Module manager: Ian Bucknell
Email: I.Bucknell@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of digital news production in a professional environment. Students will learn how journalism is shaped by the larger digital media environment, as well as the ways that journalists can take advantage of technologies to produce new forms of journalism. They will produce multimedia and interactive content for online and social media platforms. Students will also understand and reflect on the ways that digital media have impacted on the work of journalists and their role in society.
On this module, students will learn the different ways that changing technological circumstances are impacting the work they do as journalists. In practical sessions, they will practice and develop specific journalistic and digital media production skill sets that will allow them to produce a variety of digital news products. As they produce these products, they will also understand how different digital forms and formats involve trade-offs in what can be done journalistically. This synergises with a lecture series in which students develop an integrated understanding of the relationship between journalistic theory and journalistic practice, tying both concepts into current events.
At the end of the module students should be able to:
1. Identify, research and develop news stories suitable for digital output;
2. Apply appropriate digital news skills to publish stories using a range of formats;
3. Identify and analyse an issue that reflects how digitisation is affecting the work routines, economic underpinnings, political pressures, cultures, or technological affordances of journalism.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
4, Adapt communication style and medium to meet the needs of different audiences.
5, Reflect critically on the experience of applying professional knowledge and skills.
Textual analysis, digital news production, social storytelling, professionalism, form and format choices in a digital environment.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Practical | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Practical | 9 | 2 | 18 |
| Independent online learning hours | 11 | ||
| Private study hours | 160 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 29 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Monitoring of student progress will be carried out by means of assessing participation in discussions, completion of classroom-based exercises and reflections on private study. Students will receive on-going feedback on the development of their journalism and media production skills during the practical sessions.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | essay | 40 |
| Portfolio | portfolio | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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