Main Aims of the Unit

This unit is at an introductory level which provides basic foundation information about journalism and reporting skills, and the underpinning knowledge that informs journalism practice in the digital age.

The Unit will consider core skills such as news values, news sources, interviewing, writing for a range of platforms and different approaches to production and output.

The Unit will deal with the development of journalism as a profession and the ways in which digital convergence has changed the nature of that profession and has reduced divisions between specific media and journalism skills. It will introduce students to the new multi media cross platform approaches now required and some of the new technologies. The Unit will also consider the wide range of specialist journalism, reporting, and production options which are opening up for the successful journalist.

Main Topics of Study

Journalism as a Profession

• Practical Theory of Journalism
• History of Print from Guttenberg to the Computer
• The Rise of Broadcast Journalism
• New online journalism
• Ethics, Regulations and Guidelines

Ethics, Law and free Speech

• Journalism Ethics
• Codes of Conduct - NUJ etc
• Freedom of Information
• European Convention on Human Rights
• Defamation and Libel
• Copyright
• Court Reporting
• Reporting Restrictions
• Contempt of Court

Constraints and Influences on Journalists

• Ownership and control
• Audience
• Advertising and Advertisers
• Regulation and self regulation
• Codes of Conduct
• Monetising the web

What Is News?

• Definitions of News
• News Values
• Objectivity and Impartiality
• Types of News
• News Agendas
• Agenda setting

News Sources

• Contacts
• Calls
• Primary Definers
• Government
• Courts
• PR and Spin
• News Access
• Note taking and Record Keeping
• Newsgroups and the Web

The Language of News

• Language in Print
• Language and Broadcasting
• International comparisons - inc US Broadcast Language and Style
• The Soundbite

Comment, opinion and conjecture

• Objectivity & subjectivity
• Bias
• Agenda setting
• Gatekeeping

The Digital Newsroom

• The Modern Newspaper Newsroom
• The Radio Newsroom
• The Television Newsroom
• The Digital Multi-Platform Newsroom (Guardian and ITN-on models)
• Newsroom management
• Newsroom hierarchies
• Newsroom negatives

The Digital Reporter

• Roles and responsibilities
• Types of Reporter
• Research
• Note taking and record keeping
• Necessary skills - traditional
• Necessary skills - digital and multi platform
• Recording equipment

The Interview- Print

• Why do you need interviews
• Choosing interviewees
• Interview techniques

The Interview - Radio

• The role of the interview
• Types of interview
• Preparing for the Interview - editorial
• Preparing for an interview - technical
• Dealing with the interviewee- putting them at their ease
• Framing the questions
• Structuring an interview
• Vox pops
• Live interviews
• Telephone interviews
• Two ways
• The soundbite 
• Interviewing for editing and post production

News Writing for Radio & Television

• Approaches to news writing - conversational style
• Sentence construction
• Word choice
• Elision 
• Punctuation 
• Presentation and layout 
• Clichés and jargon 
• Numeracy and numbers 
• Headlines and links
• Voice pieces

Presenting News for Radio and Television

• The Television studio
• The radio studio 
• Location recording equipment - radio and television

Production and post production

• Software editing packages - an introduction
• Sound and soundscapes
• Graphics and other visual support material

Film, video, still and other visual elements

• An introduction to video and still photography
• Matching words and pictures
• Graphics

Online and Text Journalism

• Adapting scripts for Online
• Headlines
• Navigation
• Adding editorial value
• Writing for teletext
• Writing for cellphones and other small mobile devices

Specialist Journalism

• Public Affairs
• Comment and Opinion
• Profiles
• Sports Reporting
• Lifestyle
• Business
• Environment
• Music and Entertainment
• Children’s

Learning Outcomes for the Unit 

Knowledge and Understanding - having completed this Unit learners will have :

1. A general comprehension of the key issues of contemporary journalism
2. An awareness of the restraints - legal, regulatory, technological and logistical - on a contemporary journalist
3. A perception of the importance of media ownership structures
4. An understanding about how to use spoken and written language effectively across all digital platforms
5. An understanding of the technical equipment and professional skills required to operate as a journalist in a digital environment
6. An understanding of the professional and other specialist skills the journalist will need to develop in the future
7. Knowledge of the wide range of available specialist career opportunities.

The numbers in the boxes below show which of the above unit learning outcomes are related to particular cognitive and key skills.

Learning and teaching methods/strategies used to enable the achievement of learning outcomes:

Learning should take place on a number of levels, principally through lectures, but centres should also encourage seminars, presentation and class discussion, including review and analysis of current media issues.

Formal lectures should provide a foundation of information on which the student builds through directed learning and self managed learning outside the class. 

Assessment methods which enable the student to demonstrate the learning outcomes for the Unit:

Examination: 3 hours duration 100%

Indicative Reading For This Unit

Main Text

Herbert.John (2000)- Journalism In The Digital Age - (Focal Press)
Harcup, Tony (2004)- Journalism - Principles and Practices (Sage)

Alternative Text and Further Reading

Hudson, Gary and Rowlands, Sarah (2007) - The Broadcast Journalism Handbook (Pearson Longman) - also main textbook for Digital Video and Audio Journalism (level 2 Unit)
Beaman, Jim ( 2000) Interviewing for Radio - (Routledge)
Davies, Nick (2008) Flat Earth News - (Chatto and Windus)
Trewin, Janet (2003) - Presenting on TV and Radio ( Focal Press)

Guideline for Teaching and Learning Time (10 hrs per credit)

50 hours Lectures/ Seminars/Tutorials/Workshops
Tutorial support includes feedback on assignments and may vary from college to college according to local needs and wishes

50 hours Directed Learning
Advanced reading, research and preparation, background reading, Group study and portfolio

50 hours Self managed learning
Working through the course text and other recommended reading material, use of the web, interaction with other students and in the field research at relevant sporting events