BA (Hons) Journalism

What you'll study Overview

Whatever kind of journalist you are seeking to become, we will give you the right combination of practical skills and the wider understanding to launch a successful career in this new, digital, multi platform world. The programme draws on the award-winning expertise of our MA Journalism and MA/MSc Digital Journalism programmes, many of whose graduates are in key positions in the news media.

The programme delivers a range of journalistic and technical skills – including news writing, web programming, data visualisation and video reporting – as well as more theoretical underpinning, giving students essential background in media law, public affairs and the wider context of journalism and the media. We aim to provide an inspirational learning experience in which theory and practice influence and enrich each other in the production of original, creative and intellectual work.

Year 1 (credit level 4)

All modules in your first year are compulsory:

Year 1 modules Module title Credits. Introduction to Power, Politics and Public Affairs Introduction to Power, Politics and Public Affairs 15 credits

A practical introduction for journalism students to the British political system and key aspects of the private sector, during this course you will learn how Government and corporations operate in the public realm, how public relations and press offices work and where journalists can find information.

15 credits. Introduction to News and Features Introduction to News and Features 30 credits

The course will introduce you to the practical aspects of researching, reporting, writing and editing for online platforms using a multi-media approach. There are no lectures. Students will learn by doing, and by the end of the course will have produced three pieces of journalism.

30 credits. Web Programming Web Programming 15 credits

This module will be an introduction to HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript. Students will learn the fundamentals of client-side web programming. Topics include:

• Basic JavaScript: values, variables, and control flow
• Functions
• Data structures: Objects and Arrays
• Error Handling
• Functional Programming
• Searching
• Object-oriented Programming
• Modularity
• Regular Expressions
• Web programming: A crash course
• The Document-Object Model
• Browser Events
• HTTP requests
15 credits. Designing Digital Interactions Designing Digital Interactions 15 credits

This module is an introduction to the basic concepts essential in the design and implementation of client-side web-based applications; it will cover a basic introduction to the Web, followed by more detailed lectures and labs on current best practice such as HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript.

15 credits. Media History and Politics Media History and Politics 15 credits

In this module you will study the historical development of the British media, and their role in the development of modern Britain. You will focus on the way in which power is concentrated and organised around media ownership and production.

15 credits. Key Debates in Media Studies Key Debates in Media Studies 15 credits

This module focuses on important debates concerning media power and mediated identity, and examines the different traditions and disciplines that have contributed to media analysis in this area. It looks at the roles played by ideology, politics and audiences in the making of meaning, and requires you to take a critical perspective in the analysis of specific media texts and media events.

15 credits. Year 2 (credit level 5)

You will take the following compulsory modules:

Year 2 modules Module title Credits. Data Journalism and Visualisation Data Journalism and Visualisation 15 credits

This module will give a broad introduction to techniques for gathering data from electronic sources, such as databases and the internet. It will cover both fundamental ideas and the use of some of the most important currently available tools. The module will also present tools and ideas for more effectively using the internet to communicate, visualise and generate news stories.

15 credits. Social Media, Crowdsourcing and Citizen Sensing Social Media, Crowdsourcing and Citizen Sensing 15 credits 15 credits. Media Law and Ethics Media Law and Ethics 15 credits

This module involves a series of lectures on history and contemporary developments of international media law and ethics.

Specific topics include the legal problematising of journalism, defamation law and contempt issues, debates in media ethics, state security and secrecy, professional codes and practices, privacy, human rights and international law, and international comparisons.

15 credits. News and Power in a Globalised Context News and Power in a Globalised Context 15 credits

This module explores the function, impact and status of news in an increasingly "deterritorialised" and volatile, globalised media environment. The module explores the news media’s relationship with international institutions and non-state actors, including NGOs, activists and whistleblowers - and will explore how new media has transformed the way news is made, disseminated and consumed.

15 credits. Feature Writing Feature Writing 15 credits

You will learn how to produce longer pieces of in-depth journalism – known as features – on this module. Skills taught include interviewing, colour writing and how to structure longer pieces.

15 credits. Video Reporting Video Reporting 15 credits

You will be learning basic shooting and editing skills using the video editing software Premiere Pro. You will also learn how to plan and structure a news package or feature, and you will learn how to produce various ‘elements’ of video news journalism such as interviews, vox pops, pieces-to-camera and GVs.

15 credits.

and EITHER the following 30 credit module:

Module title Credits. Multimedia Journalism Multimedia Journalism 30 credits

This module consists of two components:

1) Online News Reporting - You will learn the cognitive and mechanical skills required to produce fast and quality news reports that are ethical, clear, concise, complete, compelling and accurate. You will be introduced to research methods and practice gathering information from online and traditional sources.

2) Online Video Journalism - This component will introduce you to the types of equipment and technical considerations used in multimedia capture and production with a heavy focus on video and text storytelling in a range of formats. It focuses on mobile journalism using smart phones to film and edit.

30 credits.

OR Extended Research and Writing (15 credits) and one module from the list of Media Communications Level 5 modules or from the following History modules (15 credits):

Module title Credits. London's Burning: Social Movement and Public Protest in the Capital, 1830-2003 London's Burning: Social Movement and Public Protest in the Capital, 1830-2003 15 credits

Public protest can take many different forms and be a manifestation of a wide and diverse range of ideologies; from a lone individual scaling a building to protest about family access rights to a march of millions voicing their opposition to their country’s involvement in an overseas war. Furthermore, public protest has a profound impact on the physical space in which it takes place and raises questions about who controls public spaces and the right to voice opinions or take action. It also raises debates about the legitimacy of direct action or violence in the pursuit or defence of ideologies versus personal or national security and the preservation of public order. Who protests, what motivates them to do so, why do they choose the methods that they do and what are the ideologies that fundamentally underpin their actions? What have been the major currents of popular public protest in Britain in the last two-hundred years? Are protesters criminals or freedom fighters, reformists or revolutionaries, ringleaders or pawns, thugs or victims? When does a protest become a riot and what are the pressures or motivations that lead to violence or escalation? All of these stimulating debates, and more, will be explored in depth during this stimulating and provocative investigation of the topic.

This module will take both a theoretical and case-study based approach to engaging with the subjects of social movements and public protest. The period covered will range from the April 1834 demonstration in support of the Tolpuddle Martyrs at Copenhagen Fields near Kings Cross, right up to the 2003 anti-war march to Hyde Park, often described as the largest public protest event in British history. As the perceived seat of power and, historically, the most densely populated and socially and culturally diverse city in Britain, London has, since the mid-eighteenth-century, been the central focus of modern social movements and the theatre within which many of the most significant protest actions of the modern period have taken place. Consequently, while the theoretical elements of the module will be generic, the case-studies will all relate to London-based movements or actions, including; Chartism, the women’s suffrage campaigns, anti-fascism/racism movements and protests against war or in support of peace.

The module is broadly structured into two sections but with considerable interplay between the two. The first part is an outline and overview of the theoretical approaches to the study of social movements, public protest, spacial geopolitics and violent disorder. The second part adopts a thematic approach and examines case-studies of some key social, cultural and political social movements and their public protest activities in and around London. This will allow you to not only understand the political or ideological basis of such movements but also to discover how that translated into direct action in the capital.

15 credits. Imagining Africa: Ideology, Identity and Text in Africa and the Diaspora Imagining Africa: Ideology, Identity and Text in Africa and the Diaspora 15 credits

This module considers how ideas of Africa (its people, environment, history) were expressed through the writings of both prominent and lesser-known figures in Africa and the Diaspora.

Through the examination of texts – ranging from slave narratives to autobiographies, speeches, essays, plays and novels – we explore how those ideas took shape within their particular historical and regional contexts.

15 credits. Homosexuality and Capitalism Homosexuality and Capitalism 15 credits

tbc

15 credits. Year 3 (credit level 6)

You take two core modules:

Year 3 core modules Module title Credits. Journalism in Context Journalism in Context 15 credits

You will be introduced to the major theoretical debates in the study of journalism. We will cover: the current crisis in journalism, questions of political power and the public sphere; ownership forms and how they are changing; the role of audience: as well as regulation and representation. We will also look at journalism as a narrative form. All these debates will be situated firmly in a current and practical context and you will be encouraged to make connections between formal lecturers, seminar presentations and practical discussions of the day’s events and how they are reported. Sessions will be followed by a seminar. This module will provide practice students with a theoretical underpinning for your work, which you will develop via personal study later in the year. Those taking this module as a theory option will find it provides a challenging insight into journalism as a practice.

15 credits. Final Multimedia Project and Portfolio Final Multimedia Project and Portfolio 60 credits

You’ll work our news site Eastlondonlines for five weeks before embarking on your final project – an online multimedia piece of journalism that aims to draw together the skills you have learnt on your degree.

60 credits.

You also choose a combination of option modules up to a total of 45 credits:

Year 3 option modules Module title Credits. Arts, Fashion and Culture Journalism Arts, Fashion and Culture Journalism 15 credits

This module will deal with intelligent arts journalism in a way that’s serious but not stuffy. We’ll be tackling pitching, reviewing, interviewing, profiling and commentary in the fields of cinema, theatre, fashion, music (contemporary and classical), books and current cultural issues.

There will be guest speakers on a range of subjects including catwalk reporting and celebrity interviews. Students should be prepared to attend out-of-hours events, such as an exhibition opening or a new play for review.

15 credits. Radio Journalism in a Multimedia Context Radio Journalism in a Multimedia Context 15 credits

This is a module that involves an intensive education into the skills, practice and culture of radio and sound journalism in the online multimedia context. You will be taught by award-winning national broadcasting tutors expert in sound/broadcast journalism with its online applications.

You will be taught by applying the skills to external publication on londonmultimedianews.com by covering active and real London news stories and postings as features with sound based and accompanying and illustrative multimedia dimensions of production that include digital photography, audio-slideshow, and video.

15 credits. Asking the Right Questions: Research and Practice Asking the Right Questions: Research and Practice 15 credits

This module offers an introduction to practical research methodologies and their deployment in various different specialist journalism fields. The module evolves a critical approach to the many different sources journalists use, the compromises involved and constraints within which they work.

Subjects to be covered can change according to outside events and the availability of professional speakers, but are expected include sourcing and using data, the use of the Freedom of Information Act, investigative journalism, economic and political journalism, the problems and pitfalls of reporting conflict, managing human, particularly vulnerable, human sources.

15 credits. Photojournalism Photojournalism 15 credits

Taught by a professional news photographer, this course introduces you to the basic photography skills required for journalists working in multi-platform environments. You’ll learn framing and basic composition, how to use both an SLR and a smartphone and gain an insight into lighting and how to use available light to your advantage.

15 credits. Structure of Contemporary Political Communication Structure of Contemporary Political Communication 15 credits

This module examines contemporary political communication through the mass media, in its national and international contexts. Lectures explore the history of political communication, looking at questions of media ownership and regulation, party political and election broadcasts, news bias and the agenda-setting role of the media. These issues are illustrated by examples from the British, American and international political systems. Themes covered include:

• public opinion and the public sphere
• controlling and managing news agendas
• political marketing
• spin, propaganda and persuasion
• war and the media
• celebrity politics and e-democracy
15 credits. Media and Communications Work Placement Media and Communications Work Placement 15 credits

The Placement Module is a final year option offered to students on BA Media and Communications and BA Journalism programmes which will take place during the summer term of the second year with the assessment in the Autumn Term 2016. If you take this module, you will still take the third year practice module on your programme but the report and presentation by which this module is assessed replaces the practice essay required for your practice module.

The central objective is to enable you to take up a workplace learning experience which will benefit your studies, your skillset, your networks and your CV.

The work placement will take place over a two week period or can be spread over a longer period. The minimum commitment is 10 working days. Your experience on placement will be invaluable in developing your research report. You will also give a structured presentation, based on your reflections on the experience. You will be supported in preparing your assignments through workshops and individual discussions.

Please note: we will endeavour to source placements from across a wide range of areas but cannot guarantee specific placements. You should be flexible and appreciate that any broadly-related