Our goal: Develop skills in gathering information to write a fully formed informative piece supported by multimedia elements.
Your task: Complete a series of individual steps that will bring you to the goal of developing a single story and companion multimedia on a topic of your choice.
Specifics:
- generate an idea about a story you want to tell — one that’s somehow related to the UW campus community — and pitch your story idea
- you may choose an issue-based story (such as the example that follows) or a personality profile, where you paint a compelling portrait of a person (not a mere history or biography of a life)
- submit a proposed source list, including previously published pieces, documentary sources and interview subjects
- gather information from documentary sources and supply a “listicle” of compelling items
- interview one of your subjects, write a one- to two-page story from that interview only and submit your interview notes
- complete remaining interviews, and research and submit a draft of a three-page story weaving together documentary and interview sources
- create and submit multimedia companions to your story
- revise completed pieces based on graded feedback
- create a website for the final version of your story and multimedia companions
- produce a package of stories that are fact-based — meaning they are not opinion pieces — keeping in mind that the goal is to inform, not persuade
Deadlines: All segments are due at the start of lecture in the week listed unless otherwise noted
- Week 3: Story pitch (enter your idea in one sentence using the IS pitch form) and revise pitch if required to meet with the instructor or Lead TA
- Week 4: Source list
- Week 5: Listicle
- Week 7: Story from first interview (1.5 pages) submitted with full set of notes
- Week 8: Five original photos, magazine layout and your draft of the main story is due Friday, March 13 at 11:59 p.m.
- Week 10: Two alternative story forms, full audio story
- Week 11: Social promotion package, final main story and final site
Grade: This assignment is Segment C in your final grade. Each assignment has specific elements, such as citations or lists of story angles and communication values. Stories submitted without source lists will result in a deduction of 20 points.
The grades will be weighted:
1. Pitch and source list (ungraded but required)
2. The lowest of the following is dropped and the remainder combine for 50 percent of final IS project grade:
- Documentary source listicle
- Interview story
- Original photos
- Magazine layout
- Audio story
- Alternative story forms (2)
- Social promotion package
3. None of the following are dropped and combine for 50% of final IS project grade
- Story draft
- Final story
- Final website
Extra Help: