JOUR 280 - Covering Courts and the Law

Credits: 3

Appropriate for non-majors. Prerequisite: at least sophomore class standing. Courthouses make the best beats by providing a window on what is important to the American people. This course introduces students to the U.S. court system, its players, language and impact on the public at large. Students learn how to identify newsworthy legal stories, read court documents, and make sense of them in order to write clear, compelling, fair and accurate news stories for mass audiences.