Television Media Stream

Students take charge very early in the
course and quickly move on to produce
news programmes.

Students in the television stream engage in the whole range of studio and field work for television news and news-related programming. They acquire knowledge and skills in news preparation and presentation; anchoring, interviewing and reporting on camera; and researching and scripting documentaries. They also gain practical experience in camera work, non-linear digital editing, visual and audio mixing, and the creation of special effects and graphics.

A unique offering in this stream is an intensive, hands-on, 10-week course in television news journalism, conceived and run by BBC Worldwide Limited and taught by an experienced BBC journalist.

To ensure that each student is given personal attention, participants in the television stream are divided into two groups of not more than 15 each. One group takes the BBC course in the second term, the other in the third.

The non-BBC group in each term works under the guidance of the ACJ faculty, producing two programmes. One is a 90-minute studio-anchored show, which includes short news bulletins, media reviews, guest-of-the-day and heritage sections, and a cultural round-up.

The second is a half-hour evening news programme composed of field reports and analyses. Working in small teams, students also produce television news clips, five minute capsules, and longer documentaries. Several news stories done by students have been aired on national television and independent satellite channels.

Students in this stream are also exposed to emerging trends in the electronic media, to digital convergence, and to different types of satellite telecasting. In addition, they are introduced to techniques of measuring audiences and ratings systems.

Broadcast media students are introduced to the experience and potential of the new media. The aspects they learn include audio and video streaming; making use of the Internet and digital resources as a tool for research and reporting; understanding the impact of the Internet and the new media on broadcast journalism; and professional community-building and community-sharing.