Music Journalism BA (Hons)

This module will introduce you to the skills, knowledge and experiences which are foundational to the theory and practice of journalism. You'll learn to find newsworthy stories and interview the people behind them.

Newswriting is a very specific form, bound by established rules and principles. You'll learn how to write news in exactly the same way professional reporters do.

You'll also be introduced to the core aspects of multimedia production; for example, the basics of video and audio, which you'll develop much further later in your degree,

As well as starting your news storytelling journey, you'll pursue content specific to your pathway and interests, whether that's writing about sport, music, culture, politics, fashion, entertainment -  there are such a huge range of stories waiting to be told.

You'll be taught how to make your content legally safe and ethically secure, helping prepare you for a potential future in professional reporting, so that from the very outset of your practical reporting you are abiding by news industry standards.

This module is all about you and your fellow students breaking news and telling stories in real time. Getting the news out to set deadlines and real audiences across a variety of media platforms, including the Chester Student Media website and the Chester Student Radio station.

You'll be working on real-time live newsdays, during which you'll be required to source stories, undertake research, interview people in the city (and maybe beyond!).

You'll deploy all the methods of reporting you've acquired in the Introduction to Storytelling module (CS4200). These highly transferable skills include writing for different media platforms, interviewing, photography, as well as basic approaches to audio and video storytelling. You'll also need to put into practice the legal and ethical knowledge you've acquired, to make sure that your published or broadcast content won't land you in any trouble.

This will enable you to gain confidence and experience in multimedia reporting and content production which will prepare you for the wider variety of stories you'll produce, and the more complicated multimedia techniques you'll learn, during your second year, at level five.

This module enables students with A-Level German or equivalent to further develop their grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations.You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop your oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

This module is designed for students that have completed A-Level or equivalent in French. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop your oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

This module is designed for students that have completed a A-Level or equivalent in Spanish. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

This module is designed for students who have completed GCSE in Chinese or equivalent. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

This module is designed for students who have completed GCSE or equivalent in French. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

This module is designed for students that have completed GCSE or equivalent in Spanish. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

This module provides the opportunity to study a new language from scratch and introduces you to basic grammar, vocabulary and cultural contexts. You will apply the language to practical situations using both oral and written skills. 

This module considers popular music, and more specifically popular music journalism, by interrogating the way it intersects with society more broadly, and the cultural, and contemporary, concerns and contingencies of our society.

This module then draws on the processes of discourse analysis to consider how writers have stated their cases persuasively. In particular, it critically examines how discourses such as romanticism or authenticity - or cultural topics such as  identity, sexuality, race or gender - shape classic and contemporary journalistic accounts that discuss performers, recordings or genres. 

Building on Level 4's introductory approach to concerns of music journalism and music journalists, this module will now drill down to examine particular pieces of music journalism in much more forensic depth, looking for where these seams of cultural concern might lie within these texts.

This makes the module interdisciplinary. It is about popular music journalism, but that cannot be separate from the place of popular music culture in society.

It is also a more theoretical and academic stepping stone for your more in-depth studies at Level 6. For instance, you may find a particular writer, or discourse, that you want to research over the course of a dissertation. Similarly, you may find an intersection - such as that between popular music and gender - that you want to explore over an extended project such as a dissertation or podcast series.

The module, and its assessment, is therefore designed for you to work with music, music journalists, and contemporary cultural matters that interest you.  It thereby builds on your studies at Level 4, and helps prepare you for your more in-depth work at Level 6.

This module enables the students to consider their own work and careers in the context of the historical shape of popular music journalism, from the 1950s and the birth of rock & roll, through to the key changes in popular music, and its perennial accomplice - the music media. 

For instance, in a historical context, the module with move through cultural time periods such as rock & roll and the 1960s counterculture, considering subcultures such as punk and the rave scene. It will also further develop our knowledge of key music titles such as Rolling Stone in the USA, or inkies such as NME in the UK.  It will also involve considerations of popular music on broadcast mediums such as radio and TV, and also how popular music is critiqued and covered in our current digital landscape.

Stepping up from the more introductory nature of Level 4, the module now examines how music journalism has developed over time, by highlighting the historical contingencies that have shaped the role and function of the music critic, by investigating key writers in more depth. 

The module offers you the chance to explore popular music, and popular music media, through these decades, with a focus on the specific and varying demands of live performance, and recorded, music reviews.

Having stimulated reflection on historical perspectives, key writers and different media forms, the module then asks you to bring all of that knowledge into the production of your own music journalism pieces, with a view to publication on Chester Student Media.

Further working with media production software and techniques, this work will also improve your ability to produce music journalism and media artefacts, with a view to your more involved and advanced work at Level 6.

Production skills:

• You'll develop further skills in newswriting, reporting and video production.
• You'll shoot and edit using broadcast industry-standard hardware and software.
• You'll get your creative content out to an audience online and on social media.
• You'll build on what you learned at level four and introduce more specialised skills, telling stories with video, photography and podcasts.
• You'll learn how to tell your stories, and gain an audience, using television, online and social media platforms.

Feature writing:

• You'll learn to write engaging features good enough to capture a wide audience of 'real world' readers.
• You'll take inspiration from the great feature-writers; writing about society, politics, sport, music, culture, and more.
• You'll put into practice deeper, more immersive storytelling skills.
• You'll investigate specialist feature-writers, niche genres and audiences.
• You'll build a portfolio demonstrating your skills in different forms of feature-writing, including profiles, news features, reviews and opinion pieces.
• You'll learn how to produce exciting photofeatures, capturing the world around you in striking photographs and captions.

The module provides you with an opportunity to undertake a 140-hour work placement. This placement is complemented by a number of school-delivered sessions designed to develop your employability, professional practice, and understanding of career options. Students learn to reflect on the nature of creativity within their studies, as well as other transferable skills and competencies developed on their programmes, and gain awareness of how this is valued and relevant in modern workplaces. 

This will be a university-level work placement of up to 7 weeks of 140 hours with a placement provider(s) (e.g. an employer from the private, public, or charitable sector). The placement(s) should be relevant to your area of study and wider career goals, and can either be organised by you, or with support from university staff. All work placements within this module must be university-level; this means: Undertaking high-skilled work commensurate with level 5 study (e.g. report writing, attending meetings, delivering presentations, producing spreadsheets, writing content on webpages, social media, marketing services/products etc).

Placement may potentially take place with more than one employer, reflecting the nature of freelance suppliers in the creative industries. To further reflect the diverse nature of employment in the creative industries, some- or all- of your hours may be spent working remotely on activities such as copy-writing, preparation, post-production and presentation.

This module will provide you with the practical and theoretical underpinning of professional practice in your specific subject, enabling you to identify and develop key employability attributes and skills in preparation for your future career.  

You will spend several weeks working collaboratively with other students across the School for the Creative Industries on one major project or several smaller projects in a professional ‘simulated real world’ working environment.  Projects will be contemporary, topical, externally focussed and often involve partnership with outside agencies. The module will provide you with opportunities for immersive learning and the chance to apply your knowledge in real-world contexts. 

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at advanced level. The second half of the module includes a placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a sustainability issue in a target language country. The first half of the module will prepare you for placements abroad where appropriate as well as a deeper understanding of sustainability in target language contexts. Students of more than one language may take one language in the first half of the module and spend their time abroad developing a different language. 

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at intermediate level. The first half of the module includes intensive taught sessions in interactive workshop mode which will prepare you for placements abroad or self-directed language development. The second half of the module includes an placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a business or tourism issue in a target language country. Students of more than one language may take one language in the first half of the module and spend their time abroad developing a different language. 

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at beginner level. The first half of the module includes intensive taught sessions in interactive workshop mode which will prepare you for placements abroad or self-directed language development. The second half of the module includes a placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a cultural issue in a target language country. Students of more than one language may take one language in the first half of the module and spend their time abroad developing a different language. 

• The multiple facets of global citizenship
• Ethical engagement and practice
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Intercultural communication
• Culture shock
• Cultural adjustment
• Self- assessment of needs: identification of the range of transferable skills, competencies and attitudes employees need and employers expect graduates to possess-with a strong focus on understanding the intercultural competencies (ICC) needed to live and work abroad.
• Critical analysis/evaluation of individual requirements in relation to culture/cultural adjustment/culture shock/visas/medical.
• Critical analysis/evaluation of skills already acquired in relation to key skills related to ICC.
• Devising strategies to improve one’s own prospects of working abroad in the future.
• Devising an action plan to address gaps in transferable skills based on organisational analysis and sector opportunities.

Part A:      

Preparation for Experiential Overseas Learning will take place at the University of Chester during level 5 and will include:  

• The multiple facets of Global citizenship
• Ethical engagement and practice
• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Intercultural communication

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Theories and models Intercultural competence
• Theories and models of Integration and Multiculturalism
• Critical thinking skills and models of Reflection

• Experiential learning models
• Self-directed experiential learning

Personal and placement-related skills

• Enhanced independence
• Improved command of multicultural behaviour
• Increased knowledge and confidence in their individual facets of personal identity
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development
• Team building and team work

Part B:            Overseas

Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours 

Preparation for the year abroad will take place in Chester during level 5 and will include:

• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Host-country orientation, study methods– economic, political and social reality of the country
• Orientation specific to exchange – health, education, gender issues
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Practical matters relating to living and studying in the wider world

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Critical thinking skills, experiential learning and models of reflection

Personal and placement-related transversal skills

• Effective self-motivation and independent resourcefulness
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development

Whilst abroad:

You will undertake study at one of the University of Chester's partner universities or undertake and approved work placement or virtual placement. If you are a student,  it is expected that you will choose a series of modules at the university abroad which must be agreed by the host institution and the Module Leader. you must supply details of you modules on a learning agreement within 4 weeks of arrival at the host university.

This module is designed to prepare you for employment, by exploring the many areas of the music and media industries available to you, from A&R to media to management, while also fully equipping you with the future skills you need to enter employment. It will thereby ensure you are industry-ready and confident about your evolving careers.

The module is designed to be practical and industry-facing, working with the Careers & Employability office, so that you are ready for the workplace, equipped with CVs and interview practice and a solid sense of where you're heading.

This module is designed to work with you, and your accumulated knowledge, to further develop areas such as enterprise, entrepreneurial spirit, self-awareness and workplace confidence.

The module has two strands:

Firstly, working with industry titles like Music Week and PR Week, and jobs portals such as LinkedIn, you will develop an advanced understanding of the music and media industries, and as a a result, the the jobs that might be available. 

Secondly, the module has a specific focus on both on- and off-line music PR and promotion, asking you to choose a real-world music client to partner with, and to then devise a PR campaign for that client. Recognising that the linkages between PR and marketing are central to contemporary music journalism, with many potential crossovers to the broader music media, the module will encourage you to explore these contingencies in both the practical and theoretical sense; firstly teaching the basics of running a PR campaign, and then directing those skills towards a real-world music client.  

This module will extend the student’s experience of journalistic practice developed thus far, and consolidate and deepen any experience gained during their career to date, culminating in the production of exciting and engaging artefacts which may include, magazines, podcasts, short-form documentaries and multimedia - all produced to the standards expected of high-quality, real-world media content.

This self-directed module provides you with an opportunity to undertake an extended project on a chosen and approved topic within your subject discipline.  The project enables you to develop and evidence specialist subject knowledge and understanding, engagement with academic literature and theory and exhibit a range of skills including independent research and project management.

You are encouraged to choose a project topic which reflects your particular interests in your subject area/career aspirations and can be written or practice-based.  In the initial stages of the module, you will engage with a series of sessions focused on research practice including research methodologies and ethical practice.  You will then formatively present your project idea, gaining feedback to hone the focus and title.  You will conduct individual research and will be strongly encouraged to collaborate with others if you are undertaking a practice-based project.

Whether the project outcome is an artefact (eg film, music recording or series of articles/features), a practice-based outcome (eg performance or presentation) or a written dissertation, extensive research needs to be conducted to inform and develop the project topic and offer an appropriate framework for study.  Regular meetings with your supervisor will give you the opportunity to gain ongoing feedback on your research project.

The project culminates in the submission of the written dissertation or practice-based outcome.  Those assessed on a practice-based outcome must also submit an individual contextualising document.  

The specialist, transferable and soft skills developed in this module will help you to prepare for your chosen profession or next step in your 'graduate trajectory'.