Undergraduate - UnitAZA1328 - Journalism 1: Introduction

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	South Africa First semester 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Tinus de Jager

Synopsis

The unit provides a critical introduction to the key concepts and practices of research and reporting for South African and African news journalism; the social, professional and legal context for journalism production; the technical production and narrative conventions for at least two different media (print, online, radio and/or video). Students research and produce original news stories to deadline in at least two media, produce a critical evaluation of their own performance and constructive feedback for their peers.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

Demonstrate an ability to conceptualise what a news story could be, and identify and research a news story, conduct interviews and gather appropriate evidence.
Demonstrate an ability to report in a clear, concise, factual way using news conventions in at least two media.
Identifyand observe key ethical and legal obligations associated with news reporting in the African and South African context, and reflect critically on their own and others' performance in this regard
Work independently and collaboratively in learning and production processes, including online forums, to produce news reports.
Demonstrate an ability to set and meet deadlines, and report under pressure
Demonstrate an awareness of local, national and international people and events relevant to current issues and media issues.
Demonstrate a critical awareness of the capacities, limitations and socio-professional implications of journalistic practices in different media.

Assessment

Minimum requirement: attendance and participation as specified in the Unit Guide for the mode of delivery
Minor assignment: 10%
Brief news report in specified medium: 30%
Brief news report in specified medium: 30%
Reflective analyses: 30%