Suggested Age

12 and up

Prerequisites

Students should have some previous writing instruction.

Purpose/Process

The focus of this class will be on journalistic writing, but students also will be instructed on the various branches of the news media and the differing elements of each branch. This will include:

• • Reporting
• • Interviewing
• • Article writing (newspaper, magazine, online, newsletter)
• • History of journalism and Christian ethics in journalism
• • Analyzing and tracking current news topics
• • Editing and proofing
• • Copy writing (television, radio)
• • Photography as it relates to journalism: print and video, with emphasis on content and what constitutes good visual coverage of a story
• • Editorial management
• • Opinion and editorial writing
• • Overview of newspaper, magazine, newsletter, television news, and radio news production and the online news world

Students will write for the One Day Monthly, One Day Academy’s regular newsletter. Reporting, writing, and possibly photography are assigned as homework, with weekly progress and drafts graded for effort, writing quality, and timeliness. This class is considered an introduction to publishing and other media, so students will learn the importance of meeting deadlines and how to produce a newsletter from start to finish in a timely manner.

Curriculum

Telling the Truth, by Marvin Olasky (online publication):

http://www.worldmag.com/world/olasky/truth1.html