The Ten Commandments of Broadcast Journalism

The Ten Commandments of Broadcast Journalism.

1. Thou shalt not come to class unprepared. Do you need your script? Did you make sure the person you need to interview is available today? If you checked out a camera yesterday, did you bring it with you today? Whatever it is that you need, you must bring it to class with you. I will NOT accept “We don’t have it today” as an excuse.
2. Thou shalt begin working at 7:40 and stop working at 9:10. Your daily grade is based upon the amount of work you do. If you work on broadcast projects and assignments for the entire class period all six weeks, then you will earn full credit. If not, then you won't.
3. Thou shalt stay on-task and find things to do. There should never be “down time” — don’t work on assignments for other classes, browse the internet, watch YouTube, play with PhotoBooth, and so on. If for some reason you cannot work on your primary assignment, then begin planning for your next assignment. For example, if you had planned to interview the principal and he is absent, then interview someone else, or work on your script, or begin planning out your next story. Have many things cooking on the stove. If I see you off-task then it is likely you will get a zero for the day.
4. Thou shalt return equipment on time. Failing to return your equipment on the scheduled return date is not only tremendously inconvenient for all of the other broadcast students, it also negatively impacts your grade. You will lose points for every day that your equipment is late.
5. Thou shalt turn off equipment when you return it. Cameras will not charge if you leave them on while plugged in. Likewise, the batteries in the voice recorders will run down very quickly if you leave them turned on.
6. Thou shalt not let other people use thy equipment. Since you are responsible for the equipment you check out, do not let other people handle it — remember, no matter who breaks it, the person who checked it out is responsible for it, and repair/replacement can be expensive.
7. Thou shalt leave the lab and edit suites better than you found them. Do not leave your homework assignments or any other litter/debris around the computers. If you move chairs, move them back where you found them at the end of class. Do not eat or drink around the machines.
8. Thou shalt not slap together a bunch of opinions and call it a news story. News stories have actual reporting, not just the opinions of a bunch of your friends you interviewed in the hallway. Report facts, not opinions (including yours).
9. Thou shalt finish and show your stories before the due date. So many people turn in stories with easily fixed technical problems and end up getting poor grades as a result. Don’t let this happen to you: Plan to finish your story before the deadline and show it to me or the executive producers far enough in advance that you can fix any problems that we discover.
10. Thou shalt not bear false witness on the sign-out board. Write your name, destination (as specific as possible), and the time you left, and then erase thy name when you return.