MCH8055 : Multimedia Journalism 1: Newsgathering, Production and Dissemination
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Barbara Henderson
- Lecturer: Mr Andy Sixsmith
- Owning School: Arts & Cultures
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
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.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 50 | 1:00 | 50:00 | Online guided activity towards assessment |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Online synchronous full-module-cohort assessment activity |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 46 | 2:00 | 92:00 | Engaging with documentaries, journalism and readings related to module learning |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 12 | 1:00 | 12:00 | Learning consolidation lecture: Online non-synchronous interactive materials |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured non-synchronous discussion | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | Online peer feedback on journalistic activity |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 11 | 2:00 | 22:00 | On-campus small-group workshops - can be moved online if necessary |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Scheduled on-line contact time | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | Seminar |
| Total | 200:00 |
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 Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design/Creative proj | 1 | A | 100 | A piece of multimedia journalism containing video, audio and online/digital elements. |
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.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- MCH8055's Timetable