In-class writing on Oct. 27th

You will receive a handout with initial filing of two parents against a school system. The system has not yet responded.

You should assume the case was filed in Oct. 27th and your 6-8 paragraph story will run on the 28th.

The story is due at the end of class and should be put in Manning Pynn’s mailbox. If the mailroom isn’t open, just ask someone at the front desk.

Manning has now taken over the class as I am on leave effective immediately. He is aware of the pitches that have been approved at denied. His email is mpynn@earthlink.net

I will be evaluating grades at the end of the semester and will be teaching PAR again in the spring.

Covering civil courts

Here is an article about civil courts with some good definitions.

Here is a link about Small Claims Courts in Florida.

Midterm reminder

Just a reminder that the midterm is today, October 15th. Good luck! There are no rescheduled exams.

On a positive note, you have a little more time before your next beat story is due.

Timelines

I recommend Dipity for making timelines. It's free and rather easy to learn. Here is a link.

Final PAR project

Final Reporting & Multi-Media Project (including multi-media)

(1) Report and write a final beat story from your community. You may use any of the P.A.R. areas: city government, schools, police, courts or budget. Your story must have at least three sources and be 600-700 words.

(2) In addition to your print story, include at least two additional story-telling elements: pictures, poll, graph, audio/video, a map, or a timeline. We will go over several of these elements in class; tutorials are also available. These additional elements should add to the storytelling and be handed in through a blog that we will developed in class. You will be evaluated on how well multi-media added to the storytelling.

Deadline: Dec. 3rd in class at the conclusion of the presentation.

An example of previous P.A.R. multi-media projects will be available through the class website.

Mapping

Maps obviously work well for stories where location is important. We went over the basics of Google maps in class. Here is a link to an overview of Google maps. Here is more help for Google maps.

Here is a link to a crime map from the Baltimore Sun.

Here is a link to a crime map from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

More Florida Criminal Justice resources

Here is a link to the Florida Association of Medical Examiners.

Here is a link to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Midterm Review

MIDTERM REVIEW
Please review readings, class handouts and lecture notes about the following topics presented in class. Remember that the PowerPoint presentations and other entries with the exact terms are on this website (http://ucfpar09.blogspot.com/), as well as references to Florida-specific concepts. The assigned readings (chapters are on the syllabus) include additional terms and PAR examples. About half of the exam is drawn from readings and half from class lectures. There will be multiple-choice and fill in the blank questions. Go over the following example questions:

• Basics of journalism and the governmental process: Which positions are appointed and which are elected? How is local government/education funded? What is the chain of command? How does one develop a neighborhood approach to a PAR beat?
• Basics of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): What is covered? What isn’t covered?
• Open Meeting laws/ Sunshine Laws: What is covered? What isn’t covered?
• Covering meetings terms and concepts: For example, how do you determine the most significant information/action? What information lacks news values?
• Covering education terms: What is Title IX? How do we measure the strength of schools? What is the difference between tenure track and non-tenure track?
• Covering local government terms: Who is in charge of local roads? Who is in charge of stoplights? What are common committees?
• Covering police terms: How are police departments organized? Who is in charge of patrols? What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?
• Covering courts terms: What is the standard of evidence in a civil trial and a criminal trial? Who has the burden of proof in a case? What is the judicial structure in Florida?

Crime coverage review/Ch. 9

Here is Orange County Courts.

Here is Seminole County Courts.

Milwaukee J-S Court Coverage

Here's a strong in-depth look at the Milwaukee Courthouse - with some multi-media.

Court coverage (criminal focus)

Here is the link to PACER. It is explained on page 264.

More police coverage

Police beat & person of interest

To follow up on our discussion from last class, here is an article about the ethical concerns of using the term "person of interest."

Beat story 2 due

Hello. Just a reminder that beat story 2 is due today - turn in something! We have an in-class writing (police) today.