Broadcast Journalism BA(Hons)

This module introduces you to essential media law, ethics and policy knowledge needed for a career in journalism. It will help you understand the structures in which journalists and their employers operate, and the ways in which specific legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks impact the material created and published by media companies. You will learn about these so you can begin to effectively apply them in the context of creating journalism content.

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

This module provides the knowledge for you to gain an understanding of the role of technology in shaping and being shaped by mediated communication, with a particular focus on digital media technologies. The module combines the critical analysis of media technologies with practical skills to use those technologies in the journalism, media and creative industries.

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 introduces you to a range of types and styles of journalistic writing. You will also be guided to develop transferable skills to write for a broad range of media formats. You will engage with key concepts related to the practice of writing and analyse material online, in magazines and newspapers and in broadcasts. Through regular writing activities you will develop and hone your writing skills.

This module examines transformations of employment, agency and practice in creative and cultural industries. Through the study of forms of media work and labour, you will develop an understanding of the wider context of contemporary work and employment and critically assess its interplay with political, social, cultural, technological and economic structures. Knowledge and understanding of media and creative industries are in turn are applied to skills required in selecting appropriate career paths and opportunities, including employment, freelancing and entrepreneurship, and portfolio building.

The module develops your essential skills in planning and making video news for television, online and social media use, as well as producing news programmes in a TV studio. You will be expected to contribute to all editorial decisions concerning the content of the outputs, including video news and feature stories, television news bulletins and online production. Production elements of the module will include using relevant technology involved in newsgathering, for example broadcast quality cameras, current digital editing software and a fully equipped television studio. Students will each receive an hour of voice training, normally delivered in two 30-minute sessions covering studio and location presenting skills. Emphasis will also be placed on recognising legal and ethical journalistic practice, as well as compliance, health and safety and risk assessments. The module also introduces theories and practices of production management.

This module gives you an understanding of the technical, legal and professional standards involved in digital radio and audio production for broadcast and online; and the practical skills needed in the maintaining of a functioning online radio station with additional online content. You will further develop your abilities to create, produce and present radio journalism, and will receive individual voice training. You will also plan, produce and present a radio programme. You will work together as a group to plan and run a pop-up radio station along with its associated online platforms.

This module gives you an understanding of the technical, legal and professional standards involved in planning, producing and publishing digital audio content, with a focus on podcasting. You will develop advanced skills in creative audio storytelling and editing. You will take part in creating a podcast and will develop abilities in promoting your work on social media platforms.

This module focuses on developing your understanding of different kinds of promotional culture – public relations (PR), influencers, marketing and advertising – and your critical, analytical and evaluative skills. You will learn how to critically analyse different kinds of promotional culture and evaluate its role in society, developing skills you will need to help you develop successful, effective and ethical promotional campaigns and content. As the module continues, you will apply what you have learnt to the practice of PR, and further develop the creative, analytical and technical skills you need to succeed as a public relations practitioner.

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.

The module is designed for students who have the minimum level of English language skills for them to have been accepted onto a university course and who may lack the initiative to ask for help when needed. In this module students are provided with the opportunity to develop higher levels of confidence in their production of spoken and written academic English. In addition, students will consolidate and refine their understanding of syntax and grammatical structures. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2- to B2.

The module provides students who have a level of English language skills sufficiently advanced for them to have been accepted onto a University course with the opportunity to improve further their skills in that language, with particular reference to improvements in the accuracy, clarity and fluency of their oral and written work. In addition to this, students will refine and develop their knowledge of academic study skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2 to B2+.

The module is designed for students who already have a good level of competence in spoken and written English and will support them to further enhance their language and academic skills. Students will refine and develop higher level thinking skills such as critical analysis, problem-solving, synthesis, inference and metacognition. Advanced oral role-plays, group discussions and debates will serve to improve spontaneity and sophistication of expression, whilst written activities will build greater fluency in the use of linguistic structures. They will work with extended academic texts and understand such academic skills as synthesising sources, literature reviews, methodologies, paraphrasing and a range of accurate citation skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills appropriate to the B2+ to C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages.

This module will allow you to develop the investigative journalism skills you need to report effectively on matters of public interest in your field. It provides the knowledge for you to gain a deep understanding of local, national and international institutions – who runs them, who funds them and the power they hold. You will be introduced to key issues in the study of public affairs, and will then develop the journalistic skills, from making Freedom of Information request to visualising data, for you to do investigative reporting in the public interest in a variety of media formats.

This module provides the opportunity for you, working individually or as part of a small group, to devise, plan and create some form of media output or outputs, working in partnership with an external organisation or other suitable client. This could take the form of an individual work placement, or individual or group project work.

This module provides the advanced knowledge and practical skills for you to understand the technical, legal and professional standards involved in running a multiplatform newsroom. It will enable you to achieve professional standards of capability in radio and audio, TV and video, and online newsgathering, editing and presentation. It will stress the importance of team skills in the newsroom context. You will also explore the rationale and constraints of user-generated content. The aim of the module is to encourage you to produce work which will have a beneficial impact on your employability and will contribute to your personal development portfolio.

Sustainability is discussed in boardrooms and on protests, but what exactly does it mean? And what is its significance for those using, working in and leading media businesses? This module situates these issues in the field of environmental social sciences and draws on the widely used, and often critiqued, idea of sustainable development. This will help you understand what sustainability might mean today and for your future careers in journalism and the media. You will create examples of sustainable media content, such as longform journalism or podcasts, based on your learning.

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.

You will be provided with the opportunity to develop higher levels of confidence in your production of spoken and written academic English. In addition, you will consolidate and refine your understanding of syntax and grammatical structures. As the module runs alongside your university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure you develop an understanding of your own learning and the role you can play in developing your knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2- to B2.

The module provides students who have a level of English language skills sufficiently advanced for them to have been accepted onto a University course with the opportunity to improve further their skills in that language, with particular reference to improvements in the accuracy, clarity and fluency of their oral and written work. In addition to this, students will refine and develop their knowledge of academic study skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2 to B2+.

The module is designed for students who already have a good level of competence in spoken and written English and will support them to further enhance their language and academic skills. Students will refine and develop higher level thinking skills such as critical analysis, problem-solving, synthesis, inference and metacognition. Advanced oral role-plays, group discussions and debates will serve to improve spontaneity and sophistication of expression, whilst written activities will build greater fluency in the use of linguistic structures. They will work with extended academic texts and understand such academic skills as synthesising sources, literature reviews, methodologies, paraphrasing and a range of accurate citation skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills appropriate to the B2+ to C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages.