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Digital JournalismJan2018
Digital JournalismJan2018
Digital JournalismJan2018
Course Description:
People living in modern societies depend on journalism for essential information about many aspects of
their lives. In a tradition reaching back to the earliest days of the printing press, journalism has provided
information, analysis, commentary, and reflection. Citizens in free and democratic societies have relied
on journalism to make informed choices about their political leaders and participation. Historians have
observed that journalism provides the first rough draft of history.
Social philosophers have noted that, …we become what we behold - we shape our tools and thereafter
our tools shape us. As societies have adapted to technological advances in communications, journalists
have both led and followed. The current digital transformation of society has changed many things about
journalism but a need still exists for individuals who have specialized skills and aptitudes to aggregate,
understand, describe, critique, and analyze information, data, and knowledge in all aspects of human
experience. Significantly, the internet has changed journalism into more participatory activity where the
consumers of journalism are directly and constructively engaged.
This course builds upon a study of the foundational concepts from traditional journalism and examines
the structures, organization, and practices of digital and participatory journalism. Digital journalism is
positioned in the context of the digital humanities and participants are introduced to conceptual and
practical tools necessary to understand and participate in this emerging field.
Course Objectives:
Participants will:
Develop the knowledge and critical understanding of the key concepts, methodologies, current
advances, theoretical approaches and assumptions in the field of digital journalism.
Develop the capacity to critically evaluate the use of established and emerging web-based
resources and social media platforms common in the field of online journalism: blogs, micro-
blogs, wikis, multimedia, data analysis/visualization applications, and information and
communication technologies.
Adopt an interdisciplinary perspective, particularly where digital journalism intersects with
digital humanities and other related disciplines.
Display a developed ability to gather, review, evaluate and interpret information and compare the
merits of alternate hypotheses or creative options, relevant to digital journalism, media studies,
and digital humanities.
Demonstrate the ability to review, present and critically evaluate qualitative and quantitative
information in support of arguments based on the major theories, concepts and methods of digital
journalism.
Apply underlying concepts, principles, and techniques of analysis in the creative process and use
a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake critical evaluation of arguments,
assumptions, abstract concepts and information. By creating works of digital journalism students
will gain an appreciation for the role of journalism in society and the importance of the study of
journalism in the humanities.
Frame appropriate questions for the purpose of solving a problem or creating new work, making
critical use of scholarly reviews and primary sources.
Communicate information, arguments, and analyses accurately and reliably, using multimedia
applications and practices to a range of audiences.
Understand the limits to own knowledge and ability, and an appreciation of the uncertainty,
ambiguity and limits to knowledge and how this might influence analyses and interpretations.
Display qualities and transferable skills necessary for further study, employment, community
involvement and other activities requiring the exercise of initiative, personal responsibility and
accountability in both personal and group contexts.
Work effectively with others on decision making in complex contexts, demonstrating the ability
to manage their own learning in changing circumstances and to select an appropriate program of
further study.
Behave consistently with academic integrity and social responsibility.
Course Topics:
● Fundamentals of journalistic writing for the web
● Critical thinking, fact checking, accuracy of information
● Theoretical perspectives of digital journalism
● Ethics and codes of digital journalistic practice
● Security of communications, protection of sources
● Literary journalism, data journalism, process journalism, citizen’s journalism
● Social marketing, digital journalism and social change
● Global information society and the DIKW framework
● Living and working in a world that is Ubiquitously Connected & Pervasively Proximal (UCaPP)
● Traditional, convergent, and born-digital journalism
● Emergence of mobile platforms and augmented reality as new forms of electronic journalism
● New economic models for journalism. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Required reading: Students will read the following items, inter alia, available on the internet or on library
reserve. This list is subject to regular updating and revision. A Zotero Group Library for this course is
available at https://www.zotero.org/groups/323470
Borger, M., van Hoof, A., Costera Meijer, I., & Sanders, J. (2013). Constructing Participatory Journalism as a
Scholarly Object. Digital Journalism, 1(1), 117–134. doi:10.1080/21670811.2012.740267
Fico, F., Lacy, S., Wildman, S. S., Baldwin, T., Bergan, D., & Zube, P. (2013). Citizen journalism sites as
information substitutes and complements for United States newspaper coverage of local governments.
Digital Journalism, 1(1), 152–168. doi:10.1080/21670811.2012.740270
Gray, J., Bounegru, L., & Chambers, L. (Eds.). (2012). The Data Journalism Handbook. Safari Books
Online: O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://datajournalismhandbook.org/1.0/en/
Ingram, M. (2013, September 25). Jeff Bezos is both right and wrong about why newspapers are like horses.
paidContent. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://paidcontent.org/2013/09/25/jeff-bezos-is-both-
right-and-wrong-about-why-newspapers-are-like-horses/
Mullen, A., & Klaehn, J. (2010). The Herman–Chomsky propaganda model: A critical approach to analysing
mass media behaviour. Sociology Compass, 4(4), 215–229.
Rosen, J. (2010). The View from Nowhere: Questions and Answers » Pressthink. PressThink.
Retrieved from http://pressthink.org/2010/11/the-view-from-nowhere-questions-and-answers/
Rosen, J. (2017, December 31). Show your work: The new terms for trust in journalism. Retrieved January 8,
2018, from http://pressthink.org/2017/12/show-work-new-terms-trust-journalism/
Steensen, S. (2011). Online Journalism and the Promises of New Technology: a critical review and
look ahead. Journalism Studies, 12(3), 311–327.
Recommended Further Reading: (This list is subject to regular updating and revision)
Alejandro, J. (2010). Journalism in the age of social media,(Fellowship paper), Reuters Institute for the Study
of Journalism.
Apte, U. M., & Mason, R. O. (1995). Global Disaggregation of Information-Intensive Services. Management
Science, 41(7), 1250–1262. doi:10.1287/mnsc.41.7.1250
Armstrong, C. L., & Gao, F. (2011). Gender, Twitter and news content: An examination across platforms and
coverage areas. Journalism Studies, 12(4), 490–505.
Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks: How social production transforms markets and freedom. Yale
University Press.
Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (2011). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of
knowledge. Open Road Media.
Coddington, M. (2013). Normalizing the hyperlink: How bloggers, professional journalists, and
institutions shape linking values, Digital Journalism, 1(1), 1–16. doi:10.1080/21670811.2013.785813
Dotson, S., & Slaughter, D. (2013). An informed public: journalism and the consequences of digital data.
Envision Peace Museum. Retrieved from http://www.envisionpeacemuseum.org/2013/08/an-informed-
public-journalism-and-the-consequences-of-digital-data/
Dutton, W. H. (2009). The fifth estate emerging through the network of networks. Prometheus, 27(1), 1–15.
Herman, E. S., & Chomsky, N. (2002). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
Random House Digital, Inc.
Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2014). The Elements of Journalism, Revised and Updated 3rd Edition:
What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect (Revised, Updated edition). Three
Rivers Press.
Kozolanka, K., Mazepa, P., & Skinner, D. (Eds.). (2012). Alternative media in Canada. University of British
Columbia Press.
Lancaster, K. (2012). Video journalism for the web: A practical introduction to documentary storytelling.
Routledge.
Martins, G. L. (2013). Teaching cyber journalism: a comparative study in the journalism courses of Rio Grande
do Norte and Mato Grosso do Sul. Journal of Latin American Communication Research, 2(1), 147–167.
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media, The Extensions of Man (Third.). New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company.
McNair, B. (2013). The Rise of the Fifth Estate. Journalism Practice, 7(6), 772–774.
Prasad, K. (2009). E-Journalism: New media and news media. BR Publishing Corporation.
Siebert, F. F. S. (1956). Four theories of the press: The authoritarian, libertarian, social responsibility and
soviet communist concepts of what the press should be and do. University of Illinois Press.
Shirky, C. (2008). Here Comes Everybody, The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. New York:
Penguin Press.
Vis, F. (2013). Twitter As a Reporting Tool for Breaking News: Journalists Tweeting the 2011 UK Riots.
Digital Journalism, 1(1), 27–47.
Wilkinson, J. S., Grant, A. E., & Fisher, D. (2008). Principles of convergent journalism. Oxford University
Press, USA.
Wong, A., & Belair_Gagnon, V. (2013, October). On the NSA, the media may tilt right : Columbia Journalism
Review. Columbia Journalism Review. Journalism School Review.
Course Outline
In addition to lecture and in-class participation, all course activities will be conducted in online
environments and will follow practices common in the field of digital journalism. Each class will be
centered on themes as described below. Examples are descriptive rather than prescriptive and topics are
subject to change as current events present an opportunity to illustrate course concepts.
Class 15: In-Class presentations and guest lectures will be scheduled as time allows and according to
availability.
Administrative Details
1. Contact hours:
This course will meet for a minimum of 36 hours, which will include lectures, webinars, group
presentations, and evaluation time. As the course progresses, group activities will be conducted by
means of various online applications introduced throughout the course.
2. Required Text:
No physical textbook is required for this course. All course materials will be available electronically.
3. Required Materials:
All participants must have regular access to a multimedia laptop with webcam and headset (microphone
and speakers) capable of wireless Internet connection. Qualifying devices are available from
local computer outlets for between$250.00 and $500.00, less than the cost of textbooks for many courses.
6. Academic Integrity:
It is acceptable to borrow ideas, methods, etc. from other students, books, or journals, but be sure to
acknowledge the contributions of others. Avoid cut and paste. All sources must be acknowledged and
from a verifiable source. Students are specifically referred to the policy on academic integrity Section
4.2.2 of the General Calendar. Violations of this policy, including all forms of plagiarism, will not be
tolerated.
7. Ethics Compliance:
Human subjects research required for this course will be conducted in compliance with the Tri-Council
Policy for Research Involving Humans.
Any qualifying research for this course will be conducted under an ethics certificate approved by the
Brandon University Research Ethics Committee. All student research must be conducted in accordance
with these guidelines and requires approval by the faculty member.
8. Course Evaluation:
The anonymous course evaluations will be completed online. All students are expected to complete the
evaluation.
Students with disabilities requiring accommodation are encouraged to register with the Disability Services
Coordinator located in the Accessible Learning Centre, Room 106 A.E. McKenzie Building, call 727-
9759.
A+ Outstanding 90-100
A Outstanding 85-89
A- Outstanding 80-83
B+ Good 77-79
B Good 74-76
B- Good 70-73
C+ Satisfactory 67-69
C Satisfactory 64-66
C- Satisfactory 60-63
D+ Weak 57-59
D Weak 54-56
D- Weak 50-53
F Inadequate 0-49
1. Create a web-based narrated presentation. Presentations must address topics from the study of
digital journalism and must conform to Pecha Kucha style - 20 slides with 20 seconds of narration
per slide. Presentation should be embedded in the personal course portfolio.
2. Create or significantly improve a Wikipedia article on some aspect of journalism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Journalism. New articles must qualify for
“Good Article” status -- Improved articles must be improved at least one category. (As assessed
by the course instructor.
3. Have an article about digital journalism published by a journal, local media, newspaper, radio or
television.