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accounts. After class discussion, theywatched an episode of the Bravo cablechannel’s “Tabloid Wars” series 2 chroniclinghow the New York Daily News hadcovered the story as it unfolded. In thefall term, I persuaded two senior DailyNews editors to talk about the coveragevia speakerphone. In the spring,I showed “The Paper,” Ron Howard’sriveting 1994 film about a fictionalNew York City tabloid’s handling of aracially charged streetcrime.In each term, virtuallyall the studentssaid their initial, criticalviews of how the storywas covered had beensoftened by watching“Tabloid Wars.” I tookthat as a testament tothe power of visual imagery,a growing forcein media and culturethat we explored elsewherewith examplesas disparate as AbuGhraib, convenience store hold-ups,the Muhammad cartoons, car chases,and dogs stuck on ice floes. “TabloidWars” was also an argument for greatermedia transparency; sometimes watchingthe sausage get made can have asalutary effect, conventional wisdomnot withstanding.In the spring, we departed fromthe script to spend a week examiningcoverage of the Virginia Tech shootingsfrom almost the moment the newsbroke. Early on, I took a survey of mystudents as to where they had turnedfirst for information. All but one hadgone straight to established mainstreamnews media—either online oron cable—before heading off to theirmore usual informational Web hauntslike blogs, news aggregation services,and start-up sites with attitude. Eventhe students were surprised at theircollective behavior, and the findingunderscored the seminar’s messagethat credible, authoritative journalismis worth serving and preserving regardlessof the medium.Putting It All OnlineFrom my previous experience as anadjunct professor at St. John’s Universityin New York City and the threeyears I had spent studying part-time atColumbia for my master’s in journalism,I was already aware of the limitedappeal that “dead tree” formats held fortoday’s students. So instead of spendinghours at the photocopy machineEarly on, I took a survey of my students as towhere they had turned first for information. All butone had gone straight to established mainstreamnews media—either online or on cable—beforeheading off to their more usual informational Webhaunts like blogs, news aggregation services, andstart-up sites with attitude.churning out reams of paper handouts,I put all my class readings—or links tothem—online at a Web site I createdand paid for until I could gain access toOhio University’s restricted academicIntranet. Further, I insisted that allwritten assignments be filed via e-mail—no hard copies allowed—whichI corrected using the “track changes”and “comment” modes in Word andthen returned via e-mail.I took advantage of the high-speedInternet connections in the school’sclassrooms to pull up Web sites thataugmented class discussions. We alsowent online to watch videos of networknews programs and PBS documentaries,live netcasts of news conferences,replays of “The Daily Show” segments,snippets from YouTube, and slideshows and podcasts shot, narrated andproduced by dyed-in-the-wool printreporters to accompany their articleson nytimes.com.At first, I rather smugly regarded allthis as somewhat cutting edge, but Icame to learn that for Americans of aDigital Demandscertain age, watching TV online—evennetwork news or prime-time entertainmentshows—is becoming unremarkable.One disappointment, however,was my inability to arrange high-techvideo teleconferences with the dozenor so speakers who addressed mystudents from afar. I had to settleinstead for low-tech speakerphoneengagements.From the outset, I emphasized thatsince this was a journalismcourse, not onlywould I demand finewriting but also rigorousresearch. One resultwas a highly successfulspring exercise in whichstudents trolled the Webfor two examples ofnovel storytelling—onegood, one bad. Mostcast a wide net andcollectively returnedwith a bounty of highlyinformative, diverseexamples of how ourcraft is evolving. I devoted four hoursin each section to collective dissectionand discussion. I could probably havedeveloped a whole course from thatexercise alone.Fittingly, for a course about change,one of the biggest challenges was findingmaterial with a shelf life. By thetime September 2006 rolled around,information and even themes I hadplucked in June or July had alreadywithered or been overtaken by events.Similarly, the course I taught in thespring was dissimilar in many respectsto the course I taught in the fall. NowI’m preparing for a new fall term at adifferent university, and already I knowmy seminar will be a significant departurefrom its two previous iterations.Everything new is old again. Mark J. Prendergast is an associateprofessor at St. John’s University inNew York City. He was the ScrippsHoward Visiting Professional at theE.W. Scripps School of Journalism atOhio University in 2006-07.2www.bravotv.com/Tabloid_Wars/index.shtmlNieman Reports / Fall 2007 77