JRNL 120 Final News Feature Assignment
Deadlines:
Beginning of class Friday, April 9: Half-page proposal (including list of sources)
Beginning of class Monday, April 19: Full draft (Draft is worth 10 percent of your final grade.)
Final article (10 percent of final grade) replaces final exam.
Section W01 (9:05-9-55 a.m.): No later than 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 5 (official university exam time) in a designated drop box on the course D2L site.
Section W02 (10:10-11 a.m.): No later than 12:15 p.m. Friday, May 7 (official university exam time) in a designated drop box on the course D2L site.
Final paper may be turned in prior to this deadline.
Your assignment is to write a longer news feature article of your choice for a newspaper, magazine, Internet or public relations publication. A proposal for this article is due Wednesday, April 9. The proposal must include a list of sources you intend to use and an angle or focus for the story. Instructor must approve the proposal.
This assignment must have a “news” hook. That means your topic must be related to an occurrence, situation or trend in the news. Some examples include:
Business/economics: Covid’s effects on any aspect of the economy: small businesses, family incomes, etc.
Politics: What student groups are active on campus. What do they do? What are their goals? Aftermath of presidential election.
Environmental stories: Stories about water safety, recycling, going green, climate change.
Exercise and health: Trends in exercise and health
Business and community: Human interest stories about people or businesses in the community.
Sports: Profile of an athlete or coach.
Fashion/lifestyle: Trends in fashion/decorating, etc.
These are just some examples. You can focus your news feature on a topic in your concentration – Online advertising and its advocates, changes in advertising platforms; changes or cutbacks in the broadcasting industry; economic effects on nonprofits or fewer dollars for PR campaigns, political advertising, technology, gaming, crime trends, etc.
Other guidelines:
Length: 600-800 words
Sources: Five or more – three must be human/primary. You must interview/talk to these three.
Note: Three quotes from two different students/people interspersed into information obtained from Web sites or other publications do not meet this requirement. Look for credible sources that provide information or support information in your article.