THEORIES AND TECHNIQUES OF JOURNALISTIC LANGUAGE
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- MARCO LUCA PEDRONI
- Credits
- 12
- Curriculum
- Comunicazione pubblica e sociale
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- SPS/08
Training objectives
- The course provides the foundation for a sociology of journalism, understood as a critical approach to the study of news production and circulation. Journalism is analysed as a practice (with reference to the job of journalist and to the new digital professions of information that have recently joined and challenged it) and as a social field in dynamic relation with the field of power.
The aim of the course is to enable students to achieve the following learning outcomes:
1. Knowledge and understanding:
- learning the main steps in the evolution of journalism;
- learning the main approaches to the study of journalism and the mechanisms of opinion formation;
- learning about the tools and languages of the journalistic profession;
- knowing the formats and channels of the journalistic product;
- understanding the specific nature of the sociological gaze as a tool for investigating and deconstructing journalistic work and journalistic and media representations.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding:
- knowing and applying the main theoretical tools of critical sociology to the analysis of news production and circulation;
- understand and use sociological language to identify agenda setting mechanisms;
- being able to identify the viewpoints and stakes that characterise the journalistic field;
- identifying the genres and languages of journalism and the quality of the journalistic product.
3. Making judgements:
- developing critical skills to analyse journalistic work and production;
- developing the ability to identify hegemonic narratives in the journalistic sphere;
- developing the ability to deconstruct common sense and journalistic frames;
- identifying the degree of autonomy/heteronomy of journalistic work. Prerequisites
- No specific prerequisites are required. It is recommended that students:
- keep up to date with current affairs by reading cultural and political newspapers and magazines, in both print and digital formats;
- set up a Twitter account to monitor major newspapers, journalists and opinion leaders and the trend topics discussed on the platform. Course programme
- The course is divided into thematic cores organised around the following questions:
Why study journalism sociologically?
What is journalism? Do we need it?
What role does journalism play in public life?
Is journalism a form of power?
Do facts speak for themselves?
How does journalism influence what we think?
What do we do with the news? How are we influenced by it?
Has the Internet damaged journalism?
What is fake news?
Does advertising compromise journalistic autonomy?
Why do we read Vogue?
What kind of journalism is Italian journalism?
How does journalism represent otherness? Didactic methods
- The course consists of:
- theory-based lessons, with the function of introducing the basic concepts of the discipline;
- interactive lessons, based on brainstorming, cooperative learning, flipped classroom etc., with the function of soliciting dialogue between the teacher and the students, and among the students, and of promoting the active construction of knowledge and skills;
- thematic workshops with journalists and information experts..
Lessons will be held in presence. Learning assessment procedures
- The final exam consists of a written test comprising 3 open-ended questions, to be completed in 60 minutes.
The questions aim to assess:
theoretical knowledge (learning objective 1), and in particular the acquisition of the basic concepts of the course;
the ability to apply the knowledge acquired during the lessons and the autonomy of judgement (learning objectives 2 and 3).
Students actively participating in the course are offered the opportunity to replace the open questions with a written paper. The assignment is awarded up to 20 points. Reference texts
- The same bibliography is provided for both attending and non attending students.
Required Text Books:
1. C. Sorrentino, E. Bianda, Studiare giornalismo. Ambiti, logiche, attori, Carocci, Roma, 2017
2. S. Russ-Mohl, Fare giornalismo, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2011
3. A collection of sociological essays, in Italian and English, on the journalistic profession, public opinion, lifestyle journalism and branded content. The readings will be made available on Google Classroom
Suggested readings:
1. N. Pitrelli, Il giornalismo scientifico, Carocci, Roma, 2021
2. S. Splendore, Giornalismo ibrido. Come cambia la cultura giornalistica italiana, Carocci, Roma, 2020
3. L. Morlino, M. Sorice, L’illusione della scelta. Come si manipola l’opinione pubblica in Italia, Luiss University Press, Roma, 2021
4. J. Bradford, Fashion Journalism, Routledge, Londra, 2015
5. K. Nelson Best, The History of Fashion Journalism, Bloomsbury, Londra, 2017
6. A. Adornato, Mobile e Social Media Journalism, Routledge, Londra, 2021
7. A. Agostini, Giornalismi. Media e giornalisti in Italia, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2012
8. E. Raviola, Organizing Independence: Negotiations between Journalism and Management in News Organizations, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022
