SM7109 - Digital Journalism (2023/24)
| Module specification | Module approved to run in 2023/24 | ||||||||||||
| Module title | Digital Journalism | ||||||||||||
| Module level | Masters (07) | ||||||||||||
| Credit rating for module | 20 | ||||||||||||
| School | School of Computing and Digital Media | ||||||||||||
| Total study hours | 200 | ||||||||||||
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| Assessment components |
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| Running in 2023/24(Please note that module timeslots are subject to change) |
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Module summary
Students will learn to place their skills in, and understanding of, journalism in relation to today’s 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 different media platforms, (including social networks, such as Twitter TikTok, Facebook Live, Snapchat). Students will be asked to build multimedia packages, blogs, websites and develop ways of working that engage the audience in 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.
Prior learning requirements
N/A
Syllabus
This module is a practically-based one, using seminars dedicated to hands-on experience with the development of digital journalism projects for different platforms. It intends to give the students tools to work with multimedia narratives in a multi-platform digital “mediascape.” Students will learn how to develop digital projects, working with different formats (text, hypertext, photos, video, audio) and platforms (producing for online and mobile platforms) and how to develop story-telling across different digital platforms. The digital technology training will be placed within journalistic contexts.
Balance of independent study and scheduled teaching activity
Teaching methods include lectures and on-line interactive learning material, tutorials, seminar discussions and computer lab sessions. Students will be expected to attend lectures and take part in on-line activities as well as comment on their readings. A blended learning strategy will be employed to enhance the learning experience. The VLE will be used as a platform to support online discussions and situated learning experiences and to facilitate formative assessment and related feedback as well as a tool to integrate useful online learning materials provided by professional organisations and other relevant sources.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. Learn how to produce news stories in a range of digital contexts and across platforms, including how to publish and produce online
2. Produce an effective online, digital 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
3. Demonstrate the ability to work effectively across platforms as part of a team producing digital news outputs to deadlines.
4. Be able to record and edit video and audio factual packages, using cameras, audio recording equipment and video and audio editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition).
Assessment strategy
Coursework 1 (60%)
Students will set up a news blog and publish individual news entries in different formats and media, within the parameters given to them in the Student Handbook.
Students will also contribute to a group news website in three different capacities: Reporter, Writer/Editor and Producer. They should publish stories in different formats and media, as instructed in the Student Handbook.
Coursework 2 (40%)
Students will produce an original news project that develops the narrative of the story across different media and platforms. The story must include original reporting and interviews.