The successful candidate will primarily teach on the School’s BA(Hons) Magazine Journalism & Feature Writing.

BA (Hons) Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing involves the study of magazine publishing together with associated theories relating to media and cultural studies. The successful candidate will teach the various units that explore the theoretical aspects of journalism and semiotic analysis.

Ideally, you will have a background in theoretical teaching as well as experience of print/web publishing. You will have conducted research into an area relevant to the degree (details of which can be found on the Solent University website) and will be able to apply your theoretical discussions to the practical aspects of the course. An appreciation of historical perspectives combined with an understanding of developments within industry is expected.

Specifications and application forms available here

Leveson Evidence on Ethics Training

Discussion of the value of academic research into journalism is the focus of the third instalment of a study based on the attitudes and experiences of lecturers within the Association for Journalism Education (AJE). Results are published in the January 2012 issue of the peer-reviewed academic journal Journalism: theory, practice and criticism in an article by Tony Harcup called ‘Questioning the “bleeding obvious”: what’s the point of researching journalism?’.

Tony, who teaches at the University of Sheffield, concludes: ‘Whether the motivation is to increase general levels of media literacy, to explore what new skills may be required by journalists, to facilitate more critical forms of journalism, or to enhance the role of journalism as a crucial watchdog within democracy – or all these motivations and more – the evidence suggests that a belief in a questioning and reflective approach that embraces critical scholarship and research is gaining ground within journalism education.’

In the first two instalments of the study, published in Journalism Practice, the survey of AJE members found that many journalists-turned-journalism-educators are currently doing little or no academic research, and suggested a series of measures that university journalism departments could adopt to support journalists in becoming published scholars.

Tony’s research project was supported with a bursary from the AJE. The full research findings can be found in Journalism Practice 5(1) and 5(2), and Journalism: theory, practice and criticism 13(1).

It’s open to all students on postgraduate journalism courses in the UK. The College is looking for the most talented of the next generation of journalists who are using genuinely new and innovative ways of working.

David writes:

“The criteria are deliberately wide. We would love to see examples of multimedia and multiplatform working, new ways of crowdsourcing, info-graphics, the use of data and social media; with the cornerstone of good, solid journalism.

We be officially launched the award this month, with the closing date for entries at the end of April.

The award will be presented at a major BBC College of Journalism conference at the BBC’s new home at MediaCityUK in Salford. The presentation will take place in front of some of the key industry figures, and the event represents a fantastic opportunity to network and showcase your work.

The winner and shortlisted candidates will have their work shown on both the College of Journalism and BBC Academy websites. The overall winner will also be offered work experience at the BBC.

We believe this is a great opportunity for us to work more closely with the UK’s journalism schools and to give students the chance to engage with the BBC.

If it’s of any help, I or one of my colleagues would be more than happy to come to talk to you and your students about the award, the idea behind it, and the wider work of the BBC College of Journalism.

If you’d like a bit more information, please find a link to an article I’ve written about the award, on the BBC College of Journalism website.”

They also don’t generally develop the skills that journalism degrees aim for: original research, for example; flexibility in style; or an exploration of professional context.

And I’m not alone: most journalism tutors, when looking for an assignment to give or weighing up a student’s proposal, will run a mile from anything aimed at students. “Go write for the student newspaper if you want to do that.”

Lazy

But I think my instinctive aversion has been wrong. I think it’s as lazy as the ideas I’ve criticised. And I think it means missing an enormous opportunity.

Traditionally, one of the biggest strengths of the regional journalist was their connection to the communities they reported on. They knew the issues; they knew who to speak to in those communities (and not just who published the press releases); they knew their readers; and they saw the impact of their work.

University students, in contrast, are perhaps at a stage in their life when they are least connected to any community. They are often living in a town or city they have no history in; they are unlikely to run businesses, or belong to any industrial or professional culture; few have children in the local education and health systems. They are inbetweeners.

It is possibly the worst time in somebody’s life to expect them to do journalism.

And the one thing that they are connected to – student life – we steer them away from.

A New Year’s resolution

So I have a New Year’s resolution for 2012: I’m going to change the habit that I’ve acquired from a decade in teaching journalism.

For the first time I am going to assign my students – just one group – a project focused on students.

It will still build those essential skills: original research; flexibility of style; professional context. But those skills will be built upon a knowledge that what they will be doing will have a large audience, and can make a real difference to them.

That means that I will be expecting more. Because they already know the community they are writing about, I will be expecting them to hit the ground running with original leads and story ideas – not trying to hit a story quota with press releases or superficial he-said-she-said conflicts.

Because the project will be online-only, I will be expecting them to be exploring new ways of engaging – and collaborating – with the most connected audiences in the country.

And because they are personally affected by the systems they are reporting on – from employment law and tenants’ rights to student councils and representation – I will be expecting them to research the system itself: where power and accountability lies; where the money goes, and why.

As a result, I’m hoping that students will develop an understanding of how to investigate systems in any field – transferring their experiences of investigating education into investigating the health system, welfare system, local government, or anything else.

I’ll be using Help Me Investigate Education as a space to help them build that knowledge, and those connections, and to collaborate with journalism students and others across the UK. If you have a class that you want to get involved, I’d be happy to help.

And there are plenty of stories to be told. Like any transient population, students are subject to many abuses of power. In 2012 I want to see if, given the opportunity, student journalists can hold that power to account.

Originally posted on the Online Journalism Blog

The seminar, hosted by the Department of Journalism and Publishing at Kingston University, will explore what publishing education offers and whether it matters.

The aim of the day is to ensure that those offering publishing education are developing and researching in areas useful to the industry and allied fields, and are seeking to meet both the industry’s current and anticipated staffing and skills needs.

The sessions will also look to sharpen appreciation from both industry and academia as to what is available, discuss the associated transferrable skills and benefits, and provide a forum for discussion.

There are a range of key academic speakers and industry experts including Richard Mollet, Publishers Association; Alison Baverstock, Kingston University; Samantha Raynor, Anglia Ruskin University; and Alan Samson from Weidenfield & Nicholson.

I’m particularly looking forward to taking part in the ‘Any Questions’ style debate around curriculum, support for industry-based research and making work placements benefit all. Lively discussion is guaranteed!

The conference programme is below. Tickets are available to book online here.

Tuesday 17th January 2012

9.00 Onwards, coffee and refreshments available

9.30 Introduction and welcome. Professor Martin McQuillan, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,

Kingston University

9.40 Chair’s introduction: Alison Baverstock, Kingston University

‘It’s not what I did’ The history of Publishing within academia and the validity of Publishing as a subject for study – Professor Clare Squires, Stirling University

10.00 Publisher Education: the common curriculum

What is being taught and why – Nick Canty, UCL

Keeping it current. How we ensure the curriculum is up-to-date – and decide what to add – Melanie Ramdarshan-Bold, Loughborough University

Questions

10.45 What responsibility does the publishing industry have towards those who a) enrol for and b) deliver Publishing Education? – Richard Mollet, Chief Executive, Publishers Association

11.15 Coffee

11.30 The research being carried out. A round-up of current research being developed within Publishing Education Dr Samantha Rayner, Anglia Ruskin University

12.00 ‘I’d like to go to Faber please’ The role of the placement: cost/value equations; associated systems and support; the experience of both student and host. Is it worth it? – Ian Grant, MD, Encyclopedia Britannica, Tony Mulliken, Chairman, Midas PR, HR Manager

12.45 Summing up of the morning

1.00 Lunch

1.45 Open Forum A debate, Any Questions style, covering three important issues: 1) What should be on the curriculum, or be actively discussed, within Publishing courses? 2) How can we provide better support for the industry-based research being done within institutions offering Publishing Education? How can the industry both access and benefit? 3) How can we ensure the placement experience works to the short/ long term benefit of all?

Alan Samson Publisher, Weidenfeld & Nicolson; Ruth Killick, Publicity Director, Profile Books; Bobby Nayyar, Consultant Development Manager, DIPNET; Suzanne Kavanagh, Publishing Sector Manager, Skillset; and the director of a Publishing course.

3.15 Round up of the day, conclusions and recommendations

3.30 Conference closes with tea and time for further discussion

Originally published on the Skillset Blog.

Magazine Editing is one of those books that I’ve used for years in my teaching. Unlike most books in the field, it has a healthy focus on the less glamorous aspects of running magazines, such as managing teams and budgets, editorial strategy, and the significant proportion of the industry – B2B, contract publishing, controlled-circulation, subscription-based – that you don’t see on supermarket shelves.

For the third edition, publishers Routledge approached me to update the book for a multiplatform age. That work is now done – and the new edition is now out.

Although it now has my name on it, the book remains primarily the work of John Morrish, who wrote the first two editions of the book. Editing his work gave me a fresh appreciation of just what a timeless job he has done in identifying the skills needed by magazine editors – as I write in the introduction:

“It is striking how much of the advice in the book is more important than ever. In a period of enormous change it is key to focus on the core skills of magazine editing: clear leadership, effective management, people skills and creative thinking around what exactly it is that your readers are buying into – whether that’s printed on paper, pixels on a screen, or something intangible like a sense of community and belonging.”

So if you can find one of the older editions cheap, you’ll still find it useful.

So what did I add to the new edition of Magazine Editing? It goes without saying that digital magazines (web-only, apps) are now covered. The diversification of revenue models – the increased importance of events, merchandising, data, mobile and apps – is now explored, as well as how online advertising works, and how it differs from traditional advertising. How to use online resources, including web analytics, to better understand your audience and inform your editorial strategy; and how magazine campaigns are changed by the dynamics of the web.

The chapter on leading and managing now includes sections on managing information overload, social bookmarking and social media policies, and there’s a new section on legal guidance on placements and internships. The budgeting sections now include online considerations, and there’s an exploration of the pros and cons of using free or minimal cost third party services against building tools in-house. A passage from the section on ‘Making money online’ is illustrative of the shifts facing the industry:

UPDATE: Readers of this blog can now get a 20% discount off the book by using the code ME1211 when ordering on the Routledge site.

Help Me Investigate: Networks will involve a number of journalism departments in supporting students to produce journalism investigating one of the following areas: education, health, welfare, and the Olympics.

The aim is for students and lecturers to be able to exchange tips and ideas, gain access to a wider range of journalists and expertise, and combine their work to expand regional stories into national ones. A teaching pack to support this is available, and the sites are already starting to build a set of common resources and contacts. National and regional news organisations are also involved. If you need more details please contact me by e-mail