COMM 280B: Magazine Production: Intermediate Staff

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Winter 2021
Credits: 3
Total Contact Hours: 90
Lecture Hours : 36
Lab Hours: 54
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 72
Prerequisite: COMM 280A.
Strongly Recommended: COMM 101, ENGL 101 or ENGL 101E.
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Standard Letter

Catalog Course Description

An intermediate lecture/laboratory journalism course that produces the college magazine, Logos, and its website and social media presence. Working in teams, and in collaboration with the other student publications classes, intermediate reporters produce long-form feature story packages that may include a main article, sidebars, photos, charts and graphs, and/or illustrations for publication. 36 lecture hours, 54 lab hours.

Course Objectives

  • Intermediate students hone their skills for producing magazine-length features appropriate for a community college audience, including improving aptitude to verify information gathered and enhancing interviewing techniques for greater efficacy.
  • Intermediate students demonstrate increasing computer and photojournalism skills as they work collaboratively to design and produce a student magazine for print and/or digital delivery, within predetermined deadline.
  • With the goal of continuing improvement, intermediate students critique their own and each other’s work objectively and fairly, employing their advancing AP-style copy-editing skills.

Major Course Content

  1. Organizational structure of the student magazine
    1. Role of faculty advisers, lab supervisors, and student editors
    2. Duties and responsibilities of intermediate staff members
    3. Publication schedule and deadlines for print and online publications as well as social media presence
    4. Procedures and policies:  Student Publications Staff Manual
  2. Story techniques
    1. Interviewing and attribution of multiple authoritative sources
    2. Photo composition and editing techniques
    3. Effective note-taking and selection of quotes/information to include in story
    4. Sound recording and video, including selection of appropriate content for social media posts
  3. Story package planning
    1. Conceiving the story concept
    2. Team building and time management
    3. Photo story essay and cutlines
    4. Effective, collaborative copy editing
    5. Graphic elements and art

Lab Content

  1. Intermediate guided practice for gathering research.
  2. Intermediate guided practice for successfully conducting interviews with sources.
  3. Intermediate guided practice in layout and design.
  4. Intermediate guided practice in photo composition, cropping and caption writing, illustration and infographics.

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Journalistic feature article writing assignments (write a 1,200-word story profiling a significant student, staff member, faculty member, administrator or alumnus/alumna from Citrus College); journalistic still photography (shoot, assemble and publish an online photo gallery of 20 photos with captions containing a variety of imagery of a recent musical performance at Citrus College)

Examples of Outside Assignments

Write news, feature and/or profile articles for publication in the print magazine or online on the magazine's website Shoot photos/video of news, feature and/or profile subjects for publication in the print magazine or online on the magazine's website Design and layout pages containing magazine's content for publication in the print magazine or online on the magazine's website Make decisions regarding the editorial content of each publication, whether in print or online Observe activities related to course content Participate in activities related to course content

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Lab, Online Education Lecture, Online Education Lab