International Journalisms in the Digital Context: Theory and Practice
Key information
- Start date
- End date
- Year of study
- Year 1 or Year 2
- Duration
- Term 1
- Module code
- 15PMSH006
- FHEQ Level
- 7
- Credits
- 15
- Department
- Centre for Global Media and Communications
Module overview
The transnational news environment has been one of the most contentious arenas of global media activity. Long dominated by Western news agencies and global media channels, which remain key players, the transnational news environment is being transformed with the emergence of powerful non-Western news producers, including Al-Jazeera and ZeeTV and by the growing global access to the Internet. The course charts the history of contention over transnational news flow, examines the main producers in the West and in the South, and examines the emerging patterns of flow, use and reception.
Prerequisites
- This Module is capped at 25 places
- Students enrol via the online Module Sign-Up system. Students are advised of the timing of this process via email by the Faculty Office.
Objectives and learning outcomes of the module
The course compares the difference in news agendas amongst major players and compares national reworkings of similar stories. It problematizes the nature of ‘facticity’, ‘objectivity’ and the transfer of western professional practices to the South, through detailed analysis of selected news texts and images. It interrogates Southern news practices and explores the possible roles of the state, the free market and the socio-cultural environment on the news production process. It invites critical analysis of the constructed nature of the news environment and the role of national and other ideological values in the construction of the news agenda, particularly in the depiction of international crises and the ‘other’, of growing significance in the anti-Islamic tilt of much Western news coverage post September 11th.
The course also explores the relativizing and democratising impact of the range of news material on the Net for contexts of political repression and control of the news environment and engages with the emergence of a global network of alternate news production (e.g., indymedia) and the implications of this practice for politics and for the profession of journalism.
Method of assessment
100% Coursework.
Disclaimer
Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules
