Journalistic Writing

Hello dear Journalism Friends,

I'm so glad I started this blog. It is great to have some other friends "online" who are studying the very same thing. And to exchange views on distance education is a great plus. I am really grateful.

Next week, I'll be finishing my exam for this course (Journalistic Writing) if I don't get to much work on my desk over the weekend... we'll see. The plan is as follows: I will work through the very two last chapters over the weekend and then take the online exam on Monday or Tuesday. After that, I will go on holiday for a couple of weeks. Not sure yet if I will post anything during this time since I won't be working on any new modules. But I will let you know (or you will see if there are any new posts I guess).

So Journalistic Writing is a great pleasure to read. I've had some trouble with the questions (and right answers, for that matter). But after re-reading some of the chapter I had trouble with, it worked out just fine. I am hoping to "see" some of you during one of their online colloquiua which is a great thing to have as a "virtual student". Have you ever tried it out? You should.

Anyway, I don't have much more time since I need to finish this chapter and then go to work for a few hours. I can't wait for a little holiday break...

Take care and "see" you back in April.

Katy

How to study

Dear Journalism friends,

Thank you so much for your responses from my last entry! It was really interesting to read them. You gave me some good advice and interesting approaches for my future studies. I'm excited to try them out soon!

So I've finished reading Watchdog Journalism since it was a short module. Very well written and a great module overall! There is no online exam, so that's great.

I now started with a new module. It's called Journalistic Writing. I am really happy that the school offers a class in journalistic writing. I am very insecure about my own writing, unfortunately. But who isn't? Well, so that's why I thought it is best to include this module in my studies. So far, I like it. It is comprehensive and I like the tasks after a chapter.

I'd like to know: How did you find out about journalistic writing skills? I'm sure there are several handbooks and such... aside from a class/module book. But did some of you also learn it by doing? How did you find out whether there is enough "talent" or not? I just wondered because some people I know within the field of journalism never had NO training at all. So apparently, it's not enough to just have talent.

Stay tuned for next weeks' entry!

Kate

Watchdog Journalism

Hello Journalism friends and bloggers!

So my online exam from last week went fine. I am really glad that I did so little and got such a great result! Political Journalism is certainly very interesting but most likely I won't pursue a career in that specific field.

Now, I have a new field: Watchdog Journalism. I started reading it. It is a shorter book with only one exercise question in the back. It's good to have only a little bit to read and work on for a change. And I think this field is very exciting, too!

My main concern these days is how I get the last remaining study books done in time. My plan is to be finished by the end of June... but my work schedule got a little crazier so now I'm not even sure if I can make it within this time frame. I was planning on travelling afterwards, too.

I thought that maybe I should just study a little more on weekends (with a good amount of breaks in between). And study less during the week. I found out that I'm just too exhausted after work.

Any thoughts on this? How do you study/prepare your study material? When do you study?

Send me a pm!

Until next week - take care and enjoy your weekend!

Kate

Political Journalism details

Hello dear Journalism friends,

I received some really interesting messages that made me think this blog is exactly what I wanted it to be! :) There are some really nice discussions going on about political journalism. Thank you for sharing your opinions and experiences with me!

So, here it goes: I started the political journalism module book recently. I'm almost through with the entire book (it only has 43 pages of material). However, it covers all relevant topics of political journalism:

- The basics of political reporting: Giving an insightful introduction into the topic. Very well written!

- Covering political elections/races/debates: How current is that? Very current! I wish this chapter had more pages, though...

- covering politicians in office: also very interesting and current. I'd say, this chapter pretty much covers all important aspects.

- objective political journalism vs. subjective political journalism: what can I say - this chapter should have way more pages. But it mentions some interesting facts and point of views.

That being said, I can't wait to take the online exam soon(ish). Most likely, I will have time to "prepare" for it this weekend. Luckily, there isn't that much to prepare anyway.

I'm really looking forward to it, though. I will talk about the online exam and the next module book in my entry next week. Stay tuned!

Kate

Political Journalism

Hello again, dear Journalism friends!

There is good news and bad news: The bad news first. I have not gotten any answer regarding the publication of my article yet. Apparently, the editors really take their time. I have talked to several people and did some research and this is obviously a very common "problem". So I will wait for at least two more weeks until I hear back from the editors...

The good news: I have finished the music journalism module and took the exam very successfully! :)

So off to the next: I started with political journalism. Now, we all know what controversy is going on right now when it comes to political journalism. Fake news, objectivity, the "death" of journalism even is being discussed online, specifically. I don't believe in it. I think this is just a current state of mind whenever there are changes in the political sphere. I don't think journalists are worse than before. I think this negativity just "happens" whenever there is a change. It might be very well the case that journalism changed through the digital age. What do you think?

Anyway, I think we should even focus more on these "negative" aspects (however, the negativity is very questionable) to maybe improve them and turn them around for the better. That's why I chose to focus on political journalism. Besides, it is a very interesting topic.

In my next entry, I will give some more insights on the module book. So far, I've reached only page 10 which is by far not enough yet to give an adequate evaluation.

Until next week around the same time. Thank you for reading my blog!

Kate

Band Interview in local music magazine?!

Hello!

So I managed to get an interview with the band! I decided to try to publish it somewhere local, not here on my blog. :/ Sorry -- but I have to take every chance I get.

I'm almost through with the Music Journalism module. There are only a few pages left before I can start studying for the online exam. My plan is to finish the module till Sunday and then start studying for the online exam on Monday night. Luckily, we are having a snow storm today -- perfect day for pajamas, a cup of hot chocolate and a study book. :)

So how will I approach this online exam? Well, the way I always prepare for such things is as follows:

1. I read the entire book (usually only the things I've highlighted along the way)
2. I try to memorize as much as possible
3. I write down some notes that help me memorize
4. I repeat everything at least twice a day

What do you think of that learning method? What other ways do you prefer? I know that everyone is different and prefers different approaches. It is always interesting to hear other people's way of studying. So leave me a message or pm me!

Oh, and keep your fingers crossed: I sent in my interview. Let's hope it's getting published!!!

Stay tuned until next week.
Yours,
Kate

Interview with a Band

Hello dear (Music) Journalism friends,

Well, I might be able to conduct an interview with a band. As a matter of fact, I'm friends with some band members - of course they are not really "big", but they are well known in my community. :) Pretty exciting! I'm just going to use some interview techniques described in the music journalism book. We'll see how that turns out! Anyway, I thought that's a neat idea and gives me some practice (and possibly a little taste of the future)!

So far, I've finished like half of the music journalism book. I also have worked through some of these tasks at the end of each chapter - it is going really well.

I was thinking that I could maybe post this interview on this blog right here. I don't really have a magazine or anything like that -- or maybe I should try to contact a local magazine? Maybe they would be interested in publishing it. Hmm. It certainly won't be the Rolling Stones Magazine, though. ;)

I'm sooo excited!

So stay tuned for next week's entry!

Yours,
Kate