BA (Hons) Sports Journalism and Communications Bachelor's degree at the University of Derby

Students will learn how to write stories and match reports skills so that they can report on different sports disciplines. The lessons will cover sports such as rugby, cricket, tennis, horse racing and athletics. Students will also learn how to write stories about issues that emerge in sports, for example, controversies. You will learn how to conduct post-event interviews and longer-form interviews with athletes. There are opportunities to participate in major European multi-sport events and in the past students have attended the Commonwealth Games (Birmingham 2022) and European Championships (Glasgow 2018, Minsk 2019). These type of events enable students to cover a diverse selection of spo

Assessment: Coursework

This module provides an introduction to video journalism within football and sport. You will develop an understanding of how to find and construct stories for video platforms. You will also be introduced to key journalistic and technical skills required for producing interview-based video content. There is also a focus on shooting live events such as matches. The module will concentrate on how you undertake video interviews remotely and in person. Recording interviews in high quality and gathering additional general shots to help in the edit and learn the key skills to create video content. There will be some focus on filming sports events i.e. football matches and an introduction to writing

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

Journalism in Society introduces students to key debates about the role of journalists, the news and media industries. You will learn how news production has changed in response to audiences, and technologies and understand the impact journalism has on society. There will be an emphasis on changing business modules, ownership and structures and representation of groups in society. There will be an examination of news values, news agenda, ownership, representation of different groups and an overarching look at how journalism operates in liberal democracies but also parts of the Global South.

Assessment: Coursework

This module is designed to equip you with an understanding of media law regulation and how it applies to your journalism and what can be legally published. Through the analysis of real-world case studies, you will explore how these laws and regulations have influenced storytelling. You will learn about criminal and civil law, along with the various codes of practice which impact journalists and their work. This module will provide students with a clear insight into laws and regulations which are applicable to journalists today. You will examine the legal, regulatory and ethical structures which not only restrain but assist journalists working on all platforms. You will study how new technolo

Assessment: Coursework, Exam

This practice-based module will provide students with an introduction to core sports journalism skills, focusing on what makes news and basic writing. Structure, intros, identifying story angles and the importance of style guides, grammar and accuracy will all be explored with plenty of opportunities for students to write pieces of journalism and hone their skills. This module is designed to introduce you to the basic practical skills of journalistic writing. You will learn the importance of grammar, spelling and punctuation. You will also learn about style and structure. It will unpick the individual elements of writing through the study of professional content, and then taking this learnin

Assessment: Coursework

This module introduces students to social media and how it is used by journalists to find and share stories. Social media channels are important tools and are also used by sports organisations and sports clubs. In this module, you will learn how social media channels function and how sports journalists use them to break news, build trust, connections and contacts and build an audience. Sharing and cross-promoting your work will also be examined. Students will study how journalists use social media to report a variety of sports news and content. We will also look at cross-promoting your content. Building the right journalistic content for the right channel or taking a long-form story on Story

Assessment: Coursework

This module examines how sports clubs, governing bodies and organisations use communication and PR to manage the messages they wish to articulate. Learning how they communicate with their audiences is important for media researchers and practitioners. You look at both the reactive and proactive forms of that communication and learn about the internal operations of such organisations. There is a focus on internal frameworks, structures of governance and economics and how they relate to the communications department. We will look at the various channels sports clubs use to communicate their message and how they use those channels to connect with their audience on a day-to-day basis and also in

Assessment: Coursework

This module will enable you to create impactful sports-related journalistic content by further developing the basic digital and broadcast journalism skills learned in your first year. You will use these skills to create a portfolio of content and to produce high-quality sports stories during practice and assessed real-world news day simulations. These news days will also help you to hone your teamworking, organisational and communication abilities. Learning will focus on developing key sports journalism skills by considering the editorial and technical requirements of producing content for different platforms. Students will be given the opportunity to put these skills into practice by creati

Assessment: Coursework

This module provides you with an opportunity to advance your video skills. It will further your appreciation and understanding of the creative and technical processes involved in the production of video journalism in sport/football. It will also enable you to contextualise your practice within contemporary journalism and give you a deeper understanding of ethics, regulation, copyright, and audiences. You will develop ways to create compelling video output and refine your appreciation of how to construct stories in pictures and sound. Sequencing, telling stories with pictures, filming and creating content that involves football action – including matches/events/training. Editing other content

Assessment: Coursework

This module looks behind the headlines at key issues and debates that directly influence sport, and athletes and considers how audiences understood them. There is an examination of athlete abuse, diversity and inequality, racism, transgender identity debates and sustainability. These issues not only shape how sport is portrayed by the media but directly impacts sports personalities and athletes directly. This module will critically examine current topical issues across the spectrum of sport and prepare students to report on sensitive, controversial and investigative issues. The workshops will combine a lecture and seminar approach and will the media portrayal of issues such as LGBTQ and homo

Assessment: Coursework

E-sports is a growing sector and playing an increasingly influential role in sports journalism more widely. This module critically examines the sector; the opportunities for growth, and how it is represented by journalists. You will learn how to write and produce e-sports content as a journalist or a content creator and learn how to present analytical data in engaging news content. This module will look at how the industry of E-Sports is growing, and how it brands and markets itself. We will then look at the various ways in which journalists can cover the industry. We will explore how to adapt the use of traditional media, social media and live broadcasting to cover E-Sports events. We will

Assessment: Coursework

This module will look at a variety of contemporary fashion journalism from the catwalk to fashion influencers. You will learn what it’s like to produce stories and content about this multi-faceted industry and the impact it has on a global community. There is a focus on the broad audiences who consume fashion and their needs, as well as an examination of current issues which impact us all, including sustainability In this module, you will look at and analyse fashion journalism content across different media such as print, online, social media (YouTube), blogs, video and podcasting. You will also gain an understanding of what it’s like to work within the fashion industry and how fashion influ

Assessment: Coursework

In this module, students’ writing skills are further developed so that they learn long-form journalism techniques to write compelling features. You will learn about the different specialist writing techniques required to produce long-form journalism and learn to conduct depth interviews. Research skills to source information and adding colour to newswriting will also be explored. There is a focus on advanced writing skills to produce long-form journalism and longer in-depth interviews. The module also reviews and appraises features and looks at the changing economic market conditions for feature writers and publishers and the constraints in which they work within.

Assessment: Coursework

This module is designed to enhance your knowledge and understanding of a diverse range of content creation methods at the forefront of digital/mobile journalism and explore the future of trends associated with content creation. The focus of the module is on how to use smart devices and associated technologies to tell the story and understand how your audience views content on those devices. Mobile journalism is not just about how to create content on your smart device but also about how you access, interact and engage with content using it. You will learn how to recognise the importance of matching your story with appropriate technology in terms of both platform and multimedia to enhance the

Assessment: Coursework

Design and layout are fundamental skills for journalists and this module will equip you with the tools and knowledge to produce appealing printed pages. You will learn design theory and the software that is used to enable the production of print publications. In this module, you will learn how to design and produce simple printed pages for print publications. Workshops will give you the basic skills for using the latest industry publishing software and you will combine this knowledge with the study of layout, typography, imagery, and other design elements. You will critique the work of professionals, looking at the wide diversity of designs used to capture the imagination of different audien

Assessment: Coursework

Overall the module is intended to provide students with an integrated approach to assessing the financial performance of sport organisations, examining the business sector that the sport organisation operates within and to give the student the necessary skills to make informed management planning and control decisions. Students will be introduced to the theoretical perspectives and develop the practical tools to maintain alignment with the changing landscape of business. Meeting corporate targets is a practice one expects to support the continuing growth and development of the business. A manager should be able to evaluate an organisation (in the context of a changing business environment),

Assessment: Coursework

They say the best way to learn about journalism is by doing journalism – and this is exactly what Multi-Platform Journalism News Days module is all about. This module will show you how it feels to be part of a creative team, working together towards strict deadlines to produce multi-platform content in a simulated real-world newsroom environment. You will prepare for – and participate in - news days across all platforms of journalism, working in groups to meet the challenges of a live scenario with fixed goals. You will then consider how you have developed from these experiences. You will take on a number of assignments and participate in scheduled learning where you will work on location an

Assessment: Coursework

This module forms part of the placement year typically completed between the second and final stage of a degree programme. The module provides a framework for the development of reflective skills appropriate to all areas of professional practice including for example aspects of problem solving such as objective setting, planning, negotiating, demonstrating, and reflecting. The emphasis in this module is on the analysis and evaluation of work completed within the organisation and future employability planning. During the module students will develop a reflective portfolio where they record the skills, knowledge and experience developed during the placement experience and evaluate how this wil

Assessment: Coursework

This module will explore how social media channels are managed from a content creation and brand management perspective. There will be an examination of how sporting organisations use social media to expand the brand of the business. This includes studying the tools they use: imagery, copy, long and short-form video and other forms of rich media. We will explore a multitude of brands here from media companies, betting brands, clothing companies, football clubs and individual players and managers to understand how they use social media to achieve their very different goals. We will also learn how to work in the high-pressure environment of a live event day and you will be taught how to cover

Assessment: Coursework

This module provides the opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of work independently on a topic of your choice related to the journalism discipline. Students will be expected to devise their own topic and method with staff acting as support advisors. The final product can be an academic dissertation or a practical project/magazine that demonstrates professional skills. The topic can build upon themes studies across your Journalism degree or investigate and research new areas. Semester 1 is timetabled for learning and support activity, ethics, permissions, methods for dissertation, and pre-production support (audiences, identify gaps in the media market for your projects or magazine) c

Assessment: Coursework

This module will enable students to understand key sources of quantitative data such as economic and climate data, household and longitudinal surveys and their application to policy, and contemporary ideas and debates. Students will be familiarised with basic techniques in data handling, reliability and validity, sampling, correlation and causality, multiple, multivariate regression, and spatial analysis. They will also consider contemporary developments in data visualisations and communication. Within journalism, data is increasingly being used in innovative ways to elaborate, corroborate or contextualise stories and features, with many investigative or political reporters making use of dat

Assessment: Coursework

This module seeks to provide a realistic experience of content production in digital journalism. This is a practice-based module where you will work both individually and as part of an editorial news team to plan, create content, and produce packages for a digital platform using professional workflows and editorial criteria. You will work towards developing management and tactical skills to help you produce multimedia, digital content to deadline, culminating in an assessed news day to simulate a real-world learning environment. The module will explore the latest emerging technologies and techniques in the digital journalism industry, as well as best-practice in both content production and d

Assessment: Coursework

This module will allow students to develop skills in research, preparation and presentation and understand the techniques required to be a commentator. It will teach how to produce professional commentary both live and pre/post-match including communicating the narrative of the game and the potential talking points associated with it. There will also be a focus on the legalities of live broadcasting and the editorial values which dictate it. The module will emphasise the importance for commentators to be prepared and will therefore explore how to prepare detailed notes and undertake in-depth research in order to present a commentary for a specific audience. Students will also learn vocal ski

Assessment: Coursework

Podcasting is an influential way to share news and information. This module furthers your appreciation and understanding of the creative and technical processes involved in the production of live and pre-recorded radio journalism, how they differ and who they inform. It will enable you to contextualise your practice within contemporary journalism including issues such as ethics, regulation, editorial policy, and audiences. You will develop ways to present compelling ideas for factual audio output. With guidance, you will generate your own content to broadcast live radio news and record a podcast. You will be taught the principle, and advanced techniques on both of these platforms featuring e

Assessment: Coursework, Practical

The majority of UK sports coverage concentrates on key sports such as football, cricket, rugby and tennis. However, there is a vast number of grassroots, amateur and elite sport operating nationally and secures very little coverage across mainstream media. This module allows students to learn in more depth about so-called ‘minority sports’ to understand the challenges these sports face in gaining access to national media platforms. Students will learn new methods of reporting on sports. Learning will give a critical overview of how finances, gender and lack of support from national sporting organisation influence what sports secure media coverage. Lessons will consider which groups of people

Assessment: Coursework

This module aims to prepare you for employment after graduation by highlighting essential steps, freelancing and getting you to consider your career aspirations. The module will support you enabling you to participate and complete work opportunities in the industry, build contacts, enhance your portfolio of work and identify your professional development goals. This module focuses on getting you ready for employment. You will consider your professional development aspirations after completing 75 hours (10 days) of industry work placements and/or freelance projects. It will take you through the skills and attributes needed in your future career, including: Time management Planning for work Fi

Assessment: Coursework

Do you have a business idea? Whether it’s launching a website, or social media agency, becoming an influencer, podcaster or specialist freelance writer, this module enables you to develop your idea, formulate your plans and set yourself on the journey to potential business success. In today’s multi-channel environment, many journalists work for themselves, running small online sites, selling their journalistic work as a freelance or adopting a hybrid approach of working for a media organisation part-time and running their own business too. This module you help you navigate the self-employment route. This module covers the technical side of setting up and running your own business, and the en

Assessment: Coursework

This module is aimed at students interested in working in video or TV. It builds on the Newsroom module from Level 5, with a pure focus on video/television journalism. Various practise News Days will hone students’ skills and teamwork abilities as they build up to an assessed News Day, in which the challenge will be to produce a professional-standard 10-minute programme. Students will work in groups on their productions but also to analyse a TV news or sports programme of their choice. They will need to present to the wider group – and field questions – on their editorial, technical, legal or regulatory conclusions. Practice and Assessed News Days The editorial and technical requirements of

Assessment: Coursework