About the Course: Welcome to JOUR100 - Professional Orientation. JOUR100, which is taken by all freshmen majors first semester, will be divided into two equal parts.

On Tuesdays, Dean Callahan will attempt to achieve the following:

• Provide an overview of the profession of journalism in all its forms – print journalism (newspapers, magazines and newsletters), broadcast journalism (TV and radio news) and online journalism.
• Expose students to the extraordinary role journalists play in our society and the excitement and passion journalists feel about our field.
• Introduce students to some of the faculty, staff, alumni, history and resources of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
• Start the process of defining "news" and building a daily "news habit."

Readings: The main "text" for the JOUR100 is today’s news. The first step in becoming a journalist is to build a "news habit" – consuming news from a wide variety of journalistic sources every day. Observing and analyzing how top professional journalists define, conceptualize, report and write the news will be an enormous asset to your own journalistic growth. You are encouraged to read and listen to a wide variety of journalistic outlets – daily newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and the Internet. Specifically, you are required to read each day The Washington Post. In addition, you are strongly encouraged to also read other major publications such as The New York Times, local media such as the campus daily (the Diamondback), your hometown newspaper and national broadcast news reports such as National Public Radio, CNN and the network evening news shows. We also encourage you to begin reading "journalism about journalism." There are many sources, including the College’s own American Journalism Review, Jim Romenesko's daily link to news about the news industry at the Poynter Institute, and Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz. There also may be specific readings assigned for each class. All will be available online or will be handed out in class.

For Thursday's Grammar Slammer sessions, readings will be assigned and distributed. Please remember to keep all handouts. We also will be referring to the Purdue University Writing Lab Web site at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/grammar/g_parallel.html.

Grades and Assignments: Since JOUR100 is a single-credit course, the workload will be approximately one-third of a traditional three-credit course. However, the expectations for the quality of that work will be no less rigorous. The key to success in JOUR100 is coming to class everyday, on time and prepared.

• Grammar Final Examination. The grammar final, which will draw directly from materials covered during the Thursday Grammar Slammer workshops, will constitute 50 percent of your final grade.
• Daily News Quiz. Most Tuesday class sessions will begin with a brief multiple-choice quiz of about 10 questions based on recent news (from The Washington Post). Students are encouraged to pick up a blank answer sheet from the back of the room, take a seat and bring No. 2 pencils. At exactly 2 p.m., our graduate assistant will put the questions up on an overhead. Students will have five minutes to complete the quiz. Arriving late or missing class will result in an F for that assignment. No exceptions. The news quiz will cover the news since the last class (Tuesday to Tuesday). There will be approximately 11 quizzes over the course of the semester. Your lowest grade will be dropped. The quiz grades will constitute 40 percent of your final grade for JOUR100.
• Personal Profile. A 500-word personal essay due at the beginning of class No. 3. This essay should tell us a bit about you, your background and your aspirations. You will receive full credit (5 percent of your final grade) if the assignment is submitted promptly at 2 p.m. As with all assignments for College of Journalism courses, late submissions will receive an F (2:01 p.m. is considered a missed deadline). This, as all College assignments, should be typed and double spaced. No electronic submissions will be accepted.
• Roadmap to the Future. A 500-word essay due at the beginning of the last day of class. Drawing on our guest lectures, class discussions and readings, this essay should discuss what type of journalism you may want to pursue. In addition, it should map out what professional work (internships, campus media, etc.) you hope to do in the coming semesters and years to accomplish your goal. You will receive full credit (5 percent of your final grade) if the assignment is submitted on time.

Friday Meetings: The large class setting in JOUR100 does not provide us much opportunity to get to know you individually. Therefore, we would like to schedule a regular time for freshmen journalism majors to stop by and chat about the course, the College, the profession, your aspirations, or anything else that's on your mind. The first of our informal meetings will be this Friday at 3 p.m. in room 2114 of the Journalism Building.

E-Mail: It is critical for us to be able to communicate with you electronically as a class. We will be establishing a class mailing list this week. This is done automatically by the university, but the list will use only the e-mail the university has for you. Please check the e-mail that the university now lists for you and make sure it is your preferred choice for this semester. Once the list is created, you will not be able to add you to it, and you will miss information that is integral to your success in this course.

Extra Credit: Any story published by the last day of class (Nov. 20) will raise your final grade by 0.1 (on the 4.0 scale) up to seven published submissions. Broadcast tapes also will count for extra credit (judged on an individual basis).

Fast Track: Traditionally journalism students take JOUR201 – the first "skills" course – in their sophomore year. However, in recent years we have developed a fast track so students who excel and are ready for the challenge can enroll in JOUR201 in the spring semester of the freshman year. While JOUR201 is an extraordinarily rigorous course, successful completion of it in the freshman year allows students to jump into intermediate reporting and writing classes in their sophomore year. The fast track prepares students for internships and other professional activity at an earlier stage in their academic career. In order to be considered for JOUR201 in the spring semester, the student must: receive an A (an A- does not count) in JOUR100 and earn a 3.7 overall GPA this semester. Approximately 10 percent of the freshman class is eligible to take the fast-track edition of JOUR201 each spring.

About the Instructors: Christopher Callahan is associate dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and senior editor of the College’s monthly magazine, American Journalism Review. A graduate of Boston University's School of Public Communication and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, he was a reporter and editor for The Associated Press in Washington before joining the College in 1990. At the College, he directs the master's program, the adjunct faculty, UMTV and Capital News Service in addition to teaching JOUR100. He specializes in political and governmental reporting, uses of the Internet for journalists, investigative reporting, online journalism, ethics and diversity issues in the newsroom. Callahan is author of A Journalist's Guide to the Internet, published by Allyn and Bacon and now in its second edition.

office: 2102 Journalism
e-mail: ccallahan@jmail.umd.edu
office phone: x52432
home phone: 703.759.7515

office: 2107 Journalism
e-mail: kmcadams@jmail.umd.edu
office phone: x52796

office: 1117 Journalism
e-mail: nmoalem@jmail.umd.edu
office phone: x52399

Academic Integrity: Along with certain rights, students also have the responsibility to behave honorably in an academic environment. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Adhering to a high ethical standard is of special importance in the world of journalism, where reliability and credibility are the cornerstones of the field. Therefore, the college has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy on academic dishonesty. Any abridgment of the university’s Code of Academic Integrity in a College of Journalism course will be referred directly to the dean. The dean will send all confirmed cases to the university's Office of Judicial Affairs with a recommendation of expulsion from the university for any violation of the code. To insure this is understood, all students will be required to sign an academic integrity pledge at the beginning of the semester that will cover all assignments in the course.

Students With Disabilities: Students with a specific disability (permanent or temporary, physical or learning) needing special accommodation during the semester should make an appointment to meet with the instructor.

Session 1: Sept. 2