Broadcast Journalism MA

Core modules:

Researching News

Finding, researching, and developing news stories is a basic journalistic skill and one that is common to all media. This module is intended to equip students with the understanding, knowledge, insights and skills necessary for effective journalistic research and news gathering. It seeks to develop in students some of the basic practical skills involved - such as effective interviewing and researching - with the development of 'news sense' and an understanding of the potential sources of news in a variety of settings. It will demonstrate the generic nature of news gathering skills across all media.

15 credits

Broadcast News

This module introduces you to news production for radio, television, the web and social media. You will learn basic technical skills covering recording and editing for radio and television, and the conventions of writing and presenting. It emphasises the nuts and bolts of radio and television news bulletins and starts the process of encouraging you to use production techniques effectively. You'll learn how to use a content management system and begin to learn how writing for the web differs from writing for broadcast. You will apply newsgathering and interviewing skills in broadcast situations which are structured to simulate the professional working environment. You will also have one to one voice training sessions to improve presentation skills.To get the most out of this module, you should be listening to and watching as great a variety of broadcast news as you can. A typical week might include some combination of 'Today' on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Sheffield, Hallam FM, BBC 5 Live Breakfast Programme, the main television news bulletins, Sky News and BBC News as well as all the regional programmes you can find, particularly 'Look North' and 'Calendar'. You should also log on regularly to news websites and if you haven't already done so, join Twitter (www.twitter.com) and follow as many journalists as you can find.

15 credits

Law for Journalists

This module aims to develop students' understanding of legal constraints on journalists working in the UK, including defamation and contempt law. Students will also study how matter can be published in the public interest, and how a journalist can challenge invalid restrictions. There will also be a study of the Editors' Code of Practice and the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

15 credits

Ethics and Regulation

This module examines some of the major ethical controversies in journalism. Students will explore debates about the tension between freedom of expression and the exercise of responsibility, and about the need to balance privacy rights with publishing material in the public interest. There will also be study of regulation, truth-telling, media representation of vulnerable groups and journalists' relationship with their sources. Students will explore how ethical behaviour is encouraged in journalism, and consider how the industry codes seek to achieve this in the UK.

15 credits

Power and Society - The Institutions of Government

This unit explores the institutions and organisations which significantly affect the nature of our society and which effect change within it. It explores the nature of the relationships between local, national and international institutions of government and seeks to equip journalists to understand how those relationships reflect or effect the decision making processes in society. It will also examine the structures and processes of the institutions of government at local, national and European level.

15 credits

Advanced Broadcast Journalism

The focus of this module allows you to build on the basic skills developed in IJC448. You will work on features, bulletins and programmes covering a range of formats and styles and further develop your online skills. A key exercise is a block of radio and television newsdays.

30 credits

Broadcast Journalism Portfolio

This module requires students to submit a substantial piece of journalistic work in either radio or television. The project should be accompanied by a detailed written appraisal of the editorial and production processes involved.

60 credits

Optional modules

You must choose one from the list below.

Podcast Production

This module focuses on podcasting with purpose, from the building and creativity process around an idea itself, before moving onto the nuts and bolts of branding and beyond. Students will learn in seminars and workshops about the research and planning needed to create a podcast episode and series of their choice. The key to this is finding the subject area or topic to engage the target audience. This module aims to simplify the thinking and mechanics around effective and meaningful podcasting production, thinking about branding, understanding the audience and introducing an advanced audio skillset by way of the studio, kit and software training with students. There will be time to reflect on research and pilot content, as well as to consider the importance of social media and visuals to promote podcasts. The ability to sell an idea and format is central to this module, so pitching techniques will play a key role in educating and informing students about selling their idea and platform to prospective partners and audio outlets. Creativity and end output is crucial to the success of this process, so the end goal will be to produce a teaser or trailer piece, a first podcast and the ability to understand and reflect on the work over the course of the module in a concise and constructive manner.

15 credits

Sports Journalism

This module focuses on what specialist sports reporting in a digital age involves and explores the skills necessary for a modern sports journalist across all platforms. The module encompasses a range of sports including football, F1, basketball and cricket, with a focus on how sports news is gathered, delivered and consumed.

Students will learn about how to thoroughly research specialist sports as well as the importance of finding a niche. They will be able to demonstrate background knowledge in their news gathering skills and production of digital content. Students will be introduced to different writing styles and formats including techniques for engaging an online audience today. The module will explore how the sports news agenda is driven by data as well as looking at the wider context of societal and cultural issues within sport and also how sport operates as a business. Reporting on social media and the distribution of content on different platforms will be a pivotal part of learning how to produce sports stories for a specific audience with an understanding of how social media has transformed how live sports events are covered. The module will also enable students to learn about live sports reporting and the best techniques to deliver content through conventional kit and mobile journalism.

20 credits

Communicating with the Media

This module will provide students with knowledge and skills necessary to communicate messages through the media. Case studies and practical workshops will allow students to learn about the practice of media communication. They will learn how the media operates and how to communicate messages through interviews, press conferences and news releases. Topics covered in the module will include the development of communication strategies, the understanding of news values and news cycles and strategies for successful and ethical communication.

15 credits

Dealing with data for journalists

News reporting relies increasingly on knowing how to understand and analyse data. 'Now that information is abundant, processing is more important.' (Philip Meyer). Data science is the scientific discipline that feeds into this new type of journalism. It provides methods for collecting and systematizing data, which is then analysed using a combination of statistical and machine learning techniques, and finally presented in an appealing and understandable format. This module will equip students with the confidence to appreciate and apply the most widely used statistical techniques, which constitute the very core of data science and, hence, facilitate responsible evidence-based journalism.

15 credits

The Use (and Abuse) of Radio and Digital Technologies in Conflict-Affected Areas

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other such organisations are valuable information sources, mediators and actors in conflict-affected zones and use local media, particularly radio, to amplify their messages, programmes and advocacy. This module focuses on, and engages with, the public and political communication used, and sometimes misused, and even abused, by radio and digital technologies, internationally and historically, during times of conflict and the challenges they encounter culturally, politically, economically, legally and institutionally. In this case, 'internationally' means from the perspective of the Global South.

15 credits