module specification

Students will learn to place their skills in, and understanding of, journalism in relation to today’s multimedia digital environment. They will develop their writing, production and design skills to a professional level, learning how to adopt creative approaches to creating journalistic stories across platforms, including social networking services such as Twitter, blogs and online journalism. Students will be asked to build multimedia applications, blogs, websites and ways of working that engage the audience in more interactive and participatory ways.

Specifically, the module will introduce students to the writing skills and technical demands of online, audio and visual journalism. Students will be asked to develop and deliver news stories working individually and as part of a team.

UG Degree

To enable students to:
1. Develop a complex, professional understanding of different ways to develop and write for non-print news platforms.
2. Learn key techniques of multimedia journalism, including both writing and site management, and develop basic skills in audio and video news production.
3. Produce an online site that has multimedia and web 2.0 attributes which demonstrates a critical understanding of the role multimedia platforms play in news production. It will develop a variety of approaches to interactivity, audience participation and user generated content
4. Evaluate the use of multimedia stories, web sites and blogs in contemporary journalism practice in relation to the economic, ideological and professional functions they serve.

This module is a practically-based one using seminars dedicated to hands-on experience with the development of multimedia journalism projects for digital platforms. It intends to give the students tools to work with multimedia narratives more attuned with this new “mediascape.” Students will learn how to develop multimedia projects, working with different formats, such as text, hypertext, photos, video and audio. The digital technology training will be placed within journalistic contexts.

Teaching methods include seminars, seminar discussion, practical workshops and tutorials. Students are expected to complete the weekly guided reading and develop these with further research, using a variety of sources (primary and secondary) for their assignments. Seminars and tutorials will be used to raise issues, questions and seek feedback.

Students will study for a total of 150 hours made up in the following ways:
* Time tabled sessions: 3-hour workshop per week
* Preparation for assessment: two hours per week per assessment
* Self directed study: four hours per week (including the above 3hours)
* Private review of assessment after receiving feedback: five hours total.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Learn how to produce news stories in a range of multimedia contexts, including how to publish and produce online
2. Effectively use and critically evaluate a range of multimedia packages, websites and blogs and their role in professional journalism.
3. Produce an effective online, multimedia news experience that shows attention to copy and content, the appropriate stylistic devices of specific platforms that demonstrates an ability to use material over different media, depending on the needs of the story in question
4. Demonstrate the ability to work effectively across platforms as part of a team producing multimedia outputs to deadlines.
5. Understand key tools in search engine optimisation and analytics.
6. Be able to use cameras and video editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro) to make and cut video packages. Be able to use audio recorders and editing software (Adobe Audition) to produce audio packages.

This is a postgraduate level core module with assessment tools appropriate to the demonstration of learning outcomes. It will allow students to develop and produce news and features and demonstrate familiarity and competence with multimedia tools in gathering and publishing news.

BBC Academy, 2013. BBC College of Journalism Website. [Online].
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Bull, A., 2010. Multimedia Journalism: A Practical Guide. Abingdon: Routledge.
Chantler, P. & Stewart, P., 2009. Essential Radio Journalism. London: A and C Black.
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Hudson, G. & Rowlands, S., 2007. The Broadcast Journalism Handbook. Harlow: Pearson.
Thompson, R., 2010. Writing for Broadcast Journalists. Abingdon: Routledge.
Wenger, D.H. & Deborah, P., 2012. Advancing the Story, Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World. Washington: CQ Press.
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