DIGITAL STORYTELLING!

minimum of at least ten portfolio assignments to ensure that students gain themaximum reporting experience from this somewhat fluid course structure.Exit Beat Summary and ReportIn the final stage of the class, students are held accountable for how they covered theirassigned beats. They are required to evaluate and explain their coverage by analyzingstories missed and stories where they scooped other reporters. Students are also askedto provide a detailed assessment of the primary sources and issues that will likely beencountered by the next reporter assigned to the beat. The exit beat summary report isalso part of the final round robin story meeting for the course and must be given in anoral as well as written format. In a method adopted from Killenberg and Dardeene(1997), the final class session is also used as an opportunity for students to discuss whatthey have learned about beat reporting. As part of this discussion students are requiredto provide an anonymous written personal statement about what they learned mostfrom the broadcast beat reporting course. While not all students reacted positively tothe experience, listed below are some of the comments taken from the last time Itaught the broadcast beat reporting course:“As incredible as it seems, I was scared stiff when I thought of the prospect ofactually having to go out on a beat and talk to real people in person. This experiencehas been awesome.”“What an opportunity. I was able to take my natural interests in computers and newtechnology and use them as the basis to learn even more through beat reporting. Thishas not only convinced me that this should be my reporting specialty, I actually believethat I’ve become somewhat of an expert.”“I thought I knew what it meant to be a TV news reporter because I knew how toshoot and edit. Working a beat has shown me how much I still need to learn aboutreporting and writing. Believe me, that’s saying a lot because I believe I’ve alreadylearned quite a lot this semester.”Why a Broadcast Beat Class?Broadcast journalism education often comes under frequent criticism for the academy’sperceived shortcomings in preparing reporters for the field (Potter,1999; Barner, D. L.,1996; Tomorrow’s broadcast journalists,1994; Parcells, F. E. 1985). The primary goalsof a course in broadcast beat reporting are to encourage students to learn about thecommunities they report on and to build a solid reporting foundation based on thestandards of the profession.The proposed model for teaching broadcast beat reporting does not purport to bethe definitive way to design such a course. On the other hand, the previous discussionwas undertaken to energize the thinking about other appropriate methods to teach sucha class. Broadcast journalism educators can play an important role in revitalizing theprofession. In light of the current negative state of broadcast journalism, as articulatedby the public, a return to basics may be in order. This process may ensure that currentdiscourse about television news is inclusive of attempts in the academy to transformjournalism in ways that reflect core values of the profession.ReferencesBarner, D. L. (1996). A national sample of recent graduates address broadcastcurriculum. Feedback, 37(2), 22 - 25.Boldoc, W.J. (1998). Permanent base groups in broadcast journalism instruction.Paper presented at the National Communication Association. Annandale, Va.Brooks, B. S., Kennedy, G., Moen, D. R. & Ranly, D. (1996). News Reporting andWriting. St. Martin’s Press: New York.Burkhart, F. (1990). Taking news serious in classroom lectures. JournalismEducator, 45(2), 79-80.Cohen, D. (1999/2000). Beat reporting upgrades TV news. St. Louis JournalismReview, 30 (222), 6-7.Duhe, S. F. & Zukowski, L. A. (1997). First jobs and career preparation. 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The Complete Reporter: Fundamentals ofNews Gathering, Writing and Editing. Allyn and Bacon: Boston. MA.Marks, R. (1999). Beyond the anchor: Students and broadcasting opportunities.Journalism and Mass Communication Educato, 54(1), 79-86.Mayeux, P.E. (1996). Broadcast News Writing and Reporting. Brown and Benchmark:Iowa.Neilsen, C. & Sassi, B. (1994). Broadcast news: An interdisciplinary project. MaineCenter for Educational Services.Parcells, F. E. (1985). What broadcast managers want educators to teach.Communication Education,34(3), 235-241.Patrow, K.,Youngblook, S. Madden, T. Hamburger, J. & Johnson, K. (2000). A tvreporter, an adviser’s internship, a tv anchor/reporter, an assignment editor, a tvphotojournalist’s bag of tricks. Communication: Journalism Education Today,34 (2), pp.5-7,12,15.Pesha, R. (1997). Simulating real world broadcasting. Feedback,38(1), 1-3.Potter, D. (1999). Beat reporting: Making a comeback? Communicator: Themagazine for electronic journalists, 49, (6), 31 -34.Potter, D. 1999). Ready or not: The state of broadcast journalism education.50Feedback February 2003 (Vol. 44, No. 1)BEA—Educating tomorrow’s electronic media professionals 51