Media Studies BA(Hons)

No matter what area of media you want to work in, you can be sure your audience won’t just be sitting back and letting your content wash over them. They can access it on devices large and small, and won’t be shy about participating in the debate. This module introduces you to the study of media audiences, and helps you understand the context of media convergence.

Your phone screen may be the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you check at night, and in this module we look at the role of technology in shaping our world. We combine critical analysis of key platforms and technologies, from Google and YouTube to Facebook and Twitter, with teaching you the skills to use those tools to create professional media content.

The content we share and find is shaped through the specific organisational structures of the film and media industries. This module provides you with an introduction to the key theories, concepts and methods needed to understand those structures, their impact on the professionals and organisations working within them, and the ways in which they shape media landscapes. The module places particular emphasis on political economic approaches and production studies, but attention will also be given to theories of creativity, branding, and industrial conceptions of their audiences.

The module introduces you to a range of video formats and technologies: mobile, online, television and video. You will be provided with the essential recording and editing skills necessary to produce a video output, and to understand the language and concepts required to critically evaluate video content.

This module takes you inside cinema, as you examine contemporary film as a global media industry. It’s not just the movies themselves, but how they are produced, distributed, promoted and received. There’s a particular emphasis on how processes of globalisation and circulation allow films to become meaningful, far outside the contexts in which they were originally made.

This module focuses on the study of fandoms and participatory media with an emphasis on areas including film, television, music, sport, politics and consumer culture. It introduces you to key concepts such as textual poaching, collective intelligence and spreadable media, as well as setting out key debates which have framed participatory media including the role of cultural industries, the commercial exploitation of participants and hierarchies of participation. The module allows you to consider the history of participatory media as well as its textuality and economic basis. The module furthermore examines motivations and practices behind forms of participation including enthusiasm and fandom, introducing you to tools and concepts through which you will analyse your own fan motivations and experiences.

“There’s a goal, but who’s it for?” If you want to be on the receiving end of that question one day, this is the module where you learn what it takes. You’ll develop your skills in video and audio sports news, match reporting and live commentary, including on location. Experienced sports journalists help you improve your broadcasting techniques and the quality of your voice.

Filing a match report straight after the final whistle is one of the toughest tasks in the media. And in this module, you’ll learn how to deal with the 89th minute winners and after-the-hooter tries that cause chaos in press boxes. But it’s not just writing: you’ll learn about the best ways to tweet and liveblog a game, and carry out interviews with key sports newsmakers.

For a career in TV, video and online news, this is where you will continue to build the skills you need to feel at home in a newsroom. Experienced industry professionals help guide you through a series of newsdays, during which you’ll work as a team to create bulletins and online content, broadcast from our studios.

Radio is a classic medium and both BBC and commercial radio are bigger than ever. This module helps you develop skills in devising and producing radio programmes, along with news bulletins and online content. You’ll finish by working as part of a team to put on a week-long pop-up radio station, a demanding but exciting assessment.

You'll develop your music journalism writing skills, turning your hand to a wide variety of styles – from reviews and features to opinion articles, listicles and other forms of online and social media journalism. There will be in-depth teaching and guidance not only about how to write, but also how to pitch your work to editors. You'll learn about the tradition and history of music journalism, and think about its past, present and future.

There’s a magazine for almost any topic you can think of, and this module helps take you closer to a job working for a publication you’ll love. Industry experts help teach you how to use software packages to design a stunning product. Then, you’re tasked with coming up with your own idea for a new magazine, to fill a gap in the market that you’ve spotted.

Being a producer in film and TV is an important job, putting you right at the centre of any production. You’ll learn about production management tasks ranging from casting to location scouting, while getting a handle on the logistics of production both in the studio and outside. You’ll also focus on health and safety, knowledge that is more essential than ever.

Popular formats from Strictly Come Dancing to I’m A Celebrity are central to the success of our biggest broadcasters. This module takes you inside the creation and development of the next big thing in TV. You’ll develop your creative and technical skills, as you plan how to turn your idea into a potential hit of the future.

This module provides the knowledge for you to gain a deep understanding of local and national politics in the UK, and international politics. You'll be introduced to key concepts in the study of political communication, and will then develop the journalistic skills to report on political issues and public bodies in a variety of media formats.

Investigative journalists are among the industry’s biggest names. You’ll be inspired by legendary reporters from Watergate to the present day, and will learn about using tools such as Freedom of Information requests and social media platforms to look into stories. You’ll complete an investigation of your own, leaving with an in-depth story you can take to future editors.

Here’s where you get ready for a career in a newsroom. We simulate a busy journalism workplace, and challenge you to work as part of a team to complete TV and radio bulletins, online and social media output, during fast-paced newsdays. You’ll also further develop your expertise in media law, making sure you’re all set for your first graduate job.

You might dream of being in the Sky Sports newsroom on transfer deadline day, and here we aim to give you the next best thing. You’ll work as part of a team in a busy sports journalism workplace, completing TV and radio bulletins, along with social media and online content, during full production newsdays. You’ll also further develop your knowledge of sports media law.

You’ll have heard the term ‘cult movie’, but this module puts the concept itself in the spotlight. Exploring the key genres of fantasy and horror, you’ll consider how cult status is created, sustained and marketed. You’ll explore whether it’s possible to define cult films through certain attributes, and the ways in which fantasy and horror movies have been theorised.

This module gives you the knowledge and practical skills to develop an advanced understanding of the emerging and diverse use of short film in a variety of forms. You will examine how video can be used across digital and broadcast platforms in innovative and complex ways. You will work in small groups to develop video narratives using a range of styles and platforms, with a clear understanding of audience and production.

Gaming is one of the most dominant forms of entertainment, more valuable than the movie and music industries put together. In this module, you’ll examine key debates in video gaming analysis, putting games into their historical, social and economic contexts. You’ll create a video essay to help demonstrate what you’ve learned.

Brands and branding are all around us, and you’ll get inside the promotional techniques used to sell us things. You’ll use knowledge of media industries, consumer research and communications theory to examine how products and services are promoted. You’ll also create materials for a new brand of your own, developing skills useful for careers in advertising and marketing.