New Media Master's Project Workshop 2016-2017

Richard Koci Hernandez and Jeremy Rue

Description

This two-semester class is for students who want to do a New Media master’s project and specialize in digital media or multimedia reporting after graduation. In the class students will:

  • Participate in critical discussions of best practices in multimedia storytelling and topics in new media publishing so students are prepared to work in and take on leadership roles at digital news organizations.
  • Get detailed critiques of their master’s project work from instructors, other students, and outside experts during regularly scheduled progress reports. Students also get regular one-on-one sessions about their master’s projects with their advisers in the class.
  • Gain some specialized skills relating specifically to the reporting and production of their master’s projects.

The topical discussions and presentations will be either group discussions of subjects presented by instructors or guest lectures by people working in digital media. By the end of the course students will master how to report and produce a sophisticated online story using a variety of different media formats and have a deep understanding of digital media so they can become leaders in the digital news industry.

Objective

Every master's project produced from this course will require the creation of a web presentation or other digital product that may utilize media forms such as video, audio, text, photographs, graphics, interactive databases, data visualizations, mobile applications, social media and/or animations.

A qualifying master’s project can be:

  1. A multimedia story that has multiple segments or elements with an intuitive navigation scheme and compelling overall design;
  2. A continuously published news site or blog featuring original and curated content;
  3. Or a prototype for a new concept or innovative idea related to digital journalism, performed as a research project and submitted as a dissertation.

Assignments

The following assignments are listed in the course schedule:

  • Perform regularly scheduled presentations/updates on your master’s project.
  • Turn in storyboard mock-up of your master’s project.
  • Complete your master’s project.

Assignments/Grading Procedures

There will be two assignments due in class: a mid-term and final project

Attendance10%
Class participation20%
Lightning Pitch35%
Winter Plan Memo35%

Instructors

Classroom Decorum Policy

Students must turn off their cell phone ringers before class begins. Do not to use smartphones during class. If there is an emergency, please step outside to take a call. At certain times, students will be asked to shut their laptops. Students may not check e-mail, or visit social media sites like Facebook, Twitter or other websites during the lecture portions of the class.

Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism

Students will abide by the Student Code of Conduct http://students.berkeley.edu/uga/conduct.asp. There is a zero-tolerance policy for work that is submitted without proper attribution and that constitutes plagiarism. If students are unsure about the expectations regarding the Student Code of Conduct, please seek advice from the instructors.