Rhodes>JMS>Curriculum 2023>Journalism and Media Studies 3

Journalism and Media Studies 3

 JMS3

Year Co-ordinator: Mr Harold Gess

Room: 209

Email: h.gess@ru.ac.za

 

Students who successfully complete JMS3 may choose to graduate at the end of their third year with a BA in Journalism and Media Studies. Alternatively, they may continue with JMS4 in order to graduate with a BJourn degree, which enables them to pursue a Masters degree. JMS3 is therefore designed both as an exit year in its own right and prepares students for the study of media at fourth year level (Bjourn, Honours or a postgraduate diploma) and beyond. As such, it prepares students both for work in media production and for pursuing postgraduate study.

 

The media production components of JMS3 focus on the areas in which students have chosen to specialise: Communication Design, Photography, Audio, Television, or Writing & Editing.

Times and venues

In third year there are two double-periods and two single-periods per week. There are also triple-period pracs on Wednesdays and Thursdays (you will be allocated to one of these for your media production ).

 

Chem Minor (Media Studies 1st and 2nd semesters)

Tuesday 12:20 to 13:05

Wednesday 12:20 to 13:05

Friday 14:15pm to 15:55

 

Specialisations lectures and pracs

Venues are elective specific. You will be notified of venues via email.

Tues 14:15 to 15:55

Wednesday OR Thursday 14:15 to 17:00

 

The courses

Media law and ethics (Term 1) – Mr Simon Pamphilon

This course examines ethical and legal issues relating to the practice of journalism and editorial decision-making in news production.

 

Public communication (Term 2) – Mr Julian Jacobs

Public communication is the practice of creating and delivering relevant, creative, and responsible messages to serve the needs of a community, business, or organisation. Students are well-prepared for careers in NPO communications, government communications, community organising, event planning, and activist journalism, as well as in video, audio, graphic, and social media. This module will look at public communication from two perspectives, journalism for social change and communication for social change.

 

Self-representation and social media (Term 3) – Dr Priscilla Boshoff

Mobile media and social networking sites have become increasingly accessible, and visual media (in particular, the self-portrait) have become a significant, if not the primary, means of communication in online spaces. This shift presents us with an opportunity to understand the social role that self-representation has played, over time, in South Africa. The course explores how the visual culture of social media is linked to the wider domain of social life. We do this by engaging with key theoretical approaches to understanding visual self-representation practices on social media. We then apply these insights to examine a range of self-representation practices and digital sites in South Africa, for example celebrity influencers on Instagram.

 

Radical discourses online (Term 4) – Prof Lorenzo Dalvit

Digital media promises to revolutionise public debate by giving a “voice to the voiceless”. By problematising which voices, who are the voiceless and why this is the case, we explore the relationship between old and new media and open the discussion around the emergence of truly alternative voices and viewpoints. This course draws on current debates around the relationship between technological and social development as well as your own reflections on your experience as media consumers and producers.

 

Specialisations

Audio – Mr Shepi Mati

This course aims to provide students with a sound foundation in news and current affairs production. Attention will also be given to the practicalities of setting up and managing a production agency, with special emphasis on the newsroom. You will gain the conceptual skills necessary for the critical discussion of Audio production and of current institutional developments in audio.

 

Television – Ms Jane Viedge

In this course students are taught to produce television journalism and are encouraged to think creatively about ways in which the moving image can be incorporated into the digital space. The course is an introduction to the principles of television news production, documentary-making, online and community journalism. During the first and second term they learn shooting and editing techniques, field reporting, how to write for television news, live streaming technology and how to produce short documentaries. They also gain extensive experience in interviewing and structuring a story and learn how to put together a broadcast bulletin. In addition to the more traditional notions of TV journalism, students will explore the changing nature of news consumption in the online space. The course provides some theoretical grounding in the principles of television journalism.

 

Writing and editing – Ms Gillian Rennie

A 40-hour internship/observation in an appropriate media house is        mandatory to pass W&E3

This course helps you go beyond the simple reproduction of vocational skills and knowledge, to develop more imaginative and effective conception, research and writing approaches to a range of story forms. This course braids several strands of knowledge and experience essential to journalism production. These include: immersion in education as a beat vehicle that explores notions of community and civic journalism; an introduction to freelancing as a media producer; blogging as a vehicle offering the scope to ‘find’ oneself as a writer, editor and reporter; reading as a pivotal requirement for making meaningful writing; and excellence in a range of mediums and platforms. In all the strands that build this diverse course, you’ll be expected to question some of the common-sense assumptions underpinning the practice of journalism. This includes ethical practice.

 

Communication design – Mr Simon Pamphilon

This course aims to equip students with a solid foundation in the theory and practice of communication design, layout and editing, with an emphasis on the production of news publications. The course will cover principles of design, typography, using artwork (photos and illustrations), writing headlines and captions, basic copy editing and editorial decision-making, and reproduction and printing. You will also be introduced to various Adobe software packages including InDesign and Photoshop.

 

Photography – Mr Harold Gess

The photography course offers students a solid foundation in photography and photo editing. Photography is presented as a way of being in and experiencing the world and simultaneously a way of communicating that experience and resulting understanding with others. While photojournalism provides a foundation for the course, students are also encouraged to explore photographic genres of their choice. Students will also be introduced to multimedia storytelling. Skills knowledge is complemented by an introduction to scientific, aesthetic, ethical, historical, and critical thinking and writing on photography.

 

Mark allocation

Elective practice: 50%

Media law and ethics: 12.5%

Public communication: 12.5%

Self-representation and social media: 12.5%

Radical discourses online: 12.5%

 

Entry into JMS4

There are limited spaces available in fourth year so simply passing JMS3 does not guarantee you a place. We are looking for students who perform well in both their media studies and practical specialisation, and students who achieve below 60% for either their final JMS3 practical or media studies mark will severely jeopardise their chances of advancing into JMS4. When applying for JMS4 you must provide a letter of motivation, an official academic transcript, and in some cases portfolios of work and references. Specialisation lecturers may interview candidates. Students are not eligible to apply for entry into JMS4 if they have not completed JMS3 and their other major, or IsiXhosa for Journalism. If you are carrying credits other than those of your second major, you may apply for JMS4, but this might jeopardise your chances of acceptance. You may carry up to a maximum of one minor credit into JMS4. All acceptances are provisional until approved by JMS4 board and the Dean of Humanities.

Last Modified: Fri, 25 Feb 2022 10:11:18 SAST