In-the-News-Report Overview and Dropbox -- Spring 2025

In-the-News Report

 Background

You will submit one (1) In-the-News Report as part of this course. 

The In-the-News Report is the approximate equivalent of a 5 minute summary of 3-5 selected major news-of-the-week items, of a country or region, presented on-line to the class during the week in which your chosen country/region is scheduled.

This short report is good practice for real-world situations in which you need to be brief and to the point, while at the same time saying something meaningful. For example, If you were to make a presentation in favor of or in opposition to a matter before the Duluth City Council, you would generally have 3 minutes to make your case for or against. 

 Tasks

 1. Sign up to present report 

You should sign up for one (1) presentation, chosen from the list of countries or regions listed by the weeks of the semester.

• • • Google Docs Sign-up Sheet for s2025 Links to an external site.
      • PERMISSIONS: You should have permission to access the file, but in some cases, usually dealing with your particular version of the UM x.500 ID [your e-mail address] you may need to request permission. There is a button on the sign-up sheet to do that (towards the bottom of your screen; if you are viewing the sheet on a small screen you might need to scroll down to see it).
        
        
    • This list of countries is coordinated, as much as possible, with the readings and videos.
      
      

2. Prepare your report

• • Length: No longer than the equivalent of a 5 minute presentation.
    
    
  • Items to include:
    
    
    • • Part 1: A useful map (one large enough to be readable)
        
        
      • Part 2: Synopses of 3-5 news items
        
        
        • include informal (journalists' style) source references
          • URL information should be included as a link, and NOT simply the URL itself. That is, the information should be written out and linked, like this: "Source: Sweet Treats Around the World". And NOT like this: https://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anthfood/SweetTreats.html#title.
            
            • That is in compliance with the Federal Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for screen readers (for the blind and sight impaired folks).
        • accurately "spellcheck" materials (including conventional punctuation)
        • (Optional) Pictures are not necessary, but you may include them if you like.
          
          
  • Reports can be very short (basically like a “news brief” like you might see or hear on TV or other legitimate news sources)
    
    
    • • e.g., a brief summary of the 3 or 4 main news items of what you consider to be the most interesting news features of the week for the country that you choose
        
        

3. Post your report

• • Post your report below using the button below.
    
    

4. Read other reports

• • You only need to present one news report, but you should read the reports of your classmates on a weekly basis. Starting the second week of the semester there will generally be one or two news reports per week.

 Criteria

Rubric

• • Refer to the rubric for this Canvas discussion for specific grading criteria (View the rubric at the top right using the three vertical dots [a "kebab menu"]).
    
    
  • GC Grading for In-the-News, Discussions, and other 18 Point Assignments
    
    
  • Percentage of course grade: ~1.5%

   Supporting Materials

Sample