10682 - Journalistic Communication

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student is familiar with the main production routines of news machine, specially referred to the development of daily press, the online journalism, the kind of work, the professional code of conduct and the business models. The student also is able to select the information in order to create news, paying attention to the most recent techniques of multimedia journalism.

Course contents

The aim of the course is to provide the notions and tools necessary to recognise and understand the variety of journalistic languages and underlying communication pacts observable in different media (print, radio, television, web). The main production models linked to the information machine are therefore analysed, with a view to outlining the framework of a modern journalism, capable of dealing with the profound changes in socio-cultural processes that have taken place in recent years.

Particular attention is given to the role, function and professional identity of journalists, the genres of their work, writing and titling techniques, the logic of newsworthiness, deontology and professional ethics, the comparative analysis of the Italian and international media system, the innovations brought to journalism by the digital environment, with reference to the new tools and new information professions, the use of social media both as sources of news and as tools for building a community with an information medium at its centre, and the hypothesis of future developments in information.

During the course, professor Daniela Laganà holds the seminar: 'Digital Journalisms'.

Readings/Bibliography

Compulsory texts for exams:

1. Barbano A. (in collaboration with V. Sassu), Manual of Journalism, Laterza, 2012

2. Sorrentino C., Splendore S., Le vie del giornalismo. Come si raccontano i giornalisti italiani, Il Mulino 2022

 

Non-mandatory texts but highly recommended, especially for non-attending students:

• Allotti P., Fourth estate. Journalism and journalists in contemporary Italy, Carocci, 2017

• Bergamini O., La democrazia della stampa - Storia del giornalismo, Laterza, 2013

• Di Marco V., Journalism lessons, Ugo Mursia Editore, 2015

• Lorusso A. M., Postverità, Laterza, 2018

• Mazzocco D., Online Journalism - Cross-media, blogging and social networks: the new digital information tools, Journalistic Documentation Center, 2018 (third edition)

• McIntyre L., Post-truth, UTET University, 2019

• Mezza M., Journalisms in the network. In order not to be subjects of Facebook and Google, Donzelli, 2015

• Splendore S., Hybrid journalism. How the Italian journalistic culture changes, Carocci, 2017

• Triani G. (a cura di), Giornalismo aumentato. Attualità e scenari di una professione in rivoluzione, Franco Angeli, 2017

 

Teaching methods

The course alternates traditional theoretical lectures with classroom presentations by journalists and experts in the field of communication and screenings of multimedia documents relating to the subject matter. Students will be asked to actively participate, collaborating in the drafting and titling of journalistic articles in preparation for the exam, which will be carried out in the classroom during the course. For this reason, attendance is strongly recommended.

 

Assessment methods

The 2023/2024 Journalistic Communication exam consists of a written test, which is computer-based and is designed to test writing skills, learning of journalistic techniques, comprehension of the two compulsory texts and above all the ability to reflect critically on the main themes/concepts.

It consists of the writing and titling of a journalistic article on a topical subject chosen by the teacher and the answer to two 'open' questions, one relating to the textbook and one to the other compulsory text. The journalistic article will contribute up to a maximum of 18 points (60% of the total) and the two questions up to a maximum of 6 points each (40% of the total) in forming the final assessment.

The student has at his disposal one or more agency takes in which he can find all the information he needs: it is a matter of selecting them and putting them in the right logical and chronological order, organising them in a suitably titled news report. To prepare for the exam, it is advisable to be well informed, paying particular attention to the news reports of the days immediately preceding the exam. It is also necessary to have an excellent knowledge of the newsworthiness criteria and the writing and titling techniques illustrated in the lecture, in the textbook and in the notes made available by the lecturer in the Virtual Platform.

The maximum time for the test is four hours. The use of dictionaries is allowed, but not the use of personal technological devices of any kind (PCs, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, headphones, USB keys, hard disks).

Erasmus students may take the test in English as an alternative to Italian.

 

Teaching tools

The course makes use of the computer and multimedia tools available in the classrooms of the Department of Philosophy and Communication, via Azzo Gardino.

 

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Ropa