Welcome, students!

This is the first post of our class blog, and as such, it's purely informational. Soon, you'll help fill the blog with insightful observations on the craft of journalism and what's happening in the news.

In the syllabus are instructions about specific issues you should think about and address, but also feel free to use this blog to post other observations on ideas discussed in class, thoughts on the journalism industry and related stories that interest you or highlight concepts discussed in class. Also comment on others' posts. Let's have a conversation!

To make the most of your posts, when writing about a news article, create a link to the article. Describe or quote enough of the original to give your classmates a sense of the article -- but don't cut and paste the whole thing, or even a long passage -- then highlight a piece of text and use the link button just above the text box. It looks like this:

Please remember that posts and comments should always be respectful. Feel free to challenge the news and what you read, and agree or disagree with your fellow students, but keep it clean and polite. Challenge the position, not the person.

Many students in past classes have gone on to create their own blogs, so don't just look at this as another assignment. Have fun, and explore the possibilities of the blog. This is a place for you to have an ongoing, open conversation, and it should be a place where you can have fun!