Journalism

Postgraduate Certificate/Postgraduate Diploma/MA

This course is designed for those who have a fascination with the power and influence of the media, whether your aim is to work in the journalism industry or not.

It has at its core an academic approach to journalism, examining its place in the community and wider society, its ethical and legal responsibilities and its relationship with government and the consumer. Students will examine this rapidly globalising industry and the opportunities it offers them as creative entrepreneurs. At the heart of this course will be digital journalism and global news and communications. There will also be practical modules to give students an introduction to the role of a journalist and an optional work placement. Students will be taught the practice of online and video journalism in simulated newsroom environments, producing their own material to strict deadlines. The course culminates in the MA project, which is a written or written/practical mix research project.

The teaching staff on the course are all specialist media academics, many have backgrounds as practitioners in one or more areas of the industry and have close contacts with current media professionals and decision makers. As well as interacting with university teaching fellows with a proven excellence in pedagogic research, you will also experience the vibrant applied research culture of the faculty. Many of your tutors are engaged in innovative real-world research projects and have a track record of publications and scholarly activity in their field. The faculty also hosts two research centres: Women, Ageing and Media and Media, Memory and Community. A series of guest lectures, external moderation and work placements provide students with close contact with the workplace that will help guide and motivate them during their time on the course.

The curriculum developed for the MA Journalism will reflect the changes in the nature of news-gathering and production in a fast moving industry. The wider journalism and media theory will provide the academic context of the course and the practical aspects will reflect the new environment in which journalists are required not only to provide material for a newspaper or radio station, but for the web.

Some of our modules

Theory and Analysis
Practical Journalism
Digital Journalism
Media and Creative Industries
Entrepreneurship in the Creative Industries
Community Media
Global News and Communications

Staff Profile

Dr Frances Eames
Course Leader

Frances has published articles and delivered conference papers on the representation of ethnicity in television news, and on the commercialisation of regional news in the 1970s. She is currently researching the relationship between television news and social memory and is working on collaborative projects with colleagues at the University of Gloucestershire. She completed her MA Journalism at Cardiff University and her PhD, which focused on television news archives, at the University of Nottingham. Frances joined the University of Gloucestershire in 2008 and lectures in journalism theory, broadcast history and media and cultural studies.

Benefits

Working with professional journalists and media academics on a multi-platform journalism course addressing the needs of the industry
Park Campus has a state-of-the-art, professional standard multi-media news studio, featuring presenter-operated remote controlled cameras
You will have the chance to go on a work placement and you will have expert tuition on digital journalism