This document outlines the syllabus for Professor Eric Luther's COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM course. It provides biographical information about Professor Luther and introduces the course as an introduction to basic multimedia journalistic storytelling using audio, video, slideshows and online platforms. The syllabus outlines course materials, assignments including a final multimedia project, grading policies, attendance policy, and an overview of key topics to be discussed like journalism basics, the multimedia journalism project, and using the course Blackboard site.

1. COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM
Professor Eric Luther
• TX Community College transfer student
• SMU: Dallas, TX – Bachelors of Humanities
• NYU: New York, NY – Masters in Arts & Humanities
Education
• 10 years in media production (mainly TV news)
• Taught communications and media courses as adjunct at
other community colleges, but came full-time to WCC as
of Fall 2010
• Curriculum Chair; Communications & Media Arts

2. Students:
• Who are you and what brings you to
this class?
• How do you typically get your news?
What makes you trust/use your
news source(s)?
COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM

3. CLASS DISCUSSION:
•In your experience, what makes
any class a meaningful
experience? In other words,
what should a college class be
like in order for it be effective
and engaging?
COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM

4. CLASS DISCUSSION:
• To me classes are all exercises in communication
and in order for a class to be effective and engaging -
for both instructors and students - you have to do
more than just "show up"...you have to bring your
genuine interest and critical thinking. If you don't
(again, for both instructors and students), you run
the very real risk of just going through the motions.
You'll not only cheat yourself, you’ll also cheat
everyone else in the class by not truly contributing
yourself to the experience. I find this is not only true
in school, it's true in life, too...
COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM

5. TODAY’S OVERVIEW:
• Go over Class Outline
• Discuss Journalism Basics
• Class Materials are posted on
Blackboard prior to class meeting
• GO TO THIS COURSE SECTION ON
BLACKBOARD NOW
COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM

6. VIRTUAL CLASS MEETINGS:
•Typically we will meet virtually on
Mondays & Thursdays from 11-12:15 to
discuss that week’s materials and assigned
work.
•PLEASE turn/leave your camera on – seeing
your faces really makes a huge difference
to the quality of the class…thank you!
•All due dates, virtual
office/meeting/discussion times, etc. will
be clearly posted as the class progresses.
COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM

7. USING BLACKBOARD
• All assigned class work and materials can be found in the
corresponding WEEKLY LEARNING MODULES area of the course
blackboard shell:

8. USING BLACKBOARD
• Click into the appropriate module for class meeting

9. USING BLACKBOARD
• There you will see all the assigned work & material for that week
that you are to do in the order they are assigned

10. COURSE OUTLINE OVERVIEW
•CONTACT INFO – see BASIC COURSE
INFORMATION/COURSE OUTLINE
•COURSE DETAILS
• This course is an introduction to the basic elements and
tools of multimedia journalistic storytelling including audio,
video, slideshows and online journalism platforms with the
goal of giving every student a rudimentary knowledge of
how to produce and publish new stories using multimedia.
• The course examines the challenges presented by the
explosion of journalism on the Internet and assesses the
role of the journalist in an online society. The class will also
expose students to both practical skills and a broader
understanding of multimedia journalism issues.

11. COURSE OUTLINE OVERVIEW
•REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
• Advancing the Story-Quality
Journalism in a Digital World,
Fourth Edition – Wenger & Potter,
SAGE Publishing
• Multimedia Journalism is a
dynamic field and, in addition to
the textbook, we will also be using
real-world current examples,
instructor-supplied information,
and practical lab experience as our
course source materials.

12. COURSE OUTLINE OVERVIEW
• Required Course Materials/Supplies:
• Windows PC or MAC with ability to install
free audio editing program, AUDACITY
(or access to school lab with AUDACITY
installed as in TECH 13-E):
https://www.audacityteam.org/
• Audio-recording ability via smartphone
or digital recording device (or access to
COMM/JOURNALISM TECH LAB
equipment check-out when available
Other Required Supplies:
• Steady Internet connection
• Working web cam and microphone
• Quiet location without noise or
distraction
• Desktop or laptop computer (rather than
a phone or tablet)

13. COURSE OUTLINE OVERVIEW
•GRADING DETAILS
• Course Assignments & Quizzes (In-Class, Blog, &
Blackboard) = 25% (lowest score dropped)
• Production Exercises = 25% (lowest score dropped)
• Discussion Boards = 20% (lowest score dropped)
• Completed Multimedia Project presented to the class =
30%
• TOTAL = 100%
• + DISCUSSION BOARD EXTRA CREDIT
***
• Your current grade should always be available in
BLACKBOARD: MY GRADES: CURRENT GRADE

14. COURSE OUTLINE OVERVIEW
•LATE WORK POLICY: Journalism is all about
deadlines so, typically, NO LATE WORK IS ACCEPTED FOR
FULL CREDIT (50% maximum)! Material covered in class
will always be posted in the appropriate area/weekly
class module of Blackboard so physical absences are not
an excuse for falling behind when completing work. You
are held responsible for the material whether you are
physically present or not. There will plenty of time
allowed for any and all work and Blackboard will be
consistently updated.
• In addition, there may be in-class work that is not
available beyond the day/time of assignment and,
therefore, unavailable for later completion.

15. COURSE OUTLINE OVERVIEW
• ATTENDANCE:
Students are allowed to miss a total of 5 class periods (approximately
six hours of instruction) before being potentially penalized. After that,
each absence may result in a 5% reduction of your final grade. In
addition, there will be in-class work that is not available beyond the
day/time of assignment and, therefore, unavailable for later
completion.
• Excused absences will be considered when Instructor is presented
with one of the following (doctor’s note, court appearance letter,
police report, funeral program, letter explaining school activities,
letter from employer). Material covered in class will always be posted
in Blackboard so physical absences are not an excuse for falling
behind when completing work. You are held responsible for the
material whether you are physically present or not – again, what
we’ve covered will be contained in the appropriate Blackboard
Weekly Class Materials & Assignments area.
• The surest way to do poorly in this class is to not attend and/or be
consistently late; your participation is key to your success. There
won't be the time or the resources to properly "reteach" any classes
you might miss so please do your best to be present and on time.

16. BASIC COURSE SECTIONS:
•LECTURES/COVERAGE OF CLASS MATERIAL
•CLASS BLOG POSTINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
•BLACKBOARD QUIZZES AND/OR
ASSIGNMENTS
•IN-CLASS & OUTSIDE-CLASS LAB TIME TO
WORK ON EXERCISES AND MULTIMEDIA
PROJECTS

17. OUTLINE OVERVIEW
•Course Outline is subject to change
•Discussion is encouraged but please
be polite not only when talking, but
listening – communication is a two-
way street
•Questions?

18. What is “COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA
JOURNALISM”?
•Multimedia (dictionary)
•Using or involving several forms of
communication or expression
•For our purposes, we’re going to focus on
AUDIO and VIDEO as our primary media
forms along with text, interactive, and
photo elements

19. •Journalism (dictionary)
•the activity or job of collecting, writing,
and editing news stories for newspapers,
magazines, television, radio, and/or the
web
What is “COMM 106: MULTIMEDIA
JOURNALISM”?

20. BASICS OF JOURNALISM
•Journalists should always perform two basic
function (the 2 “I’s”):
•INVESTIGATE & INFORM
•And they should always perform them:
•As ACCURATELY & FAIRLY as they possibly
can

21. MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM PROJECT
•You will pick a topic to Investigate & Inform as
Accurately & Fairly as you can
•You will build a basic AUDIO multimedia
project around your topic (text + audio +
interactivity)
•You will present your project to the class at
the end of the semester
•We will cover finding and presenting your
story topic in upcoming classes

22. INTRODUCTIONS + BLOG EMAIL SUBMISSION
+ CHAPTER #1
• You have three assignments this week:
• #1: Simply submit an email address so I can add
you to our class blog as an author
• It can be ANY email address, personal or your WCC
address
• You will receive info at this address that you will need
to post on our class blog – SAVE THIS EMAIL!
• You will find this assignment in the WEEK #1
LEARNING MODULE
• #2 Discussion Board: INTRODUCTIONS
• #3 Read CHAPTER #1: The Multimedia Mindset
• (a quiz/assignment will be forthcoming)