Module Code - Title:
JM4007
-
ADVANCED PRACTICAL JOURNALISM
Year Last Offered:
2020/1
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
To give students live reporting practice in a variety of areas to prepare them for the professional world. This module aims to bring students to a professional standard in reporting which would enable them to obtain paid work on a local paper or a B2B magazine.
Syllabus:
Students will report news events to a deadline from courts, council meetings, other public events and news conferences. They will have practice in reporting from statistics, finding off-diary stories, and generating stories from internet research followed by telephone interviews. They will practise covering breaking stories and constructing news stories from multiple sources (wraps). Students will be helped to create a professional portfolio of their work on the course, on student publications and on their work placements which they can use to obtain paid jobs. Assessment will be by a portfolio of coursework and a timed news writing and editing examination.
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
* apply their news writing skills to covering live events and reporting on these to a set deadline.
* apply their news writing skills to producing a statistics-based story.
* generate their own stories off-diary from cultivated sources.
* generate stories from internet research supported by follow-up telephone interviews.
* apply their news writing skills to covering a breaking news stories.
* construct wrap news stories from a variety of sources.
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
* demonstrate and understanding of the professional standard or writing demanded by publications and the real time constraints under which journalists must work.
* show an appreciatio
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
* write reports from courts, council meetings, other public events and news conferences to a timed deadline.
* write breaking stories and wrap news stories under deadline pressure.
*
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
This module consists of a two hour laboratory where students will be engaged in active learning by covering set markings, like courts and council meetings, and writing up these stories to a strict deadline under supervision.
The students will also be engaged in active learning by writing a breaking news story. like a murder, under deadline pressure and stories from multiple sources (wraps) under deadline pressure.
Students will also be given specific exercises in writing statistical stories, generating their own stories from sources and from the internet/interviews.
Students will learn the absolute importance of writing to deadline and cultivating good sources to confirm stories and to also supply exclusive ones.
The tutor will help supervise the students writing the reports to a strict deadline. He/she will also help the students with any difficulties they have in writing stories from markings, statistical sources or in writing breaking news and wrap stories.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
McKane, A (2006)
News Writing
, Sage
Strunk, W. and White, E. B, (1999)
The Elements of Style
, Longman
Other Relevant Texts:
Evans, H. (2000)
Essential English for Journalists, Editors and Writers
, Pimlico
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
Semester - Year to be First Offered:
Autumn
Module Leader:
fergal.quinn@ul.ie