Client Correspondence

I have heard back from the client, and as such can now begin re-drafting the email interview that was completed for me.

The following is the answers received:-


Year by year breakdown: What are the aims for student development in Year 1/2/3?

We aim to produce graduates who are distinctive and who can offer employers something extra.

Many of the media employers we speak to tell us they are looking for journalists who can do more than write. They are looking for content producers. Multiskilled people who can perform the traditional role of the journalist - research, interview, write, edit - but who can also operate the technology so as to present content in a variety of ways - in print, in audio form, in video, and of course on multimedia web pages.

Our journalism degree is a multimedia degree. Our graduates are multiskilled content producers and they are in demand by employers.

In year 1, all our journalism students get a thorough grounding in digital media production. Today, even print journalists working on a newspaper might have to go in front of camera to present a comment piece, or do audio or video editing, so all students learn the basics of digital media file formats and putting together image, audio and video content for the web.

Our students get a taste of print, radio, TV and web production in semester 1, and choose to specialize in any two of these four in semesters 2, 3 and 4. So, by the end of second year, our students should have a good level of writing and production skill in those two media. This increases your employment options and again equips you for a multimedia environment.

Also in year 1, there are background and contextual studies in journalism to broaden your knowledge and increase your understanding of the place that journalism and the media occupy in society.

There is practical training in Teeline shorthand - still much in demand by editors and a skill that enables accurate note-taking that will stand up in a court of law.

In year 2, training in media law helps you to further protect yourself as a working journalist and this is complemented by studies in politics, government and the institutions that you will have to report on.

In year 2 you will explore areas of media and cultural theory in order to prepare yourself for a dissertation in year 3. The dissertation can be on a wide range of topics and we encourage you to link it with your interests and with your journalism practice.

Also in year 3, there is an advanced group production in your chosen specialist medium (print, radio, TV or web), an individual final project and an industrial placement.


What is the final goal for the end of the course, i.e. What do you ultimately hope to teach students so as to prepare them for careers in the field?

This is probably covered in the above.


What makes this course unique, i.e. Why should students choose this course over another?

Our journalism courses are very flexible. The way in which you can mix media specialties in any combination - print and TV, or radio and online for example - is unique.

Also, the feature briefs are negotiable. If you wish to write and talk about sport, music, fashion, cars, politics, sailing, mountain biking or global warming - then any or all of that is possible.


What is your course philosophy (I'm aware this will probably tie into the earlier questions)?

We aim to produce distinctive graduates who are highly employable with versatile writing skills and a range of high-level production skills.


What are some prominent FUCA Journalism alumni doing now?

Farnham journalism graduate Alex Kramer presents Going for Gold on Five. In radio, we have graduates working in stations ranging from local stations like Eagle FM and BBC Southern Counties to BBC World Service and Radio Netherlands International. One of our current students works part-time at BBC2's Newsnight.

A number of our recent graduates have gone straight into good jobs in communication and public relations, such as at the award-winning London PR agency Taylor Herring and leading retail developer Westfield - the company behind Europe's biggest shopping mall, at Shepherd's Bush in west London.


Have you any upcoming plans for the course?- Is there any further information that you consider important and essential content?


I had better go home now but I will forward further content later.

Obviously we have the new degrees launching in September.

Feel free to adapt content from the course pages on the UCA website. There is a separate page for each of the journalism courses at Farnham - the main degree, then sports, motoring, leisure. There is a slightly different emphasis on each of the course pages and there are paragraphs and passages in there that could be adapted for this new website. You may be able to use or adapt the images on the course pages. If you cannot download them then I could forward you image files.

There are a few paragraphs also on the studentjournos blog page that potentially could be adaptable.



OK I hope this helps and gives you some content to work with.