Convergence Journalism Illustrated through Course Web site

Paula Childs
Journalist-in-Residence
Journalism

The convergence of broadcast, print and web formats is at the heart of Paula Child's course, JR102 The Newsgathering Process, so each of these media forms was integrated into her course Web site.

Childs worked with the Instructional Technology Group to develop a series of weekly video news tips that reinforced important journalistic skills and concepts. The videos drew upon Emerson's extensive resources: Childs wrote the script, Casey Quinn in the journalism department managed the taping, and journalism student Ashley Porter served as the anchor. All of the videos were recorded in a short one-hour session and the resulting material was then transitioned into Web-ready content by the Instructional Technology Group. It was a joint effort that yielded an educational tool that draws upon the convergence skills used by professional journalists.

The structure of the JR102 course site meshes course material, such as the syllabus and student biographies, with an active discussion board where news stories and issues are discussed at length (read more about Childs' discussion board strategies). In addition, an extensive list of links to news organizations and associations is managed through the course site's Web Links tool.

Carefully chosen visuals representing core aspects of the journalism industry are posted throughout the site. For example, the site's "Covering the News" subsection (see image, below) shows journalists interviewing sources, covering government issues, and being on-scene for breaking news.

For help adding video and other multimedia elements into your course site, please contact the Instructional Technology Group at x8961.

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