J202 Fall 2009
Thanks and Flu Update
I appreciated meeting all of you. Based on your energy, humor and smarts, I predict this is going to be a successful and memorable semester. You've gotten us off to a great start.
To get your week's worth of work, use the navigation at left to get to:
- weekly materials
- reading assignments
- reserve readings via UW Libraries
- lecture notes
We are set with a plan for response to any H1N1 outbreak. Please visit our flu page and read it in full asap. Then you can revisit should anything occur later in the semester.
I'll see you live Sept. 14 and you'll hear me via podcast for our Week 3 lecture in between. The lecture covers an assignment, so be sure to watch before Week 2, Lab 2. The lecture is on our 202 podcast, so subscribe via Learn@UW if you haven't already.
Welcome to our class
The J202 TAs and I would like to congratulate you on your admission to the J-School. You succeeded in getting into one of the toughest and best mass comm programs in the country. Now for the real work!
We'll do our best to guide you through all the challenges this course brings. You'll find yourself pedaling fast, but think of us on the back seat of the tandem, helping you climb when the hills feel insurmountable.
Enter your information
Please visit our student information survey to tell us more about you. Be sure to complete this by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Schedule worry and woe
The calendar has dealt us a big blow this year. Because the J202 lecture and two of our labs meet on Mondays, we get thoroughly messed up when the school year starts midstream as it does this fall. Here's what we're going to do to get rolling without losing anything:
- All labs will meet for two hours on their scheduled Lab 2 day in the first week of classes. M/W comes Wednesday, T/R comes Thursday and W/F comes Friday (but not Wednesday).
- We are staggering the start times for these two-hour sessions, so follow this schedule:
- Lab 301: 1 p.m., 2120 Vilas
- Lab 302: 2 p.m., 2122 Vilas
- Lab 303: 9 a.m., 2120 Vilas
- Lab 304: 9:30 a.m., 2122 Vilas
- Lab 305: 12 p.m., 2120 Vilas
- Lab 306: 3 p.m. 2120 Vilas
- Lab 307: 9 a.m. 2102 Vilas
- All labs will meet only for their scheduled Lab 2 day in the second week of classes. No staggered starts here, so show up for your regular time and plan to stay the full three hours
- before coming to Week 1, Lab 2, view this online video introducing you to the class and giving you some beginning assignments
- before coming to Week 2, Lab 2, view the online video covering lecture material and a required assignment (note: you will discuss this assignment in Week 2, Lab 2)
- at the end of Week 2, Lab 2, heave a sigh of sweet relief, as we get back to our normal schedule of Lecture/Lab/Lab and all-around J202 joy.
General description
This course is designed to lay a foundation for students and give them the beginnings of a toolkit of conceptual and practical skills in mass communication. We strive to develop a range of skills that includes research, writing, editing and presentation for news and strategic communication in print, audio, video and online. Students learn about both informative and persuasive communication in contexts that cut across the traditional barriers of print journalism, broadcast news, advertising and public relations. Students spend the bulk of their time in this course building writing skills and critical thinking abilities, as those are the two elements common to success in any field. Check out the full syllabus.