Course Description
For aspiring journalists and writers, the first step is to understand the basic principles and techniques of news writing and reporting. This is an introductory level journalism course designed primarily for the print media. Material covered applies to print. Students will learn fundamental principles and techniques of journalistic reporting and writing, including story components, structure, origination and forms. Skills acquired would also include accurately detecting problems in style, attribution, grammar, spelling, news judgment, fairness, storytelling, and writing effectively under time constraints.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to
· Demonstrate basic reporting skills
· Write good news stories worthy of publication
· Exhibit mastery of the art of interviewing
· Demonstrate considerable knowledge of the techniques for writing good features
· Demonstrate an understanding of role of research news writing
· Explain the workings of the newsroom
Course content
· Introduction to journalism
· What is news and Types of news
· News sources and news gathering
· Writing the Copy
· The Interview
· Basic story research techniques on the Internet; Journalism and social media
· Newsroom organization; roles of major players
· Editing and its techniques
Compulsory Reading Materials
· Harrower, Tim. (2010). Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism. New Delhi: McGraw Hill Education.
· Hough, G. A. (1994). News Writing (5thed.). USA: Houghton Mifflin College
Optional Reading Materials
· Kamath, M. V. (2009). The Journalist’s Handbook. India: Vikas Publishing House Ltd.