DMM-311 MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM

Course Description:

The course introduces basics of writing, reporting, producing, publishing and promoting multimedia
stories in a cross-platform news environment. It inculcates core skills of critical thinking, decision-
making, and communication combined with team work and ethical responsibilities as required in
journalism. The final class project is designed to showcase the learning of components interspersed
throughout the course duration.

Objectives:

 To familiarize with the digital environment of journalism.

 To learn production and distribution of online content.
 To engage with digital audiences.
 To understand the potential of emerging technologies.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

 Gain competence in using various digital tools and platforms.

 Develop the ability to create engaging stories using different digital formats.
 Understand the ethical and legal responsibilities in digital journalism.
 Learn strategies to engage with digital audiences and utilize digital marketing techniques.
 Acquire skills in analyzing and visualizing data for digital journalism.
 Work as a team on collaborative projects.

Course Outline:

Introduction to Multimedia Journalism

 Overview of Digital Journalism

 Introduction of Multimedia Journalism
 The transformation of Traditional Journalism

Basics of News Writing

 What is News?
 5 W’s & 1 H
 News writing styles for print and broadcast media
 Sources of News
 Criteria for determining news value
 Identifying newsworthy stories and events

Working in a Digital Newsroom

 Understanding the dynamics of a digital newsroom

 Roles and responsibilities of journalists in a digital newsroom
 Collaborative tools and communication platforms used in a digital newsroom
 Establishing connectivity and communication channels within the newsroom
 Using digital platforms for seamless newsroom integration
Multimedia Storytelling

 The basics of multimedia storytelling

 Utilizing text, images, and videos effectively
 Audio storytelling and podcasting

Writing a News Story

 Steps involved in developing a news story idea

 Research techniques for gathering information and data

Fact-Checking

 Importance of fact-checking in journalism

 Tools and methods for verifying information

Using Social Media for News

 Social media and community engagement

 Leveraging social media platforms for journalism
 Engaging with audiences
 Introduction of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and Google etc.

Mobile Journalism (MOJO)

 Overview of mobile journalism

 Reporting with smartphones and mobile tools
 Creating quality mobile content on a budget
 How to edit videos using various software

Use of Visual and Thumbnail art

 Understanding the need of thumbnail

 Developing catchy texts, graphics, pictures etc.
 Dimensions of thumbnails and different sizes and placements using Lightroom and Canva

Vlogging and Journalism

 Introduction to Vlogs
 Types of Vlogs
 Equipment and Requirements of Vlogging

Digital Security

 Best practices for maintaining digital security in journalism

 Protecting sensitive information and sources

Digital Journalism Rights & Ethics

  Ethical considerations in digital journalism
 Responsibilities and challenges of digital journalists
 Understanding copyright laws and intellectual property rights in digital journalism
 Overview of the SPJ Code of Ethics and its application in digital journalism

Lab Requirements:

Hands-on activities to gain an immersive experience of developing and marketing content for a cross
media/news platform as a class project. Learning components to be assessed by the end include but not
limited to;

 Producing, handling, and placing content on a class website

 Designing day to day effective strategies for managing and updating digital media/news content
like image, video, text and audio
 Developing digital marketing material and campaigns for the content produced

Learning Resources:

Amobi, T. I. & McAdams, M. (2014). Issues and techniques of multimedia and online journalism. Lagos:
Concept Publications Limited

Bender. J, Davenport. L, Drager. M, Fedler. F. (2018). Writing & Reporting for the Media -- Oxford
University Press, 12th Edition, 2018 ISBN: 978-019064942

Bob Franklin, Lily Canter. (2019). ‘’Digital Journalism Studies: The Key Concept’’.Routledge

Bradshaw, P, and A Rohumaa, L. (2013). ‘’The Online Journalism Handbook: Skills to Survive and
Thrive in the Digital Age’’. Taylor & Francis

Eldridge, S. and Franklin, B. (2016) Introduction: Defining digital journalism studies.

Fenton, N. (2010). New Media, Old News: Journalism & Democracy in the Digital Age. In SAGE
Publications Ltd eBooks. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446280010

Franklin, B., & Canter, L. (2019). Digital Journalism Studies (1st ed.). Taylor and Francis. Retrieved
from https://www.perlego.com/book/1569848/digital-journalism-studies-the-key-concepts-pdf
(Original work published 2019)

Gitner, S. (2015). Multimedia Storytelling for Digital Communicators in a Multiplatform World (1st ed.).
Taylor and Francis. Retrieved from https://www.perlego.com/book/2192609/multimedia-
storytelling-for-digital-communicators-in-a-multiplatform-world-pdf

Harcup, T. (2023). The struggle for news value in the digital era. Journalism and Media, 4(3), 902–917.
https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4030058

Jones, J., & Salter, L. (2012). Digital Journalism. doi:10.4135/9781446288634

Kraft, N. (2019). Writing fabulous features. The Ohio State University Pressbooks.
https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/writing-fabulous-features
Mishra, K. (2017). Social media revolution - The new digital frontiers of journalism. Journal of Advances
in Humanities, 5, 610-620. https://doi.org/10.24297/jah.v5i1.6068

Papper, R. A. (2015). Broadcast News and Writing Stylebook -- Pearson eText. CRC Press.

Perreault, G., & Ferrucci, P. (2020). What Is Digital Journalism? Defining the Practice and Role of the
Digital Journalist. Digital Journalism, 8, 1298-1316.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1848442

Quinn, S. (2011). MoJo - Mobile Journalism in the Asian Region (2nd ed.). Copyright © 2011 by
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Singapore.
http://www.ired.org/modules/infodoc/files/english/mojo_mobile_journalism_in_the_asian_region
.pdf

Steen, S., & Westlund, O. (2021). What is Digital Journalism Studies? (1st ed.). Routledge.
https://www.routledge.com/What-is-Digital-Journalism-Studies/Steensen-Westlund/p/book/
9780367220498

Steensen, S., A Westlund, O. (2020). ‘’What is Digital Journalism Studies?’’. Routledge

The MIT Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2022, October 20). MIT Press.
https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262524391/digitizing-the-news/

UNESCO. (2018). Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (ISBN: 978-92-3-100281-6).
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Van Krieken, K. (2018). Multimedia Storytelling in Journalism: Exploring Narrative Techniques in Snow
Fall. Information (Switzerland), 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/info9050123

Ward, S. J. A. (2019). Journalism Ethics. In The Handbook of Journalism Studies. Routledge.

https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315167497-20

Zamith, R. (2022). The International Journalism Handbook: Concepts, Challenges, and Contexts (1st
ed.). UMass Amherst Libraries. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/umass_library_books/1/

Zion, L., & Craig, D. (Eds.). (2015). Ethics for Digital Journalists: Emerging Best Practices (1st ed.).
Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Ethics-for-Digital-Journalists-Emerging-Best-Practices/
Zion-Craig/p/book/9781138913889