CODE | MCS3080 | ||||||||||||||||
TITLE | Online Journalism | ||||||||||||||||
UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||||||
MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
DEPARTMENT | Media and Communications | ||||||||||||||||
DESCRIPTION | Students are trained in the technological skills required to function as a multimedia journalist in the 21st Century and they also learn best practices in online news gathering. Facility is gained with such tools as image editing software, blogging services, and content management systems. Students learn media aesthetic design and important content considerations. The history of online news and current best practice is canvassed in order to help students understand how technology is changing news media. Study-Unit Aims: To equip students with the technical skills required to produce online journalism, acquaint them with best practices in online news, and familiarise them with the ways in which the Internet is changing both journalism and news industries. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain the similarities and differences between online journalism and legacy news media; - Explain how online journalism is changing news industries and news gathering practices; - Recount the basic history of online journalism; - Explain the significance of interactivity, user-generated content, citizen journalism, and social media in online news productio industry; - Explain how rich content enhances online news presentation. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Create a simple news website using an online content management system; - Populate the news webiste with relevant news, current affairs and other editorial content; - Edit images for news media production using image editing software; - Insert appropriate hyperlinks and link to/ embed multimedia into online news copy; - Write appropriate headlines and photo captions for online news pages; - Design and produce an attractive and informative online news package. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Briggs, M. (2015) Journalism Next: A Practical Guide to Digital Reporting and Publishing 3rd Ed. London: Sage. - Bradshaw, P. (2018). The Online Journalism Handbook - Skills to Survive and Thrive in the Digital Age. London: Routledge. Supplementary texts (available on Hydi): - Çetinkaya, A., & Karlı, &. (2018). Changing Practices of Journalism: Multimedia, Multiskilling, Online Journalism. AJIT-e, 9(35), 17-30. - Himma-Kadakas, M., & Palmiste, G. (2019). Expectations and the actual performance of skills in online journalism. Journal of Baltic Studies, 50(2), 251-267. - Paulussen, S., Harder, R. A., & Johnson, M. (2017). Facebook and news journalism. The Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies. Abingdon: Routledge, 427-435. |
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ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Study-unit: MCS1030 | ||||||||||||||||
STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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LECTURER/S | Martin Debattista |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |