Equipment
You will be responsible for a very high-quality Nikon digital SLR camera in addition to a Canon video camera and digital voice recorders all provided by PSJ for your use. The D70 and Canon ZR 960 camcorder are durable products assuming you keep the cameras dry and safe from bumps or drops. We will take care of normal maintenance if the camera breaks; however, you will be responsible for theft or damages caused by negligence. Treat the cameras and recorder as if they were your own.
Speaking of your own equipment, it’s okay to use your own digital audio recorder as long as it saves files in WAV, WMA or MP3 format. The recorder must have a MIC jack. It must also be capable of uploading files to a computer via USB. (The Olympus VN-5200 is one suitable model you can buy for about $50. You may also use your own digital still camera or as long as it meets the following requirements:
a. 7 megapixels or better
b. Image stabilization (essential)
c. Video at 640 x 480 at 30 fps (absolutely essential); video must include
audio and ideally an external jack for headphones.
d. 3x optical zoom or better
e. 2 GB (gigabyte) high-speed SD card or larger
f. USB 2 output
For a more detailed list (plus product reviews) of equipment that fits the requirements while giving you important hardware beyond the scope of this course, see this list from IUPUI. You may also find this review from the N.Y. Times helpful if you are in the market for a good camera but only have a few hundred dollars to spend.
In addition to the camera and case, you will be responsible for a compact or “flash” card and a battery charger. Finally, you will be using an Olympus digital voice recorder for part of the semester. All of these items will be your responsibility as outlined in the “PSJ Borrowing Contract.pdf” that you must sign. Please read it carefully.
Finally, you will need to add the following items to the equipment provided to you by the PSJ:
1. USB thumb drive (2 GB or more) for storage apart from your “G” drive.
2. Blank CDs (I prefer CDs because different DVD standards do not always
work in every computer).
3. Headphones or earbuds. Earbuds will be provided to you with your audio
recorder; however, feel free to upgrade.
4. Laptop computer. The Mac lab (Shirk 103) is available to you parts of
each day after class until 11 p.m. Check the schedule posted on the
classroom door. You may also use PCs in Shirk 101, or Macs at the
learning center at the library. Better still, I encourage you to use your own
laptop.
Syllabus Home Page
This course prepares students to work as a journalist in today’s newsroom or public relations agency where the online and digital platforms are at least as important as the traditional print or broadcast platforms. This is not a Web design course; however, students will be expected to establish and maintain a weekly blog. You can find out more about blogging on the “Required Work” page.
The course is worth 3 credits. However, you can expect to do about four or five hours of work outside the class per week.
What’s your outlook on journalism? Consider this: Resolutions for journalism students, Part 1: Become invaluable. Also read, “Why Does Anyone Major in Journalism.” These stories are reminders to us all that traditional journalism is changing rapidly (See Colin Mulvany’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” and the skills you master as a college student correlate directly with the kind of job you will qualify for one day.
