Journalism Studies BA

Core modules:

Essential Journalism

This module develops news writing, news production and academic skills, combined with theoretical understanding of journalism in both a national and international context. It also provides an introduction to key future themes such as media law, ethics and analysing information. Students will learn how to write and structure news stories, develop interviewing skills, source and use quotes, and journalistic social media skills, amongst others. Themes include journalism and politics; media freedom; journalism and society; audiences; technology and innovation in Journalism; law and ethics, current debates in industry and analysing news agendas.

120 credits

Core modules:

Live News Production

This module will give students a range of multi-platform production skills to showcase their journalism and to enable them to operate as critically thinking professionals. The module will gradually build up students¿ real world experience and will enable them to operate as self-motivated individuals as well as within a team. Students will work as Journalists in a variety of ways - ranging from the fast paced Newsday environment to the production of features, documentaries, projects and portfolios over a longer period of time. Students will learn to work as professionals while adhering to industry guidelines and making connections with academic theory.

60 credits

Court Reporting

This module introduces journalism students to the skills required to write news reports from Crown, magistrates' and coroners' courts cases. Student will visit these courts to makes notes on real cases for these reports. Feedback is given to each student on their draft and finalised reports, and on their notes. Their accuracy in note-taking and speed in writing such a news report is assessed in a formal examination in which they write up a news report of a hypothetical `prosecution opening' of a trial.

20 credits

Media Law for Journalists

This module provides for those wishing to be journalists, or studying journalism, essential knowledge of media law applying in England and Wales, and of regulatory codes which UK journalists should comply with. This law includes that of defamation, privacy and contempt of court, and other law governing court reporting. The codes seek to uphold journalistic standards generally, including protection of people's privacy and of the identities of sources promised confidentiality. The module also demonstrates that UK journalists can assert `human rights' which in law and the codes uphold freedom of expression, including publication of material `in the public interest'.

20 credits

Optional modules:

Data Driven Storytelling

Data-driven approaches to reporting are gaining in popularity and importance in today¿s world. Established media institutions, such as The New York Times in the US or The Guardian and Press Association in the UK (and many more around the world) already have units that specialise in data journalism. Thus, it becomes essential for the next generation of journalists to be data-literate and to appreciate how data can be verified and used not only to find stories but to tell stories. This module is designed to make you confident and comfortable in working with data and, furthermore, to expand your journalistic toolkit for data-driven, analytic and investigative journalism.

20 credits

Introduction to Investigative Journalism

The module provides an introductory grounding in the skill sets, methodology and knowledge needed for investigative journalism, and includes practical assessment. It includes opportunity for students to further develop knowledge of how to use the Freedom of Information Act.

20 credits

Core modules:

Final Project

You will prepare and execute a substantial piece of work that either analyses an issue in journalism, or is a piece of journalism publishable on a platform of your choice. Under the guidance of a named supervisor you¿ll be able to choose your own topic, and in the process be able to see how almost any topic can be investigated and researched from a journalistic and academic perspective. You¿ll be able to make an informed choice about the nature of your project in relation to your own strengths, weaknesses and ambitions.

40 credits

Advanced Broadcast Journalism

This module introduces students to journalistically and technically complex formats common in contemporary broadcast production, such as features and programmes. Students will be expected to work easily in both radio and television formats and will be able to develop their creative use of both media. Project work will include news features for both radio and television, and the production of radio and television programmes in contemporary formats. Students will also have an opportunity to reflect critically on their work and broadcast news conventions.

20 credits

Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing

What comprises good writing? This module will require you to take to a new level the writing skills you have learned over the past two and a half years. You will explore a variety of story telling techniques and test your versatility, learning how to write well in a variety of styles for particular audiences. You will also learn to consider not just what you have written but how it is utilised on the page. And you will explore issues of magazine production and team work, culminating in the production of a new magazine.

20 credits

Visual Journalism

Do you want to work in television or be a social media journalist? This module will give you more insight into visual journalism in both areas and give you the skills to create your own video for either format.

20 credits

Optional modules:

Free Speech and Censorship

Free Speech and Censorship critically explores the historical and contemporary status of freedom of speech and expression and the limits and constraints on this liberty. The module covers topics as varied as the philosophies of free speech; the history and significance of free speech; debates about harm and offence; the political economy of censorship; privacy and surveillance; censorship during war and informal censorship. Students taking this module should be interested in examining these debates as they apply to contemporary media and political systems. Assessment is via a case study on a topic selected by the student and approved by the module leader.

20 credits

Gender, Feminism and the Media

This module critically examines the media through a feminist and gendered perspective. It considers how women, ‘femininity’ and women’s issues are constructed in the media across a variety of cultural contexts. It introduces theories and approaches with which to analyse a variety of media including newspapers, magazines, and social media. Students will comparatively analyse traditional and social media from a feminist, intersectional, and postcolonial perspective. They will consider the role of the media in both perpetuating, but also challenging, normative ideas about gender. The module draws on a variety of case studies. Topics include LGBTQI+ identity, activism, and the body.

20 credits