Module Title: Journalism Theory & Practice (MPM5203)

Module Contact:
Mr. Eugene Chan (Module Lecturer and Module Tutor)
Email: eugeneyhchan@vtc.edu.hk
Office Tel: 3890 8196
Assignment Drop-in Box: No. 39, 12/F, CW Campus

Module Aims:

The module aims at provide introduction to the concepts and roles of journalism, the functions of news,
the journalists, their media organizations and daily work routines. It seeks to acquaint students with
basic skills to generate ideas, to gather information and to equip them with necessary interviewing and
journalistic techniques to comment, compose and report news story. It also instils students with the
ethical principles in the process of news gathering and reporting.

Module Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this Module, students are expected to be able to:

1. Critically appraise the roles of journalism and functions of news in the society;
2. Compare and analyze the differences and structures of news organizations of each medium and their
relevance in different situations;
3. Apply journalistic skills in commenting, composing and reporting news story; and
4. Analyze the ethical standards and decision-making strategies of journalists.

Assessment:

• 30%
• test : 30%
• 40%

Recommended Textbooks:

1. Bull, A. (2016). Multimedia Journalism: A Practical Guide. USA: Routledge

2. Stovall, J. G. (2012). Introduction to Journalism USA: Intercollegiate Online News Network
3. Stovall, J. G. (2005). Journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. USA: Pearson
Education

1
Reference List:
1. Burns, L. S. (2018). Understanding Journalism. London: SAGE
2. Conboy, M. (2013). Journalism Studies: The Basics. New York: Routledge
3. Fleming, C., Hemmingway, E., Moore, G. and Welford, D. (2006). An Introduction to
Journalism. U.K.: SAGE Publication.
4. Herbert, J. (2016). Journalism in the Digital Age: Theory and Practice for Broadcast, Print
and Online Media. UK: Focal Press.
5. Hill, S. (2014). Online Journalism: the essential guide. Los Angeles: SAGE
st
6. Holmes, T. (2013). 21 century journalism handbook: essential skills for the modern journalist.
Harlow: Pearson
7. Holmes, T. and Nice, L. (2012). Magazine Journalism. U.S. SAGE.
8. Hudson, Gary and Rowlands, Sarah. (2012). The Broadcast Journalism Handbook. UK:
Pearson
rd
9. Kershner, J. W. (2011). The Elements of News Writing (3 ed.). USA: Pearson Education.
10. Kolodzy, J. (2012). Practicing Convergence Journalism: An Introduction to Cross-media
Storytelling. New York: Routledge
11. Ludwig, Mark D. and Gilmore, G. (2005). Modern News Editing. USA: Blackwell Publishing
12. Rich, Carole. (2015). Writing and Reporting News: A Coaching Method. USA: Wadsworth
Publishing Company
th
13. Stovall, J. G. (2015). Writing for the Mass Media (9 ed.). USA: Pearson Education.
14. Syed, M. H., Dr. (2006). Journalism: theory and practice. India: Anmol Publications
15. Tapsall, S. and Varley, C. (2001). Journalism Theory in Practice. New York: Oxford
University Press
16. 賴蘭香，2012年，傳媒中文寫作，香港：中華書局。
17. 黃天賜，2010年，新聞與香港社會真相，香港：中華書局。

Important Dates
Individual assignment submission: 7 Nov (week 8)

Written test: 21 Nov (week 10)

Group project presentation and submission: 19 Dec (week
14)

2
 Faculty of Management and Hospitality MODULE PLAN 2020– 2021

Module Title: Journalism Theory & Practice Module Code: MPM5203

Programme Title: BA (Hons) in Public Year 2 – Sem1 No of weeks: 14

Relations and Int'l Events Management
Programme Code: Class Contact Hours: Hours per
week:
42 3 (average)

Wk Hrs Related Topic Topic Learning Outcomes Teaching and Remarks

MLO Learning Activities
01 3 1,4 Introduction to  Beginnings of journalism Lecture to demonstrate the full Chapter 1& 7,
Journalism picture of journalism, and Introduction to
 Basic concepts in journalism explain the module Journalism ;
 News values requirements and assessment
 Why news matters criteria, and learning approach Chapter 1, 20 &
and schedule. 21, Journalism:
 News and the social order Who, What,
 Pressures on journalists Tutorial to facilitate exchange When, Where,
 The job of the journalist of viewpoints on the topics Why and How
presented in the lectures.

02 3 1,2,4 The Culture of  The world of journalism Lecture to present the key Chapter 7 & 8,
Journalism concepts and terms related to Introduction to
 News trends Journalism ;
the culture of journalism and
 Working within the news journalism theories.
organization Chapter 2 & 3,
 Unacceptable practices Journalism: Who,
Tutorial to facilitate exchange What, When,
 Elements in journalism of viewpoints on the topics Where, Why and
 Elements of news story presented in the lectures. How
 Various theories of
journalism
 Becoming a journalist

03 3 1,2 Newspapers and  Initiators of journalism Lecture to present the key Chapter 1, 2 & 5,
Magazines concepts and terms related to Introduction to
 Organizational structure of Journalism ;
newspaper news and magazines.
 The editorial page Chapter 4 & 5,
 Newspapers today Tutorial to facilitate exchange Journalism: Who,
of viewpoints on the topics What, When,
 Major players in the presented in the lectures. Where, Why and
newspaper industry How
 The future of newspapers
 Structure of the magazine
industry
 Magazine journalism
 The future of magazines
 Print layout and production

3
04 3 1,2,3 Television, Radio  Broadcast journalism Lecture to present the key Chapter 6
and News Web
 Radio: news at a different concepts and terms related to Introduction to
Sites
level television, radio, and news web Journalism;
sites.
 Types of radio journalism Chapter 6 & 7,
 Television news Journalism: Who,
Tutorial to facilitate exchange What, When,
 Broadcast organizations in of viewpoints on the topics Where, Why and
HK presented in the lectures. How
 The difference of the Web
 The news web site
 Web logs: a new form of
journalism?
 Social and community
journalism

05 6 1,2,3,4 Reporters and • How to build one a story idea Lecture to present the key Chapter 3 & 5,
Reporting concepts and skills of reporting. Introduction to
• What reporters do Journalism;
• Personal characteristics
Tutorial to facilitate exchange Chapter 8 & 9,
• Becoming a professional of viewpoints on the topics Journalism:
• Five Ws and one H presented in the lectures. Who, What,
• AP style When, Where,
Why and How
• Types of sources
• Interview techniques

06 3 1,2,3 Writing News  Basic writing Lecture to present the key Chapter 4 & 5,
and Features & characteristics concepts related to news and Introduction to
Related Styles features, as well as useful Journalism;
 Writing conventions
writing styles.
 Attribution Chapter 10 & 11,
 The story structures Journalism: Who,
Tutorial to facilitate exchange What, When,
such as the inverted of viewpoints on the topics
pyramid, etc. Where, Why and
presented in the lectures. How
 Key story elements
 The lead paragraph

07 3 1,2,3 Writing News  Developing the story Lecture to present the key Chapter 4 & 5,
and Features &
 Feature styles concepts related to story craft, Introduction to
Related Styles as well as useful feature styles. Journalism;
 Language sensitivity
 Long-form Chapter 10 &
journalism Tutorial to facilitate exchange 11,
of viewpoints on the topics Journalism:
presented in the lectures. Who, What,
When, Where,
Why and How

4
08 3 1,2,3 Visual Journalists  Words and pictures Lecture to present the key Chapter 1& 11,
and Graphic
 Photojournalism concepts and principles related Introduction to
Journalism to visual journalists and graphic Journalism ;
 Life and time of the journalism.
photojournalist Chapter 14 & 15,
 Designers Journalism: Who,
Tutorial to review key topics What, When,
 Graphics journalists and concepts presented in the Where, Why and
 The importance of the visual lectures 1-7. How
 Principles of design
 Conventions of graphics
 The good graphic
 Types of graphics

09 3 1,2.3 Photojournalism, • Basics of photojournalism Lecture to present the key Chapter 1& 2,
Publication and • The photojournalist in action concepts and principles related Introduction to
Web Site Design • Newsworthy photos to photojournalism, publication, Journalism ;
• Photo editing and web site design.
• Cutline Chapter 16 & 17,
• Visual logic Journalism: Who,
• Types of newspapers design Tutorial to facilitate exchange What, When,
of viewpoints on the topics Where, Why and
and web site design
presented in the lectures. How
• Principles of layout
• The multimedia story
10 3 1,2,4

Written Test (2.5 hours)

11 3 1,2,3 Broadcast • The world of Lecture to present the key Chapter 4,

Journalists and broadcasting concepts and writing styles Introduction to
Writing for • Selection of news related to broadcasting. Journalism;
Broadcast • News department
organization Chapter 18 & 19,
• Broadcast news Tutorial to facilitate exchange of Journalism: Who,
formats viewpoints on the topics What, When,
• Characteristics of presented in the lectures. Where, Why and
writing for broadcast How
• Story structure
• Broadcast writing
style
• Broadcast copy
preparation

5
12 3 1,2,3 Editors, Editing  Traits of an editor Lecture to present the key Chapter 4,
and Headline concepts and principles related Introduction to
Writing  The editor- writer
relationship to editing and headline writing. Journalism ;
 What the editor must do Chapter 12 & 13,
Tutorial to facilitate exchange Journalism: Who,
 Editing procedure of viewpoints on the topics What, When,
 Principles of headline writing presented in the lectures. Where, Why and
 Guidelines of headline How
writing
 Journalism and the political
powers
 Spin doctors
 Convergence of journalism
and PR
 Brand journalism
 Hyperlocal journalism
13 3 1,2,3,4 Ethical Standards • Law and the journalist Lecture to present the key Chapter 8, 9 &
and Decision • Ethical practices concepts related to ethical 12, Introduction
Making Strategies • Deception, defamation standards and laws. to Journalism;
for Journalists and libel
• Absolute privilege and
qualified privilege
• Privacy issues
• Legal protection for
journalists
• Codes of ethics
• Press or media
freedom
• Press censorship
• Yellow journalism

14 3 1,2,3
Group Project Submission and Presentation

6
 Faculty of Management and Hospitality MODULE PLAN 2020– 2021

Module Title: Journalism Theory & Practice Module Code: MPM5203

Programme Title: BA (Hons) in Public Year 2 – Sem1 No of weeks: 14

Relations and Int'l Events Management
Programme Code: Class Contact Hours: Hours per
week:
42 3 (average)

1 Module Details
a Module Code / Title MPM5203/ Journalism Theory & Practice

b Programme Code / Title BA (Hons) in Public Relations and Management

Lecture Tutorial
g
Contact Hours 28 hrs 14 hrs

Module Assessment in alignment with MILO

Module Learning
2 Individual Assignment Written Test Group Project
Outcome (MLO)
(30%)
(30%) (40%)
Critically appraise the roles of
A journalism and functions of news in
  
the society

Compare and analyze the differences

B and structures of news organizations of
  
each medium and their relevance in
different situations

Apply journalistic skills in

c commenting, composing and reporting

news story

7
 Analyze the ethical standards and
D decision-making strategies of
 
journalists

3 Assessment

a No. of assessment 1 1 1

b Weighting as a % of module mark 30% 30% 40%

4 Are the assessment results presented in marks or Grades to students and Transcript
grades?

8
Guidelines/requirements
Individual assignment: In the form of a news reading report, students are required to
demonstrate their understanding of the basic concepts and theories of journalism, and/or
functions of news in the society and to write about personal feelings or comments. For
this individual assignment, students are required to choose one of the most current HK
or mainland China news reporting stories first, and then demonstrate their analytical
skill to identify the key concepts and theories of journalism, and to apply it in analyzing
or assessing the news. This assignment is assessed individually. Word limit: 800-1,000
words, not including appendices and references. Please place your graphics into the
appendices.

Written test: Students are required to comprehend the key concepts and theories of
journalism, the major differences and structures of news organizations of each medium
including print, broadcast and web news media and the basic journalistic skills through
true or false questions, short questions as well as long questions. Long questions will be
used to give students the opportunity to organize their ideas and demonstrate their ability
in critical thinking.

Group project: Students are required to form a group of 4-5 people and the group is
expected to research and analyze one of the current topics which appear on the local
news organizations. The project will consist of: 1) a piece of news feature (800-1,000
words, to be written in Chinese); 2) interview record(s) with relevant people; 3)
related pictures and/or graphics (with captions), and 4) a piece of reflection. Students’
ability in synthesizing the knowledge of newsworthy angles and the skills on research
and news writing learned in this module will be assessed. Peer group members will
evaluate the contribution of individual members to the project.

9
10
 Individual Assignment Assessment Criteria

Criteria Outstanding to Good to Very Good Satisfactory to Barely Inadequate

Excellent (A- to A) (B to B+) Wholly Adequate to to
Satisfactory (C to Weak (D to D+) Unacceptable
C+) (F)
Use of Evidence of careful Clear use of a Some use of Little use of No / very
References / precise reading of few relevant references (though appropriate limited
(5 %) several appropriate references to not all sources are references to references to
(including references to support analysis. relevant) to support analysis. support
books, support analysis. support analysis. analysis.
journals,
newspapers,
magazines)
Analysis Able to provide Able to provide good Able to provide Little or weak Unable to
(20%) insightful analysis analysis which satisfactory analysis on the provide
which reflects reflects student’s good analysis which topic. Some relevant
student’s thorough understanding on the reflects student’s irrelevant ideas analysis.
understanding on the topic. Several relevant fair understanding are given with Unable to
topic. Many real-life examples are on the topic. A few inadequate give relevant
relevant real-life given. relevant examples justifications. examples.
examples are given. are given. Almost no real-
life examples are
given.
Organization Excellent The report is pretty The report is Weak report Poor report
(5 %) organization. One well-organized. reasonably organization with format with
idea follows Mostly clear organized. Fair unclear no effort in
another in a logical transitions. Mostly idea transitions. paragraphs and paragraph
sequence with clear correct grammar Some grammatical idea transitions. organization.
transitions. Almost with very little mistakes and typos. A number of Many
no grammatical typos. grammatical grammatical
errors and typos. mistakes and mistakes and
typos. typos.

11
 Project Assessment Criteria

Criteria Outstanding to Good to Very Good Satisfactory to Barely Inadequate

Excellent (A- to A) (B to B+) Wholly Adequate to to
Satisfactory (C to Weak (D to D+) Unacceptable
C+) (F)
Use of Evidence of careful Clear use of a Some use of Little use of No / very
References / precise reading of few relevant references (though appropriate limited
(5%) several appropriate references to not all sources are references to references to
(including references to support analysis. relevant) to support analysis. support
books, support analysis. support analysis. analysis.
journals,
newspapers,
magazines)
Analysis Able to provide Able to provide good Able to provide Little or weak Unable to
(20%) insightful analysis analysis which satisfactory analysis on the provide
which reflects reflects student’s good analysis which topic. Some relevant
student’s thorough understanding on the reflects student’s irrelevant ideas analysis.
understanding on the topic. Several relevant fair understanding are given with Unable to
topic. Many real-life examples are on the topic. A few inadequate give relevant
relevant real-life given. relevant examples justifications. examples.
examples are given. are given. Almost no real-
life examples are
given.
Organization Excellent The report is pretty The report is Weak report Poor report
(10%) organization. One well-organized. reasonably organization with format with
idea follows Mostly clear organized. Fair unclear no effort in
another in a logical transitions. Mostly idea transitions. paragraphs and paragraph
sequence with clear correct grammar Some grammatical idea transitions. organization.
transitions. Almost with very little mistakes and typos. A number of Many
no grammatical typos. grammatical grammatical
errors and typos. mistakes and mistakes and
typos. typos.

Only one or
All members are
All members Some members two members
fully and actively All members actively
involved and participated and participated
involved and involved and some
Teamwork participated, some little evidence of and no
participated, strong evidence of support
(5%) evidence of support support and evidence of
evidence of support and teamwork
and teamwork teamwork support and
and teamwork
teamwork

12
Forms of Plagiarism (Appendix E, Academic Policies and Regulations, THEi)
Plagiarism can take any of the five following forms:
• Verbatim copying: copying word for word without any acknowledgement of
the source;
• Incorrect/inadequate acknowledgement: verbatim material incorrectly noted as
having been paraphrased, or material that has been paraphrased and has not
been acknowledged adequately;
• Appropriation: copying material from other students’ assignments without
their knowledge;
• Collusion: copying material from another student’s assignment with his/her
knowledge, with the student whose work has been copied equally culpable;
and
• Ghost writing: submitting an assignment as your own when it has been written
by a third party.

All suspected cases will be sent to the student disciplinary team and may categorize as
academic misconduct. Where misconduct is alleged, the matter will be considered and
determined by the Dean, who may convene the Faculty Disciplinary Committee if
necessary. The student will be given reasonable opportunities to respond to the
allegation.

If misconduct is proven, then one of the following penalties will apply, depending on
the severity of the case:

• A reprimand; or

• A lowering of marks/grade or no mark/grade for the work in question; or

• A resubmission of the work in question, with a maximum grade of D for any

resubmitted work; or

• A lowering of grade for cases of plagiarism:

o 5 grades lower (i.e. Grade F) for plagiarism of 20% and above;

o 4 grades lower for plagiarism of between 15% and 19%;
o 3 grades lower for plagiarism of between 10% and 14%;
o 2 grades lower for plagiarism of between 5% and 9%; or

13
• A lowering the Honors classification of the degree; or
• A suspension of studies for a specified period of time; or
• An expulsion for a specified or indefinite period.

14