Each of the News Cluster (NC) projects results in the production of 3 stories in 3 different media (digital ink, podcast, videocast), that explore different dimensions of the same news event. The NC series is challenging because it requires you to develop, research, craft, and publish topically stories in 3 complementary-but-different media in the same news cycle.
This project set has 3 submission dates, one for each news cluster. Unlike other projects, this series requires only one file per submission: a memo. All files are submitted to a News Cluster folder in your shared course space on Dropbox.com. The submission requirements vary by stage.
See the sections on memos in the description that follows.
Document types: memos (3); digital articles (3); podcasts (3); videos (3)
Document length: 150 words (memos); 1000 words or less (articles); 4-5 minutes (podcasts); 3 minutes (videos)
Project value: 600 points (200 points per episode)
Evaluation rubric: _Eval_NewsCluster.pdf
Although this project is assessed individually, it requires you to work in a publishing team to construct the outlet for the stories you produce for this assignment cluster. Your over-arching goal is to produce increasingly refined content as you go, with the final Cluster demonstrating the best quality of the three submissions.
Details about how to develop and deliver your news clusters follow.
Your work on Workshop 9 - Publishing Processes resulted in you constructing an online space where you can publish your news clusters. That version of your digital news outlet may lack refinement and professionalism in one or more ways. With that in mind, continue to refine your publishing space over the segment of the semester within which you are working on completing and publishing News Clusters 1-3.
Remember that one of your general goals here is to design a publication that is thematically appropriate to the content that the whole team plans to publish. Consider ways that such thematic qualities might be evoked through elements such as the publication title, the general aesthetic of the site, and so on.
Each News Cluster should meet the same core standards for content & design. That is, each Cluster must include 3 stories that connect to the same topic. However, each medium (digital ink, podcast, video) should present a different dimension of the greater story. Thus, each Cluster should tell a coherent story in 3 parts. Leverage the intrinsic qualities & characteristics of each medium to tell the story in a way that take fullest advantage of that medium. For example, consider what a podcast can do that a digital ink story cannot, and vice versa. What can a video story do that the other 2 media cannot?
Keep the following requirements in focus as you complete each submission stage.
Each digital ink story should include the following elements: an engaging title; a byline listing you as the author; the story itself; and (optional) 1 or more captioned photos. Strive to meet and sustain the editorial standards for the category of journalism that the story represents (e.g., traditional, community, professional).
Each podcast story should include the following elements: an engaging title (visible on the story page in the publication); a byline listing you as the author (also visible on the story page); a link to the story itself; and (optional) intro and outro music (drawn from a royalty-free source). Host your podcast stories on any venue that allows you to stream your stories. Link that space from your story page.
Each video story should include the following elements: an engaging title (visible on the story page in the publication and in the opening of the video itself); a byline listing you as the author (also visible in the opening of the video); a link to the story itself; and (optional) intro and outro music (drawn from a royalty-free source). Host your video stories on Screencast.com. Link that space from your story page.
A memo of transmittal introduces the accompanying document to its audience(s). You will craft such a memo with each submission for the project. Your memos should be addressed from you to me, and should introduce the accompanying project. Your memos should incorporate the following content elements.
Read and attend carefully to these submission guidelines. Failure to do so may result in delays in receiving feedback on your project, or in points lost on the final evaluation of it.
Create a project folder inside your shared class folder on Dropbox.com. Remember, I can only view files that you place inside the shared folder. Until you place files in that space, you have not in practice submitted them.
Name the folder News Clusters.
Make sure the memo for the current News Cluster is available to me in the project folder by the NC deadline. Model your filenames on the listed example:
Note. Do not share the individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default.
This section describes the standards by which your final submissions will be evaluated.
There are 200 possible points for each News Cluster. The first submission is the final submission for each. You will earn points according to the standard described on the policies page (40% content development, 40% design execution & delivery of the NC elements, and 20% professionalism & attention to detail; see Policies). The specific areas of emphasis for this project are drawn from the description and discussion of the project, and are detailed in the evaluation rubric (_Eval_NewsCluster.pdf).
Remember that I will only post the point values for projects on the Grades page in SVSU Canvas. I will post the details relevant to that evaluation in your class folder in a project-specific file.
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