Week 1: Foundations of Journalism, Ethics & Media Law
Core Principles: Objectivity, fairness, accuracy, and news values (timeliness, proximity, impact).
Media Law & Ethics: Defamation, libel, slander, copyright laws, and privacy rights.
Ethics in Practice: Navigating conflict of interest, protection of confidential sources, and plagiarism prevention.
Hands-on Task: Analyze real-world media lawsuit case studies and write a news ethics reflection report.
Week 2: Newsroom Reporting, AP Style & Interviewing Techniques
Inverted Pyramid: Structuring hard news articles (5 Ws & 1 H).
AP Stylebook: Mastering Associated Press style guidelines, grammar, and headline creation.
Interviewing Skills: Preparing questions, conducting background research, active listening, and off-the-record etiquette.
Hands-on Task: Conduct a mock interview with a guest speaker and draft a 500-word AP-style news
report.
Week 3: Feature Writing & Copy Editing
Feature Stories: Writing human-interest stories, profile pieces, and Op-Eds.Newsroom Copy
Editing: Fact-checking, source verification, line editing, and headline/subdeck drafting.
Structure & Flow: Crafting compelling leads, transitions, and narrative hooks.
Hands-on Task: Write a 1,000-word feature article and perform peer copy-editing on newsroom drafts.
Week 4: Investigative Journalism Methods
Investigative Research: Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), public database search, and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
Source Protection: Encrypted communication tools (Signal, ProtonMail) and verifying anonymous leaks.
Story Building: Following paper trails, financial record auditing, and multi-source corroboration.
Hands-on Task: Develop an investigative pitch detailing background research, primary sources, and FOI request drafts.
Week 5: Broadcast News Writing, PTC & Voice Modulation
Writing for the Ear: Radio/TV scriptwriting vs. print writing (short, punchy sentences).
Vocal Training: Voice modulation, breath control, pitch, pacing, and enunciation.
Piece-to-Camera (PTC): Field reporting techniques, stand-ups, and live reporting under pressure.
Hands-on Task: Record a 60-second live PTC news hit using proper vocal techniques and framing.
Week 6: Studio Production, Teleprompter & Anchoring
News Anchoring: On-camera presence, reading from a teleprompter, and studio camera discipline.
Studio Operations: Overview of studio camera work, lighting setups, lapel mic placement, and newsroom rundowns.
News Package Production: Combining voiceovers (VO), soundbites (SOT), and b-roll footage.
Hands-on Task: Script, anchor, and record a 2-minute TV news bulletin in a studio or simulated setup.
Week 7: Mobile Journalism (MoJo) & Rapid Web Writing
MoJo Toolkit: Shooting professional news videos using smartphones, mobile mics, and gimbals.
Rapid News Writing: Writing breaking news for the web under tight deadlines.
CMS Navigation: Structuring, tagging, and publishing articles on Content Management Systems (WordPress).
Hands-on Task: Filming, scripting, and publishing a breaking news story directly from a smartphone to a WordPress site.
Week 8: Mobile Video Editing & Social Media Reporting
Mobile Editing Apps: Fast video snippet editing using mobile NLEs (CapCut, Premiere Rush, InShot).
Social Storytelling: Adapting stories for TikTok, Instagram Reels, X (Twitter), and YouTube Shorts.
Audience Analytics: Tracking engagement metrics via Google Analytics and social insights.
Hands-on Task: Produce a 90-second vertical news reel with dynamic captions and publish it with SEO-friendly copy.
Week 9: Photojournalism & Audio Podcasting
Photojournalism: Camera mechanics (ISO, shutter speed, aperture), composition, and news photo captioning.
Photo Editing: Color correction and image cropping using Adobe Photoshop.
Podcasting & Audio: Scripting, recording, and editing audio stories using Audacity or Adobe Audition.
Hands-on Task: Produce a 3-minute narrative news podcast episode with ambient sound and voiceover.
Week 10: Data Journalism & Interactive Visualization
Data Scraping & Analysis: Cleaning and analyzing public datasets using Google Sheets/Excel and basic SQL filters.
Data Visualization: Transforming complex stats into dynamic charts and maps using Flourish, Datawrapper, or Canva.
Data Storytelling: Translating raw numbers into engaging, human-centered investigative narratives.
Hands-on Task: Build an interactive infographic embed based on a public dataset analysis.
Week 11: Public Relations (PR) & Media Relations
Corporate Communication: Understanding the relationship between journalists and PR practitioners.
Writing for PR: Draft press releases, media advisories, and pitch letters that get noticed by editors.
Media Kits: Assembling digital press kits (press release, high-res photos, executive bios, factsheets).
Hands-on Task: Write a press release for a product launch or crisis event and build a media kit.
Week 12: Crisis Communication & Capstone Portfolio Presentation
Crisis PR: Handling reputation management, drafting holding statements, and spokesperson training.
Portfolio Building: Compiling all print articles, broadcast packages, podcasts, and infographics into a professional digital portfolio.
Final Capstone Presentation: Presenting a multi-platform media project (Print story + Video package + Data visualization + Social media campaign).
