Wits Journalism Courses

First Semester (Beginning February 2)

Advanced Sub-editing
This course deals with high-level skills needed by senior print media sub-editors. Weekly seminars.
 
Media Law and Ethics
Presented in conjunction with the Wits Law School, this is an intensive look at the law and ethics affecting our profession. It equips participants with the skills needed to deal with difficult situations that may arise in newsrooms, and is ideal for a journalist in need of a thorough update. Weekly seminars.
 
Journalism for Communicators
This course is designed for communicators in government, private or NGO sectors, or anyone who would like to learn the basic skills of journalism. These include news judgment, news-writing, interviewing, research, ethics and some basic skills to promote pro-active, strategic communication. Weekly seminars.
 
 
Mid-Year (June-July)

Online Journalism
This course will introduce students to the concepts and practice of the field. The course will be taught half as a lecture/seminar and half as a technical lab course. In the lecture component, students will examine the origins of online journalism and its current trends, what online journalists do and the particular issues they face, how to conduct effective Internet searches and how to assess the information. The course will look at how people understand information on the Web and how stories should be structured for the best readability. It will examine the phenomenon of participatory journalism and the increasingly important question of who calls themselves a journalist. It will also look at some of the ethical issues facing online journalists. Students will also learn how the web works and gain experience in creating web pages. Students will explore both the practice and theory of online journalism by collectively maintaining an online publication. The course runs full-time over two weeks.
 
Radio Journalism
This course offers a practical introduction to the skills needed in radio journalism, covering everything from fast-paced bulletin work to the richness and depth of longer packages – the features of the airwaves. The course includes live broadcasting experience on campus. Full-time over two weeks, followed by requirements for further practical work in students’ own time.
 
Reporting on Children
This course, run in conjunction with the Media Monitoring Project (MMP), is for journalists concerned about the relationship between the media and children, both as subjects and consumers of the media. Students will identify and unpack the impact that poor coverage of children media can have on the children, develop practical strategies to achieve a human rights-centred approach to reporting on children, access children for diverse and informed perspectives and have access to relevant child experts, integrate the learnings and experiences of other journalists and experts into the way in which children’s stories are reported
 
Television Journalism
On this course you will learn to research, write and produce a piece of television journalism with the opportunity to have it broadcast on etv’s 24 hour news channel. You will learn skills in writing for television and how to tell stories using pictures. You will gain an understanding of the entire production and editorial process involved in producing television news and current affairs. The course is practical and will require a time commitment of at least one month.
 
Second Semester (July-Oct)

Creating Media
Write your own plan for a new media product - for print, the web or broadcasting. This involves understanding such aspects as audiences, research, content, financial and various management issues. Weekly seminars.
 
Photojournalism
This introductory course is for journalists and beginners who want to learn the technique and language of photojournalism. The course will combine hands-on workshops and classroom-based reading and discussions around the role, practice and ethics of the profession. Students will be expected to produce a portfolio. There will be guest lecturers and photojournalists who will share their experiences with the class. This course is run as a combination of weekly seminars and full-day workshops.
 
Financial Journalism
This course is for those who want to specialize or any journalist who wants to conquer the language of business and finance. At the end of the course, journalists should understand basic principles/techniques of how to cover the economy – with a focus on fiscal and monetary policy, companies, the equities and commodities markets. They should have mastered writing on technical subjects clearly and without jargon. They should have a particular understanding of reporting the Reserve Bank and the National Treasury. They should also have basic skills to cover markets and general business. This course can be followed by our Advanced Financial Journalism course (to be introduced in first semester 2010). Weekly evening classes.
 
Investigative Journalism
This course will teach advanced contemporary researching and reporting techniques such as computer assisted reporting (CAR), advanced internet research, information mapping, forensic financial reporting and using FOIA. Students will also look at the role, practice and ethics of investigative work. Students will undertake an investigative project under supervision in partnership with the Justice Project. Weekly seminars.
 
Journalism for Communicators B
This course is for journalists or communicators in the government, private or NGO sectors, who either have extensive writing experience or have completed our Journalism for Communicators course with at least 65%. It deals with more advanced writing skills, such as feature writing, narrative skills, writing columns and opinion. Weekly seminars.
 
New Media
The media in which journalists work is changing at lightning speed – newspaper journalists are required to write blogs, even shoot video, radio stations devote huge resources to an online presence. On this course you will learn about the latest trends in new media journalism (including mobile media) and make experimental content for it.
 
 
Notes
All inquiries and applications to the programme administrator at jouninfo@wits.ac.za, or call 011 717 2048.
 
Students passing any of these courses will receive a Wits University Certificate of Competence. If students are accepted into Honours, they can apply for up to two of these courses to be credited towards their degree.
 
These courses do not run every year, depending on demand and the availability of teachers. Please note that entry to all courses is subject to the agreement of the course coordinator since some courses may require minimum levels of previous experience.
 
All certificate courses cost R4 500.