RTV 3942L - Public Media Experience  

WUCF Media and Nicholson School of Communication and Media

University of Central Florida

Course Syllabus

Instructors:	Dr. Phil Hoffman/Mr. Duilio Mariola/Dr. Tim Brown
Office:	ORC #551
Phone:	407-823-6112 – Dr. Hoffman     407-823-4322 – Mr. Mariola 407-823-5273 – Dr. Brown
E-Mail:	Phil.Hoffman@wucf.org, Duilio.Mariola@wucf.org   timbrown@ucf.edu,
Website:	Webcourses
Office Hours:	By appointment, virtually
Term:	Spring 2021
Class Meeting Days:	Monday
Class Meeting Hours:	2:00-2:50
Class Location:	Webcourses/Zoom
Course Credits:	1

 

HOW TO JOIN THE ZOOM CLASS SESSIONS:

Time:   Every week on Mon, until Apr 26, 2021, 16 occurrence(s)

Link to Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86184430459?pwd=MmtaNkxTbCtwVkxIWG9XNERaQkhndz09

 

Meeting ID: 861 8443 0459

Passcode: 440896

Welcome

Greetings. This class is team-taught, with two faculty cooperating to help you.  Mr. Duilio Mariola and Dr. Phil Hoffman will be your instructors this Fall.

 

Duilio Mariola has been involved with video production for over 45 years. He’s worked in commercial broadcast, public broadcasting, corporate training and higher education. He is a multiple Emmy Award winning producer, director and editor. He works at WUCF TV, where he is the Director of Production and responsible for all productions at WUCF TV.  

 

Dr. Phil Hoffman is a multiple Emmy Award winning producer and director who has led multiple noncommercial radio and TV stations since 1992.  He also has experience working in commercial TV as a reporter, writer and producer.  He spent 17 years as a faculty member and has a doctorate in Higher Education Leadership. He is the Executive Director for WUCF TV and WUCF FM.

 

This practicum will walk you through the roles and responsibilities of the various departments at a public media television station. You’ll gain a thorough understanding of how each department interacts with one another, all working together as a cohesive unit.   

 

NOTE:  This course is NOT a production methods class.  While you may have opportunities to jump in and produce things and contribute, that is not a requirement of this class.  This course is designed to be an introduction to the organization and functioning of different departments within a media company.   

 

Vision Statement
Students will learn the roles and responsibilities of the departments at WUCF TV and WUCF FM and how they operate together. Upon completion of the practicum, you will understand how each unit relies on one another for station operation; have an understanding of the various departments at a noncommercial media company; and understand how each department depends on one another for successful operation of the media company.

 

NOTE about course delivery
This course is designated as a V1-Sync or “Remote Synchronous.” That means that we will use Zoom through our Webcourses Page to meet virtually every Monday from 2:00pm-2:50pm. Please make sure you have the necessary equipment (webcam/microphone/solid internet access) at your location so that you be a part of this course. Any student who faces technology hardships should first contact the UCF Library, but also the instructors of the class; there may be suitable workarounds on a case by case basis.

Course Description
Students who complete this practicum will have a thorough understanding of the various departments at a non-commercial television station. Through observation, interaction, and lectures, students will gain deep knowledge of how each department depends on one another for successful operation of the station.  

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, each class member to have competency in the following areas:

• Understand and identify the components of a public media company, including membership, programming, outreach, operations, engineering, and production
• Understand how to communicate effectively in a public media environment to facilitate creation and distribution of public media programming
• Understand the necessary roles with a public media team to produce elements needed for a successful production

 

Course Prerequisites
Instructor and Department Consent.

 

Required Texts and Materials
Online videos, course handouts, and web-based articles, all assigned through Webcourses.  

Basis for Final Grade
The pass/fail grade will be determined through the successful completion of productions and activities associated with WUCF programming and operation. Each student-member of WUCF will be required to meet with the Executive Director and/or Director of Production to review their performance during regularly scheduled meeting times.  

• A failing grade may be assigned to any student who does not meet his or her obligations at WUCF, is not present to complete his or her on-air/other assignments at WUCF, or fails to attend the required meetings as assigned on the class meeting day/days
• A failing grade may be assigned to any student who violates the operating rules of WUCF

It is possible that a personal emergency may inhibit a student’s ability to attend class or complete an assigned project. Please contact your instructors to discuss the problem. The instructors may modify certain aspects of the grade policy in light of valid personal emergencies that might prevent a student from successfully completing an assignment.

 

• “Walk Around the Station” Assignment - Students will take a recorded a virtual tour of the facility. Students will review the tour and be presented with a series of questions that they will answer by connecting with assigned staff members that could answer questions.

Each student will be assigned a packet of observations and activities that will expose you to the breadth of the activities that take place at a public media organization.  These packets will be due Monday, April 19, 2021 and are required for anyone wishing to continue on at WUCF or be considered for hire at WUCF in 2021. 

 

• Final Reflection Reports- During the course of the semester, you will meet department heads from the different areas of WUCF.  They will explain their respective areas for you, and this is an opportunity for you to talk with them about job opportunities in their department.  The final reflection paper should be a thoughtful examination of what you’re learning experience contributed to your understanding of the field of media.  Due Monday, April 26, 2021.

 

• “Learning the Ropes” Online Assignment - There will be “virtual tours” of the stations where you can get a virtual look into the behind the scenes activities during production activities. This would include visits to a tech-core, production control, the studio and the radio station studios. Each student will be assigned a packet of observations and activities that will expose you to the breadth of the activities that take place at a public media organization. Due Monday, April 26, 2021.

 

UCF Nicholson School and WUCF Partnership 

UCF Nicholson School of Communication and WUCF work together. From time to time you may be able to participate with UCF Nicholson School productions when additional assistance is needed. Please talk to Dr. Will Kinnally or Dr. Tim Brown about UCF Nicholson School of Communication opportunities. Of course, you are encouraged by Dr. Hoffman and Mr. Mariola to become actively involved with UCF Nicholson School of Communication by enrolling for the class and taking full advantage of the opportunities offered. You may reach Dr. Kinnally at William.Kinnally@ucf.edu or Dr. Brown at timbrown@ucf.edu. 

  

Project Ownership: Individual projects and assignments completed at WUCF are the intellectual property of the student.  WUCF Projects and assignments completed at WUCF may be broadcast, and also may be used as examples in classes and during training sessions.  Student work that is accepted for broadcast is granted a license by the student for airing, but the program in its entirety remains the property of WUCF.  

Course Policies: Technology and Media  

Email:

Email communication is most often inherently more informal than a hard-copy letter, yet when you communicate via email with a professor it is nevertheless different than when you communicate with your friends or family.  To that end, in your correspondence with me you need to avoid the type of errors listed below or risk no response to your communication:

• common texting abbreviations
• inappropriately casual grammar such as no appropriate capitalizations at the front of sentences or in uses of the first-person subjective pronoun, "I," lack of closing punctuation
• any kind of reference to your personal belief system that is not the subject of the email

  

Additionally, all UCF students must have an active Knight's E-Mail account; your professors can only send university e-mail communication to Knight's E-Mail accounts.  To sign up for your free account, please visit www.knightsemail.ucf.edu. If you have questions about an existing account, please call (407) 823-5117. Any email received from a source other than an UCF account will be ignored.

 

Webcourses:
Webcourses will be used for document distribution and grade postings, as well as our “Zoom” home.  

 

WUCF Equipment and Technology:
In the event that we have labs or sessions at WUCF, remember that equipment used in WUCF is delicate and expensive. You should treat it with respect, because you and students like you are the ones who rely on it to do your work, and YOU are being trusted with access to a multi-million-dollar broadcast and media facility. Please respect what you have, take care of it, be careful with it and don’t abuse it. If something seems broken, let Mr. Mark Lundstrom know right away.  Don’t assume he knows or that anyone has told him.   

 

Publication:
Student work created in this class for nonexclusive use by WUCF. Unless otherwise requested to the contrary in writing by the student, the instructor, in consultation with the student, may submit projects completed in this class for consideration as broadcast content over WUCF. Projects must meet the professional standards PBS and WUCF in order to be broadcast. Students understand and agree that by submitting a project for publication/broadcast by WUCF have complete and final editorial control over the content and usage of the project by WUCF.  Students will retain the copyright in their work.  

  

Laptop and Device Usage:
Laptops and other devices (tablets etc.) may be used during class. However, if the use of technology slows your progress and causes problems, either from misuse, tech problems, or poor choices, your grade will reflect this.  

Course Policies: Student Expectations

  

Disability Access:

Course Accessibility Statement

Every effort will be made to ensure this class is an accessible and welcoming experience for all students, including those with disabilities that may impact learning in this class. If anyone believes the design of this course poses barriers to effectively participating and/or demonstrating learning in this course, please meet with the instructors (with or without a Student Accessibility Services (SAS) accommodation letter) to discuss reasonable options or adjustments. During our discussion, I may suggest the possibility/necessity of your contacting SAS (Ferrell Commons 185; 407-823-2371; sas@ucf.edu) to talk about academic accommodations. You are welcome to talk to me at any point in the semester about course design concerns, but it is always best if we can talk at least one week prior to the need for any modifications.

 

Attendance Policy:
We will be taking attendance during our Zoom meetings and assigning it through Webcourses; this will be done during the first 10 minutes of the class. Students must be present and show their actual video feed of themselves if they wish to receive credit for attending the class.  

 

Missed Orientation/Consultation Days:
Course expectation is that you will be present and punctual for all assigned orientation or consultation days.  As this class meets only once per week, it is even more critical that you work to avoid unnecessary absences.   

  

Professionalism Policy:               
Per university policy and classroom etiquette; mobile phones, iPods, etc. must be silenced during all classroom and lab lectures. Those not heeding this rule will be asked to leave the classroom/lab immediately so as to not disrupt the learning environment. Texting will be regarded as the same as talking on the phone, it is not allowed. Please arrive on time for all class meetings. Students who habitually disturb the class by talking, arriving late, etc., and have been warned may suffer a reduction in their final class grade.

In a Zoom/remote environment, professional standards call for participants to mute their microphones unless contributing to the class discussion. We’ve all been in video meetings where that one person is typing on a keyboard or making dinner with their microphone on; please don’t be that person!

In an actual television production, you would not be on your cell phone. The same expectations apply to the classroom.

  

University Writing Center:
The University Writing Center (UWC) is a free resource for UCF undergraduates and graduates. At the UWC, a trained writing consultant will work individually with you on anything you're writing (in or out of class), at any point in the writing process from brainstorming to editing. Appointments are recommended, but not required. For more information or to make an appointment, visit the UWC website at http://www.uwc.ucf.edu, stop by MOD 608, or call 407.823.2197.

Academic Integrity
Students should familiarize themselves with UCF’s Rules of Conduct at

<http://osc.sdes.ucf.edu/process/roc>. According to Section 1, “Academic Misconduct,” students are prohibited from engaging in

1. Unauthorized assistance: Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids in any academic exercise unless specifically authorized by the instructor of record. The unauthorized possession of examination or course-related material also constitutes cheating.
2. Communication to another through written, visual, electronic, or oral means: The presentation of material which has not been studied or learned, but rather was obtained through someone else’s efforts and used as part of an examination, course assignment, or project.
3. Commercial Use of Academic Material: Selling of course material to another person, student, and/or uploading course material to a third-party vendor without authorization or without the express written permission of the university and the instructor. Course materials include but are not limited to class notes, Instructor’s PowerPoints, course syllabi, tests, quizzes, labs, instruction sheets, homework, study guides, handouts, etc.
4. Falsifying or misrepresenting the student’s own academic work.
5. Plagiarism: Using or appropriating another’s work without any indication of the source, thereby attempting to convey the impression that such work is the student’s own.
6. Multiple Submissions: Submitting the same academic work for credit more than once without the express written permission of the instructor.
7. Helping another violate academic behavior standards.

For more information about Academic Integrity, consult the International Center for Academic Integrity  <http://academicintegrity.org>.

 

PLAGIARISM
Many incidents of plagiarism result from students’ lack of understanding about what constitutes plagiarism. However, you are expected to familiarize yourself with UCF’s policy on plagiarism. All work you submit must be your own scholarly and creative efforts.  UCF’s Golden Rule defines plagiarism as follows: “whereby another’s work is used or appropriated without any indication of the source, thereby attempting to convey the impression that such work is the student’s own.”

Consequences of plagiarism are case-specific and can range from receiving a “0” on the assignment to failing grade for the course.

For more information about plagiarism and misuse of sources, see “Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices” <http://wpacouncil.org/node/9>.

 

Course Accessibility Statement
The University of Central Florida is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need disability-related access in this course should contact the professor as soon as possible. Students should also connect with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) <http://sas.sdes.ucf.edu/> (Ferrell Commons 185, sas@ucf.edu, phone 407-823-2371). Through Student Accessibility Services, a Course Accessibility Letter may be created and sent to professors, which informs faculty of potential access and accommodations that might be reasonable. Determining reasonable access and accommodations requires consideration of the course design, course learning objectives and the individual academic and course barriers experienced by the student.

 

Campus Safety Statement for Online-Only Courses
Though most emergency situations are primarily relevant to courses that meet in person, such incidents can also impact online students, either when they are on or near campus to participate in other courses or activities or when their course work is affected by off-campus emergencies. The following policies apply to courses in online modalities.

• To stay informed about emergency situations, students can sign up to receive UCF text alerts by going to <https://my.ucf.edu> and logging in. Click on “Student Self Service” located on the left side of the screen in the toolbar, scroll down to the blue “Personal Information” heading on the Student Center screen, click on “UCF Alert”, fill out the information, including e-mail address, cell phone number, and cell phone provider, click “Apply” to save the changes, and then click “OK.”
• Students with special needs related to emergency situations should speak with their instructors outside of class. Religious Observances

Students must notify their instructor in advance if they intend to miss class for a religious observance. .  These will be discussed with your instructor and not automatically approved. For more information, see the UCF policy at

<http://regulations.ucf.edu/chapter5/documents/5.020ReligiousObservancesFINALOct17.pdf>.

 

Deployed Active Duty Military Students
Students who are deployed active duty military and/or National Guard personnel and require accommodation should contact their instructors as soon as possible after the semester begins and/or after they receive notification of deployment to make related arrangements.

 

 Important Dates to Remember

  

All the dates and assignments are tentative and can be changed at the discretion of the professor. However, THESE TWO dates are very important, and are set by the University:

Drop Deadline                                                                  January 15, 2021

Add Deadline:                                                                  January 15, 2021

Withdrawal Deadline:                                                     March 26, 2021

 

Other:

 

Policy on Recommendation Letters
We are happy to provide letters of recommendation for current or former students. However, we also reserve the right to deny such a request. If you would like a letter of recommendation, schedule a meeting with your professors. Don’t expect a letter just because you are in this class.

 

RTV ListServ
RTV majors and prospective majors are encouraged to subscribe to the RTV ListServ, which is the official email communication medium for the Radio-Television division. Announcements regarding class schedules, changes in classes, and information about internships and job opportunities are made through the email. You may view the procedure for subscribing to the RTV ListServ at:

http://profbagley.cos.ucf.edu/RTVListServ.html.

 

Attendance Verification:
As of Fall 2014, all faculty members are required to document students' academic activity at the beginning of each course. In order to document that you began this course, please complete the assignment by end of the first week of classes, or as soon as possible after adding the course, but no later than January 15, 2021. Failure to do so will result in a delay in the disbursement of your financial aid. 

 

Illness:    
In a regular face to face class, the rule of thumb would be “stay home if you are sick,” and now that’s more important than ever before. However, we recognize that even though we’re meeting virtually, sometimes you can still be too sick to attend. Please be sure to email your instructors or call WUCF (407-823-0899) ahead of time to report your absence. Free health care is available at Student Health at 407-823-2701.

 

University Closing Policy
The president, or designee, upon the recommendation of the Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police, will determine when conditions--such as severe weather or a state of emergency--necessitate closing the entire University or canceling classes at the main campus and/or other campuses. Closing information will be announced as early and as simply as possible to avoid confusion.

  

Cancellation of classes and closure announcements will be made as early as possible in the day and will clearly state the affected campuses. Visit www.ucf.edu for updated information.

WUCF is a Professional Broadcast Outlet and as such, often continues operations during weather emergencies. Please contact Dr. Hoffman or Mr. Mariola in the event of an emergency if you are scheduled to be in class.

             

Tentative Class Schedule for SPRING 2021

Date:	Type: Schedule:                                                                      Speakers:
1/11/21	Zoom All Members Meeting                                                   Hoffman, Mariola
1/18/21	NO CLASS - UCF CLOSED FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
1/25/21	Zoom Basics of Non-Commercial Broadcasting                    Hoffman
2/1/21	Zoom Organization & Structure of Public Media Stations Mariola
2/8/21	Zoom  Departments:  Operations & Programming	Dotson
2/15/21	Zoom  Departments:  Engineering	Lundstrom/Kirkman
2/22/21	Zoom  Departments:  Local Production	Mariola
3/1/21	Zoom  Departments:  Content & Engagement	Cook
3/8/21	Zoom Departments:  Digital	Dennis
3/15/21	Zoom Departments:  Education	Valentine
3/22/21	Zoom Departments:  Development	Anderson
3/29/21	Zoom Departments: Philanthropy/Donor Services	Braillard/Spears
4/5/21	Zoom Departments:  WUCF FM	Riley
	SPRING BREAK 4/11/21 – 4/18/21
4/19/21	Zoom Departments:  WUCF FM	Waldo
4/26/21	Zoom Developing Your Portfolio/Career Planning	Hoffman
4/28/21	NO CLASS DURING FINAL EXAM PERIOD

(Please note:  This is tentative and may be adjusted as the semester goes along.)