Com 470.01 (2483)
Spring 2014
Feature Writing
CC 244; TR 12:15-1:30

Instructor: Chris Fauske

Email: cfauske@salemstate.edu [I do not open emails sent by you from non-Salem State University addresses.]

Phone: 978.542.6853

Office hours [143 Central Campus]: TR 11-1, 12-1, and by appointment. You are welcome to drop by during office hours, but I encourage you to make an appointment when possible. I expect to be in my office from about 7 a.m. each Tuesday and Thursday.

Required text

AP Stylebook Online. Subscriptions are $26 for one year. You will gain access via an account activation email following your order receipt. Your one-year subscription starts when you activate your account. You are expected to have activated your account and to have bookmarked the link to the login page prior to the start of the second class.

Capon, R. J. “The Associated Press Guide to Punctuation” New York: Basic, 2003 [ISBN: 978-0-738-20785-8].

A note on technology in the classroom

You should have a fully charged laptop computer with you for each class. If you prefer a tablet, that is acceptable. You will be writing a lot in class. Smartphones are never acceptable in the classroom unless being used to speak with a source / potential publisher and must otherwise be turned off and be out of reach in a bag throughout class.

Course description

This course teaches students to research, write, and market innovative and dynamic longer stories for newspapers, magazines, and emerging delivery platforms in the digital media. Emphasis will be on how to locate and cultivate sources, conduct in-depth interviews, and pitch and market professional work. Three lecture hours per week. Required of Communications majors in the Journalism concentration.

Global goal

Students should leave this course with an ability to write and pitch story ideas to appropriate magazines, newspapers or other media outlets.

Learning objectives

Successful completion of this course will mean students can be expected to demonstrate:

the ability to publish an article
the ability to promote an article and generate feedback
reliable contact information for at least three editors / publishers interested in seeing later work by that student.

Course format

Each Tuesday, we will analyze and critique a feature article of at least 3,000 words. As the semester progresses, you will be expected to nominate articles for discussion.

Each Thursday, the class will be a “lab” and you will work on your current feature article. I will be available to offer guidance and feedback.

Attendance

A significant portion of your grade will be determined by your contribution in each class. If you are not present you cannot contribute.

Submitted work

All work throughout the semester must conform to AP style or professionally appropriate social media norms.

You are responsible for preserving an electronic backup of your work. A single file in one place is not a secure way of saving data.

Submission of late work

No work will be accepted late without prior approval.

Grading

Your final grade will consist of four components:

20%: Attendance. You start the semester with 100 points for attendance. For each late arrival you lose 5 points; for each absence you lose 10 points.
50%: Publication of your primary feature story of at least 3,000 words (see details).
10%: Promotion of your primary feature story.
20%: Contacts of editors, publishers for later submissions.

Each of your grade components will be scored numerically.

Your final numeric score will determine your overall grade:

100-93: A 92-90: A-

89-87: B+ 86-83: B 82-80: B-

79-77: C+ 76-73: C 7 2-70: C-

69-67: D+ 66-63: D 62-60: D-

59 or lower: F

Academic integrity

Cheating, plagiarism, and other instances of academic dishonesty will be treated as serious offenses against the university community and will be dealt with in accordance with the university’s policies and procedures concerning academic integrity. For full disclosure of the university’s academic integrity policies see the academic integrity section of the university’s current undergraduate catalog.

University policy regarding students with disabilities

Salem State University is committed to providing equal access to the educational experience for all students in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable academic accommodations, aids, and adjustments. Any student who has a documented disability requiring an accommodation, aid or adjustment should speak with the instructor immediately. Students with disabilities who have not previously done so should provide documentation to and schedule an appointment with Disability Services and obtain appropriate services.

University policy regarding the declaration of an emergency

In the event of a university-declared critical emergency, Salem State University reserves the right to alter this course plan. Students should refer to salemstate.edu for further information and updates during a declared emergency. In the event of an emergency, please refer to the alternative educational plans for this course that will be distributed by email to your university email address.