Web journalism MAs graduate!...

A huge well done to the journalism postgraduates at the University of Sheffield who graduated last week. I helped teach the web journalism students – a fantastic bunch who produced some brilliant websites for their dissertations. Find out more about journalism at the University of Sheffield. Good luck class of 2012! Iulia on graduation...

The importance of teaching journalism et...

With the closure of the News of the World after the phone hacking scandal and hundreds of staff losing their jobs (think of the damage to their CV) it’s time to look at the importance of teaching and learning the ethics of journalism. Learning ethics I’ve seen first-hand the range of what people feel is acceptable from working in several newsrooms to teaching at the University of Sheffield’s journalism department. Some don’t mind ‘tidying up’ a quote (maybe not quite to the scale of what Johann Hari did) while some feel that...

Student journalists get experience on a ...

The morning meeting One of the best ways to get experience as a journalist is to, well, act like a journalist. It helps to have equipment and trusted advisors on hand to make sure you don’t libel anyone or miss the best angle. In the Journalism department at Sheffield University we organise regular ‘newsdays’ for the postgraduate students. They have a meeting to discuss the stories they’ll cover then they’re off! This semester the broadcast students are sharing their newsdays with the print and web students on alternate weeks. They...

Video news on the web: Is it just the sa...

My colleague at the University of Sheffield Marie Kinsey sent me a link to a video by University of British Columbia journalism student Daniel Hallen. The piece has been nominated for a Canadian Online Publishing Award. Chickens to roost in Vancouver backyards There’s no denying it’s a good piece of journalism – but is it web video? In Marie’s words: “Look how closely it follows broadcast conventions.” I subscribe to the web rule that ‘simple is best’ and show the web students this video on pocket-sized journalism (from the...

How do you break a national news story?...

For a journalist, breaking a national news story is the ultimate coup. For some it comes early in their career and others after many years of work. On election night 2010, one student at the Department of Journalism at the University of Sheffield discovered a story. Through a combination of speed, contacts and Twitter we made her story go national – and this is how we did it. Let me set the scene The journalism postgraduates at Sheffield University work together for one week in the second semester to produce news output of the highest standard possible. I help the...

Web journalism vs. blogging...

Hi! I’m Adrienne, a work experience student from the University of Sheffield. Christine teaches us Web Journalism MA students about writing for the web, and she asked me to write a bit about what I’ve learned. The first thing I’ve learned is that although a huge and growing number of people get their news primarily online, most I’ve spoken to don’t have a clear idea of what “web journalism” actually is. When I tell people what course I’m doing, I generally get a reaction along the lines of, “So, is that, like,...