BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism

In order for you to achieve your university and future workplace goals, you need to be aware of a number of personal qualities and behaviours that can impact your ability to succeed. It is also important that you understand the industry and societal context in which you plan to work. This module aims to introduce you to personal and professional factors relevant to employment in the sport industry, and to enhance your awareness of the industrial landscape. Additionally, it will support you in developing some essential academic skills for higher education (such as academic writing and referencing). The module will introduce you to a wide range of perspectives, philosophies, and principles of critical and ethical thinking which will equip you with the competencies and confidence to achieve your academic and employability goals.

This module introduces you to the key skills of a sports reporter, focusing on the events around a sporting event. Although underpinned by theory, the module is primarily practice-based. The learning process is developed within a mock news-room environment, supported by formal lectures, one-to-one and group tutorials, and attending a live sporting event where possible – most likely a football match. You will learn to write match previews, live blogs and sports reports, developing writing styles relevant to various audiences. You will learn interview techniques, and understand the importance of using quotes within sports reports. These quotes will be employed for both previews and after a sports event, where you will learn to develop post-match angles. This module will ensure you can produce different types of story required at each point in the sports news cycle; from a preview, to a live report, to reaction and an analysis piece.

This module considers the evolving digital environment which will allow you to develop an understanding of how new technologies are used in, and their impact upon today’s media industry. You will be encouraged to explore how social and digital media can be used as news-gathering and information research tools and also as a means of publishing work suited to a range of audiences within an ethical and legal framework. You will develop a theoretical understanding of the adaptation of conventional skills to meet the demands of the digital age, while expanding practical skills to enable them to work professionally in the digital arena. And you will also consider some of the ethical issues surrounding the growth of digital media and citizen journalism.

The sports industry does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, it is an environment which cuts across much of wider society, including politics, media, and popular culture. This module, drawing both on historical and contemporary examples, will explore the place of sport within the wider world. The module will aim to develop your academic understanding of the growth of sports within wider historical and theoretical frameworks, and how those frameworks continue to shape the present sports and media industries. The module will introduce a wide range of academic concepts, principles and case studies that will equip with a greater understanding and appreciation of the cultural significances of sport, past and present.

This module looks at the role of the sports reporter, examines the key ingredients of sports reporting, and also looks at the wider sports media industry. You will examine converged newsrooms found in much of the UK, to better understand the need for journalists to write and create reports for more than one platform during the course of a working day. And, in doing so, you will understand the relationship between print and digital. This module will reflect on the history of news to help you define what is news, and appreciate news values. It will also reflect beyond traditional media industries as platforms for journalism. Tied into this, you will examine audience demographics, understand readability and realise the importance of knowing your audience for editorial and advertising. Looking wider at the sports media industry, you will understand the value of sources and the need to recognise fake news.

With the emphasis on employability this module teaches you the culture and disciplines of the industry workplace in modern broadcast media while acquiring the skills required for Level 5. There is an introduction to current broadcasting technique and key to that is teaching journalistic principles on the way news operates, working in a deadline-driven industry, how to identify a story and how to tell those stories with audio and video. Our core teaching includes basic broadcast writing, interviewing and editing techniques, as well as learning pre-production skills vital in sourcing interviews. The whole process of how newsgathering develops into production will be a core concept. It is a module that will adapt to current trends in broadcasting for social media and embeds mobile journalism into your learning.

Following on from your previous training regarding personal qualities and behaviours that can impact your ability to succeed, this module focuses on developing your practical skills relevant to a workplace environment. This module will ask you to apply your knowledge and personal skillset to problem-based learning scenarios, and live projects. You will learn project management skills, develop your personal pragmatism, and enhance your industry-based interests and understanding. You will work both as part of a team and independently, developing essential aspects of your emotional, social, and professional self.

Working with digital platforms is now a core part of a journalist’s work. This module will explore new digital opportunities which have emerged for journalists in the 21st Century, while assessing the changing communication environment which has seen the emergence of different journalism models. You will learn how to tell stories using many different platforms, programs and techniques. As part of this module, you will develop those journalism skills acquired in the first year of study, applying them using the latest digital technologies, such as mobile journalism and podcasting. This module will adapt with trending technologies, teaching you the skills of story-telling through different platforms. You will learn how to operate industry-standard equipment and editing software. It is vital as multimedia sports journalists that you are able to research, write, record and edit your own content. Storytelling within multimedia sports journalism is powerful and can shape public opinion, but with that comes ethical and intellectual responsibility. You will also analyse and apply some of the techniques of digital journalism, such as the use of analytics in tracking audience engagement, and maximising the reach of stories.

This module covers the topics of media law and ethics, and how they control and influence the work of journalists and the media, with specific reference to the sports media and football. As digital technology increasingly affects both the speed of news delivery across a range of platforms, so too does the scrutiny of media behaviour. Privacy and defamation have become key elements of media law and ethics. You will learn how diverse the coverage of sport activity is used to entice audiences, entertain, promote, market and sell, and how it is used in launching and creating specialist media sectors. You will learn about the legal and ethical framework within which a sports journalist must operate, taking into account OFCOM regulation and the Editors’ Code of Practice.

As a practitioner in your discipline you will be required to engage in evidence-based practice. This module supports your ability to become an evidence-based practitioner by providing you with an introduction to the processes involved in conducting research within your discipline and equipping you with the skills and knowledge to be able to critically analyse the work of others. This module will build on skills and knowledge which you will have acquired throughout your course so far, and has been designed to prepare you for conducting your own independent project as part of the Professional Project module at Level 6. Specifically, this module will enable you to gain an applied understanding of the research process. This will involve identifying a contemporary industry-relevant issue; developing project aims and objectives; understanding reflexivity and the role you play in the design and execution of a project; understanding methodologies and different methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation; and appreciating the importance of ethical practice. The delivery of this module will be facilitated by your engagement in a research project to investigate contemporary industry-relevant issues.

This module builds on the journalism skills you learnt in Level 4. This module will develop your knowledge and understanding of sports journalism, with a particular emphasis on sports features. The module with draw on established theories and practices of news journalism, as you apply your knowledge in a sporting context. You will deepen your awareness of how sports news agendas are driven as much by what happens off the playing field as on it. You will develop a news sense beyond sport to produce content for the sports desk, as well as for the news desk. This is a very practical module which will focus on longform story-telling, building on the writing structures and journalism techniques acquired previously. In addition, you will master the structure and skills required for analytical writing.

This module focuses on television studio production. You will build a first-hand understanding of how this vital sector of the sport broadcasting industry operates by producing original television studio content as part of a production team displaying employable skills in storytelling, production technique and teamwork. You will create sophisticated TV sports-news content, learning how to develop, film, write, present and narrate and edit their own story ideas. This module will help you to understand the way multi-skilled broadcasting works in the industry today – with the emphasis on a deadline-driven environment. You will bring your knowledge of content creation into the TV studio working in teams, although you will be assessed individually. Your sports-news packages will be adapted and updated for use in a TV studio show where you will learn pre-production, live and post-production skills. Team-working will be essential to fulfil individual roles as presenter, producer, reporter, floor manager, autocue operator, scriptwriter, editor, director and vision mixer.

This module provides you with the opportunity to synthesise the knowledge and skills you will have developed during the course of your studies and independently design, develop and execute an individual professional project. This project aims to investigate an original contemporary industry-relevant issue and will be a platform through which you will demonstrate the knowledge, skills, understanding and expertise you have developed in your discipline thus far. It is expected that your project output will contribute to industry practice and/or academic and practitioner knowledge. To achieve this, you will investigate an original contemporary industry-relevant issue and make judgments on the basis of sound evidence and therefore, the project will be research- and inquiry-based. The project will be directly relevant to your course and will be produced and disseminated in the format best suited to the project aims and to developing a career of your choice. The project will build on the L5 Research Methods assessment and you will be working closely with a project supervisor who will provide guidance and support throughout your project.

The module will equip you with the skills and knowledge required in an increasingly complex sports media landscape. The learning will add value to your understanding of the role of a sports journalist and grow the breadth, depth and insight of sports journalism provided by media organisations. By understanding the structures of sports, such as the framework and influence of sports governing bodies, you will understand the exacting challenges which are characteristics of modern sports journalism. Sports betting, drugs in sports, key ethical issues including equality, nationalism and sport being used for political purposes will be explored. There will be a particular focus on football’s governing body, FIFA and the Olympic Games. By gaining knowledge of sporting issues, administration, and the workings of major sporting organisations, this will help you to cover stories away from the field of play and sporting personalities. You will explore the contextual knowledge surrounding professional sports to ensure that audiences are as well informed as possible. You will consider ways in which reporting can be socially and ethically responsible. This module is intended to grow the breadth, depth and insight of sports journalism provided by media organisations.

This module complements the programme by introducing you to the objective strategies employed by public relations practitioners. It provides the platform for anyone who wish to work in Sports Public Relations and communications. You will be taught many relevant core skills required today in an industry that is ever-evolving; Public Relations disciplines which are employed across a variety of media platforms – including preparing a media campaign and strategies for Crisis Management. The module is designed to equip you with an overall understanding of communication theories, as well as issues of ethical considerations working within the industry – which can be identified and applied when the situation arises. You are assessed both academically and practically, with a written assignment and the creation of a ‘real-world’ PR campaign strategy.

Following on from your previous training regarding personal qualities and behaviours that can impact your ability to succeed, this module focuses on practical application of that knowledge during a workplace visit. Until now, your modules have provided learning opportunities about the industry and societal context in which you plan to work. This module aims to introduce you to a workplace environment. Doing so will allow you to enhance your awareness of the industrial landscape through experience. This module creates a space for you to apply competencies developed in your modules to date to a real-life setting, leading to experiential and reflective learning.

The sports business and sports media environments continues to evolve at a remarkable pace, with digital technologies at the heart of this continuing change. As a sports business professional, critically evaluating and deconstructing the nature of these changes, and what the future holds for the industry, is of fundamental importance. This module, as a Level 6 academic module, aims to drive forward your analytical skills and develop you for an industry that refuses to stand still. This module will explore a wide range of philosophies and theory related to various ‘futures’ for the sports industry which will equip you with advanced levels of understanding, competency, and confidence to enter a variety of digital futures.

This module will provide you with the opportunity to identify the skills, competencies and experience required for successful development to embarking on their university degree and successfully completing it and progressing on to a range of potential future career areas. Central to the developmental process is for you to cultivate the reflective skills, openness and self- awareness to enable you to assess what you are doing, identify areas for improvement, and confidently receive and give constructive feedback.

This module will provide you with the opportunity to identify the skills, competencies and experience required for employment. This will support you in your ‘transition’ from school, college or the work place towards degree level study. You will begin to recognise the areas for your own personal professional development (including emotional, social, physical, cultural and cognitive intelligences) through taught and workshop activities. This will allow you identify attributes that are important to develop that are important for your career in the sports professional related to your programme.

The module will introduce you to the research processes when undertaking a project within your field of study. You will explore the important ethical considerations when planning and conducting a research project safely to analyse a problem or question specific to your subject area. This will require you to utilise and apply key research skills alongside selecting appropriate methods to collect data and report significant findings regarding your research question.

This module introduces you to many of the challenging and complex contemporary issues faced in the rapidly changing and demanding, world of sport. It will allow you to build and consolidate knowledge, through understanding of key issues within the broad arena of sport in a discursive manner that will underpin your future work. You will be encouraged to research events, themes and issues that have affected the world of sport and, in some cases, changed the structure and behaviour of the sports industry.

The module will provide you with the foundations of a range of concepts, models and practical skills related to the sports media industry. This module will introduce you to the basic skills, roles and responsibilities of the media. The module enables you to examine the development and growth of the media industry within society and the contemporary issues related to the media environment, developing group work skills and information acquisition in preparation for the delivery of presentations using appropriate spoken language and terminology.

This module provides you with an introduction to the application of media law and ethics within the field of sports media and journalism. You will begin to identify the legal and ethical framework within which a sports journalist must operate (IPSO, OFCOM and ethics). You will begin to discuss media is applied to sport across a range of media platforms (including print, broadcast and online). You will begin to review how new technologies are used in, and impact upon, today’s media industry with a practical application. You will begin to develop your knowledge of the demands of the digital age to work professionally in the sector.