News Agencies (22094)
Degree course: Journalism Undergraduate level
Course: Third and Fourth Year
Trimester: Second and Third
Number of ECTS credits: 4 credits
Number of study hours (approx): 100 hours (40 presential + 60 outside class)
Language of instruction: English
Course instructors: Christopher Tulloch (UPF)/Gaspar Pericay (CNA)
1. Course presentation
This course has a triple mission i) to bring students closer to the professional newsroom dynamics of news agencies ii) to understand the position, needs and corporate responsibilities of news agencies and iii) to elaborate quality, professional level English language content for the subscribers to the global online news agency, the Catalan News Agency. This course is offered at the UPF thanks to an agreement signed with the UPF in 2010.
2. Course content
2.1. Analysis of the first news agencies: Havas, Reuters, Wolff i AP.
2.2. Radiography of the current situation and priorities of the biggest agencies.
2.3. Main characteristics of a news agency: business model as "information wholesaler": distribution networks, subscribers, territorial presence, photography service, multimedia products...
2.4. Writing in English for a news agency
2.5. Introduction to the CNA model: style, ideology, particularities
2.6. Production of news stories (up to 50 hours)
2.7. Obligatory tutorials for linguistic and stylistic correction
2.8. Weekly editorial meetings with CNA Editor: planning, agenda, accreditations, taask sharing...
2.9. Visit to the CNA newsroom
3. Grading
Each "News Agencies" student journalist must dedicate a minimum of 50 hours to the production of news stories over a ten-week period of sufficient quality to be published at www.catalannewsagency.com. There are three ways of reaching this figure:
-news article 1: is an "adaptation" or reworking of a story already published on the CNA website. This is worth 2 hours.
-news article 2: this is an article loosely based on an original story on the ACN website but which is significantly reworked by the student: the text is longer, has more sources, more data...This is worth 4 hours.
-news article 3: feature stories that can be worth between 8-10 hours depending on the amount of work involved. These stories must be defended in an Editorial Meeting and must be well structured, with private sources, interviews, photographs etc.
The students combines the three formulas to reach 50 hours. When grading, the course instructor will take into account the professional manner in which the student has worked, the focus and relevance of his or her work, the methodology employed and the way the article is finally presented.
4. Bibliography and didactic tools
4.1. Basic bibliography
BOYD-BARRETT, O. News Agencies in the Turbulent Era of the Internet. Barcelona: Lexicon, 2009
NOGUE, Anna. Llibre d'Estil de la ACN. Barcelona: 2009
OLMOS, Victor. Historia de la Agencia EFE: El mundo en español. 1997.
READ, Donald. The Power of News: The History of Reuters. Oxford: OUP, 1992.
ASSOCIATED PRESS. Breaking The News. How the Associated Press has covered war. Peace and Everything Else. Princeton Architectural press, 2007.
ASSOCIATED PRESS, AP Stylebook and Libel Manual With Appendixes on Photo Captions, Filing the Wire. Addison Wesley Pub. Inc.
4.2. Complementary bibliography
BOYD-BARRETT, O. The International News Agencies. California, SAGE.
BOYD-BARRETT, O. The Globalization of News. London: SAGE 1998.
SHRIVASTAVA, B. News agencies. From pidgeon to Internet. London: New Dawn, 2007.
4.3. Additional references
n The European Alliance of News Agencies
n The Alliance of Mediterranean News Agencies
n World Council of News Agencies
n http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmm/news.html
n http://www.parstimes.com/media/agencies/
+ daily consultation of Reuters, AP, UPI, EFE and ACN
5. Methodology
The first two weeks of the course include language translation tests and are dedicated to the workings of a news agency. There are four theoretical classes which culminate in a trip to the CNA newsroom. As from week three, class dynamics change. The first day of each week (Mondays) is dedicated to dealing with news writing issues: grammar, focus, balance, objectivity, headlining and so on. For the second session of the week (Wednesdays) the CNA editor joins the classroom to lead the Editorial Meeting when stories are planned, calendars and news agendas are brought into play, accreditation demands are filed and provisions are made. Once the stories are written they are sent to the UPF teaching staff for their definitive correction. Once past this filter the texts are sent to the website for publication.
6. Chronogram/Programming
Week 1 : Presentation of the course and the agency CNA. Linguistic trials. Analysis of the major national and international news agencies.
Week 2 : Agency style guide in English, Visit to the CNA newsroom.
Weeks 3-5: Article production phase 1. Students must complete at least 20 hours' work to continue on the course
Weeks 6-10. News story production up to 50 required hours.