The Interview (Note: For students who missed the class activity)

Below are the details for the class activity (The Interview) that has already been completed in class.
If you missed the class activity, please complete this assignment. 
NOTE: Make sure to let the teacher know you shared your completed assignment.

CLICK HERE to read the notes about interviewing.

Read the small biography on the journalist Barbara Frum. Frum died in 1992, but she is still known today for her talented interviewing style.

One of Frum’s most confrontational interviews was in 1975 when she interviewed Sandra Good a follower of Charles Manson and a roommate of Lynette Fromme who was also a follower of Charles Manson. The interview was held after an assassination attempt by Lynette Fromme on the United States President Gerald Ford.

CLICK HERE to see a breakdown to help explain who is involved.
CLICK HERE (if using Google Docs) or HERE (if using MS Word you can make a copy of them) to complete the questions while (and after) you listen to the interview. Read them over and have them opened as you listen. 
Click here to listen to the interview.

Caught in Lies

Below are links to articles on journalists who have been caught in lies. Read the two articles and complete a written response based on the questions below. Include a creative title for your entry and share with your teacher on Google Drive (allancarterspace@gmail.com) or Microsoft Word (allan.carter@nbed.nb.ca). Remember to look at how your work will be assessed. The assessment is below the questions. This assignment is to be completed and shared by next Monday, November 24. Please Note: Next Monday's class will include an activity and discussion, so you will not have the class time to work on this assignment. 

The articles

• Jimmy's World (you can also read more background information on the journalist here)


• The Wafer Story

Questions to use for your journal reflection:

• Have you ever considered that the news you read (or watch or hear) may be factually incorrect or even fabricated? Explain why or why not.


• What is your reaction to the two articles? Were you surprised to find out that professional journalists have fabricated news?


• Journalist Jack Shafer writes “most liars make things up for the simple reason that they don't have the talent or the ability to get the story any other way.” Do you agree with Shafer's assertion? Explain.


• Given what Shafer says, do you think that colleges and universities should make sure graduating journalism students can handle the responsibilities and pressures? Discuss your thoughts in your entry.


• Do you think when issues of ethics arise that a news ombudsman helps? A news ombudsman is a professional journalist whose sole responsibility is to respond to reader complaints and provide an independent critique of the paper's performance. Explain why or why not. You can read the beginning of this article if you require additional information.

How you will be assessed on the following (5 pts each for a total of 20 pts):

• Overall, the journal entry shows much thought and effort.


• There are fewer than three grammatical errors or sentence structure issues in the entry.


• Each question provided for the entry has been effectively addressed.


• The entry was completed on time and includes a creative title.

Creating and Reviewing Your Midterm Plan of Action

Your team spent some time considering what you will do as you enter into the second half of the semester. Based on that information and the discussions you will have today in your teams, you will come up with a specific plan of action that will include what actions (or steps) you will have to take to reach the goal(s) who will specify. Your team will also consider how to measure your goals. In other words, how often will you strive to complete "a product"? For example, if your team was doing videography, you could strive to complete at least one video product each week as a way to measure your success. 

USING GOOGLE DOCS: CLICK HERE to make a copy of the template you will use in Google Docs to create your plan of action. This Google Document also includes an example that you can use as a guide.

USING MS WORD: If you are using MS Word, CLICK HERE to view the template and you can copy the text and paste the text into Word. Note: Your page orientation should be landscape (click on the "layout" option). 

Make sure to review the work your team previously did and discuss what your team wants to pursue and how you will go about doing that. 

Remember, the purpose of this activity is to help your team focus on what you think would be the best direction to take so your team can improve on what you have been doing already.

Once you have complete your Plan of Action in Google Docs, share it with your teacher. Make sure to re-title the Google document or MS Word document. You can then start or continue your work assignments for this week. At some point this week, your teacher will discuss your plan of action with you and your team. 

Reviewing Individual Participation and Hard News Vs. Soft News

This week your class assignment is in two parts. The first part extends on what you did last week when you reflected on your course participation and teamwork (plan of action and goals).

You will look over the reflection you did on your individual participation and consider what you think your participation/work mark should be for the midterm report. As part of this process, you will write a short rationale explaining how you came up with your mark and sometime during this week you will discuss your suggested mark and rationale with the teacher.

NOTE: Next week, in your teams, you will also review your plan of action and your team's midterm goal(s).

Once you have completed this work, make sure to complete the second part which this week's class assignment, Hard News Versus Soft News (SEE BELOW). 

Instructions on how to help you determine your midterm participation/work mark. 

Click on the image to enlarge

Hard News Versus Soft News

Click here and click here to read what is hard news and soft news and how they are different. 

1. Find one news article that you consider is definitely hard news and explain why (include the characteristics of what a hard news article is). Provide a link for the article.
2. Find one news article that you consider is definitely soft news and explain why (include the characteristics of what a soft news article is). Provide a link for the article.
3. Find one news article where you think there is an "overlap" between whether it is hard or soft news. Then make a decision on how you would categorize the article based on the tone of the article and its purpose. Provide a link to the article.

Deadline: Next Wednesday, November 12