Prospectus

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Multimedia Journalism

Course
2019-2020

Tags

J

Admissions requirements

Essentials of Journalism and a 200-level course in Journalism. Students who have previous experience with photography, building websites with WordPress, recording and editing audio and/or video clips, and using online graphics tools, are welcome. However, this experience is not required for the course.

Description

This course builds on the practical skills students gained in Essentials of Journalism, while employing the investigative techniques, ethical considerations and stylistic conventions learned in Investigative Journalism. While other courses put particular emphasis on either print or video forms, Multimedia Journalism focuses on the production and interplay of the written word, graphics, photography, audio and video within a single, online format. Students will be expected to jointly create a website and to fill it with their own individual journalistic work. This means leaving the LUC bubble and reporting on ‘real world’ people and problems. In addition to producing their own multimedia stories, students will analyze the narrative structure of a variety of recently published reports in the news media.

Course objectives

This course will train students to think like journalists and apply the methods that produce attractive and enlightening stories. The course will sharpen these skills through a combination of production work, group feedback, and analysis/discussion of published journalism. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to select and pitch a story with a clear angle, plan their approach to the subject, and produce a journalistically sound multimedia news or feature report.

Timetable

Once available, timetables will be published in the e-Prospectus.

Mode of instruction

This course will require students to cooperate in a newsroom setting. This will entail pitching story ideas and responding constructively to the ideas pitched by others. Students will be expected to participate in feedback sessions in response to the journalistic work of their peers, and group evaluation of the work published online. If schedules permit, the class will go on a field trip to a news organization to see how multimedia journalism is produced in a professional setting.

Assessment

In-class participation (cooperation on website, pitching ideas, giving feedback): 10%
Production 1: 20%
Production 2: 20%
Production 3: 20%
In-class presentation of individual productions: 10%
Integrated multimedia story based on Productions 1, 2 and 3, published online: 20%

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

A variety of online journalistic productions will be required viewing and will be discussed during the course. To ensure these are as current as possible, they will be selected shortly before the course begins.

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

Robert Chesal, r.e.chesal@luc.leidenuniv.nl