Module: JPU5001-20 Digital Storytelling

Level: 5

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor:  Davina Rungasamy

Module Tutor Contact Details: d.rungasamy@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

‘The most powerful trend in journalism today is full integration with reporting, presentation and distribution of journalism through the social web. ‘ Emily Bell

How do you create stories that readers want to read in a world of digital distractions and the ‘noise’ of the web? How do you help readers stay up to date with developing stories in a relentless news cycle or find content on a subject they care about amidst a plethora of online material? How can storytellers utilise complex, new media spaces where the binary divide between the real and unreal no longer exists, where collaborative content-making and real-time platforms are ubiquitous, trust is challenged and authenticity expected? Building two-way relationships with audiences is key to developing trust and brand loyalty, and critical to financial sustainability in the digital age.

21st-century journalists need a flexible skillset and imaginative approach in terms of conceiving, capturing, creating, publishing and promoting multimedia content for delivery across multiple platforms. This adds an extra dimension to journalistic agility, not just creatively, but also in being aware of constantly changing technology and your audience’s whereabouts, concerns and expectations online. It requires a multi-faceted, creative approach to storytelling (and skilful content atomization), while making best use of each platform’s functionality and your understanding of a target audience’s online behaviour to develop new story formats and approaches, and to curate a relevant, trusted and engaging reader experience.

In this module you will research good practice in multiplatform journalism to inform experimentation and the development of your own original work. You will use a lively mix of creation and publication tools to reach and engage an audience in different ways. This might include: writing (e.g. interviews, features, backstories, news reports, notifications, picture stories); photography (e.g. live, crowdsourced, reportage, portrait); podcasts, video; and social media as a platform for live, hyperlocal–global crowdsourced news information and images, community-building, and amplification.

Experiential learning and reflective practice:

This module offers a research-based practical approach to content making, enabling you to make informed editorial and production decisions quickly. You will learn about the changing world of digital journalism and the opportunities, issues and debates involved. You will have the space to experiment with creating and reworking stories across a range of media and platforms – and to reflect on what did, and did not, work. It will help you develop a strategic approach to your work, and decisiveness in producing and assessing your own material and that of others.

2. Outline syllabus: 

• Digital storytelling for journalism

• Creating and embedding video

• Experimentation, audience interaction and user experience 

• Content atomization (structure, text and video)

• Mobile journalism (MOJO)

• Curation and aggregation

• Social media, story curation

• Publication strategy and ‘going viral’

3. Teaching and learning activities: 

This module is taught through lectures, workshops, guided independent work, with technical demonstration and support. Visiting industry speakers.

Digital resources:

Publishing Lab software skills training available (e.g. CS6: InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere; Wordpress). Technical workshops in digital making You will have access to a range of digital equipment, digital-making workshops and specialist technical support. This might include: Photoshop, DSLR video and sound, mobile video-editing, podcasting, and various online tools. Module-specific curated LinkedIn Learning demos available online.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Online Article (1,000 words)

• % Weighting: 20%

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: Course Work

• Description: Digital Storytelling Portfolio (1,500 words) Publication Plan (equivaletn to 4,000 words)

• % Weighting: 80%