FIRST TERM

The PGD journalism students at the SSCMS will take courses related to print/broadcast/new media journalism; This term the students will be predominantly learning print journalism and sessions will be mostly in the class room with relevant & required outdoor exposure. The students will be trained to better their writing skills, learn reporting, theories of communication required grammar skills, and technologies related to printing. Students will plan, prepare and publish a Lab Journal, Dateline Bangalore During this period basics of Broad cast and New Media will also be taught. There will be sessions on, society and culture, which is designed to provide students with the analytical understanding, historical knowledge and skills needed to cover religious and cultural groups in the modern world. Without attempting to be encyclopedic, the course intends to familiarize the students in major world religions and cultures; to demonstrate what is fascinating and intriguing about a religion without taking sides.

SECOND TERM

The second term will focus on deeper study and reflection; and more intense practice of the craft on a daily basis. The students will study about image-making, perception-creating, and inferences. During the second term, the students will also get to focus on computer-aided research, news writing, reporting & editing for print, broadcast (radio & television) and the new media. Students will plan, prepare and publish the Dateline Bangalore; upload the same periodically to www.DatelineBangalore.com, and present a 'mock' radio/television newscast. Students will be given professional coaching on voice modulation, anchoring, and panel-hosting for the electronic media while several editors/working journalists will help students with their basic writing and reading needs. The students will also make short film and learn the nuances of documentary video film making.

THIRD TERM

There will be a series of sessions through this term covering journalism reporting in business, finance, accounting, corporate financing, politics, government, interpreting economic data and trends, securities law, portfolio management, science and developmental journalism. The year-end PGD thesis, required of all students and guided by a faculty, will be a journalistic work of about 2,000 words, and a 7-minute television/radio documentary. The students will learn how to mix journalistic techniques with knowledge of a subject. The project will help students specialize in subjects that might eventually land them in specialized jobs, be it technology, medical, environmental, politics, or, crime reporting. Our faculty that includes prominent working and retired journalists, and expert visitors/academicians. The PGD journalism program focuses on skills needed for immediate employment in the print, broadcast, or new media. Emphasis is placed on practical, hands-on training where students work under severe deadline pressures and on-the-job conditions. Assignments are regularly monitored and project-work supervised, while students put in long working hours as a routine.

PRINT

Reporting

From spotting a news idea to its final actualisation, the students will learn news gathering techniques, the art of interviewing and news-writing skills. They will learn to report news quickly, accurately.

Editing

This course will teach students the art and craft of copy-editing, using the latest software packages of online editing. Page layout and design will be the other components.

Feature Writing

More than ever before, be it for the broadcast media or the print, the feature writer's ambit has increased. This course will deal with both soft and hard features, magazine writing, and feature editing. It will explore the evolving models of feature writing and the writing techniques of new journalism.

Practical Training

Theoretical lectures will be supplemented by structured classroom exercises in news editing, reporting and writing under deadline pressure. Students will have to work on actual street reporting after class daily, producing a story a day.

Tutorials on a one-to-one basis will ensure individual attention. Seminar paper presentations every week bring into sharp focus both theoretical and practical aspects of the field.

Newspaper

Classroom lectures and tutorials will be translated into an existential experience of spotting the news, pounding the streets, and eventually editing and designing their own newspapers under rigid deadline pressure. In short, students will learn to integrate academic concepts and practical skills. This will be the most exciting and rewarding aspect of their learning experience at the centre.

BROADCAST (Radio/Television News & Current Affairs)

Students will work hands-on, learn by experience, and produce a series of projects. The following elements of broadcast journalism will be explored during the year:

Documentary

Students will choose a documentary subject. They will write proposals, research their subject, and complete preparations for their documentary productions including pre-interviewing the subject(s). Various documentary approaches will be explored including Cinema, Variety, Interview, and Personal Essay documentary.

Digital Camera and Lighting

Sound

The students do a comprehensive technical examination of the role of sound in story telling and its emotional impact. Students learn the technique of acquiring the best quality sound for their projects by working with boom-poles, and different types of microphones. The course covers field recording, studio sound recording, some acoustical theory, track building, mix preparation and sound in post –production.

Video Editing

The students will be taught the different theories of film / television editing and working with time-codes. Students will find that their projects are “rewritten” in the editing room. They will learn the art of editing with EDIT on non-linear edit suite to take their projects from mere concept to finished product.

Script Writing

In this module students will learn how to go about writing treatments techniques and visualising of full-length shooting scripts. They are taught to recognise a good script and practice their own skills.

NEW MEDIA

How to build a website, produce and present a web journal, and FTP them on a regular basis, all will be part of the New Media classes conducted by IT professionals in and around Bangalore’s Silicon Valley.

Online Journal, Computer Research and Graphics

Students learn the basics of computer-aided research and graphics, page-making, layout, and non-linear editing in specialised environments. They will learn to use tools such as PageMaker, QuarkXpress, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash.

Online Journal Application

Special emphasis will be given in the second phase the New Media applications. The New Media Course trains professionals for the fast-paced world of journalism on the web, equipping them with the ability to use text, graphics, audio and video as communication tools. They acquire writing skills specifically attuned to the web and learn to use major tools in web publishing like PhotoShop, Dreamweaver and Frontpage. Critical issues in the New Media will be debated. while the students will be taught the evolving theoretical concepts. They will also learn to critique the structure of the web page and will prepare and launch an online weekly, datelinebangalore.com.

Media Laws and Ethics

During the course, the students will learn about media laws and the ethical principles that all journalists need to observe while practicing their profession. Case studies of ethical issues will be discussed to illustrate the difficulties that one has to face while balancing contrary principles and applying them in particular contexts.

Communication Theories and Research

The students will study the evolution of communication theories and their relevance in today's context. The communication research component will give them a firm grounding in the social science research methodology.

Media Management

Today's editors and journalists need to have a deep understanding of the media market place, the business aspects of publishing, and the interplay of technology, competition and globalisation that is bringing about media convergence. This course will equip the students to function efficiently in these new frontiers.

Project Work

In the first three months, the students will develop a project idea in consultation with an SSCMS faculty. The project would involve a detailed research, interviews and fieldwork under the guidance of the faculty, or, under a subject expert from a news organization. The project report will be in the form of a feature of about 2000 words or a documentary of about 30 minutes that will be evaluated by the faculty and external examiners.

Internship

The students will undergo a four-week internship in different media organisations, complementing the SSCMS training programme by putting their skills to work in a professional newsroom during the final month.