Cmat240 va spr2015

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SPRING 2015: CMAT 240-003 – Introduction to Journalism and Public Relations
Tues/Thurs, 12:30PM-1.45PM (TETC 116B)
_____________________________________________________________________________
Vinita Agarwal
Office: FH 272
Phone: 70083 (office)
Email: vxagarwal@salisbury.edu
Office Hours: T, TR, 1:45PM—4:15PM and by appointment
_____________________________________________________________________________
Course Description
CMAT 240: Introduction to Journalism and Public Relations is the gateway course to other
JPR track classes. This course does not meet university general education requirements;
therefore you are most likely a CMAT major or minor, and the class will be taught accordingly.
Proficiency in critically analyzing events and constructing clear and concise written arguments is
an essential skill for any academic or professional career path you may follow.
Learning Objectives
The major objective of this course is to teach you the principles, role, and practice of journalism
and public relations historically and in today’s society and to demonstrate how that knowledge
can be applied in the practice journalism and management of public relations programs. Students
who complete this course will be able to:
1. Understand the principles, practice, and contribution of journalism historically and in today’s
society
2. Identify what constitutes news and learn how to write a compelling news story by:
a. Effectively using different types of leads to create an accurate, interesting
introduction
b. Effectively using quotes, attribution, transitions, and avoiding editorializing in
reporting news
c. Covering different categories of news beats and different journalistic forms
3. Understand the legal and ethical issues as they influence the practice of journalism
4. Define public relations and understand its historical development
5. Identify examples of public relations
6. Understand the theories and principles involved in communicating strategically on behalf of
an organization to relevant stakeholders
7. Understand public relations practice as ethical management function that applies
communication and organizational theory to the research, planning and evaluation of the
communication programs in a range of contexts from nonprofits to community relations

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Required Textbooks
Lattimore, D., Baskin, O., Heiman, S. T., & Toth, E. L. (2008). Public relations: The profession
and the practice, 3rd
Ed. McGraw Hill.
Rich, C. (2010). Writing and reporting news: A coaching method, 7th
Ed. McGraw Hill.
Goldstein, N. (Ed.). (2009). The Associated Press stylebook and briefing on media law. Fully
revised and updated Ed. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.
Recommended
Any good dictionary (or familiarity with an online dictionary such as www.m-w.com)
** Read any good national, local, or regional daily (e.g., Washington Post, NY Times, Delmarva
Times).
Additional readings as distributed by the instructor.
Class Attendance and Deadlines
Your attendance at each class meeting is vital to your successful completion of this course. Most
of our classes will involve in-class exercises that reinforce and review the concepts we have
covered. These exercises are very important and fundamental to learning the practice of
journalism and public relations. These will comprise a 20% of your overall course grade., which
means you can earn a good grade by attending class regularly and participating in these in-class
activities. Your completion of the in-class exercises constitutes your attendance and in-class
credit points for the day and hence cannot be made up—you must be present in class to earn the
points. It is your responsibility to check the MyClasses website to make sure your in-class
exercise grades have been recorded. Please note: If you have a question/ concern about a daily
assignment grade, you have 1 week after the grade has been assigned to appeal. The
assignments will be discarded 1 week after they have been returned in class.
Participation
I expect you will come to class having read and thought about the readings. More importantly, as
students of the JPR course and hopefully future journalists or PR practitioners, I expect you to
read a local paper and a national paper daily (print or online) and will often request you to bring
clippings/printouts of examples that illustrate our class material to share. Also in this spirit, your
final PR project will involve working in groups to simulate real world team work. Note that in
order to participate in class, you will need to use MyClasses Learn. Discussion threads,
assignments, supplemental readings, resources may be posted and/or completed there.
Emergency Clause
In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines, and grading
percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or
other circumstances. In such an event, the MyClasses web page and my email address
(vxagarwal@salisbury.edu) will be ways to access revised information and assignment
deadlines. You are expected to meet the revised deadlines and changes on MyClasses that such
developments necessitate.
Email
You are expected to use or be able to access your university email account for this class.
Students must verify that they can gain access to their email through the web. To verify that you

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can do this, go to www.salisbury.edu and click “campus email” at the top of the page. If you
cannot access your email, see the Help Desk located in TETC 113 or go to the website
www.salisbury.edu/helpdesk/.
Professional In-Class Ethics
Your positive contribution is pivotal to the success of this course. You will forfeit your in-class
participation points if you engage in disruptive, distracting, or discourteous behavior that
hampers class learning objectives, especially if these behaviors are repeated despite gentle
reminders. In general, those who excel in my course are well prepared, proactive learners. This
means they come to class prepared with the material, their questions and examples, and are ready
to listen attentively. Therefore, in keeping the interests of those engaged in learning, whispering,
texting, using FB, Tweeting, or using other social media websites or completing work on other
class material will be treated as serious disruptions to a positive class environment on your
behalf. Do not start packing your books or leaving until I have dismissed the class for the day.
Leave your radios, tablets, cell phones, and other recreational media at home. If you are late, you
will not be given the opportunity to make up a missed quiz, participation assignment, or
attendance points. Class participation and professionalism will matter in your overall grades.
Habitual tardiness (missing attendance more than 4 times in the semester) will result in loss of
class participation points for all other times you are tardy.
Teamwork Skills
CMAT 240 assignments provide a microcosm of a professional environment. In this spirit, all
your major assignments will be completed in pairs or groups. You will have the opportunity to
choose your own partner or group. Each group as a whole will be responsible for completing the
assignment. Each group member will share the same grade. In exceptional cases, individual
grading options may be discussed with me with prior notification on a per assignment basis.
Course Ethos
CMAT 240 is a core JPR course. It provides the foundations to your advanced learning and thus
you are required to earn at least a “C” in order to move ahead with the curriculum. Keeping this
in mind, I expect your focus will be to lay a solid base to your learning and be a proactive
learning participant in class.
Toward this end, my goal as your professor for the semester is to provide the best possible
learning environment for our learning goals. I am available during my office hours and class time
to assist with your questions and learning objectives. My goal is to provide excellent resources to
those who want to excel as well as guidance to those who would like to clarify and understand
challenging material. As engaged learners, I expect everyone to come prepared to contribute
positively and productively to your learning process. I expect a sense of professionalism,
impeccable work ethics, a commitment to contribute to an exciting learning environment for
your classmates. Any accommodations made for a class member will be weighed against the
principle of fairness and justice to our overall learning objectives.
Deadlines, Late Policy, and Make-Ups
Deadlines are critical in journalism and public relations. It is good practice to save copies of your
work on your thumb drive and/or email it to yourself as a backup in case any system is down.

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Remember that all students have access to a p drive to store your work on campus computers.
You may also use the labs in the TETC for storing drafts of your work. Hard copies of
assignments are due at the beginning of class. Assignments turned in after attendance is taken
will count as late. Late assignments will be penalized by a 50% deduction if turned in within 24
hours and will not be accepted after that. It is your responsibility to complete the exam on the
scheduled day. There will be no make-up assignments unless you can show legitimate cause
(medical) and inform me via email prior to the examination. Class participation and quizzes
cannot be made up. You are responsible for monitoring your grades. Please do so consistently
through the semester to be aware of your performance. All grade assignments will be taken as
final ONE WEEK (i.e. within the T/R week of our class meeting times) after the graded
assignment has been returned to the class. No grade change requests will be permitted after this
period. I will not discuss grades over email or in class. I will not grade assignments received via
email or MyClasses or any other medium. You are responsible for making up any missed work
or content. Please be aware that each point earned from the beginning of the semester makes a
difference and will count greatly to your overall grade in the semester. Understand that in-class
participation points are just that: points for in-class participation—and cannot be made up if you
are not in-class.
Students with Special Needs
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with bona fide disabilities will
be afforded reasonable accommodation. If you have a specific disability that qualifies you for
academic accommodations, please notify the instructor within the first week of class.
Academic Integrity
You are responsible to abide by SU’s policies about academic dishonesty, as described in the
Student Policy on Academic Integrity in your SU Student Handbook available online at
www.salisbury.edu/Students/handbook/welcome.html. The CMAT department expects you have
read and understand the University’s policy and thereby agree to honor these standards. The
CMAT department considers academic dishonesty as a serious offense and ALL incidences are
subject to disciplinary action including, but not limited to, separation from the university.
Policy on Inclement Weather
Should inclement weather result in classes being cancelled, information will be given to all local
radio and television stations. Students can receive information regarding cancellations by
listening to local stations or by calling the Gull Line at 410.546.6426. Please check MyClasses
for announcements related to our course if SU is open.
SU Writing Center
At the University Writing Center (directly above the Fireside Lounge in the Guerrieri University
Center), trained consultants are ready to help you at any stage of the writing process. It is often
helpful for writers to share their work with an attentive reader, and consultations allow writers to
test and refine their ideas before having to hand papers in or to release documents to the public.
For more information about the Writing Center’s hours and policies, visit the Writing Center or
its website at www.salisbury.edu/uwc .

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Writing Across the Curriculum Statement
This course meets the goals of the “Writing Across the Curriculum” program.
Assignment Description
Besides the in-class exercises, quizzes, blogs, and participation points, you will take two exams
during the course. These will be multiple choice and may also have open-ended questions.
Detailed breakup of these and the assignments below will be provided at appropriate times
during the semester. All assignments will be done with a partner or as a group and involve
teamwork skills. You also have the option of completing these for individual grades. You must
discuss with your group and notify me in advance if you are opting for individual grading. Most
assignments will require out of class work—meeting with your group, covering the assignment,
gathering material and quotes, meeting with the clients, and so on. A brief description of the
assignments you will complete is as follows:
In-class exercises, quizzes, blogs, and participation points: In-class participation points can be
earned in four ways.
1. First, almost every class we will do an in-class exercise on the material covered in class.
This exercise will typically be discussed at the end of class and points are allotted for
completing it, i.e., as this is your first stab at the concepts, it will be a learning tool for
feedback. This will constitutes part of your participation points, as your presence in class and
completion of the learning exercise is an important component of your class participation.
2. Similarly, on occasion, we may have a pop quiz on material covered in class that day or up
to that day or on AP Stylebook material. So, second, whenever these are given, quizzes will
also be a part of your in-class participation points.
3. Third, we will gain some familiarity with maintaining blogs as a journalistic and public
relations tool. Your blog entry must reflect on the content covered in our lecture, readings, or
class discussion and connect these to a current news/public relations event in the media, and
blogger comments. Creativity and originality of ideas and expression is key! Blog entries are
submitted each week before Sunday, midnight. Along with writing in your blog, you are also
required to comment on at least one other blog each time you write your blog, as well as
respond to and engage with other’s comments on your blog. Missing a blog entry will result
in a 5 point deletion from the overall participation points that you have earned at the end of
the semester.
4. Fourth, your positive contribution to class discussions through sharing examples,
illustrations, and thoughts will always be a plus. If you are sick or miss a class, the in-class
participation points earned cannot be made up.
Media and PR Report: Starting around the 3rd
week or so, each group will make a short
presentation of about 3—4 min. on a current event or PR artifact that has been in the news that
week. You will discuss the event/PR artifact, what makes it a well written journalistic piece/good
example or PR or a poorly written journalistic piece/bad example of PR. Specific critiques
illustrating both good or bad criteria are required. More information will be provided in a
handout at the appropriate time during the semester.
Outside reporting assignment: This reporting assignment will require you to cover write a hard
news story on a topic and beat of your choice. You will write a story for a fictitious campus
newspaper, The Gulls Weekly Courier and Post. Fieldwork, interviewing, and independent

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research will be required. More details will be provided in the assignment handout and during the
semester.
Mini-media kit: As part of the course, you will also learn to write the press release, a fact sheet,
and a backgrounder. While you will be given a topic to write the press release, you will be
required to do the research and field work necessary to gather all the material for writing a good
release. Details in an assignment handout to be provided during the semester.
Nonprofit project proposal and presentations: Along with your group, you will conduct online
research (formative research and situational analysis) on a nonprofit organization. From the gaps
and need identified through your analysis, you will propose relevant tactics based on
theoretically informed and well researched strategies to address the issue. You will submit a final
report of your theoretical foundations, formative research, situational analysis and tactics
proposed in a group proposal that you will submit to me as well as present a summary of your
report to us as a class. Details in assignment handout to be provided during the semester.
Grading
In-class exercises/Quizzes/Blogs/Participation 20%
Media and PR Report (20 pts.) 15%
Outside reporting assignment (35 pts.) 15%
Exam I & 2 (25 points each) 20%
Mini-media kit (50 pts.) 10%
Nonprofit Project Proposals and Presentation (50) 20%
Grade Breakdown
A = 90.0% and above
B = 80.0% -- 89.9%
C = 70.0% -- 79.9%
D = 60.0% -- 69.9%
F = 59.9% and below.
Tentative Course Schedule
Spelling, Grammar, and Professionalism Always Counts!
Jan 27th
(T): Introductions; Syllabus; Changing Concepts of News (Ch. 1 | R); Getting Set-Up!
Jan 29th
(TR): Basic News Story (Ch. 2 |R); (Assign outside reporting assignment)
Feb 3rd
(T): Interviewing Techniques (Ch. 6 | R); Leads and Nut Graphs (Ch. 7 | R); (AP
stylebook)
Feb 5th
(TR): Leads and Nut Graphs (Ch. 7 | R); Sources and Online Research (Ch. 5 | R); Story
Organization (Ch. 8 | R); Storytelling and Feature Techniques (Ch. 10 | R); (AP stylebook)
Feb 10th
(T): Story Organization (Ch. 8 | R); Story Forms (Ch. 9 | R); Crime and Punishment
(Ch. 20 | R); (AP stylebook)

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Feb 12th
(TR): Story Forms (Ch. 9 | R); Storytelling and Feature Techniques (Ch. 10 | R); (AP
stylebook)
Feb 17th
(T): Outside news story—In-class feedback on 1st
drafts. (AP stylebook) (Assign Media
and PR Report assignment
Feb 19th
(TR): Profiles and Obituaries (Ch. 17 | R); Speeches, News Conferences, and Meetings
(Ch. 18 | R) (AP Stylebook)
Feb 24th
(T): Speeches, News Conferences, and Meetings (Ch. 18 | R)
Feb 26th
(TR): The Nature of Public Relations (Ch. 1 | L et al.); A Theoretical basis for Public
Relations (Ch. 3 | L et al.) (Outside reporting assignment due)
Mar 3rd
(T): A Theoretical basis for Public Relations (Ch. 3 | L et al.); Media Relations (Ch. 9 |
L et al.); History of Public Relations (Ch. 2 | L et al.) (Assign mini-media kit assignment)
Mar 5th
(TR): Mini-Media kit—Workshop
Mar 10th
(T): Mini-Media kit—Workshop
Mar 12th
(TR): Mini media kit—Workshop
Mar 17th
(T): Spring Break, No Class! J
Mar 19th
(TR): Spring Break, No Class! J
Mar 24th
(T): Research: Understanding Public Opinion (Ch. 5 | L et al.)
Mar 26th
(TR): PR in Nonprofit Organizations (Ch. 15 | L et al.); (Mini-Media Kit Due); Assign
nonprofit proposal
Mar 31st
(T): Exam 1 (Ch. 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, & 15)
Apr 2nd
(TR): Strategic Planning for PR Effectiveness (Ch. 6 | L et al.)
Apr 7th
(T): Strategic Planning for PR Effectiveness (Ch. 6 | L et al.)
Apr 9th
(TR): Community Relations (Ch. 11 | L et al.)
Apr 14th
(T): Nonprofit Assignment Work Day
Apr 16th
(TR): Evaluating Public Relations Effectiveness (Ch. 8 | L et al.)
Apr 21nd
(T): Evaluating Public Relations Effectiveness (Ch. 8 | L et al.)

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Apr 23rd
(TR): Employee Communication (Ch. 10 | L et al.)
Apr 28th
(T): Nonprofit Proposal Workshop
Apr 30th
(TR): Nonprofit Project Proposal’s due and project presentations
May 5th
(T): Nonprofit Project Proposal’s due and project presentations
May 7th
(TR): Nonprofit Project Proposal’s due and project presentations
May 12th
(T): Exam II (Ch. 6, 8, 10, 11, L et al.)
Final Exam Week: Tuesday, May 19th
, 2015, 10: 45 AM—1: 15 PM; BLOGS DUE
______________________________________________________________________________
v Important Semester Dates: Jan 26th
–May 12th
: Session dates | Jan 26th
: First day of classes| Jan 26th
–
Jan 30th
: Add/drop| Mar 16th
– Mar 22nd
: Spring Break | Apr 3rd
: Last day to Withdraw with a grade of
(W)| May 12th
: Last day of classes| May 13th
: Reading day| May 14th
–May 20th
: Finals week| May
21st
: Commencement

Cmat240 va spr2015

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