Masters Degrees (Broadcast)

The MA Broadcast Journalism programme builds on the strengths and achievements of the postgraduate diploma course, which has been running since 1981. Currently accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC), the course has a reputation for the quality of its students and their success in obtaining employment in the industry.

UCLan is committed to producing broadcast journalists who are realistically skilled and highly employable. The postgraduate Broadcast Journalism is designed to prepare students for working in the broadcast industry, so the emphasis is on learning by doing. You will learn in a newsroom environment, producing interviews, stories and packages for radio and television and online. You will also gain a thorough understanding of media law and public administration.

This course is eligible for a BAFTA Scholarship. Selected students will receive up to £10,000 to cover course fees, an industry mentor and free access to BAFTA events around the UK.

INDUSTRY LINKS

The course enjoys superb links with industry – across the region and nationally. Many former postgraduate broadcast journalists who now work in BBC and commercial radio and TV, make regular return visits – to pass on their invaluable knowledge and insights as well as providing one-to-one feedback on radio and television newsdays.

Our MA Broadcast Journalism programme is recognised as providing “general excellence in broadcast journalism training" by its accrediting body – the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND ASSESSMENT

Greenbank Building has five sound studios, each with professional mixing desks and computers, a large talks studio, and a television studio, with remote cameras, lighting, Autocue, control room and AVID digital editing suite.

The broadcast newsroom is equipped with telephones, digital editing workstations, ENPS and Burli news management systems, AVID iNews and news feeds from Independent Radio News and the Press Association.

The course enjoys excellent support from the broadcast industry. Students benefit from frequent guest lectures and industry speakers as well as editors and producers from radio and TV who visit regularly to work with the students.

The work placements are an essential part of the course and students are expected to spend at least three weeks in a BBC or commercial radio newsroom and one week at a television programme or company.

Most assessed work is in the form of practical assignments. For radio, students submit a portfolio of work, including a news bulletin, interview and news package. For television, students work on a variety of assignments.

For Law and Public Administration students must produce an essay and pass a final examination.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Work experience is a vital part of the programme and is often the starting point for paid employment. We ensure students are fully aware of the opportunities available to them and encourage them to make the most of the unprecedented access to our network of industry contacts. The official 6 week placements will normally take place in early summer – after students have completed their major project. However, we actively encourage all our students to make the most of any opportunities to participate in on-going placements during weekends/holiday periods.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course we expect you to have acquired the skills and knowledge required to carry out the work of a professional broadcast journalist and be capable of operating independently in a confident and reflective manner. To achieve this, the course sets out to:
-Provide you with the key journalistic skills and knowledge required by professional broadcast journalists
-Promote self-awareness and self-confidence, and the ability to communicate clearly
-To provide you with underpinning knowledge of relevant legal and ethical requirements
-Stimulate all-round development within a positive, supportive and creative learning environment.
-Provide you with the opportunity for a substantial piece of independent production or research
-Provide you with the intellectual skills and creative insights necessary for your development as a reflective practitioner

FURTHER INFORMATION

We provide training and support in an environment that enables students to reach the high standards of professional competence demanded by the industry. Entry into the profession is competitive and most employers recruit new journalists only if they have completed a recognised postgraduate course.

For the Masters award, students will demonstrate their practical skills and critical understanding of the medium by producing an extended broadcast project under the supervision of a module tutor.

Read less

The MA Broadcast Journalism is aimed at people who have decided to pursue a career in radio or television news and current affairs. Our aim is to help you to get your first job in a highly competitive industry.

All journalists need to know how to find and research stories, how to interview people and how to write well. These days, that’s not enough. Modern broadcast newsrooms are digital and multi-media. Entry-level journalists are expected to be multi-skilled and familiar with the latest technology.

We use digital TV and radio studios to teach you how to gather and broadcast your content. We also organise a three-week industry placement for you to put into practice the skills we teach.

We will encourage you to originate and distribute your stories through the latest social channels. Are you comfortable using Twitter, Instagram, or Steller in a professional way? You will be by the time you leave us.

We are looking for people who can demonstrate a keen interest in news. We expect you to be engaged with what’s happening in the world. If you regularly watch and listen to TV and radio news programmes, that’s a good starting point.

We also look for people who already have some evidence of their commitment to a career in journalism. This could be acquired through student journalism or work placements in a newsroom. We don’t mind what subject you have studied at undergraduate level.

You will leave us with an MA that is widely recognised as being at the forefront of postgraduate training for a broadcasting career in digital multi-media newsrooms. Your time with us will be hard work, but hopefully it will be rewarding, and the beginning of an exciting career.

Distinctive features:

• MA Broadcast Journalism is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council
• Industry placements in the second semester
• An outstanding alumni network across the media

Structure

This is a year-long course.

Broadcast journalism skills are acquired through a series of lectures, demonstrations, practical exercises and feedback sessions of increasing complexity and realism - from 'paper exercises' in the early days to complex radio and television productions that report on real events in real time. These sessions are supplemented by seminars, playbacks, group discussions and industry guests.

Basic writing, reporting and technical skills are taught in the first semester against a background of group listening and viewing to good current professional practice.

The second semester adds editorial and production skills in both radio and television. We use the device of twice weekly ‘production days’ to integrate newsgathering and production skills with the team working and editorial/resource management skills needed to produce real-time broadcast outputs.

During the Easter break you will test your skills against the real world in a work placement (or placements) of a minimum three weeks duration in a radio or television newsroom of your choice.

Following the Easter recess you will have the opportunity to study from a wide and varied selection of elective modules which include sports, motoring, business and data journalism.

Finally individual writing, reporting and storytelling skills are tested in both media are tested in the final portfolio of work and the final practical examinations.

Your major project will be self-accessed and student-led. You will originate, research and produce a story that will be delivered for radio, television and online.

Core modules:

Public Administration
Reporters and the Reported
Digital Journalism
Broadcast Journalism
Broadcast News Production
Broadcast News Reporting & Production
Media Law and Ethics
Professional Development
Major Project

Optional modules:

Motoring Journalism
Business and Financial Journalism
Lifestyle & Consumer Journalism
Political Reporting
Sports Journalism
Data Journalism
Yr Agenda Cymreig

Teaching

You will be taught through a variety of practical workshops, studio time and productions days which replicate an industry environment as well as lecture series to support the more academic elements of the course.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a wide range of formative and summative assessments throughout the course. These range from practical class room activities to academic essays and examinations.

Career prospects

This is a period of great change in all fields of journalism – including broadcast – but our employment record continues to be good.

Our graduates typically leave us to work as broadcast journalists in local radio or regional TV newsrooms. Recent graduates are now working for organisations like BBC and ITV News, SKY, CNN, Reuters, Bloomberg and Al Jazeera English. Over the years we have helped hundreds of people to start their careers in broadcast journalism. Many are now working at the top of the profession.

Placement

You will undertake a 15 day industry placement during the Easter break. Placements are co-ordinated by the course tutors and take into account your geographical preferences. Placements may be in radio or TV newsrooms, or both.

Read less

The Broadcast Journalism MA at City is highly rated in the industry as evidenced by the range and number of alumni working in broadcasting, the awards won, and the industry placements offered.

Who is it for?

This course is suitable for students with a first degree, looking to become well-rounded broadcast journalists. You will have a keen interest in TV and radio news and current affairs plus sport, lifestyle and national and international politics. Though this course is NOT about presenting on screen or on air, you must be prepared to present your material on camera or mic, and write and direct material for others to perform. The MA in Broadcast Journalism is essentially about visual and audio communication of topical information, and requires a desire to communicate through essential team working. City provides an alumni network second to none in the UK broadcast industry; and provides possibly the best employment opportunities of any postgraduate broadcasting course in the UK.

Objectives

The MA in Broadcast Journalism produces award winning young journalists and has a superb reputation. You will learn learn comprehensive TV and radio skills. The course benefits from a large cohort of 50 students with great networking and peer support. Teaching groups of 15 ensure daily personal contact with Professor Lis Howell; TV reporter Colette Cooney; Dr Abdullahi Tasiu; and key visiting staff like Talksport’s Sandy Warr and former Reuter’s producer Lloyd Watson.

New from autumn 2016 Broadcast Journalism aims to offer hour long TV news programmes on news-days produced by students gaining practical training. Newswriting, television and radio journalism are taught in groups of fifteen and larger groups through lectures, workshops and broadcast simulation.

Placements

Work placements are an integral part of the Broadcast Journalism MA. MA Broadcasters arrange their own placements - with help from academics if necessary. You must have 15 days of work experience whilst on the course. This usual happens during the the Christmas break. The size of the City cohorts past and present means unique networking opportunities with present students and 4,000 alumni. But at the same time every student is given personal help in finding a placement and help ultimately to find a job in broadcasting. Every student counts.

Organisations who have hosted City students in the past include:
-ABC
-Al-Jazeera
-BBC
-BBC local radio stations across the UK
-Blakeway Productions
-Blink
-CTVC
-Flame
-Hardcash Productions
-ITN
-ITN Sport (Olympics)
-NorthOne
-October Films
-OR Media
-Plum Films
-politics.com
-Reuters
-Sky
-Talkback

Academic facilities

In 2014 we completed a £12m development project for our Journalism facilities. These facilities were developed in consultation with experts from the BBC and ITN and were praised by the BJTC. They include:
-A television studio: enabling simultaneous multi-media simulated broadcast and a major expansion in the number of news and current affairs programmes produced.
-Four radio studios: enabling an increase in output and the potential to explore a permanent radio station.
-Two radio broadcast newsrooms: high-tech facilities that enable you to learn how to produce a radio programme.
-Two digital newsrooms: impressive modern facilities that enable you to learn the skills required to produce newspapers, magazines and websites.
-Two TV editing and production newsrooms: state-of-the-art facilities that enable you to learn about TV production.

Teaching and learning

Some courses are taught in lecture theatres, but most are small-group workshops that allow you to develop your journalistic skills and knowledge with the support of our expert academics.

Activities include lectures, practical work in groups and individually, personal tutorials, and independent learning

This pathway is taught by professors, senior lecturers and lecturers, with industry practitioners as visiting lecturers, and a number of key industry visiting speakers.

Assessment

All MA Journalism courses at City are practical, hands-on courses designed for aspiring journalists. As a result, much of your coursework will be journalistic assignments that you produce to deadline, as you would in a real news organisation.

Assessments vary from module to module but include coursework, practical work both in groups and individually, a Final Project, a written timed test, and essays.

Modules

All of our Broadcast Journalism MA students must undertake core modules in Ethics, Rules and Standards and a Final Project. As a Broadcast Journalism student you will take a module in Newsgathering for TV and Radio; a module in Newsdays and Longer From film-making; and a module in Studio Production. Teaching hours are between Mondays to Fridays during working hours, and occasionally outside those times.

Core modules
Ethics, Rules & Standards (30 credits)
Final Project (30 credits)
Newsgathering for TV and Radio (30 credits)
Newsdays Production (30 credits)
Studio Production for TV or Radio (15 credits)
UK Media Law (15 credits)
Political Headlines (15 credits)

Elective modules
Journalism Innovation (15 credits)
Social & Digital Journalism (15 credits)

Career prospects

96.8% of graduates from this course were in employment six months after completing the course (DLHE survey 2014-15).

Alumni include famous names such as:
-Sophie Raworth (BBC)
-Dermot Murnaghan (Sky News)
-Barbara Serra (Al Jazeera)
-Jo Whiley (BBC Radio).

Recent graduates of the MA Broadcasting include:
-Ramita Navai, Emmy Award-winning documentary maker
-Chris Mason (BBC Political Reporter)
-Isobel Webster (Sky News)
-Darren McGaffrey (Sky News)
-Minnie Stephenson (ITN)
-Cordelia Lynch (Sky News Washington)

Read less

About Broadcast Journalism Degrees

One of Britain's leading industry-accredited broadcast journalism courses it provides a very high-level of vocational training, preparing trainees for careers in radio, television and online news.

Leeds Trinity University was the first UK institution to introduce a postgraduate programme in Broadcast (Radio and Television) Journalism and the Diploma is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC). The programme provides thorough training in the techniques of broadcast news and is impressively successful in providing enhanced employment prospects for graduates.

Trainees spend one month on-air where they produce radio bulletins and online material in real time for Bradford Community Broadcasting. During this period all of the Broadcast trainees gain experience in the roles of news editor, newsreader and reporter.

Working to tight deadlines trainees also produce Yorkshire Voice regional news programme, showcasing their television skills, and its associated web content. Each edition is reviewed by senior industry figures.

Our alumni are strongly represented in the BBC, commercial radio and television, and newspaper and magazine newsrooms across Yorkshire and the rest of the country.

Leeds Trinity’s continuing partnership with many of the major news organisations ensures access to placements and monitoring opportunities.

Graduate Destinations

The Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism is a highly vocational, calendar year programme which prepares trainees for roles as journalists in a multi-platform environment.

Our alumni are strongly represented in the BBC, commercial radio and television, and newspaper and magazine newsrooms across Yorkshire and the rest of the country.

The course provides a thorough grounding in the techniques of broadcast news, writing for newspapers and magazines, and website production. Trainees work in dedicated newsrooms and studios with all trainees taking roles of responsibility as editors, producers or presenters.

Trainees who follow the broadcast pathway produce Leeds Today, a regional TV news programme that showcases television skills. They also spend a month on air with Bradford Community Broadcasting during which bulletins are produced in real time against deadlines. Trainees following the Print and Magazine pathways produce the North Leeds Newspaper and MORE magazine. Trainees on all pathways are also expected to produce online video, audio and written material for the course’s main news website.

The Broadcast pathways are accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) while the Print and Magazine pathways have National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCJT) accreditation.

Structure

The following five modules make up the diploma:

- News Skills – an intensive, practical module providing the multi-media skills needed in any newsroom, regardless of platform and including shorthand.
- Law, Ethics and Regulation – the knowledge required to be legally safe and ethical journalists, and to follow regulatory codes.
- Live Production – Producing real packages in real time for Yorkshire Voice and the BCB radio.
- Public Affairs – where public affairs embraces British Central and Local Government.
- Professional Work Placement – all trainees must complete at least four weeks of placement in a professional newsroom environment.

The MA in Journalism consists of one module which trainees may register for up to two years after completion of the Diploma.

Research Methodologies and Journalism Research Project – culminates in the production of a supervised research dissertation.

Assessment – Trainees must attend a four-day introduction session in January and submit their research proposal by Easter. Trainees have 12 months to complete their thesis.

Read less

About the course

Accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council.

Learn how to write for radio and television news: how to find your own stories and turn them into sharp and imaginative broadcast material. You’ll record and film material and edit it using a desktop software package. You’ll also learn media law and public administration, ethics and regulation.

We’ll prepare you for the multimedia environment by teaching you how to create audio and video for the web and how to use social media effectively.

Your career

A masters from Sheffield is the mark of someone who thinks differently. Graduates from our applied courses are creative, disciplined journalists.

They’re working in radio and television, newspapers and magazines, print and online, across the UK and internationally.

The BBC, Guardian, Daily Mail, Channel 4, Sky and Wall Street Journal all employ Sheffield journalists.

About us

Our teaching staff are professionals who have worked at the highest level in newspaper, magazine, radio, television and online journalism. This is a great place to learn practical skills. Three quarters of our research is rated world-leading or internationally excellent. The discussion of ideas about journalism, its past, present and future, is part of all our courses.

We have strong links with the industry. We send our masters students on a three-day field trip to London, visiting national news organisations for briefings on current developments with senior editors and meeting politicians and political journalists.

Guests from the media industries, regulators, campaigning groups and research institutes give lectures in the department. Broadcast editors run radio and television newsdays, and print and online production editors bring their expertise to newspaper, web and magazine exercises.

Work experience

If you’re taking one of our applied courses, we encourage you to go on a work placement of one to three weeks during vacation time. Employers regularly notify us as opportunities come up and we have a dedicated work placement administrator to help you find a placement that’s right for you. Our students often find a work placement leads to a job after graduation.

Professional accreditation

All our applied postgraduate courses are accredited by the main professional bodies representing the media industries: the National Council for the Training of Journalists, the Broadcast Journalism Training Council and the Professional Publishers Association. Our International Political Communication and Global Journalism programmes are not accredited and have limited practical content.

Real-world learning environment

The University has invested £3 million in a superb new home for the department in 2014, with four large newsrooms designed to simulate a real working environment. The print newsroom is equipped with 30 PCs, all of which have access to the latest print production software such as Adobe Indesign, Incopy and Photoshop. You’ll also have access to a Press Association newsfeed, telephones, daily newspapers and Sky TV.

The broadcast newsroom is equipped with industry-standard software for radio production. We have a state-of-the-art radio studio and digital audio recorders. Students on the applied MA courses learn how to create packages, put together live news bulletins, shoot professional news pieces on HD TV cameras, and use Apple Final Cut X to cut rushes together. They acquire the skills needed to prepare text, audio and video content for publication online. These degrees also show how to use audio recorders, video and stills cameras to gather content. In the web newsroom, students use audio, video and image editing software to create their own sites.

Studentships

There are a limited number of external bursaries for UK students on the Print, Magazine and Broadcast courses, from the AHRC, Scott Trust and Journalism Diversity Fund. Please see our web pages for details.

Core modules

Researching News; Law for Journalists; Ethics and Regulation; Power and Society; Broadcast News; Advanced Broadcast Journalism; Broadcast Journalism Dissertation/Portfolio (PGDip students don’t take this module).

Examples of optional modules

A range including: Global Journalism; Journalism, Globalisation and Development; Researching Social Media; Propaganda, Media and Conflict; News and Civil Society; Journalism Politics and Public Debate; Journalism in Britain.

Teaching and assessment

There are lectures, seminars, group workshops, individual and team assignments. You’re assessed on essays, examinations and practical broadcast journalism – producing news stories, radio and TV news items and features, web pages and portfolios.

Read less

This course will prepare you for a career in Broadcast Engineering, supporting you to continually improve your skills and the quality of service you provide. Through the programme, you will demonstrate technical, research, analytical, planning, design and organisational skills which are highly transferable and can be used in a wide variety of disciplines.

What's covered in the course?

Broadcast technologies are continually evolving and converging with other information and media distribution formats, including the web, games and virtual environments. The UK traditionally has a high calibre of recognition in the TV production and technology industries. Our course aims to capitalise on and maintain the UK expertise in this area, whilst continually evolving the delivery of technology in this rapidly changing area.

Our course is designed both to prepare you for a technical or commercial career and provide a route to the specialisation needed for a research career. It is also suitable for graduates of internet and communications related courses who have worked for several years and wish to update your knowledge at the forefront of the discipline.

The programme is designed to enable you to develop a thorough technical and theoretical understanding, focusing on vocational and practical skills directly relevant to industry. Alongside the development of technical and analytical skills, you will also expand your team and professional development skills through group work, peer review and reflective evaluation, as well as consideration of legal and ethical issues.

We are committed to supporting the broadcast industry and continue to work with and support key stakeholders. We also aim to act as a broker between industry, universities and students to place students in appropriate research positions and placements.

The University is actively involved in SMPTE and we host SMPTE regional meetings at Birmingham City University.

Why Choose Us?

-The School’s pursuance of excellence is recognised by its sole provider status of academic programmes to the BBC’s engineering schemes.
-Our staff are actively involved in professional associations and societies including the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Royal Television Society (RTS), International Association of Broadcast Meteorology (IABM) and Audio Engineering Society (AES).
-The University has been instrumental in working with the IABM to set up the IABM Universities’ Forum to link universities across Europe that deliver broadcasting programmes, with the aim of spreading best practice in broadcast training and supporting students from university into industry.
-Staff are active in research in the School’s Digital Media Technology Lab, which is internationally recognised for its publications in conferences and journals and its engagement with industry.

Course in depth

Knowledge, understanding and intellectual skills are acquired through a variety of practical learning and teaching approaches, these may include: formal lectures, interactive tutorial sessions, laboratory sessions, seminars, residential courses and directed independent learning activities.

Analytical skills are developed through coursework tasks that encourage creativity and problem solving using a range of systems and technologies relevant to commercial web service delivery. Group tutorial and practical work are also utilised in programme delivery. Learners are assessed both formatively and summatively by a number of methods.

Formative assessment occurs throughout the programme and involves feedback from peers and tutors and individual reflection. Feedback on work in progress is available prior to the submission of summative assessments.

A range of summative assessment methods are employed involving both individual and group assignments, written coursework assignments and practical project work, laboratory sessions, tests and examinations.

Summative assessment methods for all modules are identified in a module guide and, for coursework, assessment details and criteria are specified in each assignment brief.

As well as developing and applying skills through assignment work, the Research Methods module in the second semester introduces research skills in preparation for the dissertation. Independent learning is encouraged through research tasks for assignments and in the requirement to plan work schedules to meet deadlines for coursework submission.

Transferable and key skills are core to the learning strategy of the programme. They are pervasive, and are incorporated into modules and assessments as appropriate, e.g. team-working skills are fostered via group, task-based practical projects. Reflection and self-awareness are fostered by keeping logbooks and submitting self-evaluation documentation in support of personal performance.

Modules
-IP Network Technology 20 credits
-Broadcast Workflow 20 credits
-Studio and Broadcast Technology 20 credits
-Media Distribution Solutions and Architectures 20 credits
-Research Methods 20 credits
-Signal Compression and Encoding 20 credits
-Master’s Project 60 credits

Employment Opportunities

This programme aims to enable you to develop specialist and key transferable skills that are essential to a career in broadcast engineering, ensuring that you meet the needs of employers and the standards set out by the Institution of Engineering Technology.

Birmingham City University programmes aim to provide graduates with a set of attributes which prepare them for their future careers. The BCU Graduate:
-Is professional and work ready
-Is a creative problem solver
-Is enterprising
-Has a global outlook

The University has introduced the Birmingham City University Graduate+ programme, which is an extra-curricular awards framework that is designed to augment the subject based skills that you develop through your programme with broader employability skills and techniques that will enhance your employment options when you leave university.

Read less

The MA in Sports Broadcast Journalism is the only course of its type in the UK. It provides professional opportunities in the world of sports media for many postgraduates who are now working at the BBC, ITV, Sky, ESPN and several top football clubs. The award has been praised and accredited by the BJTC. It is run by professional sports broadcasters and offers an exciting blend of practical and academic subjects.

You will learn the practical essentials of broadcast journalism including use of cameras, TV and radio studios and Premiere Pro video editing. Newsdays will replicate professional practice and students will report, present and produce to broadcast standards.

Other subjects include sports broadcast studies and law; you will also undergo six weeks of work placement in a professional setting; and learn how to produce documentary features.

Industry links

National newsrooms visit:
The course includes a three-day visit to London in January when students get the chance to go to the heart of the industry – the main newsrooms. We visit Sky News, Sky Sports News, ITV News (formerly ITN), the Daily Telegraph and others. The trip is a huge opportunity for students to observe newsrooms in operation at close quarters and make valuable contacts. The cost is included in the course fees.

Accreditation

This award is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council, an organisation part-funded by the broadcast industry to maintain standards of delivery of broadcast journalism training at accredited centres in the UK, including Staffordshire University.

All students also have the opportunity to sit the National Council for the Training of Journalists pre-entry exams. The NCTJ, the awarding body, is regulated by Ofqual, and offers professional pre-entry qualifications recognised by the industry for those seeking a career in journalism.

Past NCTJ papers are used in class exercises to give students appropriate material relevant to newsroom practice and as preparation for NCTJ examination content and format.

Shorthand is taught through workshops delivered by an experienced specialist shorthand tutor who takes the students from scratch, by exposition, example and class practices, up to, potentially, the ability to pass the NCTJ 100 words per minute.

Read less

This course is highly vocational and our students often progress into industry jobs before graduating. The course has full accreditation from the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) and students are also able to take the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) core exams.

You will work with a team of top journalists and academics. Two of your main tutors have a vast amount of experience in television and radio, having been in charge of news and sports departments at regional and national level.

You will learn how to self-shoot and edit a TV package, how to present on television and radio and how to operate as a multimedia journalist. You will also be taught how to write news pieces and then present them on TV, radio and online; how to report, how to interview, how to use a TV camera and how to produce and direct in a studio.

The latest industry-standard equipment is used and stories relating to events in the local community, national politics, international affairs, sports news and celebrity gossip are all covered. Recent graduates work at Sky, MTV, BBC, ITV and on BBC local and commercial radio.

Course content

Through comprehensive core modules, we provide the opportunity to tailor your award to your specific career goals.

You will study:
-Broadcast Journalism: Theory and Practice
-Government, Politics and Journalism
-Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues
-Specialist Broadcast Journalism
-Journalism Studies
-Research Project

Accreditation

This award is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council, an organisation part-funded by the broadcast industry to maintain standards of delivery of broadcast journalism training at accredited centres in the UK, including Staffordshire University.

In addition all students are able to sit National Council for the Training of Journalists pre-entry exams. The NCTJ, the awarding body, is regulated by Ofqual, and offers professional pre-entry qualifications recognised by the industry for those seeking a career in journalism.

Past NCTJ papers are used in class exercises to give students appropriate material relevant to newsroom practice and as preparation for NCTJ examination content and format.

Shorthand is taught through workshops delivered by an experienced specialist shorthand tutor who takes the students from scratch, by exposition, example and class practices, up to, potentially, the ability to pass the NCTJ 100 words per minute.

Read less

IN BRIEF:

• Study at our state-of-the-art MediaCityUK campus adjacent to the BBC and ITV
• Learn from lecturers with strong journalism backgrounds and undertake placements in the industry
• Receive a diploma from the National Council for Training of Journalists
• Based at MediaCityUK
• Work/industrial placement opportunity
• International students can apply

COURSE SUMMARY

This course has been designed to help you find challenging and rewarding work in journalism.

During your time with us, you will learn the skills that you will need to become an incisive, thoughtful and successful journalist.

As well as a general professional grounding in journalism, you will also be able to specialise in your second semester in print and online journalism, broadcast journalism or sports journalism, depending on which pathway you choose in your second semester.

Upon graduation, you will be awarded a PgDip or MA degree and will have had the opportunity to achieve the NCTJ Diploma - all are important qualifications to help launch your career in the UK media industry.

COURSE DETAILS

This is a highly intensive course and only for you if you are fully committed to becoming a working journalist, particularly in the UK. You will study modules closely aligned with the NCTJ syllabus so that you are also able to pass seven components of the NCTJ Diploma, such as Media Law and Reporting. 

During trimester 1, you will study the basic skills of writing news in print, broadcast and online formats. These key skills are supported by study of media law and also ethical practice to encourage you to become a highly aware journalist. Intrinsic to this course are daily sessions of shorthand, a traditional skill still valued by the modern news industry, including broadcast organisations.

COURSE STRUCTURE

You will be able to sit NCTJ examinations at the end of trimester 1 and also complete the NCTJ Portfolio during trimester 2, when you will be encouraged to sit the NCTJ's shorthand exam and pass at 100 words per minute.

At the beginning of trimester 2, you will be able to take one of the three pathways in news, broadcast or sports journalism. However, you will be able to gain the NCTJ qualification, irrespective of the pathway you choose.

Once you pass the Postgraduate Diploma, you are eligible to study the optional MA Major Project in trimester 3 (summer) to be submitted in mid-September.

Work placements are arranged during trimester 1 and trimester 2.

TEACHING

The majority of the course is delivered largely through workshops and students are assessed mainly by coursework and projects, with some formal examinations.

ASSESSMENT

80% Workshops and 20% Lectures.

EMPLOYABILITY

Careers range from newspapers to radio and TV, websites and the public relations sector.

CAREER PROSPECTS

Thanks to our strong links with the BBC, many of our graduates are now employed by the British public service broadcaster, working for news and sports output across radio, TV and online. Several of our students have secured the very competitive BBC news traineeships in recent years. Others have gone on to get positions with regional newspapers and news agencies, while some have entered public relations, where companies value the core journalistic qualification offered by the course.

LINKS WITH INDUSTRY

Students get the opportunity during the course to do industry placements in their chosen specialism area. This gives them valuable experience of working in newsrooms, having content published or broadcast, and the chance to establish useful links with professionals. Our placement partners include the BBC, ITV (Granada Reports), the Manchester Evening News, Bolton News, Key 103 and local news agencies.

Read less

Why take this course?

This course will equip you for the demands of the modern newsroom. This requires journalists not just to possess traditional writing skills, but also to be familiar with the latest technology.

MSc Broadcast Journalism enables you to choose your own pathway:

• As a journalist graduate who wishes to specialise in a number of technical aspects of TV and broadcast and presenting
• As a graduate from Humanities and Social Science backgrounds wishing to express your ideas in recognised TV and broadcast formats
• As a television and broadcasting graduate wishing to develop your media practice to a higher level

What will I experience?

On this course you will experience:

• Industry-like production news days, broadcasting in collaboration with the Faculty TV channel (CCITV) and the community radio station (Express FM) situated within the Faculty
• Immersion in radio and television news through a mix of hands-on practical classes, workshops, seminars, presentations, live broadcasts, essays and independent study
• Working with Industry Partners on live broadcasts from a professional newsroom

What opportunities might it lead to?

You will develop strong academic, creative and technical abilities. As a result, you will have the skills to work in various areas of the current broadcast journalism industry or as part of the wider creative industries – e.g. as a video journalist, producer (radio, TV), editor, sub-editor, journalist, production manager, presenter, reporter, news commentator or researcher.

As a graduate of this programme you will be well placed to pursue the following career routes:

• broadcast journalism
• video journalism
• TV studio work (gallery, studio) – presenting/reporting
• research and development in TV
• production management
• online journalism

Read less

This practical, vocational programme is designed to produce graduates with the skills and knowledge employers would expect of professional journalists starting their careers.

About the programme

The programme has an outstanding employment record. Recent graduates have found work at the BBC and STV; a host of commercial radio stations such as Radio Clyde and Heart; and busy media offices and a range of high-quality journalism employers.

Your learning

Taught primarily in the University’s purpose-built television and radio studios in Ayr, students take six modules (20 credits each at SCQF 11):
• News Journalism – students compile and broadcast radio bulletins. Newswriting, interviewing, editing, and online content are taught. Professional voice coaching is also an important element of the module.

• Journalism Law and Regulation – the main legal and regulatory issues that confront working journalists are taught and analysed.

• Television Journalism – students make television packages, conduct live two-ways, write out of vision scripts, and present live television news bulletins.

• Advanced News Journalism – There is greater emphasis on presentation skills, online and social media content in this module, which requires students to file video, audio and written work for the web.

• Journalism and Public Affairs – students engage with the major debates surrounding the reporting of global issues, government and politics.

Plus one of either:
• Features and Packaging – you will be expected to produce and voice radio and video packages to a professional standard.

• Global Media Contexts – students are introduced to a range of critical and cultural debates and themes including environment, digital media, convergence, the past, and indigenous media.

By successfully completing these six modules you will be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits). If you wish, you may continue to MA level (180 credits), which gives you the opportunity to produce a television or radio documentary.

Professional input is vital: lecturers have extensive experience of both BBC and commercial broadcasting. There is a course of guest lectures and talks from working broadcast journalists and editors as well as a series of industry visits.

Practical experience

Work placement is an integral part of the programme. Each student is sent on placement, often to commercial radio stations, which have actively recruited from the programme.

Our Careers Adviser says

We only accept students who we believe have a realistic chance of building a career as a broadcast journalist. This helps to sustain the excellent reputation of the University among employers, leading to the jobs record outlined above.

Professional recognition

The programme is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council.

Financial support

In session 2015/16 the Postgraduate Diploma element of this programme carried SAAS postgraduate loan funding for eligible students. Check http://www.saas.gov.uk for 2016/17 loan info.

Great facilities

Accreditation by Creative Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for Creative Media, has led to the creation of the UWS Creative Media Academy. Operating across our campuses and through the UWS Glasgow Creative Enterprise Cluster, the Academy offers:
• A wide range of practice-led programmes

• First-rate facilities including an £81million investment in our new campus at Ayr

• Teaching in skills which are in demand by the creative industries

Research excellence

Our vibrant research culture spans a wide range of areas, including:
• providing advice on the cultural and educational aspects of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games

• student and industry collaboration on the creation of transmedia projects that offer real research and development potential and generate new online experiences for mobile and tablet users

• practice-led research in popular music, theatre, broadcasting and the visual arts

• new media art, ethics and emerging media technologies

• collaboration with leading arts festivals and venues including CCA Glasgow and Film City Glasgow

• creative writing for fiction, film, theatre and TV, working with leading broadcasters and arts companies

• cultural policy, cultural practice and cultural economy in Scotland and Europe, from small island communities to large urban areas

• participatory arts and media practice, community regeneration and public art

• journalism, politics and media representation

• the future of journalism and social media

• independent film and new media

Read less

The broadcast pathway of this course will equip you with all the practical and intellectual skills you need to work as a multi-platform journalist, at the same time allowing you gain a deeper grounding in the abilities of broadcast journalism. All students learn the basic skills of audio, video and digital reporting. The course has a very practical focus, so you are expected to develop story ideas and gather your own material through research and reporting for journalistic course work. You will be given full training in using our up-to-date media resources, ensuring that you graduate from the course as a multi-skilled journalist being competent in digital and broadcast journalism. Both the MA and the Postgraduate Diploma can be taken as a part-time course (daytime) over two years studying two days a week.

The PG Diploma and MA have been accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) which means we provide industry backed journalism training for online, TV & radio. The organisation accredits a number of British journalism courses, providing the syllabus meets their requirements. Our students regularly win BJTC awards, and the course has been awarded the BJTC award for excellence in teaching.

The University of Westminster itself is designated a Skillset Media Academy, Skillset being the UK skills body for the Creative Industries ensuring excellence and quality for education and skills training in television and interactive media.

Our teaching staff are highly experienced journalism professionals, and our graduates go on to work with a variety of leading media organisations including BBC TV and Radio, BBC News Online, ITN, Russia Today, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times and The Guardian, Conde Nast, and many other media houses in Britain and around the world.

Course content

There's a strong emphasis on learning through 'hands-on' practice, in small class groups, using our professional standard facilities. Most of your assessed course-work will be 'real' journalism assignments, a preparation for the world of contemporary journalism.

As well as regular classes taught by experienced journalists on our staff, we also invite other media professionals as guest speakers or to critique student work. We support you in applying for work placements, encourage you go to journalism events and network with professionals, and to pursue other journalism experiences. We work closely together with the charity One World Media, for example. One World Media promotes coverage of the wider world and offers bursaries for students who wish to cover a story in a developing country for their final project.

You will have the chance to air your work on Smoke Radio, the University's multi-award-winning internet radio station, or post items onto the MA's own news site, Westminster World.

The course is taught over two semesters, and for the Master's students followed by the largely self-directed final project in the summer. Unlike many other journalism MAs, you can undertake an extensive practical Final Project. This could be a TV or radio documentary or a digital project. Students usually undertake their placements in the period from the Easter break to the end of the course.

Modules

The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.

CORE MODULES - SEMESTER ONE:
-Documentary Skills
-Multimedia Journalism Skills
-Issues in journalism

CORE MODULE - SEMESTER TWO:
-Digital Journalism

OPTIONAL MODULES - SEMESTER TWO:
-Investigative Journalism
-Travel Journalism
-Online Journalism
-Sociology of News
-Specialist Journalism

Final Projects (MA only)
These are all individual projects:
-Final Radio or Video Documentary Project
-Final Journalism Project
-Online Journalism Final Project

Associated careers

Though designed to prepare you for a career in journalism, this course could also lead to a career in public relations, communications, or any other professional pathway which requires effective communication skills, and the use of convergent media.

Read less

The International Journalism MA is a one-year professional practice course in which you will develop skills in journalism and thinking about journalism in a global context.

Who is it for?

This course is suitable for students with a first degree looking to become journalists with an international perspective rooted in the UK’s journalistic traditions. Students with degrees in all disciplines are welcome. Law, Business, Agriculture, and Science are among the first degree subjects that are in demand by many publishers and broadcasters. Overseas applicants are especially welcome. Prospective students need excellent general knowledge based on a worldview and a thorough briefing of what is in the news each day.

Students who successfully complete this MA in International Journalism are very employable in the media.

Objectives

The MA in International Journalism is a keystone course at City and has built up a worldwide reputation. This course has been running since 1982 and has more than 1,000 alumni working in journalism around the world.

During the course, you will become adept at print, broadcast and online journalism in a global context by:
-Studying news in all its forms
-Obtaining a profound understanding of international journalism from a UK perspective
-Practising all platforms of journalism (print, broadcast and online) Exploring theory as well as reflect on your practice

You will learn how to gather and report in various styles and modes for a range of media (print, broadcast, online). You will also explore the contemporary global domain of journalism.

The course attracts students from all over the world, who will become your future professional network. You will benefit from being in one of the world’s most significant media cities with access to thousands of international journalists and sources.

On this course you will gain from using both traditional and contemporary journalism tools, and acquire comprehensive skills,which you can take back to your own country or move on with to anywhere in the world.

Placements

Work placements are an integral part of all MA Journalism courses, giving you the chance to put your learning into practice and, more importantly, make contacts in the industry.

They are also a way you can build up evidence of what you can do to a potential employer (cuttings, video and audio clips).

You are encouraged to undertake work experience during the breaks in the terms.

Academic facilities

You will gain practical skills in our state-of-the-art digital television studio, digital editing suites, radio studios and broadcast newsrooms.

In 2014 we completed a £12m development projects for our Journalism facilities. These facilities were developed in consultation with experts from the BBC and ITN, and were praised by the BJTC. Our facilities include:
-A television studio: enabling simultaneous multi-media broadcast and a major expansion in the number of news and current affairs programmes produced.
-Four radio studios: enabling an increase in output and the potential to explore a permanent radio station.
-Two radio broadcast newsrooms: high-tech facilities that enable you to learn how to produce a radio programme.
-Two digital newsrooms: impressive modern facilities that enable you to learn the skills required to produce newspapers, magazines and websites.
-Two TV editing and production newsrooms: state-of-the-art facilities that enable you to learn about TV production.

Teaching and learning

The International Journalism MA is a professional/practice course with an emphasis on developing practical skills in journalism. The teaching staff are all professional journalists in print, broadcast or online. We focus on "learning by doing" - you cover real stories and produce newspapers, run a radio station, broadcast on the internet, and produce television news programmes and multimedia websites.

During the course, you have opportunities to meet, listen to and question journalists and other people from the media. You are encouraged to reflect on your own experiences as journalists and the ways in which practicing journalists do their jobs by developing an understanding of ethical issues in journalism, the media and international reporting.

You will be treated as a professional journalist throughout the practice-based elements of the course. Learning is intensive and at times teaching hours will resemble those of a full-time job.

Some modules are taught in lecture theatres, such as Global Journalism and Society and Ethics, Rules and Standards, but most are small-group workshops that allow you to develop your journalistic skills and knowledge with the support of our expert academics.

Industry visitors
The MA International Journalism course prides itself on its close connections with journalism practitioners. Here are some of the high-level industry figures who have contributed to the course in recent years:
-David Schlesinger, Global Managing Editor, Reuters
-Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News
-Phil Harding, Director English Networks & News, BBC World Service (as External Examiner)
-Yosri Fouda, London bureau chief and host "Top Secret", Al Jazeera
-Salim Amin, ceo A-24 African network and head Camera Pix
-Mark Brayne, Director, Dart Europe
-Waleed Ibrahim, Reuters Iraq Bureau
-Tim Lambon, Deputy Foreign Editor, Channel 4 News
-Gavin McFaydean, Director, Centre of Investigative Journalism
-David Leigh, Investigations Editor, The Guardian
-Sandy McIntyre, head of APTN.

Assessment
Assessment is part of learning, and course assessments vary to reflect the learning being
achieved. They include workshop exercises, studio work, oral presentations, essays, reflections
and production (making journalism products), and different forms (written, oral, visual, aural), as
well as being individual and team-based.

Modules

All students on the International Journalism MA take modules in storytelling and online journalism before specialising in either print, broadcast or online journalism. This choice informs your studies for the rest of the course through to the completion of a final project.

There is a dissertation option for students who prefer a more academic route through the course.

You are encouraged to complete an internship, either in the UK or overseas. This must be arranged by you.

Core modules
-Global Journalism (20 credits)
-Journalistic Storytelling (20 credits)
-International News (15 credits)
-Production (30 credits)
-International Online Journalism (10 credits)
-Journalism Ethics (15 credits)
-Professional Project or Dissertation (30 credits)
-Specialism Journalism or Journalism and Conflict (20 credits)

Elective modules - choose from:
-Print Journalism (20 credits)
-Broadcast Journalism (20 credits)

Career prospects

92.6 per cent of graduates from this course are in employment six months after completing the course (95 per cent in work or further study) (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey 2014-15). Graduates work in both global and national media and in allied occupations around the world.

Most recently, these have included roles from researchers to editors in broadcasting such as:
-BBC Radio and TV (including BBC World Service)
-ITN
-Channel 4
-Al Jazeera
-Deutsche Welle
-CNN
-France24
-Bloomberg,
-Sky News
-Fox News
-NHK (Japan)
-Thomson Reuters
-Associated Press
-Dow Jones

And major newspapers and magazines including:
-The New York Times
-Financial Times
-The Hindu
-Politiken
-GQ
-Fairfax Media (New Zealand)

In the heart of London’s huge and diverse media district,students have unrivalled access to industry internships and contacts.

Read less

The MA in Broadcast Literacy at Queen's University Belfast offers:
• a comprehensive theoretical overview of the contemporary field of broadcasting, its development, policies and place in society;
• a semiotics of modern broadcasting, providing techniques for ‘reading’ broadcast texts;
• a practice-based introduction to the techniques and strategies used in generating content for television, radio and other broadcast media, taught by experienced writers and broadcasters;
• opportunities to explore the students’ own interests in broadcasting through guided study.

Read less

ABOUT THE MA/MFA WRITING FOR STAGE AND BROADCAST MEDIA

The MA and MFA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media offers students vocational training in writing drama across a range of different media contexts. Although the primary focus is on writing for television, film, theatre and radio, Central also runs
optional units in writing for new music theatre and, in collaboration with MA Applied Theatre, writing with and for communities. The course provides the opportunity for students to develop the core competencies and skills of the dramatist to explore their own ‘voice’ and develop their confidence as dramatists, and to appreciate the specific media contexts within which professional writers work.

Key features are: practice-based enquiry into techniques and processes for writing for stage and screen; a series of writing projects to engage with different styles and formats of production; associated study of writing techniques and issues of
performance in relation to theatre, cinema, television and other relevant contexts.The MA and MFA are taught in group sessions and through individual tutorials. During these sessions participants will consider the fundamentals of dramatic writing. Indicatively, these will include structure, narrative, dramatic action, genre, character, dialogue and rhetorical effect.

Students will study different approaches to writing including individual authorship, group writing and writing to specific briefs. Students will attend masterclasses, seminars and workshops that focus on particular modes of writing for different production contexts, and will be part of a writers’ group, providing peer support in developing their writing. Their vocational work is complemented by individual research and appropriate theoretical discussion and enquiry. Students will address historical, theoretical and critical contexts within which traditions of dramatic writing have evolved.

Students will engage in a range of projects that test and develop their skills as a writer of drama. Indicatively, these will include forming a team of writers to evolve a television series, writing a short play script for a staged reading, writing a short
film script, writing a radio play and developing and writing a complete dramatic script for production in a particular medium (stage, radio, television, music theatre, or film).

ASSESSMENT

This is through peer assessment, practical assignments, essays, scheme of research, presentations, and the submission of a practitioner portfolio, including personal insights, research, the student’s own scripted material and a plan for professional
development.

Read less