Students will register for a minimum of 12 credits.
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This course fulfills the Newhouse diversity requirement. PREREQ: COM 107
******************************************************************************COM 415 Digital Nation ******
COM 350 Topics in Media, Diversity, and Inclusion: Broadway Theater (3 cr.)
Digital Nation is the perfect entry point into the industry at a unique time in history. Every media company is being forced to reimagine and reinvent to become factories of video content. Television, while once the most lucrative platform in the ecosystem, is now in competition for ad dollars and has been morphed by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Content creation, ideation and distribution is happening everywhere with no barrier for entry. Digital Nation will explore where this leaves the once lucrative print industry. Are public relations firms a dying breed? How do brands get their message out? And most importantly how and where are the ad dollars coming from? Through the span of one semester, we will learn how and why original digital content now rules the day; what are the new rules of engagement. We’ll explore what is relevant every week, meet top creators working in the industry, and you will take part in the ultimate role-playing exercise. Digital Nation will cover:
- Digital and social business models
- How to monetize content
- How have traditional sectors of the industry have transformed, and who is left behind
- Branded content
- Short form vs. long form content
- How to pitch, ideate and sell an idea
- Each platform is different: Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter- once size does NOT fit all
- Audience targeting
- The job markets
HOW THE COURSE WORKS: Teams will be chosen and broken down into the following categories:
CREATORS: You are a content maker, an idea person. You love the creative, the ideation, the story telling. You are obsessed with content everywhere, from YouTube to traditional television. You love every genre, non-scripted, scripted, comedy, drama, and reality. Your goal is to come up with incredible content for your magazine brand, your advertising client, or your new PR initiative. It’s about cutting- edge ideas that you think will scale and sell to a distributor.
OPTIMIZERS: You have an idea, and now it’s time to figure out how you can make money. How do you take that content and figure out it can best drive views, or how to integrate an advertiser or how to get millions of people to share it? The optimizer is to find the most creative ways to scale incredible content. Maybe it’s a deal with a broadcast network, or the power of a partnership with a major film company.
DISTRIBUTORS: You are an executive at Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. You know you have millions of people engaging every hour, but what kind of content do you think will bring more people to your platform? Is it a new series? Is it celebrity driven? You’re going to make deals with the content creators and the optimizers and then release this incredible content, but it’s up to you what you think will work.
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Introduction of fundamental issues surrounding diversity, inclusion, and equity in media as approached through the lens of musical theatre, specifically within the Broadway industry. Offered in the summer only.
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COM 415 Digital Nation (3 cr.)
Digital Nation is the perfect entry point into the industry at a unique time in history. Every media company is being forced to reimagine and reinvent to become factories of video content. Television, while once the most lucrative platform in the ecosystem, is now in competition for ad dollars and has been morphed by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Content creation, ideation and distribution is happening everywhere with no barrier for entry. Digital Nation will explore where this leaves the once lucrative print industry. Are public relations firms a dying breed? How do brands get their message out? And most importantly how and where are the ad dollars coming from? Through the span of one semester, we will learn how and why original digital content now rules the day; what are the new rules of engagement. We’ll explore what is relevant every week, meet top creators working in the industry, and you will take part in the ultimate role-playing exercise. Digital Nation will cover:
- Digital and social business models
- How to monetize content
- How have traditional sectors of the industry have transformed, and who is left behind
- Branded content
- Short form vs. long form content
- How to pitch, ideate and sell an idea
- Each platform is different: Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter- once size does NOT fit all
- Audience targeting
- The job markets
HOW THE COURSE WORKS: Teams will be chosen and broken down into the following categories:
CREATORS: You are a content maker, an idea person. You love the creative, the ideation, the story telling. You are obsessed with content everywhere, from YouTube to traditional television. You love every genre, non-scripted, scripted, comedy, drama, and reality. Your goal is to come up with incredible content for your magazine brand, your advertising client, or your new PR initiative. It’s about cutting- edge ideas that you think will scale and sell to a distributor.
OPTIMIZERS: You have an idea, and now it’s time to figure out how you can make money. How do you take that content and figure out it can best drive views, or how to integrate an advertiser or how to get millions of people to share it? The optimizer is to find the most creative ways to scale incredible content. Maybe it’s a deal with a broadcast network, or the power of a partnership with a major film company.
DISTRIBUTORS: You are an executive at Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. You know you have millions of people engaging every hour, but what kind of content do you think will bring more people to your platform? Is it a new series? Is it celebrity driven? You’re going to make deals with the content creators and the optimizers and then release this incredible content, but it’s up to you what you think will work.
**********************************************COM 425 Social Platforms, Processes, & Perspectives (3 **************************************
COM 425 Social Platforms, Processes, & Perspectives (3 cr.)
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Supplemental (Not required): Dealmaking in the Film & Television Industry. 4th Edition (Mark Litwak)
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JNL 400 Reporting and Storytelling for Digital Brands (3 cr.)
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JNL 500 Red Carpet Reporting (1 cr.)
Often considered one of the most glamorous jobs in the world, the red carpet is an intensely engineered affair. This class will teach you the essential skills for writing effective, engaging entertainment journalism, including interviewing tips and techniques, gathering sources, verifying facts, attributing quotes, crafting story ideas, pitching, and marketing content on social media platforms. Offered in the summer only. ****************************
JNL 500 Red Carpet Reporting (1 cr.)
Often considered one of the most glamorous jobs in the world, the red carpet is an intensely engineered affair. This class will teach you the essential skills for writing effective, engaging entertainment journalism, including interviewing tips and techniques, gathering sources, verifying facts, attributing quotes, crafting story ideas, pitching, and marketing content on social media platforms. Offered in the summer only.
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MND 400 Pitching 101: Craft, Frame & Get Paid (3 cr.)
Over this 15-week course, you will learn how to pitch across various disciplines including news articles, podcasts, personal essays, photographs and more. The course will help you identify what elements are needed to tell a good story, and how, in an evolving digital landscape, to determine the best way to tell it. The course will also address the economic aspects of freelancing, giving you financial literacy resources that are needed when setting up contracts and payment. At the end of the class, you will have at least five ideas that you will be able to pitch to various publications, as well as a proficiency in pitching.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this class, you’ll learn to:
- Understand how to pitch, as well as provide and receive feedback for others’ pitches
- Submit analysis on publications, sections, columns, podcasts, and other forms of media to pitch to
- Optimize pitches for different mediums and across journalistic disciplines
- Characterize the difference between a topic and a story pitch
- Develop an ongoing list of story ideas
- Identify how to pre-report a pitch
BIBLIOGRAPHY/TEXTS/SUPPLIES—Required:
New York Times subscription
“The Byline Bible” by Susan Shapiro
Subscribe to Abbie Lee Hood’s newsletter
Follow Successful Pitches on Twitter
Subscribe to the Freelancing with Tim newsletter
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MND 400 Pitching 101: Craft, Frame & Get Paid (3 cr.)
Over this 15-week course, you will learn how to pitch across various disciplines including news articles, podcasts, personal essays, photographs and more. The course will help you identify what elements are needed to tell a good story, and how, in an evolving digital landscape, to determine the best way to tell it. The course will also address the economic aspects of freelancing, giving you financial literacy resources that are needed when setting up contracts and payment. At the end of the class, you will have at least five ideas that you will be able to pitch to various publications, as well as a proficiency in pitching.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this class, you’ll learn to:
- Understand how to pitch, as well as provide and receive feedback for others’ pitches
- Submit analysis on publications, sections, columns, podcasts, and other forms of media to pitch to
- Optimize pitches for different mediums and across journalistic disciplines
- Characterize the difference between a topic and a story pitch
- Develop an ongoing list of story ideas
- Identify how to pre-report a pitch
BIBLIOGRAPHY/TEXTS/SUPPLIES—Required:
New York Times subscription
“The Byline Bible” by Susan Shapiro
Subscribe to Abbie Lee Hood’s newsletter
Follow Successful Pitches on Twitter
Subscribe to the Freelancing with Tim newsletter
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SMC 500 Sports Betting & Media (1 cr.)
This course will dive into the media coverage of sports betting. With the rise in online gambling sites, networks are learning to interpret laws, regulations and integrity issues attached to the discussion and analysis of wagering on sporting events. How do we uphold journalistic integrity and ethics as we report on the $76 Billion legalized sports gambling market. This course will examine the intersection of gambling and sports media, fan engagement, sponsorships and the importance of integrity and compliance. Offered in the summer only.
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TRF 450 Film & TV Production: Craft & Culture (3 cr.)
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