Reporting Class Practices Interviewing a Cooperative Passerby

Good job, class. You did ask Pat how much he made and by throwing out a high but still plausible figure -- I believe you suggested 100K -- he did answer the question. But since Patrick was doing this as an act of friendship, I cut his answer from the video.

If this had been a real interview, I certainly would have included his answer. Already we see a problem you will face as a student journalist. Your sources may think you are playing at being a journalist and that you won't use what they tell you. You need to make clear upfront that our assignments are not just class exercises and could find their way into print or online.

But even if you do that, since you are seen as a peer or even a friend, your sources may come to you after an interview and ask that some comment not be used. And when that happens, you will have an ethical problem, and we will have a nice class discussion.

By the way, it took me about 50 minutes to edit this little slice of life into rough shape. To get something more than blogworthy would have taken more interviewing time and more editing time -- and before I began I would have been better off consulting with someone who knows how to do this kind of thing right.

But even rough product is better than no product at all.

Your Blogging Responsibilities

Journalism I/F2009:
Your Blogging Responsibilities

Basic principle: Fulfill the basic blogging requirements and you get credit; that is, your grade will not be lowered. Blog well and you get extra credit.

1. Your own blog. You will create a personal blog to which I will link at our class blog. The minimum requirement is that over the rest of the semester you post there once every two weeks -- seven posts during the semester -- on any aspect of your growth as a journalist that interests you. Your post might be a reaction to a news item that you read in the textbook or in a newspaper or magazine or the Internet or something you hear or see on a news broadcast. You might write about something that is said in class or respond to something that happens while researching, reporting or writing a story. I am not looking for polished essay writing, though the better your entries are written the better I will like it. I am looking for quick hits, what you are thinking at the moment about journalism.

2. The blogs of your classmates. In addition to your posting once every two weeks on your own blog, you are also required to comment on the posts of classmates once a week. These posts can be short, a sentence or two in length.

3. The USF alumni blog. Any posting on these blogs will be considered extra credit.


If you have trouble setting up your blog, stay after class or make an appointment with me as soon as possible, so I can help you set up your blog.

Our Class Blog -- http://bloggnu.blogspot.com/


The USF Journalism and Media Studies Blog -- http://oliversmojo.blogspot.com/


The Ethics Class Blog -- http://bloggnu1230.blogspot.com/


How to set up a blog at blogger.com –
http://weblogs.about.com/cs/blogcreatetools/ht/blogger.htm