Course Objective

Upon completion of the course News and Journalism, the student is able
to:
- describe and explain the developments in journalism (as an
institution) in the modern democratic society;
- reproduce and apply different theoretical perspectives on selection
and presentation of the news as an explanatory model of current news
examples;
- explain how news influences attitudes of news consumers;
- describe the media environment in a comparative perspective;
- reflect critically on the (difficult) relationship between
journalists, (organizational) sources and the public.

Course Content

In this course, you learn to understand and explain the significance and
impact of journalism in society. Journalism is key for a
well-functioning democratic society: It provides the public with
information of general interest. The quality of the news, therefore,
largely determines quality, of the public debate. The quality of the
news depends of many factors. The news not only is a public information
provision, but it is also a commercial product that must be sold and
made in an almost industrial way is becoming. Today's news consumer is
no longer the same consumer like that of 20 years ago. Journalists
product news, yet, how do they select the relevant news events? How do
they employ journalistic values ​​such as objectivity, impartiality,
professionalism, news values? Which forms of bias is the result of the
way they work? To guarantee daily news, news media are dependent on
access to powerful sources.
In short, in this course you learn to understand and analyze what news
looks like, why it looks like this and how news consumers utilize news.
Furthermore, we place the study of journalism in a historical and
comparative context as well as address the challenges faced by a digital
society.

Teaching Methods

Lectures, Knowledge Clip Lectures, and Seminars

Method of Assessment

A written exam and an assignment portfolio. For both parts, grades must
be sufficient.

Literature

- Schudson, M. (2011). The sociology of news (2nd edition). New
York: W.W. Norton & Company.
- Additional scientific articles.

Target Audience

Bachelor Communication Science, first year

Additional Information

This course uses an interactive learning style, based on "flipped
classroom" and "team based learning". There is a lecture every week, a
knowledge clip lecture with quizzes and a seminar with assignments.
Attendance at the knowledge clip lectures and the seminars is mandatory.