Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module develops multimedia journalism gathering, production, creativity and innovation. More particularly, this module:
- Develops core skills and competencies around multimedia newsgathering and production;
- Develops skills in clear, concise writing, video and audio production and reporting and editing;
- Develops skills in video and audio acquisition and editing;
- Compiles a portfolio of evidence of multimedia journalism;
- Develops the ability to produce video, written and audio content for digital platforms;
- Develops skills in research and interviewing as relevant to the production of multimedia journalism.

Outline Of Syllabus

Multimedia Journalism 1: Newsgathering, Production and Dissemination facilitates development of core skills and competencies in journalism through student-led journalistic projects.

Via one major multimedia project students develop writing, video and audio, editing and digital communication capabilities. Students use visual, written and audio techniques appropriate to the story or content at hand, experimenting with storytelling techniques.

This module allows students to develop their multimedia content skills. Lectures encourage students to consider multimedia journalism production in relation to technologies, genre, convention, audience, grammar and form, and ethics.

The assessment procedures outlined below mean that students work to deadlines and engage in practical, journalistic activities.

The topics covered in this module may include
- News gathering for multimedia platforms
- Writing online news
- Audio recording and editing
- Video recording and editing
- Multimedia technologies and influences
- Social media dissemination

Not all of these topics are necessarily taught every yearand indeed the syllabus may shift in emphasis according to media climate and culture at the time of teaching.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Students successfully completing the module will have:
A5. An in-depth understanding of key production processes and professional practices relevant to media, journalism, cultural and communicative industries;
B1. Effective problem-solving strategies and high-level analytical and planning processes in the production of multimedia journalism.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Students successfully completing the module will have:
C1. The capacity to produce multimedia journalism and communication materials, which communicate with audiences;
C2. The capacity to develop and apply advanced professional skills to the production of journalistic and related practical work;
C5. The application of principles and concepts of journalistic production to a number of relevant multimedia contexts;
C6. The skills to produce news reports in a range of media forms and to comprehend and manage change in journalism and the media industry.
C7. The skills to select and utilise appropriate multimedia technologies such as video, audio, written, still image and interactive as appropriate to story at hand and audience.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Students produce a piece of multimedia journalism containing three media elements (audio, video and digital/online), with teaching of journalism plugging into the learning as appropriate.
Before proceeding with the practical work students are required to outline the ethical and legal parameters for their project.
Learning and teaching supports students through iterative and informed skill acquisition, which guides the learning experience. While there are no formal ‘formative assessments’, student-led journalistic work guides the module with feedback and feed-forward through sharing of content with peers during small-group teaching. This provides the fundamental training, skill acquisition and assessment needed for multimedia practice. Teaching on this module is supported by voluntary drop-in sessions where students can receive iterative feedback on journalism work and technical support (A5, B1, C1, C2, C5, C6, C7). It is also supported by learning activity as part of the Civic Journalism Lab workshop and any guest lecture series. (A5,C5)

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

There is one element of assessment:
Assessment One (100%) (A5; B1; C1; C2; C5; C6; C7)
A piece of multimedia journalism containing 600 words plus headline and still image; 90-120-second video and 90-120-second audio.

A zero weighted task is to complete an ethics form for approval before proceeding with the practical task.

Additional task-specific criteria are as follows:
- Appropriate newsgathering and interview skills as demonstrated by the perspective of the subject, story and key quotations from interview;
- Implementation of appropriate platform choice, news construction and conventions including news structures, effective quoting and coverage of the who, what, when, why, where and how;
- Accuracy and clarity of storytelling, including journalistic writing and a variety of smoothly edited shots, sounds and voices.
- Implementation of web-based technologies and technical skills appropriate for multimedia contexts.

General Notes

MCH1037 is an introduction to multimedia journalism for UGs, as is MCH8055 for PG students. If we get students on the MA who have done the journalism UG, they are allowed not to take MCH8055 because of the fact that it covers similar ground.