#J399Sports Syllabus

Transcript

1. J399 S P O R T S C O M M U N I C A T I O N S Fall 2018 | Fridays 9 am - Noon Senior Instructor Kelli Matthews | kmatthew@uoregon.edu | meetme.so/kellimatthews | @kmatthews
2. O v e r v i e w The business of sports has exploded in the last 25 years. Sports, entertainment and marketing are completely intertwined. What used to be a career you chose because you loved the game, or the team, or an athlete, or a university is now a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon. This growth has spawned tremendous opportunity and unprecedented challenges. There are great stories to be told at every level. According to sports business pro and author Joe Favorito, sports communication pros are needed to: • Identify and tell stories to a broad audience, • Maximize the spending taking place in the industry, • Handle crises and effectively manage media opportunities • Come up with creative and unique ways to cut through the clutter. By the end of this course, you should be able to: • Identify, analyze and think critically about issues in sports. • Understand the global and cultural implications of sports and the role of communications. • Identify and understand ethical dimensions to decisions made at all level of sports. • Provide analysis, insights and recommendations on sports communications case studies. • Read, interpret and analyze media relations activities based on in-depth secondary research. • Create a plan for a creative campaign or promotion related to sports at any level. • Identify and address best practices for crisis and issues management. Book: Sports Public Relations by Jacquie L’Etang (available in the DuckStore) Other Reading (Newsletters & Blogs): Joe Favorito — joefavorito.com/ Front Office Sports — frntofficesport.com/ Hashtag Sports — hashtagsports.com Philanthrophy Playmakers - www.philanthropyplaymakers.com/
3. P r o j e c t s & A s s i g n m e n t s 1. Two Case Studies (Individual Assignment) — 20% 
 Each student will (twice) identify a case, campaign, crisis or other initiative related to their specific interests and provide some analysis, insights and recommendations. 2. Class Blog Contribution (Individual Assignment) — 10% 
 Each student will contribute once to the class blog focusing on providing opinion and analysis on an issue in sports. 3. Weekly Canvas Discussions (Individual) — 10% 
 Each week, students will respond to a discussion question or a prompt from the guest speaker (or both). Discussions will be posted by Monday each week. 4. MIDTERM Game Notes & Media Analysis (Team Project) — Due 11/2 — 25% 
 Each team of 3 will choose a sport/team currently in-season with media guides available online. Over the course of the term, teams will provide analysis of the guides, identifying key story lines. Following the game or match, the team will analyze the resulting media coverage. 
 
 Example: (Oregon Football Media Guide - https://goducks.com/feature/mediacentral2018) 5. FINAL Campaign Proposal or Crisis Response Plan (Team Project) — Due 12/5 — 25% 
 Each team of 4 will choose a sport, team, athlete or university to create a hypothetical strategic communications campaign -OR- create a crisis response for. Each team will present their campaign or crisis response weeks 10 and finals week. Teams will be assigned. 6. Attendance, Participation and Professionalism (Individual) — 10% 
 This class meets 10 times (including finals week). Each unexcused absence is 10% of your attendance score. Participation is based on in-class and on line participation (interacting with discussion threads, tweeting, etc.).
4. P r o f e s s i o n a l i s m What does it mean to be professional? What is professionalism? Is it in the way that you carry yourself? Is it what you wear? Is it your posture? How about your attitude? How do you know if someone is “professional”? Is it tangible? Intangible? Professionalism is a combination of all of the above and a thousand things that aren’t listed. I expect you to act like a professional in my classroom. Some of the specific things I look at: Technology use: Use technology appropriately. Using a laptop or tablet as a complement to classroom work and group discussions is appropriate and encouraged. Remember that texting in class is not professional (neither is texting in meetings). Please leave your phones in your bag. Attitude and Posture: Be attentive, present and interested in class lectures, guest speakers, fellow students. Email & Web communication: Emails to me or your classmates should be clear, respectful and on topic. When posting discussion questions or answers to the course website, you should also be conscientious of style and grammar, as well as clarity. Food & Drink: Water or coffee is ok, otherwise, eat your lunch before you get to class. Ultimately, professionalism is about the work, it’s about the way you interact with your peers and colleagues. It’s about being gracious and empathetic. Characteristics I associate with professionalism Being accountable. Doing what you say you’ll do, having open lines of communication, telling your supervisor or client that you don’t understand or you’re unclear or you’re in over your head. All of that is part of being accountable. I often see students try to “fake it” and not acknowledge their limitations. Putting the work first. Professionalism is about your professional work. That comes first… before your personal brand. You won’t have a very solid “brand,” by the way, if you can’t do good work. Focused on building relationships by celebrating others successes, having empathy. Being a good person, someone who people enjoy working with is also part of the equation. Professionalism means celebrating your team and giving credit where credit is due. It also means having empathy – not for just clients and colleagues, but any “stakeholder.” Relationships are paramount and the ability to build and maintain strong ones takes a real professional
5. G r a d i n g 10% 25% 25% 10% 10% 20% Cases Blog Canvas Media Guide Plan Attendance We’ll work on a combo of team & individual assignments this term. Approximately 1/2 your grade is team-based and half is individually-determined.
6. This class has 25% less class time than a typical 4-credit class. The outside-of- class work requires you engage with readings, proactively seek topics relevant to class and think critically about issues. 16% 21% 43% 19% Class Time Reading & Research Projects Other E N G A G E M E N T Estimated workload for J399 Sports Communications A 4-credit class requires 140 hours of “engagement” time over the course of the term. This chart provides an estimate for how you can expect to spend your time in this class.
7. P o l i c i e s & R e s o u r c e s DEADLINES All deadlines are firm. PLEASE DO NOT ask me or expect me to accept late work. Student activity group work CANNOT be made up. I do reserve the right to make changes to the attached reading and topic schedule, which, in turn, might affect the deadline schedule. Such changes would only be made if absolutely unavoidable, due to, for example, guest speakers’ schedules. CLASSROOM PROTOCOL You are expected to be in class on time, every time the class meets. Every student is expected to accept responsibility for getting assignments, understanding precisely what is expected, and getting the work done to a high professional standard on or before specified deadlines. DISABILITIES Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the end of the first week of the term. CONFLICT RESOLUTION Several options, both informal and formal, are available to you to resolve conflicts. First, follow the chain of command: (1) the instructor, (2) Associate Dean Pat Curtin, (3) Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda. Outside the School, you can contact the UO Bias Response Team 346-1139, Conflict Resolution Services 346-0617, or Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity office 346-3123
8. COMPUTER USE You are encouraged to bring your laptop to class & use it to participate in team projects, research and share ideas and connect via Twitter. What’s not ok: Dinking around on Facebook, shopping, checking on your fantasy sports team, etc. Provided you stay on track, your laptop is a welcome addition to my classroom. HARASSMENT Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources here https:// safe.uoregon.edu/ P o l i c i e s & R e s o u r c e s BASIC NEEDS If you are facing challenges securing food, housing, healthcare or other basic needs and believe this may affect your performance in the course, there are many resources available through the Office of the Dean of Students. If you feel comfortable doing so, please notify your instuctor so we can help connect you with what you need to be successful.
9. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT I take academic dishonesty very seriously. In this industry, your integrity is your professional capital. It’s the most powerful thing you bring to the table and you have to protect it at all costs. Academic Integrity, based on the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility, is a fundamental principle of scholarship at the UO and SOJC. UO’s Academic Misconduct Policy prohibits: plagiarism (using another person’s writing or copying any work without proper citation), fabrication, unauthorized collaboration during a test or on an assignment, or substitution for another student to take an exam, course or test. If you are to benefit from this class and be properly evaluated for your contributions, it is important for you to be familiar with and follow UO’s Academic Misconduct policy. Students are encouraged to review UO’s Academic Misconduct Policy on-line at http://policies.uoregon.edu/vol-3-administration- student-affairs/ch-1-conduct/student-conduct-code Work that violates these values is incompatible with the goals of this class and will not be tolerated. Students who are found responsible for a violation of the Academic Misconduct Policy will be sanctioned. The first offense will result in a failing grade for the assignment and a deduction from the professionalism grade. Subsequent violations will result in failing the course. Resources: Did I plagiarize? http://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/ 2014/09/16/did-i-plagiarize-the-types-and-severity-of-plagiarism- violations/ Plagiarism.org http://www.plagiarism.org/ (excellent resources including how to prevent plagiarism and a way to check your paper before you submit). P o l i c i e s & R e s o u r c e s