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JO807 Spring ‘01 SEMESTER PROJECT |
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By the end of the semester, you will deliver to me and present to the
class a major story on one of the topics below. It is certainly possible, and welcome, for you to submit your
work before the deadline. Your project objectives: § A topic of state, national or
international scope and interest § A topic that requires
development of a traditional and digital research strategy and appropriately formatted
annotated bibliography (MLA or APA style) § A topic that requires some form
of quantitative data analysis and reporting § If of sufficient quality, your
work here may be published on the internet and/or in local papers. Your topic will either be related to: §
Some topic of your choosing that meets the above
objectives. Discuss your ideas with
me early in the process. · Any
aspect of Congressional reapportionment resulting from the U.S. 2000
Census as it effects Massachusetts, or §
Any aspect related to contributions to presidential campaigns
as they pertain to Massachusetts, or The final work product will
include: §
A ready-for-publication article (approx. 1,500-word plus appropriate
sidebars and graphics) §
A 15-minute presentation with appropriate graphics (e.g. Powerpoint,
overhead transparencies, writing on the whiteboard, marching
bands, etc.) to the class describing your research strategy and
experience, your methods of analysis and the nut graf of your story (Don’t
worry, I’ll explain nut graf.) §
A memo (500-1k words) to your editor on ”What I’ve learned” on this
story (about yourself; about
journalism; what worked for you; what would you do differently with similar
assignments and a list, however short, of where you’re going to try and sell
the story package) §
Annotated bibliography of all sources, i.e. interviews, archival and
data sites. The idea here is that
you, or any colleague, will be able to replicate your research, reporting and
analysis. §
Anything that you choose to do that adds to the series in terms of
suggested graphics, maps, dynamic databases, etc. will certainly be welcomed. § Hot Tip:
Done well, this project will be a prominent entry in your job-hunting
portfolio. PROJECT CALENDAR: § Due at the
beginning of class Tuesday Feb. 6: Project
proposal memo § You will
need to do appropriate research to determine that you actually have a
manageable story. (The final product
will no doubt be somewhat different, but don’t worry that. It’s the unanticipated findings by a
reporter that makes for exciting news.) § Your
memo should describe: § The major issue(s) the story
will focus on § Sources (Ink-on-paper; digital;
web-based; agencies and individuals to be interviewed) § Your timeline
(or GANTT chart) for
the project, i.e. calendar dates for each phase of research, reporting,
analysis, writing and packaging the stories [If you’re not familiar with
timeline tools, see http://www.kidasa.com] § I will give these memos a quick lookover
and consult if appropriate. § Due Tuesday, Feb.
27 § This
should be fairly close to your final bibliography § The
annotations should explain everything from the pros and cons of a source to
where it can be found. § If you
cite web sources, make sure that you have used a program like iHarvest or SurfSaver (for
Windows. For Macs, see WebWacker ) to save the complete web page and
multiple levels. What’s on a web site
today may literally not be there tomorrow.
At the least, be sure to save the pages of web-based data you find
using some indexing system so you can find the correct page on your HD. §
Due Tuesday May 1
Preliminary Sources: To get you started, here are some sources to take a look at to help
you pick, and then narrow, your topic.
We will be talking about many of these in class early in the semester. Census/apportionment story § U. S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/ § Census Records –
Massachusetts § "Republicans Keep
Pressing Census Bureau" http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/083000census-repubs.html § What Geospatial Pros Need
to Know [about Census 2000]" http://www.geospatial-online.com/0700/0700census.html § Intro to Census 2000 Data
Products http://www.census.gov/mso/www/prodprof/census2000.pdf § Secretary of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Public Records Division § Doig, Steve
"Reporting Census 2000" http://cronkite.pp.asu.edu/census/ § ESRI Virtual Campus:
Browsing Getting Started with Census Data (Click on “Virtual Campus” button on left
menu list. Drill down. ) http://campus.esri.com/ § ESRI Virtual Campus: Introducing the U. S.
Census (Go to ESRI site. Click on “Virtual Campus” button on left
menu list. Drill down. ) http://campus.esri.com/ § University of Michigan
"Census Mapping with a GIS Tutorial" Presidential Campaign Contributions § FECinfo http://www.fecinfo.com/ § Federal Election
Commission
http://www.fec.gov/ § American University
Campaign Finance Website http://www1.soc.american.edu/campfin/ § Opensecrets.org http://www.opensecrets.org/home/index.asp
§ Makinson, Larry. "Geography
of Fundraising" http://www.opensecrets.org/newsletter/ce71/02geog.asp § "Public Agenda
Online: Public Opinion and Public Policy" http://www.publicagenda.org/ § Issue Guide on Campaign
Finance http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/frontdoor.cfm?issue_type=campaign_finance |
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Copyright
2001 J. T. Johnson |