JOUR328I Investigative Reporting

Mondays 1-3:45 in KNI 2107

Instructor: Deborah Nelson, J.D.
Associate professor of investigative reporting
@Newshawks
debjnelson@gmail.com 301-706-3530 Call or text but not after

10pm.
Office hours: 11-1 Mondays in KNI2100E. Send an email to request a time during or
outside office hours.
About the course: This course uses a working-hospital approach to teaching
investigative journalism. You will learn skills while producing a publishable, in-depth
project on an issue with national significance and local impact on peoples lives. We will
partner with other classes, disciplines and news organizations to prepare you for the
collaborative model of investigative reporting that is emerging in the professional news
environment. An important component of your coursework: Following the trail from
government actions to their local consequences, and vice versa. Its important for
journalists to hold the government accountable, and you will work on skills for doing so.
Prerequisite: JOUR320; and permission of instructor. In JOUR320, you covered a beat
and produced short-term news and feature assignments. In this course, you will learn
how to apply and adapt the reporting, writing and presentation skills you learned in 320
to long-form, in-depth, watchdog journalism. You will see how more time, digging and
sources changes your understanding of the complex issues that youll be tackling.
Outcomes: You will gain experience in the essentials of accountability reporting:
investigative interviewing, source development, public records acquisition, data
collection and analysis, verification, time management, project organization, complex
storytelling and fact checking. You will gain a practical understanding of your rights and
responsibilities as a journalist by applying what you have learned in media law and
ethics courses. You will know how to build on the foundation of knowledge and
critical-thinking skills from your college experience to tackle complex topics as a
professional journalist.
Expectations:
You will be pursuing information that is hard to get, and that people sometimes will try to
prevent you from obtaining. Investigative

reporting is the relentless pursuit of truth, the

independent documentation of societal problems and the methodical exposure of official

lies.
This is not a desk or dorm course. In addition to navigating Internet mazes and wading
through seas of documents, you will interview people by phone, knock on their doors,
visit agencies and go see for yourself. We'll accommodate time and transport
challenges through teamwork and good planning. Well work on your juggling skills.
Well cover how to find time for investigative reporting with a busy beat or heavy
course load.
This course meets the college's capstone requirement. That means you are expected to
apply what you have learned in producing a professional-quality multimedia journalism
project.
More specifically, you are expected to do whatever it takes to complete every
assignment; meet every deadline; inform the instructor real-time of significant problems
or dilemmas; respond to instructor emails as soon as possible and no more than one
day after receipt. Students must check in with the instructor at least once a week
between classes and are encouraged to do so more frequently.
Required Texts:
Student membership in IRE ($25)
(Links to an external site.)Story-based Inquiry: A Manual for Investigative Journalists,
Mark Lee Hunter (free) http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001930/193078e.pdf
(Links to an external site.)
The Verification Handbook I & II, edited by Craig Silverman (free)
http://verificationhandbook.com/ (Links to an external site.)
Instructor investigative tip sheets (free) http://debjnelson.com/?page_id=1264 (Links to
an external site.)
Texts that will be excerpted as relevant to the chosen project:
Raising Hell: A Citizens Guide to the Fine Art of Investigation, Dan Noyes
http://cironline.org/sites/default/files/legacy/files/RaisingHell.pdf (Links to an external
site.)
Precision Journalism: A Reporters Introduction to Social Science Methods, Philip Meyer
Computer-Assisted Research: Information Strategies and Tools for Journalists, Nora
Paul and Kathleen A. Hansen

Grading
As in the professional journalism world, 100% your evaluation hinges on the work that
you produce by assigned deadlines, minus lost points for failing to show for work/class
(unless you're in the field reporting or otherwise have permission). I will give you plenty
of guidance and encouragement along the way.
Forty-five percent of your grade will be based on the quality of your contribution to final
project, due by the first class in May. Each student's individual contribution will be
determined and defined by mid-March based on the results of class research and
reporting in the first half of the semester. In general each student will be responsible for
producing a 3,000-word footnoted article or the equivalent in video, interactives, photos
or a combination of elements.
Forty-five percent of your grade will be based on your fact-check of a classmate's final
project, due by the last class in May. This will involve verifying the accuracy of someone
else's project by checking footnotes and calling all named sources. I don't penalize for
spotting and fixing errors before publication. But I have a zero-error policy for errors that
are published -- your own and the one you missed in fact checking. Forty-five percent of
your final grade will be an F if an error slips through. We will go over steps you can take
to prevent that from happening in this class and in your career ahead.
Ten percent of your grade will be based on your completion by deadlines of reporting
assignments, memos, preliminary project drafts and homework. Deadlines will be set
real-time throughout the semester based on news events, reporting challenges and both
individual and group progress.
Rubric
A = Successful completion of a multi-source report based on exceptionally resourceful,
thorough, independent reporting that utilizes documents, data and human sources;
100% accuracy in the final published piece and in the classmate's piece that you fact
check; consistent and reliable participation in and completion of newsroom assignments
by deadlines, including but not limited to staff meetings, interviews, readings, research,
graphics, multimedia and story revisions.
B = Successful completion of a multi-source report based on thorough, independent
reporting that utilizes documents, data and human sources; 100% accuracy in the final
published piece and in the classmate's piece that you fact check; consistent and reliable
participation in and completion of newsroom assignments by deadlines, including but

not limited to staff meetings, interviews, readings, research, graphics, multimedia and
story revisions.
C = Multi-source report based on independent reporting that utilizes documents, data
and human sources; This is the highest grade you will earn if: a) there are any
inaccuracies in your piece or the piece that you fact check OR b) you do not reliably and
consistently perform newsroom assignments on deadline OR c) you are inconsistent or
unreliable in performing newsroom assignments by deadlines OR you don't successfully
complete your project. Depending on the degree to which your work is deficient, you
may earn a D.
F Plagiarism, fabrication, gross inaccuracies
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism and fabrication are capital offenses. You will receive an F for the course and
your case will be forwarded for academic discipline.
Plagiarism is stealing. Its using someone elses words without attributing it to the
source. Some examples: Copying even a single sentence from a book, cutting and
pasting from the Internet, getting someone else to write your paper unless you cite the
source.
Fabrication is lying. Its making up facts. Some examples: Making up a quote, saying
you were present at an event that you didnt attend.
Along with certain rights, students also have the responsibility to behave honorably in
an academic environment. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication,
facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Adhering to a high
ethical standard is of special importance in the world of journalism, where reliability and
credibility are the cornerstones of the field. Therefore, the college has adopted a zero
tolerance policy on academic dishonesty. Any abridgment of the universitys academic
integrity standards in a College of Journalism course will be referred directly to the
dean. The dean will send all confirmed cases to the university's Office of Judicial Affairs
with a recommendation of expulsion from the university for any violation of the code. To
insure this is understood, all students will be required to sign an academic integrity
pledge at the beginning of the semester that will cover all assignments in the course.
Religious Observances
By the second class, please advise me, in writing, of any absences planned for religious
observances. Assignments will be due prior to the missed class.

Disabilities: Staff at the universitys Disability Support Service, in the Counseling Center,
will determine appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities.
Learning Assistance Service 2202 Shoemaker Building LAS-CC@umd.edu
301-314-7693 www.counseling.umd.edu/LAS/
Students in Need of Assistance: If you are experiencing personal stress that is
interfering with your ability to succeed, please consider contacting the Counseling
Center or the Mental Health Service at the University Health Center for an appointment.
The Counseling Center also offers online resources on a series of topics.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES -- See further down for the live schedule.
As a journalism capstone, this class is organized and managed very closely to the way an in-depth project
would be organized and managed in a professional newsroom, except that the course has an absolute
deadline for completion of all work the end of the semester.
So, interim assignments and deadlines will be adjusted constantly throughout the semester in response to
the information that you gather through your reporting. The dates specific skills are taught will depend on
how the reporting progresses; I try to teach each skill at the optimal moment when you can put it to
immediate test.
With that in mind, here is a SAMPLE schedule, to give you an idea of what to expect -- but this
semester's actual schedule (which starts below it) likely will differ significantly:
Week 1:
Spring project introductory discussion. What issue are we investigating and why? What are the
expectations and goals?
Skill development:
- Review of key journalistic ethical standards for the reporting process
- Spreadsheets, shared folders and other organization tools for managing long-term investigative projects.

- Research strategies, advanced Google search techniques; WorldCat; Google Scholar.

Journalism text reading:
Weeks 2 - 4:
Skill development:
Pre-reporting (issue backgrounding), project selection, reporting plan development, source selection
and development, interviewing, FOI, data gathering.
Journalism text reading:
- Story-based Inquiry, chapters 1-5

- Instructor tip sheets: Picking and Pursuing Investigative Projects, FOI: A Reporters Guide, Art
of the Investigative Interview
Assignments:
- Conduct topic-specific research to provide background/context for the issues on which students will
be reporting. This includes meetings with experts in class, outside of class or, when available, at
conferences; reading assignments that include scholarly articles, scientific studies, government
reports; research assignments.
- Produce story-quality research memos or news articles; update with each weeks research and
reporting. By continually updating memos or stories over the semester, students see how their
understanding of an issue changes as they dig deeper and gather more information.
Weeks 5-7
Weekly class project meetings for reporting updates, group problem solving and planning.
Skill development:
Verification; time management; specialized interviewing techniques for vulnerable subjects, hostile
subjects; other skills that may be important to the semesters topic.
Journalism text reading:
- The Verification Handbook I & II
- Instructor tip sheets: Art of the Sensitive Interview, The Hostile Subject, Verification Tools
Assignments:
- Report, report, report.
- Create a weekly reporting plan; provide weekly updates at class meetings; update story-quality
memos as required by the instructor
Weeks 8-11
Review key journalism ethics standards for presenting information.
Skill development:
Techniques for organizing, writing, editing, producing investigative projects; data analysis; fact
checking.
Journalism text reading:
- Story-based Inquiry, chapters 6-8
- Instructor tip sheets: Bullet-proofing your story
Assignments:

Report, produce and revise drafts of project assignments

Weeks 12-15:
- Final project submission
- Fact check of another students submission
- Revisions for correcting errors and responding to instructor queries
Final exam date:
- Class meeting for final fact check, debriefing and celebration.

SPRING 2016 SCHEDULE

STOP! DON'T USE THIS SCHEDULE. USE "SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS" IN
THE 1-INTEL-HOME FOLDER ON GOOGLE DRIVE.
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT (Scroll down for class schedule & assignments)
Since 9/11, the intelligence community has rekindled ties with public universities, enlisting them as
allies in the War on Terror. Billions of dollars in federal money is flowing onto college campuses for
an array of programs that take many forms, not all publicly acknowledged. Anytime large amounts of
tax dollars are involved, and especially when transactions are done under the cloak of secrecy, the
news media has reason (and some of us would say an obligation) to take a closer look.
Thats what youll be doing. This is a classic government accountability project. You will follow the
money going to one or more universities. Intel money flows onto campuses from a variety of
agencies through a variety of programs and sometimes through private or nonprofit middlemen. It
flows to an array of people and programs, both on campus and (as with University of Maryland) off
campus. Your challenge will be to track down as many pieces of the puzzle as you can, so we can
see what picture emerges.
Youll track down where moneys coming from, where its supposed to go, what its supposed to be
used for, what its supposed to accomplish and then dig down to find out whats actually
happening. Beyond the money, you'll be looking at how the fruits of these projects might be used for
or against the public good. Youll do all that by developing sources, mining the internet and filing
public records requests. Finding classified activity likely will require extra sleuthing. Does the
university have rules about conducting classified work on campus? Are the rules followed? We want
to know the good, the bad and the ugly of what intel money and programs are doing on campuses
in numbers and people and examples.
Master's students: In addition to investigating universities, the masters students also will each do
deep research and reporting on significant past events and controversies that involved
intel-academe liaisons. Besides known events, you might trace technology used to spy on citizens
to government-funded university research -- or that thwarted foreign hacking.
Over the course of the semester, you will produce richly detailed and footnoted story-quality memos
for a project that will be published in The Washington Post, probably later this year. Depending on

the quality and quantity of your work, youll get either a byline or credit line with Dana Priest, Deb
Nelson or other Post reporters. Youll also get a recommendation letter from Dana and Deb that
details your contribution to the project and extols your journalistic virtues.
Welcome to the I-team!
SCHEDULE & ASSIGNMENTS
FEB 1
Google search quiz & competition - First we'll test your Google literacy with a 10-question quiz on
advanced search terms. Plus a prize for the first person to find the answer online to a question tba.
Discussion - Dana Priest & Deb
What issue are we investigating, why and how? Top Secret America, Intel agency overview
Skills
- 10-minute primer on building and using Google Drive Sheets
Applied skills:
- Crowdsource exercise: You'll apply your advanced search skills to find and build together a starter
list of programs that funnel federal intel money into universities.
- University assignments. You will be assigned universities by region and start by
analyzing/cataloguing documents collected through FOI requests by the fall media law class + follow
up on requests that are still pending.
- Due by 11am Feb. 8: Google Drive sheet with contract details from your assigned universities.
NOTE ON ASSIGNMENTS for the week ahead:
1. Make a copy of the Contracts spreadsheet and put it in your folder.
2. Enter at least 5 contracts into the spreadsheet. If you can do more, great! But it likely will
be a slow go at first, until you become familiar with their formats. You'll also need time to
Google foreign terminology and acronyms. So don't fret. Take your time. And don't worry
if you don't understand everything. Make note of questions and we'll go over everything
in class on Monday. You also can give me a shout anytime.
Tip: Each university provided its records in a different format. Some put multiple contracts in one pdf,
others sent separate files. So first spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the material. Skim
or click through it all so you have a sense of how its organized (or disorganized). Take time to read
the beginning and end sections of the media law memo.
1. Interview contract recipients and/or participants. You should say something like, "I'm
working on a project for The Washington Post about national security programs at
universities. We're looking at the role they play in providing courses, research and
product development."

You can elaborate further if pressed by explaining that a lot of federal money has been going to
universities post 9-11, so were looking at what its for, what it has produced as well as what impact
its having on the universities.
Why are you calling him/her? "The university provided us with your contract and I wanted to find out
a little more about the research (or course or project) that you're doing."
If asked about your relationship with the Post, explain that you are part of a team of student
journalists at University of Maryland working under the direction of Post reporter Dana Priest and
Assoc. Prof. Deborah Nelson.
Some things to ask:

how the contract came about. Did the agency approach them or did they respond
to an RFP (Request for Proposals) from the agency or ??
if a research project, whats the goal? Do they know what the information will be
used for? What restrictions are placed on publication, and does that make them
uncomfortable
have they done other intel research? Do they know what has come of it? Any
classified work? What do they know about the classified work done on campus?
What are campus policies on classified work? Any concerns raised on campus?
who else you should talk to. Thats Source Development 101.
2 more essential reporting questions, no matter what the topic: How many? and
Can you give me an example? You should always be looking for relevant stats and
illustrative examples.

Tip: Some profs/officials respond better to emails, others to phone calls. I usually leave messages
both ways. If theyre non-responsive, initiate the Rule of Threes: Call in the morning, email after
lunch and call again around 4pm their time.
1. When you need a break in the contract-reading action -- do a Web search to see if you
can find out more information about the contract work or recipient online. At some point
this week or x=in the next two weeks, you'll also need to do a Web search to identify any
classified or unclassified work that wasn't included in the contracts that the university
provided. ALSO: LOOK FOR FACULTY, STUDENTS, OTHERS WHO HAVE
EXPRESSED CONCERNS ABOUT CLASSIFIED WORK OR NSA/CIA PRESENCE ON
CAMPUS.
Remember the two handy search strings we discussed in class. The first one searches the agency
websites for references to your university:
"NAME OF YOUR UNIVERSITY", (site:nsa.gov OR site:cia.gov OR site:dni.gov OR site:dia.mil)
The second one searches your university's website for references to the agencies:

site:YOURUNIVERSTYurl.edu, ("nsa" OR "national security agency" OR "CIA" OR "central

intelligence agency OR "DNI" "Director of National Intelligence OR "DIA" OR "defense intelligence
agency),
1. CHATTY MEMO
Write a reporting memo of ~300-500 words on your review of the documents, web search and
interview. This might include questions, highlights, patterns, observations, oddities, leads worth
following up, etc. You can make it conversational. This memo should be as much for you as for us.
Make sure it's in your home folder.
And give a shout if you have any questions, great finds or need help.
FEB 8
Due by class time:
Make a copy of the Contracts spreadsheet and put it in your folder.
Enter contracts for your universities into the spreadsheet. See detailed instructions and tips in purple
above.
Interview at least one recipient/participant of an intel contract from your university. See detailed
instructions and tips in purple above.
Do a Web search to see if you can find out more info about the projects in the contracts or identify
any classified or unclassified work that wasn't included in the contracts that the university provided.
See detailed instructions and tips in purple above.
Write a reporting memo of ~300- 500 words on your review of the documents, web search and
interview. This might include questions, highlights, patterns, observations, oddities, leads worth
following up, etc. You can make it conversational. This memo should be as much for you as for us.
Make sure it's in your home folder.
And give a shout if you have any questions, great finds or need help.
In class:
Skills
1-2 Cypersecurity apps, tools and techniques to protect you and your reporting.
Heres the link to the scratchpad
https://tech.occrp.org/etherpad/p/hODLpbXd6g (Links to an external site.)
In the very last two rows are our emails and our GPG Fingerprints lets see if anyone uses it ;)
Here is what they sent for readings:
Readings:

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html (Links to an external site.)

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/girls-around-me-ios-app-takes-creepy-to-a-new-level/
(Links to an external site.)
https://theintercept.com/2015/11/12/edward-snowden-explains-how-to-reclaim-your-privacy/ (Links
to an external site.) (this is particularly good)
Bonus materials:
http://actualfacebookgraphsearches.tumblr.com/ (Links to an external site.) (I'm a big fan of this one)
https://www.imperialviolet.org/2013/12/03/forwardsecretforjournalists.html (Links to an external site.)
https://www.salon.com/2014/04/23/this_totally_creepy_art_project_will_make_you_think_twice_abou
t_nsa_mass_surveillance/ (Links to an external site.)
Discussion:
2-2:30 Contract review debriefing, Q&A on decoding contracts
2:30-3:45 In-class research and reporting session
Where youre headed: Youll write a story-quality profile of each university that focuses on how much
and what kind of work theyre doing for intelligence agencies, how classified work is handled and
whether any controversies over it has arisen. As part of that, try to identify what the major knowledge
contributions have been from that institution, the programs/offices/schools involved in the work and
any particular individuals who stand out as playing a key role. Well try to finish all the universities
before break. Then youll focus the second half of the semester on reporting out the most intriguing
or troubling leads youve come across. You may be teamed up with someone at that point.
POST-CLASS NOTES - WEEK AHEAD ASSIGNMENTS
Pick up the speed on reading/logging contract info. Complete phase 1 work on at least two
universities by class time. Completing phase 1 work means finishing all contracts and taking
the additional steps described above in the purple note, which has been updated.
TIP FOR DECODING HIGH MATH/HIGH TECH CONTRACT DESCRIPTIONS: Try putting the
terms (such as "Nonnegative Matrix Factorizations") and the name of the PI (principle investigator) in
Google Scholar. Be sure to access Google Scholar through the lib.umd.edu website, because then
you get free access to full text of the journal article -- but only if you click on the links to the right of
the list rather than the titles within the list. (You can find the instructions under the first class's
assignments in the Schedule and Assignments Google Doc) DOWNLOAD ANY RELEVANT
ARTICLES AND DRAG THEM INTO THE UNIVERSITY FOLDER FOR EASY RETRIEVAL.
CREATE A NEW FOLDER CALLED JOURNAL ARTICLES & PUT THEM IN THERE.
Look for my comments on your memos and spreadsheets for other tasks. (If you see read in
the spreadsheet, theres a comment attached. Just hover over the cell and it will appear.)

Please add the new columns (in bold) from the Contracts Master Spreadsheet to your contract
spreadsheets and backfill for the contracts you've already done. We're looking for new details on the
nature of the projects and the redactions.
Tips:
To widen or narrow a column, just place the curser at the right edge of the top cell of the column (the
one with the letter in it). When an arrow appears, left click and hold down to drag to the width you
want.
To wrap the copy to fit the column width, define the cell or entire column, then go to the toolbar on
top and click on the icon pictured below

FEB 15 SNOW DAY#2 SEE POST-CLASS NOTES BELOW.

Before class, read 10 Expert Tips in Finding Who, Where and When (Links to an external site.) and
Art of the Investigative Interview (Links to an external site.)(2 pages) With 10 Expert Tips, try out at
least half the tips with a name of your choosing.
Skills:
- Finding and cultivating sources
- Interviewing
- Backgrounding individuals
- Setting up Google alerts for people/issues of interest
Applied skills:
- Identify and locate contact information for people who may be able to shed light on some of the
intel-funded activities at your universities.
- Complete your university research as described above and in the email you received last week.
Finish the contracts and select another university. We must get through all the universities before
we can move to Phase II of the project. Look at the spreadsheet to see which universities still
need to be done.
- Add another entry to your memo. Summarize the progress youve made, interesting findings, story
threads that might be worth checking out. Put this at the bottom of your first memo.
If the weather is hazardous today, well end early so you can complete the work from the
safety/coziness of home.
POST-CLASS NOTES
I hope everyone's staying warm or, if not, having fun in the snow!

Thanks for some cool memos this week that included promising leads that we'll likely ask
you to develop in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, here's a University Profile Template (Links to an external site.) (in the home
folder on Google Drive) for an assignment due by spring break, so we can quickly move to
phase 2 of our project upon your return. I've also copied it below. Everyone will need to
complete two profiles -- one for each of two universities. Please respond as soon as you
receive this email to confirm which two universities you will do -- and make sure your name is
next to them on the Intel Team spreadsheet.(If you chose two universities with only a handful
of contracts, then you'll need to do three.) The profiles will help you (and Dana and me) see
how much information you've gathered, what the holes are in your reporting and what
promising leads might be worth pursuing in phase 2. This is standard practice for long-term
projects. You stop and write to see both what you have and what you still need.
Your assignment this past week was to finish logging contracts for your two universities (or
more if you drew universities with few contracts), as per the post-class email and the Google
Drive schedule. If you did that, you're in great shape!! If not, you're going to have to really
hustle to finish all that by next week -- AND do the other reporting that's outlined in the
schedule in time to do the profiles.
Please let me know if you will be in need of coffee beans to make the deadlines. I'm happy to
be your supplier. And for inspiration, here's an email from Lejla (encrypted, of course) about
a big payoff from one of the skills she learned in the class: Reasons am grateful for having
had your tutelage: _____, I and another reporter have been banging our heads against a wall
trying to prove a story for about three weeks. Yesterday I said "this is ridiculous, I'm building
a timeline!" And voila, it unraveled itself at 5:30 p.m.
More on timelines later! Next week, we'll cover source development, interviewing and
hopefully have enough material from you for a story meeting too.
FEB 22
Assignment due by today:
Finish logging contracts for two or more universities as per previous notes (above)
Review the tasks in the purple, green and brown notes above
Update the memo with what youve learned in the past week and what you plan to accomplish in the
week ahead. Extra points for specificity in your week ahead reporting strategy.
Skills:
- Finding and cultivating sources
- Interviewing
- Backgrounding individuals
- Setting up Google alerts for people/issues of interest

Discussion:
Story meeting. What patterns emerge from the data and interviews? What themes? What
unusual/intriguing/interesting information outside the patterns? How might they be storified and
reported out? What gaps are there in the data, and how might we report them out?
Applied skills:
- Identify and locate contact information for people who may be able to shed light on some of the
intel-funded activities at your universities.
Class notes: Check Google Scholar for studies about or funded by our target agencies -- both those
involving work done under contracts they provided as well as those done under contracts they didnt
give us.. Heres how to get started:

Go to www.lib.umd.edu
Click on the Database tab
Type Google Scholar into the search box
Click on the Google Scholar link.
Type these search term: National Security Agency, and then university of blahblah By
university of blah-blah, I mean type the name of your university.
If the NSA funded it, that will be noted somewhere in the text -- usually at the end of the
article and before the footnotes.

Try other agencies, e.g. (CIA OR Central Intelligence Agency), university of blah blah
FEB 29 LEAP DAY!
Guest speaker: William Binney, a famous NSA whistleblower and a career mathematician at NSA
Please use your advanced Googling skills to background yourself on him before then.
New: Go to BINNEY QUESTIONS (Links to an external site.) and post the name of at least one math
contract that you'd like our guest speaker to help explain and/or a program or center that you're still
trying to figure out. You may post more than one but be selective. You also may post other
project-related questions that you think he might be able to answer, based on what you've learned
by researching his background. And do research his background. You get much more out of sources
if your questions/comments reflect an understanding of who they are/what they've done/what they
know.
Your weekly memo update is due by class time. Now that youve completed work on the contracts,
your notes should reflect some deeper digging on what theyre about and whats happening on your
campus. We want to see significant progress toward some great profiles. Read the class notes
above to refresh your recollection about what questions you should be pursuing. If you have one
university thats significantly less interesting than another, please see me so we can allocate your
time appropriately. IN YOUR MEMO, PLEASE ALSO INCLUDE LEADS -- PROGRAMS,
PROJECTS, PATTERNS, STORY IDEAS -- THAT YOU THINK DESERVE A CLOSER LOOK IN
PHASE II.

I love to hear from you. So please dont hesitate to call/text/email/request a meeting to discuss
whatever big or small.
MAR 7
Individual meetings; class work session on university profiles, due Friday. Reminder that
thetemplate (Links to an external site.) is in the Intel folder. No graded memo updates, but you
should update the memos for your own benefit.
LOOKING AHEAD:
University Profiles (Links to an external site.) ARE DUE BY MAR. 11
MAR 21 WELCOME BACK!
WELCOME BACK!
In class today:
TEAM MEETINGS
- Dana or I will meet with you individually or in teams to discuss your phase 2 assignment -- which
you'll receive tomorrow if you haven't already.
PHASE 2 PROJECT -- DATA DUMP
While thats going on
- Well consolidate information that each of you gathered on specific topics that well be pursuing in
phase 2 of the intel project. Youll do that by copying portions of your university profiles and notes
into topic files. (Please note that everyone needs to fill in the STATS column in the Student
Recruitment/Data Dump and to fill in the POLICY columns in Classified Dump.)
Everyone should go through every Dump file in alpha order and fill it out for each university. If theres
nothing applicable from your university, youll stop at the n/a column and move on to the next file.
(Its as important to know which schools dont have relevant info as which do.)
- Youll then read topic files related to the story youre pursuing in phase 2 and each write a job
description.
DUE BEFORE FRIDAY 3/25:
Write a description of the story you hope to pursue. Start with the topic area that you discussed with
Dana. Sharpen and focus it. Tell us what you think the strongest, most interesting angle is -- based
on your reporting thus far + a review of the dump files most relevant to your topic. (See the examples
below from last spring's project.) Then provide several big questions that you hope to answer. Put it
in the "Job Descriptions" folder on Google Drive.
Let me know when it's there via email or text message. Try to get this done in the next couple days -but before Friday. Dana and I then will revise and refine your descriptions and have a new story list
ready for you on Monday.

This is a quick turnaround assignment. While you should give it some thought, don't fret about it. It
won't be graded. And it's okay if you're not sure it's what Dana intended. She'll make adjustments as
needed. If you have multiple topics on your plate, choose one to develop in this way. Decide which
you consider the most interesting and significant.
EXAMPLES. Here are some examples of story descriptions. They were developed by students who
worked on the human trafficking project last spring:
Weve been told that sex trafficking is hidden in plain sight. My job is to make it visible. To be able to
describe what it looks like, Ill pore through court records to gather evidence on traffickers and the
testimony of victims. Then Ill visit the scenes of the crimes to get a sense of the places where
trafficking occurs, the people who are doing it and the people it affects.
Federal and state anti-sex trafficking laws and initiatives: Everyone seems to be talking about sex
trafficking these days -- federal, state and local governments. But are they putting any money where
their mouths are? How much (or little) money have state and local governments put into their
antitrafficking initiatives? I will use stats and examples, like the penniless county task force thats
only managed to raise $100 in donations so far.
Police & prosecution: Baltimore had zero human trafficking prosecutions last year. How can that be
in a city thats on everyones top-10 list of sex trafficking locales? Ill compare prostitution arrest stats
with human trafficking prosecution stats statewide to see where else the problem is falling between
the cracks. To help answer why, Ill follow a case thats thats prosecuted under trafficking laws to
see what it takes to catch a trafficker.
MAR 28
STORIES: Story assignments and meetings. You'll get and start work on your story assignment for
phase 2 of the project. Scroll down for ultimate deadlines.
PROFILES: Update due Monday - In your university profiles, add the official policy and
procedures for classified research. What is the official policy? What office reviews them? Include
any relevant links.Please update the Classified Dump file too.
You also need to have started the process of reporting it out by today -- call the reviewing
office/agency to ask for:
- details about the approval process, and whether its different for on-campus and off-campus
research.
- details about numbers of types of research projects that have sought/received approval
- what information about them is public and what is off limits. What can we get by asking vs what
requires a public records request?
APR 4

DUE BY 6:30AM: A 500-word, footnoted story on your assigned topic in the STORY DRAFTS
folder.DO NOT EXCEED THE WORD LIMIT. At the end, in addition to the 500 words, attach a note
about what questions / information youre still pursuing and how.
LOOKING AHEAD - FINAL DEADLINES
May 9
6:30am:

Final draft of your fact-checked and footnoted story + interview notes, contact
information, documents and other supporting evidence. See below for rubric. Length
TBD by your reporting.22.5% of your grade.
Final drafts of your university profiles + all of the above. 22.5% of your grade

In class: Youll get fact-check assignments due May 13. See below for details.

May 13: 1:30-3:30 -- no exam but we will meet + fact-check assignments due. Pizza!

Fact-checked stories and profiles. 45% of your grade

You must fact check your own work by May 9. However, you also will be assigned someone elses
stories and profiles to fact check. Fact check = check each and every fact against the original,
authoritative sources. This requires calling people who are quoted/cited and checking primary
documentation. Your grade is based on a thorough and complete fact-check as described
below.Everyone makes errors. The key is finding them -- which is why the fact check is so important.
Any errors you or your fact-checker find will NOT hurt your grade. Any significant errors Dana or I
find WILL result in an F for the author AND the fact checker. (e.g. misspelled name, incorrect names
of programs or agencies, inaccurate affiliations = significant errors .) Minor errors will result in a C or
D for both. Scroll down for detailed instructions.
---------------------------------------------------Rubric for story and profiles
A = Successful completion of a multi-source report based on exceptionally resourceful, thorough,
independent reporting that utilizes documents, data and human sources; 100% accuracy in the final
published piece and in the classmate's piece that you fact check; consistent and reliable participation
in and completion of newsroom assignments by deadlines, including but not limited to staff meetings,
interviews, readings, research, graphics, multimedia and story revisions.
B = Successful completion of a multi-source report based on thorough, independent reporting that
utilizes documents, data and human sources; 100% accuracy in the final published piece and in the
classmate's piece that you fact check; consistent and reliable participation in and completion of
newsroom assignments by deadlines, including but not limited to staff meetings, interviews,
readings, research, graphics, multimedia and story revisions.

C = Multi-source report based on independent reporting that utilizes documents, data and human
sources; This is is the highest grade you will earn if: a) there are any inaccuracies in your piece or
the piece that you fact check OR b) you do not reliably and consistently perform newsroom
assignments on deadline OR c) you are inconsistent or unreliable in performing newsroom
assignments by deadlines OR you don't successfully complete your project. Depending on the
degree to which your work is deficient, you may earn a D.
F Plagiarism, fabrication, gross inaccuracies
The fact check of your own reports:
1. Go word by word and RE-check every name, job title, number, date, location, and fact
against the source -- and then footnote the source. For example, check an
agency's/organization's name against its official website and put the link in the footnote +
your initial. If a fact comes from a court document, cite filename and page and Google
Doc link. All documents used as sources should be uploaded to your story folder.
2. Put the phone number and email of all people sources in footnotes. You will contact
them in the week ahead to go over the part of the report that pertains to them and to let
them know that an independent fact checker will be contacting them next week and it's
important that they return his/her call.
3. Do unto others and all that: In footnoting your fact check, remember you'll be doing a fact
check of someone else's story. Think of what would make the process fastest and
easiest for the person who will do yours.
4. YOU are responsible for Danas and my mistakes. Fact check and correct ALL facts/
language that we add to your reports during the review process.
The fact check of others reports:
1. Make a copy of the report. Put FC in front of the name, so we know it is the fact-checked
version.
2. Go word by word and check every name, job title, number, date, location, and fact
against the footnoted source and, when relevant, through your own independent
research. You need to call people who are mentioned in the report.
YELLOW HIGHLIGHT each fact and footnote you have verified.
RED HIGHLIGHT any fact or footnote that is inaccurate. Put the correct information in the copy in
bold. Put any explanations in a comment.
ORANGE HIGHLIGHT any fact or footnote that you are unable to check. Put explanation in a
comment.
This is serious. The facts in your reports will be published.Your name will be in a byline or credit line.