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Methods and Genres of Journalism
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:6.00
Study Course Accepted:02.02.2024 12:25:36
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | KSK_196 | LQF level: | Level 6 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.00 | ECTS: | 3.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Communication Sciences; Communication Theory | Target Audience: | Communication Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Līga Ozoliņa | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf rsu[pnkts]lv | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 6 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 12 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 6 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 12 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 24 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Courses mastered: “Introduction to journalism”, “News journalism”. | ||||||||
| Objective: | Within the scope of the course students should learn theoretical and practical knowledge about information collection methods and genres in journalism, as well as build and train their skill to use the knowledge in creating journalistic texts, audio and video works. In order to foster understanding of establishment and development of journalism as a profession in Latvia, genres of different journalism schools and different media will be analysed in the course of studies, thus mastering an analytically critical approach. Students will evaluate not only their own and their colleagues’ independent works, but also examples from Latvian press practice. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | System of genres in media. Use of genres in journalism. Functions of genres. News, the basis of journalism. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | Interview as a genre of journalism and as a method. Types of interviews. Use of interview in different genres of journalism and in different media. Discussion of ideas of interviews. Most characteristic problems of interviewing and possibilities to overcome them. Professional ethics and interview situations. Types of questions. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Description, its place and role in the system of genres of journalism. Types of descriptions. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Creation of description leads. Structure of description. Finding a topic and its focus in journalism. Creation of headings, types of headings. Techniques of writing headings. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | Critical thinking and journalism. Argumentation in journalism, argumentation in comments of journalists. Transformation of genres and approaches in internet media. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Comment and editorial column. Types of comments. Functions of comments. Stages of writing comments, structure of comments. Analytical article. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Preparation to a press conference, press briefing (2 pages) | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | Facts and opinions interview (5000 – 8000 characters). | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | Writing of description No. 1. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | Writing of description No. 2. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Preparation of a comment. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Writing of a comment text, its formation in the video format for Student media column “I have something to say”. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | 1. Facts and opinions interview (5000 – 8000 characters). Task: to independently prepare a complete facts and opinions interview, to present it at a seminar. (The interview must be prepared for the needs of the student media and submitted for publishing to the leader of the student media). 2. Writing of a comment text, its formation in the video format (for Student media column “I have something to say”). Comment in the format of a text, video and audio. (The comment must be prepared for the needs of the student media and submitted for publishing to the leader of the student media). 3. According to the theoretical material discussed at lectures, the student should independently create a personality description (5000 – 7000 characters) and its creation problems should be discussed at a seminar. 3 different description leads and headings will be created during the seminar, they will be analysed. (The description must be prepared for the needs of the student media and submitted for publishing to the leader of the student media). The description may also be formed in the video or audio format as a production. Each description should be appended by its application in social media. 4. According to the theoretical material discussed at lectures, the student should independently create a history, business, seasonal holiday, scientific, practical or problem description (3000 – 5000 characters) and its creation problems should be discussed at a seminar. 3 different description leads and headings will be created during the seminar, they will be analysed. At least 3 – 5 original sources should be used in the creation of the description, the content of other media cannot be used. (The description must be prepared for the needs of the student media and submitted for publishing to the leader of the student media). The description may also be formed in the video format as a production. Each description should be appended by its application in social media. 5. Preparation to a press conference, press briefing (2 pages). Task: To prepare and present the information learned and questions prepared before the press conference. To substantiate own choice and further use of obtained information in a publication in a specific media. 6. According to the theoretical material discussed at lectures, the student should independently plan 3 different ideas for comments (1000 characters) for a specific media format (idea, its topicality, focus, audience, necessary information, arguments, defended opinion, its substantiation). In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Activity at seminars – 15%. Quality of ideas offered for articles – 15%. Quality of works of different genres and submission within the set deadline – 70%. Assessment of the work depends on the following factors: • Quality, originality and compliance with the seminar topic of the fulfilled task; materials collected during placement, interviews with relatives, close acquaintances or family members cannot be used for practical works. • Work at seminars and professional attitude to practical tasks. • Work submitted within the set deadline and responsibility in the process of performance of the task; works that were delayed without a justifying reason will not be evaluated and will be considered as failed. • Submission of the work to the student media. Works, that have not been submitted to the editorial office of the student media will not get a pass! • Submission of creative works within the set deadline – on the date of each seminar! | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Knows the development of journalistic genres. Will be able to apply characteristics, types, formats of journalistic genres. Will focus on the transformation of journalistic genres. Will be able to apply critical thinking in journalism. Familiar with cross-genre formats. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Skill to create different types of interviews. Skill to create different types of descriptions. Skill to create analytical and commenting genre materials in journalism. Skill to adapt the work of each genre to specific media formats. Skill to structure information: headings, leads and other elements characterising each genre. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | To recognise the nature of information and to arrange according to the corresponding genre. To evaluate quality criteria of each genre in own and other media performance. To evaluate problems and requirements of professional ethics of different genres. To create works of specific genre for specific media formats. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Göran Eriksson. The management of applause and laughter in live political interviews (fails: sage_political_interviews). Raksts no Media, Culture & Society | ||||||||
| 2 | The shaping of an online feature journalist. Steen Steensen, Oslo University College, Norway (fails: sage_feature) Raksts no Journalism | ||||||||
| 3 | https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/journalism-pr-media-and-pub… | ||||||||
| 4 | Dennis Hayes. Let’s stop trying to teach students critical thinking | ||||||||
| 5 | Janet Malcolm. Constructing boundaries of journalism, Journalism, 2006 SAGE Publications, (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi); Vol. 7(1): 5–24 | ||||||||
| 6 | Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. edited by Mark Kramer and Wendy Call, Plume, 2007. | ||||||||
| 7 | America’s Best Newspaper Writing. edited by Roy Peter Clark and Christopher Scanlan, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. | ||||||||
| 8 | How to write a feature article | ||||||||
| 9 | Interviewing for journalists (media skills) | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Robert Boynton. The New New Journalism: Conversations with America's Best Nonfiction Writers on Their Craft Paperback. 2005 | ||||||||
| 2 | McNae's Essential Law for Journalists Paperback – 2014 by Mike Dodd, Mark Hanna | ||||||||
| 3 | Lee Gutkind. You Can't Make This Stuff Up: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction--From Memoir to Literary Journalism and Everything in Between Paperback 2012 | ||||||||
| 4 | Tips for writing a features article | ||||||||
| Other Information Sources | |||||||||
| 1 | www.lsm.lv | ||||||||
| 2 | www.irir.lv | ||||||||
| 3 | newyorker.com | ||||||||
| 4 | guardian.com | ||||||||
| 5 | replay.lv | ||||||||
| 6 | irir.lv | ||||||||
