About MPJ class

The core purpose of the multiplatform journalism course is, like many other journalism courses, to foster students’ storytelling and critical-thinking skills and make them better journalists. Whereas other classes may focus on building these skills in the context of a print or broadcast newsroom, this class teaches these skills across platforms—students will learn how to use video and photos with text to tell stories and how to use social media as storytelling tools. They also will learn how to evaluate when it is appropriate to use these tools, as well as why it is important to consider the impact of these technologies on the communication process.

Course objectives

As students learn the technical skills they need to work in the digital news environment, they also will engage in ongoing discussions of how doing journalism across a variety of platforms is changing the profession and its principles, and explore the larger social implications of these changes. Thus, the key objectives for multiplatform journalism are:

  • To train students to work across platforms, producing reports that uphold journalistic principles and engage audiences
  • To facilitate students’ development of thoughtful, reasoned evaluations regarding the role of technology in journalists’ professional lives and in the worldwide digital revolution

More specifically, as we progress through the semester’s assignments, students will learn to work across platforms as they:

  • Evaluate various reporting projects produced by news professionals
  • Plan and produce reporting projects that include written and visual components
  • Create reporting packages that use current software programs and digital technology
  • Apply social media tools in the reporting and distribution processes of their projects

Through class discussions and assignments, students’ critical-thinking skills will be nurtured as they:

  • Evaluate how doing journalism on a variety of platforms is changing the profession
  • Assess how technology has affected global communication and the public sphere

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