WEEK 16

FINAL:  WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12    7:30 am - 10 am

We will be viewing the final project on Wednesday. In order to receive full points for your part in the final, you must have interviewed your source(s) on video, attended class and participated in the planning of the project, and arrive to the final on time. We will view the project, followed by a timed writing exercise.

WEEK 15

Last week, we began finding students, faculty, and staff who speak languages other than English.
We began having these interviewees come to the newsroom to be recorded. These interviews will continue through Thursday of next week.

If you do not have at least one person to interview, you must find one by Wednesday. Try asking students in your other classes if they speak a language other than English.

Next week, Alinna will be helping out with our videos. Brigette is scheduling all interviews so please contact her if you have not already arranged for someone to be interviewed: blugo@student.mtsac.edu

On Wednesday, we will begin viewing the videos and working on translating them. You will all participate, and must be present to receive credit.

Be sure to sign up for extended hours to help with our project.

Our final project will be viewed the day of the final:
FINAL:  WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 7:30-10 AM

Message me at: talbertson@mtsac.edu if you have any questions.

WEEK 14

We are in the last three weeks of the semester. We have decided on a project based on NYU's NYC Values. I have sent out e-mails to several departments on campus in hopes of getting some students and faculty who speak various languages. We will have the question ready at the start of class on Wednesday. Please be on time to class and do not miss the next two classes or you will not be able to participate in the project. 

The course has 2 hours a week by arrangement that is to be used for working on your stories, and the  final project, due the day of the final. (We will view the project). 

FINAL:  WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 7:30-10

On Wednesday, we will work during the entirety of class to set up interviews in the newsroom that will take place this week, and the following week, with all videos completed by Wednesday, June 5. You will all need to set up time to work in the newsroom with Alinna and Brigette. We will have a sign up sheet on Wednesday. Each student must find, and interview, two sources.

See you on time on Wednesday.

WEEK 13

We are entering our last quarter.
Last week, we finished editing your stories and prepared these stories to be published.

Starting Wednesday we will begin working on the final project. Please do not miss class!

I will present a few ideas and then we will brainstorm what this project will look like.

See you on Thursday.

Week 12

Last week, we worked on getting your stories ready to publish. Good job, everyone! Some are already published and more will be published this week. If you still need help with editing and finding visuals, we will work on this for the first part of class. We will also discuss promoting your stories.

After break, we will discuss your next assignment.

See you on Wednesday!

WEEK 11

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a nice, relaxing weekend. (Is this even possible for a college student?)

Last week you worked on your news stories. 

Some of you have asked, "Will my story EVER be published?" 

Yes, your stories will be published. Brigette will be taking over EIC duties through the end of the semester, and working with me to read your stories and get them published. Brigette is our former EIC of Substance and does a great job of giving input as to how to get your stories to be more relatable, and to help you promote these stories. 

 I am reading all of your stories this weekend and making notes for you as to what may or may not need to be done to get them to the level of "ready to be published." 

Please check for notes in CAPS by day's end on Monday. I'm hosting workshops in the newsroom at Culturama this weekend and am available if you have any questions or comments. 

Wednesday will be spent getting all of your stories on the publishing queue, using the notes left on your stories, and making sure that visuals, headlines/subheadlines, and formatting is complete.

See you on Wednesday!

WEEK 10

Last week you completed a photo/text story on Denim Day worth 50 points. 

This week, we will begin writing a news story based on something currently in the news that you are interested in. Please read your favorite news sites to come up with an idea. If you already pitched a news story, feel free to use this. Remember that the news story can be something you have a strong opinion about, or even a global issue that can be localized.

So far, you have completed the following:

A personal feature (My life changed the day that...)  50 points

A trend (how to) story   50 points

A photo/text story   50 points

And you have been posting on your blog and participating in freestyle writing, all worth 10 points each. This will continue throughout the duration of the semester.

See you on Thursday!

WEEK 9

From Pablo Unzueta photo essay. Substance Magazine.

https://substance.media/homeless-war-veterans-741172db5384

Last week you worked on your feature story. This week we will discuss storytelling with visuals and we will discuss visuals for your stories.

See you on Wednesday.

WEEK 8

Hey everyone!

Last week, you pitched story ideas and did a blog post that outlined the story you will begin writing this week. Please come prepared with ideas on how you would propose to begin writing your stores (who you will interview, research).

See you on Wednesday!

WEEK 7

Last week, you completed your HOW TO stories. 

This week, we will begin the class with a blog entry, followed by your midterm assignment which is to write a first person feature profile story. The idea for your feature story will come from your blog entry so it is very important that you arrive to class on time. 

HOMEWORK:

Jot down on a piece of paper ideas for stories you've always wanted to write. It can be about an experience you had, a bad date, something you're pissed off about....ANYTHING. I will be collecting these for points so please have at least five ideas.

READ THESE STORIES IN COMPLETION AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS. USE FOR INSPIRATION FOR YOUR STORY IDEAS

https://substance.media/me-myself-and-my-vibe-befb323e6ea4

https://substance.media/my-head-heart-and-dick-f8a9c0f3768

https://substance.media/why-i-took-naked-photos-224b302e2dd5

https://substance.media/here-queer-dont-know-wtf-i-m-doing-here-778cab77ac17

See you on Wednesday!

WEEK 6

This week, we will write and complete your HOW TO stories.

You must come to class prepared since you've already had two weeks to come up with an idea and to have those steps researched. We didn't have time last week to work on these but we will complete these in class on Wednesday.

You will need to come to class with:

• A clear idea of the topic of your HOW TO article
• At least 6 steps and no more than 10 steps to tell your reader how to do something. These must be clear and concise
• Ideas for gifs, graphics, etc. to accompany your story. You will have time in class to look for these.

This story is worth 50 points and is due at the end of class. 

Come to class on time!!! 

WEEK 5

Graphic by Angelica Cruz

Hello, everyone!

Last week you completed your first blog post freestyle writing story and found a copyright free visual to got with it.

This week you will work on a HOW TO story. Please come prepared with the steps needed to show our readers how to do something!

See you on Tuesday!

WEEK 4

HOW TO MAKE COOKIES!

*Note the illustration

Last week, you all set up your Medium accounts, and you all by now should have Twitter accounts. If you are having trouble with setting up either of these accounts, e-mail me at talbertson@mtsac.edu and I will schedule a tutoring session with one of my tutors to help you.

Last week, you wrote a freestyle draft that began with: My life changed the day that...
The idea was to have you attempt to write without any restrictions, in the style of a journal or blog post. This week, we will begin with a lecture on choosing visuals. You will find a visual that is copyright free to accompany your blog entry.

This week, we will talk about the writing style of "How TO' articles. We will talk about this basic magazine style, and the digital craze of Listicles, (lists), quizzes, and the popularity of these types of stories.

This week, you will also will begin a first assignment with a How To story. After you have a story draft completed (in class), we will discuss what platform the story would work best on, what media would best accompany it- visuals, graphic, gif, video, etc.

Think The Breakfast Club and the scene when Molly Ringwald (Claire) shows what she knows how to do -  her own special talent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsZkkqLDFmg

COME TO CLASS PREPARED WITH A CLEAR IDEA FOR A "HOW TO" ARTICLE THAT YOU FEEL QUALIFIED TO WRITE, AND THE STEPS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE STORY.

Food for thought when picking a topic:
What are you good at? Making a certain food? Saving money? Some sort of hack?
Pick something that you know how to do well. If you feel you don't have something that you feel you do well that would translate into an article, do some research on something you would like to know how to do so that you can turn it into an article.

After the story is drafted in class, we will discuss a graphic or GIF that will go best with it.

HOMEWORK

Please take a look at the following How TO stories and be prepared to discuss:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/nicolenguyen/how-to-save-money?utm_term=.fml6mXrgj3#.mx9nrlgJ7z

https://www.vogue.com/article/stay-safe-mellany-sanchez-public-safety-announcement

WEEK 3

Hello, everyone!

This week, we will get you all set up on Medium and you will write a blog post for credit. This will be a freestyle writing exercise so there is nothing for you to prepare for. I will explain when you come to class.

We will discuss magazines, the state of long form journalism, and the future of magazines, both print and digital.

You also must be added to the Slack channel so you need to be sure to download the free Slack app before Wednesday. You will be joining the VIP club (our channel) via an invite.

See you on Wednesday!

WEEK 2

Hello everyone!

REMINDER:

NEWSROOM IS CLOSED ON WEDNESDAY AND CLASS IS CANCELLED DUE TO A TRIP TO A NYC CONFERENCE WITH 12 STUDENT EDITORS. SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

HOMEWORK:

READ THESE THREE STORIES AND BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS AND BE QUIZZED::

https://substance.media/gay-latino-and-macho-c931e022ec47

https://substance.media/everyone-is-beautiful-ebee967e0c5f

https://substance.media/psycho-bitch-c7d6191513f9

WEEK 1

Hello everyone!

I'm excited to have all of you in this class.

You are the staff of Substance Magazine! You will learn the ins and outs of publishing an online magazine, and you will be part of a staff and program that has won some major awards for its excellence.

I will be posting assignments and readings here, and attaching some handouts, so be sure to check the site often.

Remember that you get credit for discussion in class and on our facebook page and social media so don't be shy...stay active!!!

Be sure to set up a Twitter account, an account on Medium, and a Facebook account if you don't already have one. Download the free Slack app and I will invite you to the channel. You will also need a Medium account. I will assist you with all of this the first week of class.

Here is the syllabus
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ptz7OAf6IL5FMlwU6k3I0zTlI8xiPDFzwaRQSHNmrSk/edit?usp=sharing

We've gotten a lot of press for our innovation. Read about it here:

Press:

http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/05/what-happened-when-a-college-newspaper-abandoned-its-website-for-medium-and-twitter/ 

https://www.collegemediamatters.com/2014/09/16/college-newspaper-drops-print-first-to-operate-primarily-on-publishing-platform-medium/

http://ajr.org/2014/10/06/college-paper-tries-new-medium/

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/12/college-media-year-in-review-2014-the-future-of-the-future/