfeasance at the Central Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon and Washington’s most powerful defense contractors. The class will cover: how to develop hunches about real-world misconduct in the national security state; where to find sensitive intelligence sources, and documents; web forensics that can be used to uncover the trail of covert action; and the art of writing blockbuster reportage that will shock readers and drive legislative change. The course will also teach personal and cyber security safety necessary when pursuing dangerous projects.Over the course of the semester, students will develop a project that has the potential for enormous impact from idea to page.

The work of journalism is indispensable to democracy. But that indispensable work is created, distributed, and sold or financed by an industry. What are the various business models for media outlets? From deep-pocket billionaires to non-profit funding, this course will consider ways to create a viable, profitable media company. Students will explore the commercial aspects of journalism as business; examine the ethical challenges that test the business; look at the technological and digital changes that continue to prompt change in the business; consider the relationship of government and journalism, and dissect the role of a news consumer navigating the business.

Three credits for a letter grade. By permission of Journalism Director only.

This course requires the exploration of a critical topic of journalism, studied in its cultural, ethical and/or historical contexts.