Journalism BA (Hons)

Modules

All modules are assessed by one or more of the following: project work accompanied by a critical commentary, timed assignments, production of magazines/broadcast bulletins/websites, work attachments (recorded and evaluated), internships and work placement, production of portfolios of work, presentations to seminars, pitching of project proposals, presentations of projects for peer reviews, examinations and assignments under controlled conditions, essays and a dissertation.

Methods of assessment for course overall: 89% coursework

• Introduction to journalism
  An introduction to journalism studies, you'll examine issues such as news selection, the narrative structure of news stories and journalistic codes of conduct. You'll gain an introductory overview of the history of journalism and of how journalism operates as a set of symbolic practices and as an institution. This module also contains the first level of the "Work Placement Element"* that runs through the three levels of the degree.
• Journalism and society
  You'll be introduced to a range of key concepts and debates that underpin the academic study of media messages. You'll critically analyse and discuss media production and consumption. You'll analyse media texts, the role and behaviour of media audiences and the power of new media technologies to blur the distinction between users and producers.
• Podcasting and video reporting
  This module focuses on how to produce compelling podcasts and video reports. You'll gain a basic understanding of video and audio storytelling as well as of podcasting and video reporting as digital narratives focusing on what makes them different to broadcasting.
• Photography for journalists
  You'll examine how journalists work with images to communicate stories and ideas and how viewers interpret those images. Message manipulation deriving from context, editing, cropping, digital intervention and captioning will be considered. Through a series of practical assignments you'll be introduced to the production process of photojournalism and features photography, including narrative structure within a single picture and a series, emotional content and the individual 'voice'.
• Writing for journalism
  Delivered over two semesters you'll be equipped with sufficient journalistic skills to work effectively in the print and on-line industry. By the time you finish this module, you will be able to spot a story, angle it, research at speed and to a deadline for a print or on-line publication. You'll also be able to identify any ethical issues, question established norms and viewpoints, and intellectually reflect on the nature of your work and its impact on a variety of audiences.
• Digital development
  Delivered over two semesters this module will introduce you to web development, including a basic knowledge of coding and web designing. The media industry expects fresh entrants to have practical competence in, and knowledge of a range of editorial practice, including sub-editing, layout skills and online publishing. You'll learn those skills and broaden your understanding of the management skills and staff structure required to produce a print and on-line publication.

• Media research
  You'll understand the types of questions academic media researchers ask and the ways that they set about answering them. You'll be given an overview of the major theoretical perspectives that underpin academic media research. You'll be shown how qualitative and quantitative methods are used to study media institutions, texts and policies. This module provides preparation for the dissertation module.
• Media and politics
  This module is concerned with the institutions and central processes of the British structure of government. You'll look at the framework and dynamics of the British system. You'll gain an understanding of contemporary political affairs in the United Kingdom and a conceptual appreciation of British politics.
• Investigative journalism
  For this module you'll focus on the techniques involved in writing for newspapers in general and in reporting and investigating on a controversial topic (crime, corruption, a scandal, etc.). You'll address the techniques required for both the research/investigation (surveillance techniques, going undercover, archive research, use of anonymous sources, analysis of documents, scientific analysis, social and legal issues, and the like) and the writing of a final piece. You'll also address the consequences of investigative journalism, for the individual and for the society as a whole and you'll explore different ways they can present their work online, or in print.
• Current issues in journalism studies
  This module is an examination of the relationship between journalism as a professional practice and as an object of academic study. This will be in the context of several issues, which include: reporting environmentalism, the media and humanitarian Intervention, trivialisation and news values, privacy and the public interest, mobile culture, the globalisation of news, representation of women in the news, islamophobia in the media, war reporting and propaganda, journalism and public relations.
• Multimedia storytelling 1
  Video and audio content is an important feature of journalism, not only for broadcast but also for the digital platform. This module will enable you to engage with linear narratives, by producing one audio and one video documentary. The purpose of this Module is to expand students' understanding of the 'rhetoric' of audio-visual documentary, both from formal aspects (such as camerawork, soundscaping and editing, to professional practices such as selection of interviewees, to the explicit and implicit truth claims embedded in documentary discourse) and in relation to critical debates over epistemology, ethics, power relations, viewer address and ideology.
• Multimedia storytelling 2
  As the strategies of multimedia storytelling found on news organisations' digital platforms are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, interactivity, non-linearity and coding are the new currencies for multimedia storytellers. With this module you'll experiment with non-linear narratives by disrupting your linear audio and video documentaries produced for the module Multimedia Storytelling 1 into isolated units, which are then curated online with a non-linear interactive web template. This Module also contains the second level of the 'Work Placement Element' that runs through the three levels of the degree.

• Media law and ethics
  This module will provide you with an overview of the law in the UK as it affects broadcasters, filmmakers, communications specialists, journalists and other media practitioners. You'll also examine ethical issues surrounding journalism and media practice.
• Dissertation (double module)
  The final year Dissertation Module gives you the opportunity to conduct original research in an area of your degree or field of interest. The Dissertation allows you to use any of the theories, topics and methods encountered on the course. You'll manage your own learning under the guidance of an academic supervisor. Lectures will offer general advice and guidance on research methods and describe different ways of approaching and structuring the Dissertation. The way your own Dissertation is organised and structured is best decided in consultation with your supervisor.
• Portfolio
  The aim of the module is to finalise your portfolio (personal website) produced over the three years degree by adding one piece in a specialised genre in multimedia web journalism based on your choice. The programme of study is designed to regularly monitor your work-in-progress. This module also contains the third level of the 'Work Placement Element' that runs through the three levels of the degree.
• Site project
  This module will run over two semesters. Curate the course site, design its contents, and address the target readership: these are the ambitious challenges that this module will set. You'll learn to deal with the reality of deadlines, of commercial pressure and of a tough (very tough) editor, i.e. the difficulties encountered in a journalist's routine working day. The module will also deal with the theoretical implications and practical editorial skills involved in writing for and producing an online journalistic site. You'll learn to know your market; to be innovative and yet play by the rules; how to surprise your readers and fulfil their expectations at the same time; and to work under pressure.

LSBU has provided me with amazing personal support, the most up to date technology, relevant career transferable skills and a portfolio of work which will undoubtedly aid me in securing an exciting future career in the media industry.

Rory Smith, BA (Hons) Journalism (2013)