Registry
Module Specifications
Archived Version 2023 - 2024
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Description This module is an intensive, practice-based course which brings together various writing skills, approaches, and genres necessary for the practice of written journalism on both digital and legacy platforms. Students will receive guidance on hard news writing, reporting techniques for various kinds of assignments, and the writing of different kinds of feature articles. This module includes Masterclass elements – fluid, adaptable sessions in which current or emerging issues or practices in journalism are discussed by guest speakers and DCU experts. The module also includes Newsdays – newsroom simulations led by the Journalist in Residence at the School of Communications. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Learning Outcomes 1. Describe, analyse, and practice different kinds of news reporting approaches and techniques; 2. Describe, analyse, and practice different kinds of longer-form journalism approaches and techniques; 3. Identify and critique typologies of news and features content 4. Demonstrate the ability to report on court cases, council meetings, press conferences and other news events | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml |
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Indicative Content and
Learning Activities Week 1 - news writingHow to write a hard news intro; different kinds of intros; the Inverted Pyramid approach; origins and critiques of the Inverted Pyramid; how to order and prioritise information in news writingWeeks 2-4 News ReportingHow to cover court cases; how to report on local authority meetings; reporting on public events (speeches, protests, press conferences, etc.), descriptive reporting, interviewing.Weeks 6-9 Feature writingDifferent kinds of features (news, trend, lifestyle, reviews, interviews, profiles); how to carry out research for feature articles; how to structure a feature article; the "nut graph" and how to use it; the spine of the feature (opening, nut graph, and ending).Week 10 - MasterclassGuest lectures and workshops by working journalists on a range of topics, including but not limited to: podcasting, writing briefs for radio presenters, sub-editing text and headline writing, editing for digital platforms (hyperlinking and search-engine optimisation).Weeks 11-12 - NewsdaysNewsroom simulation exercises in which the class produces a news product (website, TV news programme, radio programme) which covers the news of the day.Roles of JournalismKovach, Bill, and Tom Rosenstiel. The elements of journalism, revised and updated 4th edition: What newspeople should know and the public should expect. Crown, 2021.ReportingRandall, David. The universal journalist. Pluto Press, 2016Investigative reportingBrown, Julie K. Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story. HarperCollins, 2021. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Other Resources None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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