BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism

at Bournemouth University

Foundation year

Core units

• Academic & Professional Practice: You will build your confidence in both academic and professional skills. This unit will cover the academic skills which will be required at degree level study and you’ll practice them throughout the unit with support from key university services including the library and study skills team. There will also be the opportunity for you to reflect on and develop your own professional skills through interactions with employers, careers services and online resources. 
• Collaborative Communication Project: The unit focuses on the centrality of communicaiton, both as a process and as a project. Through the collaborative development of a communication solution to a specific communication problem, the unit aims to promote the principles and practices of team-based iterative project work. 
• Media & Current Debates: You will be introduced to a) the important role and responsibilities of the news media within democratic societies and b) the varied nature of reporting of key events, issues and debates within the contemporary 24/7 news cycle. You will gain an essential level of understanding of what constitues news and what the work of journalists entails. You will also develop an awareness and appreciation of differing coverage of particular stories by a range of news organisations. 
• Media Work: You will become familiar with a range of profiles and career paths in the communication and media industries and be inspired to reflect on and develop your own professional identity. Through case studies of seminal campaigns, programmes and artefacts, profiles of ground-breaking personalities, masterclasses from industry professionals, and guest talks from BU staff who have worked or currently work in marketing, PR, media production, journalism and communications, you will encounter and interact with diverse role models, career trajectories, and types of profressional practice. 

Year 1

Core units

• News and Storytelling: You'll learn the key principles and practices of journalism, being introduced to news gathering and production techniques. 
• Broadcast Journalism: An introduction to radio and television journalism, covering the concepts and techniques of newsgathering, video and audio storytelling, interviewing, writing for your audience and video production.
• Journalism and Society: You'll learn about the workings of central and local governmentas well as political and economic processes as they relate to journalism in society.
• Research for Journalism: You'll be equiped with the theoretical underpinnings and practical skills needed to practise journalism as research.
• Media Law: You'll learn all about confidentiality, copyright, defamation and contempt and the laws governing reporting for print and broadcast.
• Digital Storytelling: You'll be introduced to online, interactive, non-linear, and mobile journalism, exploring innovative storytelling practices.
• Shorthand 1: This unit aims to improve your employability skills by developing and demonstrating an ability to write and transcribe Teeline shorthand.

You will be required to complete a 4-week placement by the end of your final year.

Year 2

Core units

• Broadcast Sports Journalism: You'll be introduced to the key principles of broadcast sports journalism whilst extending knowledge of core concepts and skills associated with video and audio journalism.
• News and Storytelling 2: This practice-based unit covers the key principles and practices of journalism. There will be a particular focus on ensuring you can produce fair, accurate and balanced journalism under deadline pressure.
• Issues and Controversies in Sport, Culture and Society: Explore key contemporary issues surrounding sport through a variety of social sciences perspectives.
• Journalism research methods: You'll learn both the conceptual tools and practical approaches needed in researching the production and content of media texts, alongside consumption by audiences.
• Sports World: You'll consider different stories required at each stage of the sports news cycle and explore sports poltiics, sports public affairs and key sporting issues
• 21st Century Journalist (optional): You'll evaluating the sustainability and value of existing media products whilst developing awareness of the technical, legal, creative and business principles and practices of the publishing agency and how they apply to different sectors.
• Global Current Affairs (optional): Provides an understanding of developments in news, technology and geo-cultural systems. Students evaluate different interpretations of the concept of ‘globalisation’.
• Photojournalism (optional): You'll learn about how narrative and images interact, through various forms of photojournalism including sports, anthropological and smartphone photography, linking these to understanding cultural influences and technological advances.  

• Shorthand 2 (optional): This unit aims to enhance your employability by developing and demonstrating an ability to write and transcribe Teeline shorthand.

You will be required to complete a 4-week placement by the end of your final year.

Entry requirements:
 

For September 2022 and September 2023 entry: 104 - 120 UCAS tariff points including a minimum of two A-levels or equivalent. BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM. Foundation year: 48 - 72 UCAS tariff points. 

International entry requirements:

For September 2022 and September 2023 entry: If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in writing and 6.0 in all other components, or equivalent. For more information, check out our international entry requirements.

​Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. 
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses.
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or it can be purchased separately
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. 
• Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable)
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study
• SportBU membership.

Careers

The 24-hour news cycle has changed the way that sports journalists work and report. This course prepares you for a job in this field, where you will be expected to work across a range of channels and use a variety of mediums.

The course will prepare you for a wide variety of positions, depending on the area in which you want to specialise. 

Typical starting job roles

Our journalism graduates currently work in the following fields:

• National and regional football reporting
• Sky Sports presenting
• National and regional online sports reporting and writing
• Writing for national sports magazines
• Freelance reporting across the media
• Producing media content for football clubs, including AFC Bournemouth

Bournemouth University enjoys an enviable professional reputation and is respected for its journalism across the media industry. We strive to professionally develop our aspiring journalists and empower them to reimagine our media world.