Tag Archives: reading

JO 150
History & Principles
of
Journalism
Prof. Chris Daly
Boston University // Spring 2023

Contacts
Prof. Daly can be reached by email: chrisdaly44@gmail.com
Office: 704 Comm Ave./ Rm 307B
Office Hours: Wed., 11-3.
He/his/him

Required Readings
1. Covering America, 2d ed., by Christopher B. Daly.
ISBN-13: 978-1558499119
2. The Elements of Journalism. By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosensteil.
ISBN-13: 978-0307346704
3. Muckraking! By Judith and William Serrin.
ISBN-13: 978-1565846814
4. Blackboard site. This site contains key documents as well as study guides, announcements, links, and other materials. Use it.

Objectives
We will explore the major issues and themes in the history of journalism in America. The course will trace substantial changes in the practice of journalism and the key episodes in which the practice of journalism brought change to America. You will learn the most important eras in journalism history and the prevailing business model in each. In addition, you will learn the most important definitions of “news” across eras and across various media. We will consider how that history has shaped the current media ecology. The course will also investigate the major legal and ethical doctrines of journalism. It’s a great story!

HUB Learning Outcomes
This course will enable you to develop a set of skills and habits of mind that derive from serious study of history and journalism, including:
 appreciation for how a historical perspective can enrich understanding of contemporary problems;
 the ability to analyze the value and limitations of various sources as evidence, including “primary” and “secondary” sources;
 a capacity to weigh multiple perspectives and evaluate the merits of competing interpretations,
 proficiency in constructing persuasive and evidence-based arguments in a written format.
This course will meet BU Hub Learning Outcomes for Historical Consciousness.
In particular, you will:
— complete a series of essay tests that will ask you to make historical arguments about change over time. Lectures and readings will model these skills, and class discussions will also ask students to think in these ways.
— encounter historical documents (laws, patent applications, maps, artwork), place them in historical context, and explain their significance.

Other Outcomes
For students majoring in Journalism, this course fulfills a requirement and advances you toward your degree. It also prepares students for JO350 Media Law & Ethics, which is required of majors.

Educational strategy
In this course, you will be expected to do the readings according to the weekly schedule provided below. That way, we can use class time for exploring concepts like censorship or “technological determinism,” hold discussions, and answer your questions.

How to succeed in this course
–Come to class.
–Keep current on the readings
–Attend review sessions
–Participate in class
–Come to office hours

Your instructor:
Chris Daly is a veteran journalist with experience in wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, and on-line. A Harvard graduate, he spent 10 years at The Associated Press. From 1989 to 1997, he covered New England for The Washington Post. He is the author of a narrative history of the U.S. news business titled Covering America. He holds a master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina, where he was a co-author of Like a Family, a social history of the South’s industrialization. His writing has appeared in Atlantic Monthly, Columbia Journalism Review, Parents, New England Monthly, Boston, American Prospect and other magazines and websites. He contributes free-lance articles and essays to newspapers and magazines. His website is http://www.journalismprofessor.com. He is writing a new book about the role of journalism in the rise of American culture. (Ask him about it.)

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Part one: 1704-1865
Week 1 Jan. 19
–Introduction/ Colonial period

Readings: (do these before the start of week 2)

Covering America, chaps 1, 2.
Muckraking!: (Check Blackboard Learn website)

Week 2 Jan. 24, 26
–Ben Franklin, printer.
–Independence
–First Amendment and the partisan press (1790-1830)

Readings: (do these before the start of week 3)

Covering America, chap 3, 4.
Muckraking!: (Check Blackboard Learn website)

Week 3 Jan 31/ Feb 2
–1830s (the “Penny Press”)
–1840s (the telegraph, the AP, Margaret Fuller)
–Antebellum journalism: polarization and politics.

Week 4 Feb. 7 –Civil War journalism
VIDEO: Excerpt from “The Civil War”

TEST #1 Feb. 9

Part two: 1866-1918

Readings: do these by the start of Week 5

Covering America. Chap. 4.
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard)
Schudson, “The Objectivity Norm,” Blackboard site.

Week 5 Feb. 14, 16
–Pulitzer and Yellow Journalism
VIDEO: Excerpt, “Nellie Bly”
–William Randolph Hearst
VIDEO: Excerpt, “Citizen Kane”

Readings: do these by the start of Week 6

Covering America: chap 5
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard site)

Week 6 [NO CLASS TUESDAY] Feb 23

–Muckraking / The Great Gray Lady (The NYTimes)

Week 7 Feb 28, March 2
–Origins of photojournalism

TEST #2 March 2

Part three: 1920-1970

Readings: (do these by the start of week 8)

Covering America. Chaps. 6, 7.
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard site)

Week 8 March 14, 16

–The Great War (and censorship)
–The origins of radio
VIDEO: “Empire of the Air”

Readings: (do these by the start of week 9)

Covering America. Chap. 8
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard site)

Week 9 March 21, 23
–The development and regulation of broadcasting.
–Magazine journalism: Henry Luce and Harold Ross

Readings: (do these by the start of week 10)

Covering America, chaps 9, 10
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard site)

Week 10 March 28, 30
–World War II (censorship again)
–Covering civil rights
–VIDEO: “Dateline Freedom”
Readings: (do these by the start of week 11)

Covering America, chap 11.
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard site)

Week 11 April 4, 6
–The birth of television news
–Vietnam and the “credibility gap” –VIDEO: Excerpt, “Reporting America at War”

TEST #3 April 6

Part four: 1973-2023

Readings: (do these by the start of week 12)

Covering America, chap 12
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard site)

Week 12 April 11
–The Pentagon Papers
–VIDEO: Excerpt, “The Post”

Readings: (do these by the start of week 13)

Covering America, chap 13, 14
Elements of Journalism (all)
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard site)

Week 13 April 18, 20
–Watergate and the 1980s (CNN, USA Today)
–VIDEO: Excerpt, “All the President’s Men”
–Media conglomeration/ Law and ethics/ 1980s and ’90s
–News goes digital – from legacy to natives.

Readings: (do these by the start of week 14)

Covering America, chap. 15
Elements of Journalism (all)
Muckraking! (details at Blackboard site)

Week 14 April 25, 27

–Journalism as a “discipline of verification.”
–VIDEO: Excerpt, “The Paper.”
–The Platform Revolution and the “constitution of the internet”

Readings: (do these by the start of week 15)

Covering America, conclusion.

Week 15 May 2
–Media Wars: The weaponization of information.
VIDEO: ????

FINAL EXAM
Date: May 8
3-5 p.m.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ALL THE OTHER STUFF

Tests and Assignments
You will be assigned to a Teaching Assistant by alphabet. If you have routine questions, please e-mail your TA. If your TA cannot help, then you should contact the professor.
There will be four tests. Tests cover readings, lectures, guest lectures, and videos. Each test will also include a section that will allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of current affairs. A missed test scores zero. It is almost impossible to pass this course if you miss a test. So, you should plan to be present for each one, especially the final. In case of illness or other emergency, you must contact your TA beforehand to arrange a make-up.
You may take only one make-up over the course of the semester.

25% Test 1
25% Test 2
25% Test 3
25% Final exam
100%

Students are encouraged to write a paper, which will be counted as a fifth grade; it is NOT “extra credit.” The paper is a 6- to 8-page analysis of a topic in journalism history, based on additional research into primary sources. This is not a “thumb-sucker.” All topics must be approved in advance and developed in consultation with the professor. The deadline for papers is one week before the last class. Students may not submit a paper that is substantially the same as work submitted in another class. For details, consult the Blackboard site.
If you write a paper, it will count 20%, and other scores will be adjusted accordingly. Test scores are not “curved.” Tests are graded by the TAs. Papers are graded by the professor.
If you have questions, contact Prof. Daly.

Boston University’s Percentage-based Grade Scale (%)
A: 93 – 100
A-: 90 – 92.99

B+: 87 – 89.99
B: 83 – 86.99
B-: 80 – 82.99

C+: 77 – 79.99
C: 73 – 76.99
C-: 70 – 72.99

D: 60 – 69.99

F: 0 – 59.99

Attendance
Attendance at all classes is mandatory. (It is also educational!) If you are unable to attend a lecture, there is no need to e-mail the TA or the professor. Return to class as soon as you are able, and ask another student for notes on the class you missed.

Classroom issues
During class, no laptops or other electronic devices will be allowed. Close the lid, and put it away. Instead, take notes by hand. Experience shows that taking notes by hand improves your ability to concentrate. It also forces you to synthesize material and make judgments about what is really important. Most matters of fact are contained in the readings, or they can be readily found online. What makes class time special is the opportunity to think, question, and synthesize. Take advantage.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of the work of another person (OR A BOT) as your own, even by mistake. It is an abomination and will not be tolerated. In journalism, truth and candor are the bedrock of our work. Plagiarism will result in failing this course and possible further penalties. Never do it, and never tolerate it in others.
If you are in doubt, consult the professor.
BE SURE TO READ AND COMPLY WITH B.U.’s UNIVERSAL ACADEMIC CONDUCT CODE FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. It is here: http://www.bu.edu/academics/resources/academic-conduct-code/

Recordings
“Please note that classroom proceedings for this course may be recorded for purposes including, but not limited to, student illness, religious holidays, disability accommodations, or student course review. Note also that you may not use a recording device in the classroom except with the instructor’s permission.”