International Multimedia Journalism - MA full-time (Beijing Foreign Studies University, PR China)

Bachelor's degree

In Bolton

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    Bolton

  • Start date

    Different dates available

Why choose this course? Course overview The MA International Multimedia Journalism concentrates on developing skills for journalists to deliver stories through multiple digital platforms. The content of the course is divided into three sections. Firstly, it will involve critical discussions on the core skills that span the three traditional modes of delivery (print, radio, TV) set against the emerging online international newscape. Secondly, you will undertake project-based learning that will challenge you to work on creative projects that require both an in-depth understanding of new technologies and a willingness to innovate and apply them in a journalistic context. Thirdly, you will engage with industry through live projects set in one of the course's collaborative news organisations. To read more about this course in English or Chinese please visit our 'course website' link in the 'related links' section (www.bolton.ac.uk/journalism). About the course The course focuses on practical innovation and critical discussion around issues related to the changing media landscape. Students, faculty and visiting lecturers work on multimedia journalism projects together to experiment with and reflect on potential new multi-platform workflows. The course is designed to appeal to a diverse range of people with skills and experience ranging across a broad range of disciplines (photography, writing, video, web design/programming and audio). You will work alongside and share experiences with students from a host of different backgrounds and cultures. The sharing of ideas and skills are core to the course, in particular during the two intensive 12-day workshops that happen in the first half of the...

Facilities

Location

Start date

Bolton (Greater Manchester)
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Deane Road, BL3 5AB

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open

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Subjects

  • IT
  • Skills and Training
  • Multimedia
  • Project
  • Media
  • International
  • Writing
  • Industry
  • Teaching
  • Production
  • Innovation
  • University
  • PR
  • Design
  • Full Time
  • Web
  • PR training

Course programme

Programme Specification http://programmes.bolton.ac.uk/ART0021

What you will learn

The course is delivered through a combination of classroom teaching, intensive workshops and online teaching reflecting the communication methods used in the media industry. Your studies are supported by group discussions, seminars and individual tutorials. Innovation and experimentation are encouraged.

The course is one year in duration, divided into three terms. Working as a single operator mobile journalist and basing your practical work on strong stories, you will carry out assignments for multi-platform delivery; for instance, online, broadcast, print, social networks, mobile, iPad and others.

For the first term you will work on multiple short form (one to three days) assignments and explore key research questions in the multimedia journalism field. In the second term you will concentrate on two feature stories; one of which is progressed into the third term as a final project. Throughout the course you will be expected to inquire and reflect on a range of issues connected with the practice of multimedia journalism. You will share your experiences and successes with your fellow students and the group as a whole will benefit from this exchange of ideas and practical advice and experience.

What you will study

You will study 6 modules worth a total of 180 credits.

Term 1:

Advanced Practice 1 (40 credits);

Advanced Research and Study Skills (20 credits).

Term 2:

Advanced Practice 2 (40 credits);

Critical Thinking in Practice (20 credits).

Term 3:

Advanced Practice 3 (40 credits);

Critical Analysis and Reflection (20 credits).

A brief description of each module follows below.

Advanced Practice 1 (40 credits)

This module covers the essential methods, research and production for all formats of local and national journalism. It focuses on writing, research, editing and dynamic interviewing as well as consideration of audiences to produce meaningful news narratives. You will undertake eight short (one week) assignments using different technologies and methodologies both as a means to develop core skills and to act as a platform for classroom discussions around practice and audience issues in the changing media landscape.

During the term you will also develop the core skills for creating multiple formats of media during a single short-form assignment (writing, photography, video production/editing, audio production/editing and interactive web design). You will develop competence by joining weekly skills workshops and undertaking short assignments. The term finishes with a two-week intensive workshop where the teaching specialists run concentrated skills workshops to develop and test your ability to operate at a professional level.

Advanced Research and Study Skills (20 credits)

This module provides two core functions; to teach and develop MA level research and writing skills, and to introduce you to key critical discussions around the changing international media landscape and the role of multimedia journalism practitioners.

There are weekly lectures, readings and seminars and you will be required to produce a series of short written essays as part of your studies. Lectures and classroom discussions continue during the intensive weeks where you will have the opportunity to combine practical assignments with theoretical discussion.

Advanced Practice 2 (40 credits)

Following from the first term where you developed core skills, this module seeks to develop those skills by allowing you to experiment with emerging technologies and create workflows for covering news events with multimedia. You will work on projects to develop “mash-ups” (live websites using multiple technologies) and then test them in reporting news events on the course website.

The term is broadly divided into three sections. During the first six weeks you will develop two project ideas through template project proposal forms that require you to consider a work plan, code of conduct, risk assessment, methodology and reading list for each project. Tutors will help you to develop the plans into a single learning agreement that acts as the guide for the remainder of the term. You will be encouraged to work with approved media partner organisations so that at least one of your projects is live.

During the intensive phase you will present your project ideas to specialist tutors who then work with you on all aspects of the planning. In the last six weeks of the term you will work by yourself on the practical application of the projects and come back to the classroom at the end of the term to edit and critically review the outcome.

Critical Thinking in Practice (20 credits)

During the first term, a series of core questions are raised with which you engage through lectures, readings, discussions and short essays. In the second term the questions lay the framework for critical debate that underpins the course and leads to a more comprehensive understanding of the news industry. The questions vary each year but cover a range of subjects including, media regulation, varying approaches to the role of journalism and journalists, their ethical dilemmas, professional codes of conduct and the role and development of journalism in the new century as it goes through some of fundamental changes.

In this term you will be expected to choose one research question that relates to one of your practical projects and spend time to enquire through your own research facilitating a deeper understanding of the critical contexts and frameworks that underpin the question. You will lead one seminar on your subject and be expected to write a single in-depth essay.

Advanced Practice 3 (40 credits)

In the final term you will work on a single long-form multimedia project negotiated with your tutor through the learning agreement. There is no set formula to what the project should be, or consist of, though the tutors will expect you to develop one of the projects you have been working on in the previous term into a coherent and well-rounded body of work that utilises multiple skills. For example, you may choose to work on an interactive website that concentrates on one issue. The website would use text, audio, video, images and info graphics to explain a newsworthy issue in an innovative and comprehensive way.

Learning agreements for the final projects are concluded in the first week of the term after which you have five months to develop the work. Returning to the classroom a month before the final deadline you will then spend four weeks with specialist tutor support to finalise your choices. The practical work is underpinned by a theoretical dissertation developed through the Critical Analysis and Reflection Module and an extended journal that gives evidence of the process.

Critical Analysis and Reflection (20 credits)

Combined with the practical work you will develop a thesis that explores your work on a conceptual and theoretical level. Here you will revisit the research questions discussed in the first two terms and critically apply them to your own work. The thesis is developed through tutorial support throughout the term and relies heavily on self-directed study.

Additional information

Careers & professional development As a graduate from this course you will be able to work in a wide spectrum of media industries, from large corporations to hyperlocal news blogs. Entrepreneurial journalism is taught from the start of the course and you will be encouraged to consider how your ideas and projects can be monetised. The media industry is rapidly changing, giving new opportunities for emerging talented multi-skilled journalists who can adapt quickly to new innovations. Good story telling remains at the heart of...

International Multimedia Journalism - MA full-time (Beijing Foreign Studies University, PR China)

Price on request