Tags
J
Admissions requirements
None.
Description
This is an introductory course in producing, filming, editing and writing television news reports – in telling a story visually, always accompanied by a spoken script. Lectures will concentrate on the various crafts and skills needed for television news reporting.
The main emphasis will be on students doing it themselves – filming, editing, scripting and voicing their own reports, working in small teams, on a weekly basis. The students’ reports will be shown and discussed in class.
Aside from the crafts and skills learned, students will also be reading about and discussing various theories about the value (or not) of television, its strengths and limitations and the ethical dilemmas television reporters face.
Course objectives
After successful completion of this course, students are able to:
produce quality television news reports – in terms of filming, getting natural sound, interviewing, editing, writing and voicing such reports.
explain how and why decisions are made in television news, including the ethical dilemmas faced by executives and reporters
understand the strengths, and the weaknesses, of visual communication and of the medium of television news.
Timetable
Once available, timetables will be published here.
Mode of instruction
There will be weekly lectures – illustrated with reports from seasoned television correspondents – on the various skills and crafts needed to produce quality television news reports.
On a weekly basis the reports the students have produced will be shown and critically discussed in class.
There will be a lecture and a class discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of television using Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves To Death” as a basis.
Assessment
In class participation: 10%
First news report: 10%
Three further news reports: 15% each
Final news report: 20%
Essay on Neil Postman’s book: 15%
Blackboard
There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.
Reading list
Amusing Ourselves To Death – Neil Postman
Broadcast Journalism – Andrew Boyd
Television News Handbook – Vin Ray
Registration
This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Curriculum Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
aernoutvanlynden@gmail.com
c.d.a.van.lynden@luc.leidenuniv.nl