Professor Barbara Nevins Taylor
MCA 34300
Mondays 3:30 to 6 p.m.
In-Person in Room 462 Shepard Hall
Syllabus for Television/Video Journalism MCA 31234/MCA 34300
by Barbara Nevins Taylor is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Prerequisite: MCA 333 or department consent
Office Hours: One hour before or after class. Text or email for appointments during these hours and at any other time. barbaranevinstaylor@mac.com, bnevinstaylor@ccny.cuny.edu
917 678 6069
@consumermojo
COURSE DESCRIPTION
We share a mission with journalists in New York City, throughout the U.S. and the world to tell video stories that have meaning and impact. This is a difficult time for all journalists and it’s important to remember the challenges we face. I’ll talk more about that, but first I hope that you will think about video journalism as an exciting, creative and sometimes magical opportunity.
In this class you’ll learn to report using video, the techniques of live reporting, the important crafts of writing for video, interviewing, shooting, and editing. We’ll also take a dive into the history of using images to tell stories and the cultural shifts that produced TV and the evolving technology and practices.
You will become a maker, a creator of a short form video that tells a relevant journalistic story in a minute or two. This short form of video journalism easily translates to every platform and social media, and we’ll tailor videos for all possible uses. But our emphasis will always focus on journalism and the facts that you gather. Your work will appear on our website Harlem View.
In some of our classes, we’ll have a video professional as a guest speaker in person or on Zoom to share their experiences with you. I’m going to get serious in just a minute. But I want to emphasize how much fun video reporting and this class can and should be.
We also want to be mindful of what is happening outside of our classroom and how that affects video journalists. Journalists with cameras are easy targets and the war in Gaza has taken an awful toll. The Committee to Protect journalists reports that as of January 27, 2024, 83 journalists and media workers have been killed. They are listed among the more than 25,000 dead in Gaza.
And on January 6, 2021, the mob turned on video journalists covering the insurrection.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker found that at least 16 journalists were targeted during the Capitol riot. And throughout the country in 2021, 140 journalists were assaulted. This includes a parent attacking a journalist at a Michigan school board meeting. In Mexico, 13 journalists were killed in 2022 and a report from Harvard’s Nieman lab says, “Being a journalist is becoming a heroic profession in the Americas.” The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that at least 41 media workers were killed in connection with their work in 2022.
Around the world:
What does all this say? Many continue to pursue careers as journalists and to fulfill the mission enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution to inform the public and hold the powerful to account.
So many things seem personal.
Objectivity may seem impossible when it feels like events conspire against us. But it is a basic of principled journalism and I ask you to do your best to keep it in mind and put it into practice in your reporting. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) offers an excellent code of ethics.
Journalists, video journalists especially, find themselves in an important role during this historic and fraught time. We need to tell the stories of life as we are living it now, of the politics dividing our nation, of the science and the doubters and other important issues. But we also need to make sure that we remain safe and do not endanger anyone else.
TV and video journalists continue to do an excellent job, perhaps better than ever. They offer examples of grace under pressure and the ever-challenging job of being in the center of things, while commenting as an observer.
That’s where you and this class come in.
READING
We will use the class website CCNYtelevisionjournalism for our reading material. The website features instruction for writing, shooting and editing. It will substitute for a textbook and offer us more flexibility. This class is part of the CUNY Open Educational Resources (OER) program.
Download the Associated Press – AP app. It’s free.
WHAT YOU NEED
You’ll need a notepad for reporting and we’ll give you one.
We have portable drives for you to save your work and will get them to you as soon as possible. You will each get an iPhone 12 and other gear to keep at home so that you can shoot video when you need to report.
KEEPING UP WITH THE NEWS AND VIEWING AND LISTENING
This is a news class, and it helps to watch the news videos to see how producers and reporters create video stories and report. Almost every news outlet has some form of video on their site. Start taking an analytical look. Also, you may not be a TV watcher, but try WNBC 4, WCBS 2, WPIX 11, WNYW-Fox5 , : NY1, News 12, NBC News, CBS News, ABC News, PBSNewsHour as well as CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, BBCWorld News America and Vice online. You can also subscribe, for free, to The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal through Cohen Library. Click on the link and take advantage of the opportunity. These publications and other digital publications are using video in creative ways. Take a look at what they do.
Using AI
We use artificial intelligence most days without realizing it. Autocorrect is AI. Grammarly is AI. Google docs remind you about grammar and spelling using AI. That’s all fine. You may find ChatGPT and other new AI apps useful for checking or finding information. That’s okay. But it is not okay to ask AI to write your stories or create your videos. While the university and college don’t have a clear AI policy, please maintain your own standard of ethics and integrity. Do not use ChatGPT and other apps to create your work.
The Syllabus May Change
Because this is a news class, the syllabus may change to reflect events. Journalists are flexible.
CLASS ETIQUETTE
Please come to class on time. Please do not text or use devices in the class for anything other than class work. Turn off your phone.
CRITICISM
We’ll be viewing and analyzing the work of classmates, and your courtesy and participation is required. Please remember that criticism is not a personal attack. We will talk about the work candidly and this will help your professional growth.
Benny’s Food Pantry
Students who have trouble obtaining food every day or who lack a stable and safe place to live are urged to come to Benny’s pantry for assistance (https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/bennysfoodpantry). Benny’s pantry is located on the ground floor of the North Academic Center (NAC) and is open to anyone within the CUNY community (students, staff, faculty) in need of support. The pantry is open from 10am to 6pm and is self-serve. Additional emergency support for financial, health and housing needs is also available through Benny’s. Please contact Dee Dee Mozeleski at dmozeleski@ccny.CUNY.edu or Charles Ramirez @cramirez@ccny.CUNY.edu for additional details.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is mandatory. Video professionals work on deadline, so you have the chance to begin to develop good habits. We’ll treat our class professionally as we would treat a job. So attend all classes. Again, please arrive on time. Your attendance, punctuality, and class participation will be considered in your grade. If there is an emergency and you cannot attend a class, please email me. If you are absent four times, you will fail.
Two unexcused absences will result in a lower grade.
Four or more absences and we will ask you to withdraw from the class.
You must email a note from a doctor, a court of law, a firefighter, or a funeral director for an excused absence.
Students who must miss class or be late because of religious beliefs will be accommodated.
DEPARTMENT OBJECTIVES AND COURSE OUTCOMES
STUDENTS WILL LEARN:
Social history of video storytelling and its connection to broadcasting and online video.
How to use analytical skills to evaluate how news and video stories are constructed.
How to work ethically to find the truth, pursue accuracy, fairness, and diversity, and report strong news stories.
How to think creatively, independently, and critically about local and world events.
How to gather information, synthesize complicated details and craft a succinct, logical story with a beginning, middle and end.
How to develop interviewing skills and use them effectively.
The crafts of writing, reporting, shooting video or visuals, editing, and presenting a news story.
How to work as part of a team and collaborate with others to produce and report news stories.
LATE AND INCOMPLETE ASSIGNMENTS
In journalism deadlines count. You need to complete your work and assignments to meet every deadline. Please consult with me if you have a problem making a deadline. But remember, in life excuses can’t compete with excellent work.
TESTS AND QUIZZES
Because we plan to cover a great deal in a short amount of time, we’ll have a quiz or test at the beginning of every class. It will cover news, readings from the website and whatever I provide to the class.
Your video work and writing assignments will be graded as tests and your final TV news package will serve as your final exam.
GRADES
Attendance Required
Punctuality Required
Reading Required
Participation, Tests and Homework 20 Percent
Writing 20 Percent
Reporting, Shooting, Editing and Producing 20 Percent
Your video stories 40 Percent
Course Calendar
Week One
Monday, January 29
Meet and greet to learn what our class offers.
How do we tell stories with video?
NBCU Video shooting video with your phone.
Setting up a shot to get the best image.
You will each get an iPhone 12 Pro Max, a microphone, a shoulder pod, and a bag to put the gear in.
You’ll also receive tripods and hard drives.
We’ll go over how to use the gear
Shooting in 5-shot sequences – Video examples
Framing shots
- Class exercises.
Pick a simple task that has movement. It can be anything on campus. Shoot at least three series of 5-shot sequences that tell a story. We should see the story clearly without narration.
Shooting sequences
Homework:
How to Bring Footage in from your phone
Download your video. See the instructions on the website. https://ccnytelevisionjournalism.com/2020/01/25/how-to-bring-in-footage-from-your-phone/
Try to familiarize yourself with the Video Keywords. It will help you as we move forward in the class.
If you want to jump ahead. These are good basic instructions for starting Premiere Pro.
Monday, February 5
Week Two
News Quiz,
Editing with Premiere Pro
Bring your video into Premiere Pro, if you haven’t already
Guest Instructor
Edit the video you shot in class
Monday, February 12 Lincoln’s Birthday. College Closed
Week Three
Monday, February 19, Presidents’ Day, College Closed
Class will be held on Thursday, February 22
News Quiz
Examples of good video stories.
The Language of Video-Key Words
Types of video stories. A look at TV video construction.
Writing Video Stories on the class website.
How we write on the class website
Clunky words and phrases to avoid.
1. Package – Video Example
2. VO – Example
3. VO/SOT – Example
4. Live-Shot — Example
5. Straight anchor Read —
The responsibility of the individual journalist. Ethics, copyright and how it affects the material you use in a video.
Guest Speaker
Homework:
Review:
Read: Writing Video Stories on the class website.
Read: How we write on the class website
Read: Clunky words and phrases to avoid.
Week Four
Monday, February 26
Change of plans!! We are going to visit CUNY-TV. The class
365 Fifth Avenue, at 34th Street. More details as we get closer.
News Quiz
Using the audiobooth to record.
Working with the garden video provided, begin to write a script.
Homework:
Finish the script and submit to me for review by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Edit the video at home if you haven’t done it in class.
Read: Interview Techniques on the class website
Wednesday, February 28 Classes Follow Monday Schedule (Week Five)
News Quiz
Interview techniques and setting up an interview for a shoot.
Guest TBA
Video examples of good interviewing.
Interviewing exercise
Editing Review.
Homework:
Read: What Makes a Good Story on the class website.
Think about the story that you would like to report for your big story. Write a pitch.
Week Six
Monday, March 4
News Quiz
Story idea discussion.
We want to borrow an idea from the film industry and write the logline of the story in one sentence. What is your story about?
- What makes it a news story?
- Why is it relevant?
- Why would we watch it?
- Who will you interview?
- What footage will you shoot?
Writing a script with Union Square Greenmarket video provided.
Edit the story.
Homework:
Edit the video at home if you haven’t done it in class.
A quick guide to the history of storytelling with images.
Week Seven
Monday, March 11
Let’s meet in the Village and see if you can shoot a story about what’s going on in Washington Square Park. There’s generally a lot to choose from. This will include interviews.
Homework:
Write a script for your story and submit it to me by Wednesday, October 1 at 1 p.m. When I approve it, try to edit the story and bring it to class on Monday.
Week Eight
Monday, March 18
News Quiz
Guest TBA
Let’s look at your the stories that you shot. If you haven’t finished editing. You can edit in class.
Editing — How to make a graphic in Premiere.
Week Nine
Monday, March 25
News Quiz
Review of shooting. Review of stories and suggestions for shooting, interviewing, writing, and editing.
Writing to video.
Reviewing your video and logging
Story logic and organizing your report.
Create an outline for your story.
Homework: Begin to write your script.
Submit the script to me by Friday, November 17 at 5 p.m.
Homework
Work on your stories. The deadline is approaching.
Week Ten
Monday, April 1
Vocal Coaching: Each student will have a chance to read a script and get guidance from a voice coach.
Homework:
Work on your stories.
Week Eleven
Monday, April 8
Live reporting. Looking at examples.
Now it’s your turn. You’ll do live reports from where you sit or stand. You’ll go out on campus and find a story to report in one-minute and present it live without video.
Homework:
Work on your stories. First draft due December 4.
Week Twelve
Monday, April 15
Review of stories.
Making edits. Learning to make graphics and other editing skills to improve your story
Week Thirteen
Monday, April 15
Review of stories and fixes.
Editing help.
Week Fourteen
Monday, April 22 through 30th Spring Break
Monday, April 29 Still Spring Break
Week Fifteen
Monday, May 6 (Next to last class)
Rough drafts of video story due!
Week Sixteen
Monday, May 13, Last Class!
Final video presentation and cookies! But if everyone isn’t finished we come for finals week.
CCNY Television/Video Journalism 