No class for tomorrow, April 1, 2008

No, this is not a prank for April Fool's Day. There really is no class for tomorrow, April 1.

The deadline for your midterm feature on rock bands has been extended to next week. Please use the time wisely to complete all your requirements. 

We will workshop your midterm features next week. Attendance and participation is crucial to your final grade.

Attendance March 25, 2008

1. Gwen Kangleon
   
2. Aileen Tandang
   
3. Arnela Almirez
   
4. Aki Menor - LATE
   
5. Allane Chiong
   
6. Rem Lucio
   
7. Eiroll Manalo
   
8. Franco Attento
   
9. Mike Dimaano
   
10. Yna de Leon
    
11. John Basco
    

Summary of Class Activities March 18

Activities:
Viewing of the documentary “Murderball.”

1. Discussions on its modern treatment:
   
   
   
   • Non-linear story telling
   
   
   • Pacing of the film between intervals of sports action, hard facts and diagrammatic explanations, quiet intimate moments and humor
   
   
   • Invasive and confessional insights about the subjects with raw language and emotions
   
   
   
   
2. Comparisons between devices utilized in this film (that are more in tune to today’s generation) and their parallels in feature writing:
   
   
   
   • Letting the subjects speak the most controversial assertions (quotes) and explain their condition with no narrator to manipulate viewer’s judgment (objectivity).
   
   
   • Literary approach to non-fiction (ala Truman Capote’s “novelized non-fiction”).
   
   


3. Imagining what goes into making a compelling, thorough and well-crafted non-fictional story such as this:
   
   
   
   • How does one make a compelling documentary about disabled? If you were given just the premise without having watched the film, would consider the subject matter as boring and as something you cannot relate with?
   
   
   • What was edited out to make the story more exciting and to give it a twist?
   
   
   • How different would this documentary be if it were done twenty years ago? Would it be still use a non-linear narrative? Would it pity or glorify them? Or would it still candidly portray the disabled with all their faults as this film does?
   
   
   • How did the documentarians gain the trust of the subjects to candidly go through their daily lives and attain uncontrived vignettes?

Objectives:

• To show the potential for a compelling story in even the most difficult subject matters.


• To illustrate contemporary approaches to journalism.

Attendance March 18, 2008

1. Gwen Kangleon
   
2. Arnela Almirez
   
3. Aileen Tandang
   
4. Aki Menor 
   
5. Mike Dimaano
   
6. Rem Lucio
   
7. Tomi Uysingco 
   
8. Franco Attento 
   
9. Katrina Guevarra

• Yna de Leon - ABSENT
  
• John Basco - ABSENT
  
• Eiroll Manaolo - ABSENT 
  
• Allane Chiong - ABSENT
  
• Yuri Aguilar - ABSENT
  

Assignment 4.0 March 11, 2008

A. Write a 300-word feature on one of these movies:

• “The Paper”
• “Almost Famous”
• “Capote”
• “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”

Questions to answer with your feature:

1. What can I learn from these films as a journalism student?
2. Define and explain what type of journalism each movie espouses.

Deadline: March 18, 2008*

B. Write a 600-word profile feature one of these bands:

• Typecast
• Urban Dub
• Taken by Cars
• Sinosikat
• Radioactive Sago Project

Questions to answer with your feature:

1. Explain the musical genre of the band, the origins of the genre
2. What makes their music Filipino?
3. Describe their songwriting process. Are their songs fictional or confessional?
4. Is their exploitation in the music business? Are bands making money?
5. What does it take to publish an album these days? What does it take to sell/market the album?

Deadline: March 25, 2008*

C. Complete all previous requirements listed in this blog.

Deadline: March 18, 2008*

* Post all works on your school blog and print out copies for all for workshop in class.

Attendance March 11, 2008

1. Arnela Almirez
2. Franco Attento
3. Allane Chiong
4. Mike Dimaano
5. Gwen Kangleon
6. Rem Lucio
7. Aileen Tandang
8. Aki Menor
9. Eiroll Manalo

• Yuri Aguilar - ABSENT
• John Basco - ABSENT
• Katrina Guevarra - ABSENT
• Yna De Leon - ABSENT
• Tomi Uysingco - ABSENT

Summary of class activities for March 11, 2008

Activities:

1. The back story behind every story: Discussions on the feature writings of Prof. Rome Jorge and how each article was made despite limitations and difficulties
   
2. Beyond spoon-fed press releases: Researching and achieving a balanced interview
   
3. The art of the interview: Tips on how to prepare, what to bring, what questions to ask, how to establish rapport, empathy and trust with interviewee

Objectives:

1. To prepare students for actual interview and feature writing for mid-term exam
   
2. To provide practical lessons derived from real life situations
   
3. To learn how to overcome common constraints
   

Requirements:

1. Read: http://writing4strangers.blogspot.com/2008/03/feature-writing-by-rome-jorge.html
2. Fulfill all previous requirements

Announcement

To all tardy students: 

Do not make things worse for yourself. Being absent is even worse than being late. Come to class even if you do not have the complete requirements. 

Class participation in discussions, workshops, and other activities is a huge portion of your final grade. Attendance is vital. 

Better late than never. Please comply with  all previous requirements and post them all on your respective class blog. I will still consider late postings and submissions, though I will make deductions to your grade. 

Do not make up excuses, non-existent web addresses and other such nonsense. You will be treated as adults. There is no shame in admitting the truth. This class, like the real world, is results oriented. I do fail students. But I would much rather you learn, pass and prove yourselves worthy of your tuition. 

Feature writing by Rome Jorge

Valentine’s Day terror attack
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/hanepdesigns?p=238

Among killers
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/hanepdesigns?p=282

Lights, camera, kidnap!
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/hanepdesigns?p=583

Punch-drunk lovely
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/hanepdesigns?p=513

My Sheree Amor
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/hanepdesigns?p=483

Agony, ecstasy and epiphany
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/hanepdesigns?p=761

Undone by Phoem fatale
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/hanepdesigns?p=633

Summary of class activities March 4, 2008

Activities:

1. Submission of take-home exam
2. Further discussion on exemplary features
3. Final workshop on assigned essay and short feature
4. Summary of previous lessons

Objective:

1. To goad students into helping one another through constructive criticism
2. Final opportunity for tardy students to catch up on lessons

Attendance March 4, 2008

1. Franco Attento
2. Remedios Lucio
3. Gwen Kangleon
4. Katrina Guevarra
5. John Basco
6. Aileen Tandang
7. Arnela Almirez
8. Eiroll Manaolo
9. Aki Menor
10. Mike Dimaano
11. Tomi Uysingco - NOT ON OFFICIAL CLASS LIST
12. Yna de Leon - NOT ON OFFICIAL CLASS LIST

• Yuri Aguilar - ABSENT
  
• Allane Chiong - ABSENT