Hard news journalism course

Learn how to cover breaking news stories, write lead pieces and in-depth features for newspapers; tutored by journalist, Beth Cooper.

Our courses run all the time, all year round, so sign up and start whenever you are ready to put pen to paper.

Course modules: 10 modules
Duration: Five months
Cost: R3495.00
Student will: Complete 11 writing exercises for assessment and feedback and produce two full-length features of publishable quality

Admission Requirements:
• Basic writing skills are essential
• Computer skills, e-mail and Internet access required
• No previous tertiary qualification required
Tutor: Beth Cooper has been a news journalist for 12 years. Former assistant news editor on The Herald before turning freelance in 2005, she has worked as a senior correspondent, reporter and news editor and covered various beats from crime and courts, to health and education.
Now a writer and columnist for several top local and international magazines and websites, including Femina, BBC Online, True Love, Sawubona, Your Baby, Living & Loving and Natural Health, she holds a Journalism degree from Rhodes University and Honours in English from the University of South Africa.
Course Curriculum:
MODULE ONE - Introduction to Hard News Journalism
This module offers students a brief, exciting glimpse into the deadline-driven, fact-focused world of hard news journalism.
Exercise: students are asked to identify three examples of a hard news report and one example of a soft news report.
MODULE TWO - Deadlines and Drama: The Newsroom
This module outlines the mechanics of a daily print or online newspaper.
MODULE THREE - How to Write a News Report

This module dives in at the deep end as students are introduced to the basic formula of a news report.
MODULE FOUR - The People Behind The Story: Interviewing and Research Skills
MODULE FIVE - Beyond the Basics - Adding colour to your writing
This module takes students beyond the basics of a newspaper report. It has two sub-sections and also contains exercises.
MODULE SIX - Honing Your Skills
Many journalists simply cannot write. News editors and sub-editors waste precious time re-writing clumsy, shoddy copy. This module helps you get up to scratch with critical style and grammar rules.
MODULE SEVEN - Media Law and Ethics

MODULE EIGHT - Pulitzer Prize or Poor Attempt: Finding a great story and writing it
This module contains several sub-sections outlining how to satisfactorily complete a brief from a news editor, how to source your own story, how to make (and keep) contacts and how to specialise as a reporter (beats).
MODULE NINE - Flogging Your Story
This module outlines where you can sell yourself and your stories.
MODULE TEN - So Now You Can Write - Now What?
This module offers students the chance to write a publishable piece of journalism running to a maximum of 750 words. They are also offered the chance to write a breaking story - much more difficult. A) The tutor will take the student through each step:
1. Assessing the newsworthiness of the story
2. News-gathering for the story
3. First draft
4. Re-draft
5. Final draft
6. Proposal letter to news editor
B. Sell a Story Online - instantly! Using their news-gathering and writing skills, new or "cadet" journalists can source a story in their area and cover it for an online organisation. The suggested organisation is news website African News Dimension (http://www.andnetwork.com/).
How does the course work?
Detailed class notes covering the content of each module are e-mailed to students.

At the end of each module, students will be required to complete one or two writing exercises. In total, the course includes eleven short writing assignments, all of which count towards the final result of the student. Students must also produce one feature-length article (750 words).

Once a writing assignment has been completed and e-mailed to the lecturer, an assessment and feedback will be sent to the student, and the module will be considered complete.
Students can also participate in ongoing online discussions by posting comments about the materials covered in the course, as well as give feedback to students who have posted their pieces in the Discussion Forum.
Minimum Estimated Time Commitment:
• 40 hours for writing and research
• 5 hours for reading course notes

For more course details, and to apply, please go to our website at www.sawriterscollege.co.za.

Venue

Date: 22 December 2009
Location: Online, Countrywide
Cost: R3495.00

Date: 29 December 2009
Location: Online, Countrywide
Cost: R3495.00

Contact: Koos Turenhout
Company name: SA Writers' College
Email address