Journalism and Politics

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 5
• Convenor: to be confirmed
• Assessment: a presentation (20%), 2000-word essay (30%) and 3000-word essay (50%)

In this module we critically examine contemporary trends in British mainstream and alternative media - from print and radio to television and online. Key issues to be explored include the social construction of news values, freedom of speech, globalisation of the news industry, the culture of journalism, the impact of postmodernism, the 'tabloidisation' of political and current affairs journalism, the ethics of war reporting, gender, the impact of new technologies, and satire.

Indicative syllabus

• Media, democracy and the public sphere
• The political economy of media
• Political journalism: Westminster
• The organisational structures and norms of journalism
• Journalist and official source relations
• Television networks, agenda-setting and policy-making
• Public opinion and polling
• The future of investigative journalism
• Political scandal and accountability