Dates: September 6 to October 1, 2010
Location: Cardiff

Course description

This extensive one-month course will equip journalists with the essential techniques and confidence they need to thrive in tomorrow’s fast-changing digital world. The focus is on the journalist’s ability to build an interactive relationship with audiences and communities using powerful, practical multimedia tools.

Just some of the techniques covered include audio, video, photography, online editing, mobile journalism, CMS management, social media, advanced online investigation, data visualisation, ethics, crowdsourcing, link journalism, branding and SEO.

Led by multimedia newsroom specialist Dan Mason and internationally-respected television and digital journalist Guy Degen, this course is fast-paced, exciting and will challenge participating journalists to reach new levels of creativity and innovation.

With online opportunities, as well as restrictions, facing journalists around the world, the international dimension added by Thomson Foundation training makes this course of particular relevance to all those with a wider media perspective.

Who’s it for

Experienced print journalists, or those already working in a digital environment seeking to hone their online skills, would be ideally suited to this course. So too would senior press officers and content managers working with NGOs, government bodies or other institutions.

The course will benefit those working in a newsroom environment, but is equally suited to those from a trade press, blogging, freelance, features or news background.

The most important qualifications for entry to this course are experience in writing to a competent professional level, some current online experience (writing for websites, blogging or engagement with social media) and, most importantly, a passion for learning new techniques and applications with the power to connect with diverse online audiences.

The course will provide access to a mix of free and industry-standard tools including Photoshop, Audacity, Wordpress, iMovie and video cameras, depending on skill levels.