WEEK 4

Hello everyone. As you are all aware, we returned from the New York College Media Association early due to the coronavirus and the city of NY shutting down. Students returned early and I arrived to a notification that our courses would be going online and that classes were cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday of that week. My intent was to have us online by Monday, March 23, and then a new notification alerted us that classes would be cancelled until March 30.

With that said, we will begin our online classes on March 30. We are not allowed to assign any work until that time. Please make sure you are on Slack and that you are keeping up with notifications. We will be a couple of weeks behind, but I promise to make this transition as simple as possible.

Be sure that you are also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so that we have all lines of communication open. I am available by text, email, and Slack.

You will receive instructions to how this course will work by next week. Please stay calm and be safe.

WEEK 3

LAST WEEK:

We talked about preserving your online reputation and you were given a presentation about responsible posting to social media and the internet.

You had your press pass photos taken, or you sent a headshot. You set up your Twitter, IG, Facebook, and Medium accounts, and you downloaded the free Slack app which you will be invited to our channel.

THIS WEEK

You will be introduced to the Inverted Pyramid Style of Writing. We will discuss using Twitter to report on @SaconScene using hashtags.

We will research the demographics of the local cities, and of the Mt. SAC student body.

You will begin tweeting.

YOU MUST be reading a daily news site and be up-to-date on what's happening locally, in the nation and in the world. You also must read SAC.Media and be prepared to discuss the top stories on the homepage.

READ THIS STORY BY TUESDAY
http://www.sac.media/2020/02/28/volleyball-coach-fights-for-her-job/

Check Slack daily.

REMINDER:  NEWSROOM IS CLOSED AND CLASSES ARE CANCELLED ON THURSDAY. MARCH 12 (Unless the conference is cancelled due to Coronavirus. As of now, it's a go but I will keep everyone notified)

WEEK 2

Hey everyone! It was great meeting all of you and hearing about your majors and job goals. We introduced ourselves and talked about the course. 

This coming week, everyone will set up their Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Medium accounts (if you don't already have these). You should also have downloaded SLACK, a free app for both iPhone and Androids. I will send you an invite to our channel as soon as you have your account set up this week. 

Photos will be taken for press passes on Tuesday, and you gave us your contact info and Twitter handle.  You will also follow all the social media listed on your syllabus.

We will have a tutorial on how to use Twitter for journalistic purposes, how to use Slack, and a presentation on preserving your online reputation.

You should have your textbooks. Read chapters 1 and 2.  *Bring your textbook and AP stylebook to class with you each week.

*The textbook can be purchased at the Mt. SAC bookstore, on Amazon, or rented via Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1506344747/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

AP Stylebooks are also on sale at the Mt. SAC bookstore or on Amazon. You cannot get through this class without your AP Stylebook:  https://www.amazon.com/Associated-Press-Stylebook-2019-Briefing/dp/1541699890/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3rn2v86r5AIVF6rsCh1nhA_dEAAYASAAEgJYP_D_BwE&hvadid=323159444365&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1014392&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=15511078382330233309&hvtargid=kwd-608890780475&hydadcr=8456_10382405&keywords=2019+ap+stylebook&qid=1567203274&s=gateway&sr=8-1

*If you are strapped for cash and cannot afford to purchase the book, see me in private on Tuesday.

You also need to be reading a reputable news source daily. See me for recommendations if you are not already reading one. You will be given periodic news quizzes without notice. Always come to class prepared and knowing what's going on in the world around you.

See you on Tuesday!

 It is important that you arrive to class on time!! See you on Tuesday.

Week 1 - Hello!

Hello everyone!  I'm Toni Albertson and I am a former rock journalist, music reporter, magazine publisher, columnist, feature writer and music and media publicist. I am currently the full time professor of journalism and adviser of student media at Mt. SAC and am also a board member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the California College Media Association. and a freelance writer for various publications such as The Modern Journalist, and my own sites, medium.com/@tonialbertson and Banjo's Daughters, and tonialbertson.com

I've lived a crazy life in the music/media/Public Relations biz and hope that I can get you as excited about the field as I am.

Contrary to what many have said about journalism, it is an exciting time to be in the field. However, to succeed, we all need to adapt to the constant changes which may sometimes seem like things are changing faster than you can say "Kim Kardashian."

You are also entering a time when the press is under attack. We will be looking at the news and discussing innovative ways to inform our campus audience.

*And if you haven't gotten your textbook yet, it is Dynamics of News Reporting and Writing: Foundational Skills for a Digital Age by Vincent Filak.  It can be purchased at the bookstore or online, or rented on Amazon.

You will also need a current AP Stylebook.  You cannot pass this class without this book. It is the Bible for all journalists. The bookstore has them in stock, or you can purchase one online.

You will also need to read a news site of your choice daily. It must be a reputable news site like the NY Times or Washington Post, but I'm also okay with something you enjoy that offers unbiased factual news. See me to approve your choice of site. You also must read our student news site, SAC.Media, daily

 I hope you will tell me what you'd like to get out of this class so I can include these things in the semester. If you've got some new site that you check for news, updates, etc., or a new app I may not know about, please show and tell!

During the first week, we will be discussing the state of media today  - traditional vs. new media - and where we are headed. We'll also discuss what all this means to you.

We will also discuss the evolution from print to digital, and I will present our student media. We will discuss the semester, what is expected of you, and introduce each other.

You should read Chapter 1 and 2 in your textbooks by week 2 and be prepared to discuss.

NEWSROOM IS CLOSED ON THURSDAY, FEB. 27. I am attending the ACP journalism conference in San Francisco with 10 of our editors.

IMPORTANT: Always check this website for changes in the weekly schedule, updates, notifications for the next week, homework, and a recap of the week prior.

Our student media is on the cutting edge of so many things awesome and the media has picked this up and written quite a bit about us. Please check out the links below and prepare to discuss this week.

What we did:

https://medium.com/substance/the-experiment-be947b2ba13e

Press:

http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/05/what-happened-when-a-college-newspaper-abandoned-its-website-for-medium-and-twitter/

https://www.collegemediamatters.com/2014/09/16/college-newspaper-drops-print-first-to-operate-primarily-on-publishing-platform-medium/

http://ajr.org/2014/10/06/college-paper-tries-new-medium/

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/12/college-media-year-in-review-2014-the-future-of-the-future/

SYLLABUS
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YbIZ-P-NwNa0_oKe0DtJnPWTrd5qRKICHvyZUqJyxTc/edit?usp=sharing