Intensivkurs för svenska och finska journaliststudenter om miljöjournalistik

Är du en svensk eller finsk journaliststudent och intresserad av miljö- och vetenskapsjournalistik? Vill du delta i en intensivkurs? Samarbeta med journaliststudenter från andra sidan Östersjön?

Kursen Östersjön och miljöjournalistik erbjuder en lärorik vecka 25–29 maj 2020 i den naturvackra miljön på Hanaholmen i Esbo, Finland. Kursen är del av ett treårigt program, arrangerad av Hanaholmen – kulturcentrum för Sverige och Finland i samarbete med journalistutbildningarna i Helsingfors, Tammerfors och Göteborg. Temat på 2018 årets kurs var faktagranskning och Ryssland och 2019 var temat EU-valet och datavisualisering.

Programmet inleds måndagen den 25 maj och avslutas fredagen den 29 maj med publicering av material som producerats under veckan. Medverkande i kursen är journalistutbildare, forskare och erfarna journalister som arbetat med vetenskapsjournalistik med särskilt fokus på havsmiljön. Kursen är gratis för deltagarna, inklusive program, logi i dubbelrum och måltider. I samband med ansökan kan studenterna även ansöka om resebidrag.

Lärandemål:
• att hitta relevanta källor
• att analysera, tolka och presentera forskningsresultat
• att förmedla naturvetenskaplig forskning i journalistisk form

Metoder och arbetssätt:
• vetenskapsjournalistiskt angreppsätt
• redaktionellt arbete och feedback av deltagarna, lärarna och experter
• webbpublicering av producerat journalistiskt material

Slutprodukt:
• kursblogg med rapporter, intervjuer, visualiseringar, poddar och annat efter behov och önskemål
• möjlighet att utveckla egna journalistiska projekt inom temat

Ansökningstiden är 1.3.–15.4.2020. Ansökningen skickas genom en elektronisk blankett. Beslut om antagning sker senast 20.4.2020.

Kontaktpersoner och lärare på kursen på de arrangerande journalistutbildningarna är Henrika Zilliacus-Tikkanen (Soc&Kom, henrika.zilliacus@helsinki.fi), Maarit Jaakkola (Tammerfors, maarit.jaakkola@tuni.fi) och Emil Östlund (JMG, emil.ostlund@jmg.gu.se). Läs även vad studenterna berättade om kursen 2018 och kursen 2019.

Nästa lärarkonferens i Malmö

Nordiska samarbetskommitténs höstmöte samlade medlemmarna i nätverket till Finland. Mötet hölls på Hanaholmens svensk-finska kulturcentrum som ligger i Esbo vid gränsen till huvudstaden Helsingfors.

På mötet på Hanaholmen var följande skolor representerade: Danmarks medie- och journalisthögskola, Gimlekollen, Helsingfors, Jyväskylä, Lund, Reykjavik, Stavanger, Syddansk universitet, Södertörn, Tammerfors och Volda.

I centrum för mötesagendan stod lärarkonferensen 2020. Den äger rum den 24–25 september 2020 i Malmö. Temat är ”professionens förändring”.

Konferensen kommer att ske i Media Evolution Citys lokaler i centrala Malmö i den delen av staden som tidigare utgjorde det stora Kockumsvarvet. Sedan nedläggningen av varvet har området genomgått en stor förvandling till att i dag vara ett kunskapscentrum med bland annat Malmö universitet. I närområdet finns också flera start-up-företag inom medie- och kommunikationsbranschen samt Sveriges Television.

För resande ligger Malmö Centralstation på bekvämt gångavstånd, med täta förbindelser till både Köpenhamns flygplats och Malmö flygplats, samt snabbtåg till Göteborg och Stockholm.

Malmö Evolution är en non-profit organisation med cirka 400 medlemmar från södra Sverige. Syftet är att sammanföra innovationer, kreativitet, beslutsfattare och akademiker i frågor som rör medier, kommunikation och teknologi.

Under temat ”professionens förändring” kommer vi att diskutera olika aspekter av bland annat teknologi, ekonomi och arbetsmetoder som präglar de nordiska journalistutbildningarnas utveckling.

Mer information om konferensen kommer senare på denna sida.

En ny digital plattform för nordiska medieforskare

Nordicom, centrum för nordisk medieforskning vid Göteborgs universitet, har lanserat en ny digital plattform för nordiska medie- och kommunikationsforskare. Plattformen heter NordMedia Network och finns tillgänglig på www.nordmedianetwork.org. Plattformen välkomnar alla forskare som är verksamma i Norden eller genomför forskning som har hög relevans för Norden att registrera sig.

Plattformen hittar du på www.nordmedianetwork.org.

Syftet med webbsidan är att bli ett permanent hem för NordMedia-forskarkonferensen som hölls vartannat år i Norden. På webbsidan finns även en databas för forskare som vill synliggöra sig och sin forskning i detta sammanhang. Databasen ska underlätta för journalister, myndigheter och forskare att hitta experter och samarbetspartner i de olika delområdena inom medie- och kommunikationsforskning.

De registrerade användarna kommer regelbundet att få ett nyhetsbrev med aktuella händelser och utlysningar från de nordiska länderna, och på sidan finns även en konferenskalender samt ett flöde för Call for Papers-utlysningar för publikationer.

Du kan skapa ditt eget konto här.

Programmet til Journalistiklærerseminaret 2018 i Danmark er på plads

Der er masser af glæde sig til, hvis du deltager i Nordisk Journalistiklærerseminar ons. – fre. 26.-28. september på Mols i Danmark:

Du og de andre cirka 110 tilmeldte deltagere kan vælge mellem 20-25 sessions med keynote oplæg, debatter, forskningsresultater, spotlights, workshops og meget mere.

Emnerne spænder vidt: Fremtidens trends, immersive storytelling, brugere som medtilrettelæggere, faktatjek af informationer, datajournalistik, reporting terror, liv og variation i undervisningen, research på The Dark Net, konstruktiv journalistik, fremtidens kandidat- og masteruddannelser, breaking news.…og meget mere ;0)

Se det fulde program.

Seminaret foregår på Fuglsøcenteret, som er omgivet af noget af den skønneste natur, som Danmark kan byde på.  Det er tæt på hav og bakker, og lige ved siden af ligger Naturcenteret Karpenhøj, hvor du kan fornøje dig med vildmarksbad, store bålpladser og shelters.

Og så er der naturligvis også lagt an til en fremragende fest torsdag aften.

Læs mere på seminarets programside

Nordisk Journalistcenter lever og har det godt – tilmeld dig nyhedsbrevet

NJC lever, har det godt og bor i Aarhus.

Nordisk Journalistcenter, der for nogle år siden var lukningstruet, gennemgår i øjeblikket en fornyelsesproces, der igen skal gøre centeret til en helt central institution for nordiske journalister.

Mange kender allerede Aarhus-kurset, som har eksisteret i mere end 60 år. NJC arbejder også aktivt med medieudvikling i Nordvestrusland og Baltikum.

Men Norden er og skal fortsat være NJC’s kerneområde. Og nu har centeret vedtaget en ny strategi, der bl.a. indebærer, at det skal udvikles fra netværks- og kursusorganisation til videnscenter for nordisk journalistik.

Som led i strategien relancerer vi i oktober et nyhedsbrev med fokus på nordisk nytteværdi for journalister.

NJC’s nye leder, John Frølich, er til stede på Nordisk Journalistiklærerseminar 2018, og kan fortælle mere om centeret.

Spørg en af danskerne, hvis du ikke kan finde ham.

Du kan også læse mere og tilmelde dig det gratis nyhedsbrev på www.njc.dk.

Journalism studies in Norway: The trust in journalists is all-time low, and I hope I can turn that around

I’ve never regretted the decision to study journalism, but my future in the media is far from decided. Luckily, the studies in journalism at NLA Mediehøgskolen Gimlekollen in Kristiansand, Southern Norway, have prepared me for a number of future challenges. 

My last year of high school was coming to an end, and I had no idea what I wanted to do. None at all. But I was confident I wanted to keep studying instead of taking a year off, which more and more high school graduates decide to do these days.

However, I always found my dad’s job interesting. He’s been a journalist his entire life, and today he is the editor-in-chief of the Norwegian newspaper Dagen. At times it could seem a bit stressful though. Work calls would come even in weekends, often when you the least expected them, and away he went blabbering about front page headlines and sentence structures.

But studying journalism was something I began to consider more and more. I’ve always had a big interest in news and media, and as a child I often watched the evening news together with my parents. We are a family who likes to voice our opinions, and family dinners often became the stage of discussions and debates.

After discussing with my dad, I decided to join him on a visit to NLA Mediehøgskolen Gimlekollen, one of Norway’s most reputable journalism schools. There I made my decision: this was the place I would spend my next three years.

A very positive surprise

After the first few weeks as a new student at Gimlekollen, I quickly noticed how great the student environment is here.

It’s a relatively small school, and my class consisted of about 40 students, which makes  a group of people where you can get to know everyone a little bit. Another benefit is that the lectures at such a school are very personal and informal, and interrupting the lecturer to ask questions is actually encouraged. The teachers at the school are great, as well, and they all have experience from different subfields in the world of media.

The highlights of the studies so far include the internship periods, where we take on the roles of different editorial staff and produce content for the school’s own media platforms. Gimlekollen is a very practice-oriented school, where large parts of the study involve working as a journalist.

In most of the courses you are graded by the quality of your work, in addition to a report where you explain the thought process behind your work. The experience you acquire throughout the entire course is invaluable, and it really prepares you for a media reality which is varied and rapidly changing. We’ve also had authentic real-world practice, where I spent two months as an intern at Norway’s largest tech website Tek.no. I was given trust and responsibility from day one, and it was easily the most fun I’ve had during my years as a student.

Challenging but rewarding

Of course, the theoretical subjects are just as important. At first I was a bit surprised about how much attention these subjects were given to. Nevertheless, learning about ethics, politics, social studies, economics, history, and how these relate to the media has been really rewarding. Even better, practical work is still a part of these subjects, as well, where we would visit city council meetings, court trials and other excursions. Talented guest lecturers are also part of almost every topic, and you end up hearing interesting stories and learning a lot.

Gimlekollen is also the only Nordic school which offers worldview journalism as a mandatory subject, which is something that sets it apart from other schools. Excursions to the local church and mosque gave us students the opportunity to ask questions and learn a lot about these communities, and it was very insightful.

A new reality for journalists

I still have a year left here, and I really appreciate all the knowledge and experience I’ve gained. As a freelancer for the local newspaper, I’ve covered all types of journalism: from local sports and cultural events to deep political and religious matters. Finishing and publishing a journalistic piece you are satisfied with is a great feeling. It is also a real privilege being able to tell important stories, and actually have the chance to make a change with your work.

All is not good with today’s press though. As a newly educated journalist in today’s media situation, you have to be prepared for new challenges every day. Even though I have a huge interest for media, I often find myself getting annoyed over today’s press. The public debate between politicians and other voices in society is often ridden with personal remarks and insults, and the tabloid media love the opportunity to make a negative article or clickbaity headlines.

Today’s press’ tendency to stir up negativity and conflict is something I really dislike, and is honestly something that demotivates me a bit from becoming a journalist. The public’s trust in journalists is at an all-time low, and I don’t blame them. I do hope I can contribute to turn that image around.

Michael Selbekk

The author is a 21-year-old journalism student at NLA Mediehøgskolen Gimlekollen.

Journalism studies in Denmark: At the SDU there are 1000 exciting paths

When I received my acceptance letter to study journalism I thought I had chosen my direction in life. A year has now passed, and I have learned that I did not settle on a specific path at all. This education opens so many doors, and the university gives me the opportunity to discover what is behind these doors. I am now a good kind of confused.

”Hi, my name is Karoline Dam. I am a journalism student from the University of Southern Denmark. Do you have a moment?”

I have lost count on how many times I have said this the last year, but I will probably never get tired of that phrase anyway: All these people I get to speak to. The stories that they share with me, and I am allowed to tell others. It makes me feel really privileged.

Out in the field for Newsweek. Photo: Signe Julie Andersen.

The journalism education at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) has given me the opportunity to tell so many stories: I have recently discussed the guerilla movement FARC with a former Colombian officer, questioned the function of a prayer room with Hetem, who is a Muslim, and met Mads who lives in polyamory, and tore down some of my prejudices. I am positive that it is these kinds of people I will continue to search for, but if their stories will be told with the help of a pen, a video camera or a dictaphone, only time will show.

Doubts in my journalistic brain

Our education covers all aspects of a possible journalistic career. Writing, radio, TV, or digital storytelling? I get to try it all.

And that has left me with a doubt. But a great kind of doubt.

Half a year for each of the above-mentioned areas does not leave me a specialist, but definitely a multi-skiller. In today’s journalistic practice where the internet is a thing and news happen every second, I am sure that making journalistic newcomers to multi-skillers is the right way to teach.

A journalistic nerd

I have learned to write a captive subhead, to create a picture universe for radio, and now I am just learning to edit a TV interview. But I am not only learning to “do” journalism, I am also learning how journalism historically has affected the world, how politics have an impact on journalists vis-à-vis, and how research and statistics will help me create a thorough and well-argued article.

Academic subjects such as media law, international politics, and media language cover 38 per cent of the education, as depicted in the figure below. My first thought when I realized this was: Why? I just want to be a journalist.

The structure of the journalism studies at the SDU. Please click to see a larger image.

However, I have quickly realized that these subjects are what builds the foundation to become a knowledgeable and good journalist.

A kind push

The world of journalists is a battlefield. My fellow students and I know that we must have sharp elbows and do something extra besides the education.

Luckily, the university got our back there. Do you want to be a newspaper editor? Join Lixen. Or are you more interested in getting better with picture and sound? Well, Beton TV and Odense Studenterradio give you the chance.

Reporting news in the morning radio. Photo: Christina Yoon Petersen.

A little piece of advice? Do take these chances. Learn what excites you and what you are good at because two years during the education you must benefit from this knowledge, when you have to find an internship. One year of the studies is reserved for you to show your talent to a company and for the company to learn you how to work in the “real” world. I was just about to tell you that this is the first taste of the journalism industry outside the university, but that is simply not true.

I dare to say that the education at the SDU is, if not the one, then one of the educations that couple learning with real life throughout. We speak to experts, politicians, and to other interesting citizens weekly. We visit radio and TV stations, and we even work for a local newspaper for a whole week.

I have often heard that university students almost feel detached from the outside during their education. I certainly do not have this problem.

Tiny setup – huge competition

A part of the detachment from the outside is the lack of socializing. Luckily, we do not miss out on that at all. We consider ourselves a rather small education, we are no more than 200 students divided into two semesters walking around the journalists’ area, Medietorvet, at the same time. Most of them, including myself, moved to Odense from a long distance after getting in. That forces people to make new friendships, and so we did! Some of my fellow students have become people I do not know how to live without, and I thank the university, that I was “forced” to get to know these people.

Editing the newest TV-assignment. Photo: Karoline Hedegaard.

They are not only friends, they are also competitors. In a profession that is difficult to get noticed in, they urge me to become better at what I am already good at, because ‘good does just not cut it – we have to be great. And with the above-mentioned possibilities, I dare to say that SDU helps us more than we could wish. The rest is up to us. I am so excited to discover what the next year of school has in store for me before I (hopefully) find an internship.

Karoline Lunddal Dam

Me interviewing the Danish musician Hjalmer last month. Photo: Tine Dam Rasmussen

The author strives to become a journalist and began her path at the Danish Folk Highschool Krogerup, focusing on Journalism and Media. Afterwards, she stayed three months in the US studying News reporting and Writing at Bucks County Community College. Now she is studying Journalism at the University of Southern Denmark while working as a web assistant at the Danish television station TV 2.

How to support students with multimedia storytelling? Try this map!

As a teacher, it feels sometimes difficult to make journalism students try to experiment with alternative ways of storytelling. No matter that you have carefully gone through multiple examples of what is possible online, and motivated students to break down their stories to videos, images, graphics and other visualizations. The result will be a long text,  possibly with one or two images. You find yourself asking if there are any better pedagogical choices to nourish fantasy.

The multimedia storytelling map by the Swiss School of Journalism, MAZ.

The Swiss School of Journalism – Die Schweizer Journalistenschule MAZ introduced a map for multimedia storytelling at an EJTA Conference in 2015. The map depicts different choices to consider for telling a story with the help of multimedia. The aim is to feed the journalist’s imagination by showing possibilities for presenting an idea online. The idea is that by asking questions about the material you may be able to match the content with a suitable form.

I have been using the map on different teaching occasions, and to ensure a more comfortable use in Finland, I recently translated it into Finnish. It is currently available in EnglishSwedish and German (as well as in Azerbaijani and Dutch). As the tool is a work in progress, the German version is already in its 5th edition. The map can be downloaded as a pdf, and thus, printed, which is still a valid option in the our classrooms, or used as an interactive html version.

The idea to reduce the complex decision-making process to a limited number of questions and answers may appear to many  too simplified. Some questions, such as whether the person’s appearance is important to telling the story or not, may even seem irrelevant in some contexts. To prevent misunderstandings and overinterpretations it is thus important that the map is introduced in the classroom by the teacher with a short debriefing about the objectives of the approach. At its best, the map functions as a tool that supports the student’s creative process, not as an instruction sheet with pre-made decisions that has to be followed by numbers.

With this little example I am inviting colleagues from the Nordic countries to present their best online teaching materials to their colleagues. You don’t have to wait for the next NordJour conference to share the greatest classroom discoveries!

Maarit Jaakkola

The author teaches and researches journalism in Finland and Sweden. She is happy to receive suggestions from teachers on texts presenting and discussing teaching materials and pedagogical ideas to be published in this blog at maarit.jaakkola@uta.fi.

Want to work abroad? Don’t forget your Nordic neighbours!

Working abroad and getting international working experience – hands up who hasn’t dreamed about it and decided to make the dream come true one day? But who of you have thought the neighbouring Nordic countries as an option? No, we choose London and Japan – and so did I, before finding my way to Sweden.

Today the world is small and there are as many ways to work abroad as there are dreamers. My own experience is not a coherent or systematic one, but life rarely is.

Needless to say, being a freelancer journalist (or almost any other freelancer) is challenging and often requires existing contacts, skills and good luck. Many journalists prefer to work as an independent writer, but I like working for, and with, someone. However, I hadn’t been able to live abroad and to be an employee at the same time.

During my early years of university studies as I was living in Finland I, for some reason, never realised to stop and think the international working options in neighbour countries. I did know that in Stockholm, for example, there were a few different media where one could use, and improve, Swedish and Finnish language as well as journalism sklls. Maybe I thought that my poor(ish) school Swedish would be too poor to be able to work in Sweden… So I chose Asia – well, that makes lots of sense, doesn’t it?

After graduating I lived in London and started a modest career as a freelancer journalist, but it didn’t take a long time to realise that better working conditions would wait for me in Finland. In my homeland I gained more experience as a journalist, and later could become a freelancer journalist again, this time in Japan and South Korea. There my experience and results were slightly better than as a novice a few years earlier.

As a summer journalist in Sweden

Anyway, apparently it took me some years and a decision to start a new international masters program in Denmark to come across a summertime journalist vacancy at Sveriges Radio’s Finnish channel Sisuradio. As I hadn’t any plans for the following summer, I thought I can always try. Therefore I took a train from Copenhagen to Stockholm and went to see Finnish radio professionals. And got excited right away. Fortunately, also the job interviewers were – well if not excited – at least happy to hire me.

And when the summer came, my excitement just kept rising in a new but cosy channel with encouraging and supportive colleagues. When I confessed to a Swedish-Finnish colleague that I had to use a dictionary often because Swedish is sometimes difficult for me, he said he uses the dictionary every day – because Finnish is sometimes difficult for him.

I think one of the best things about being a journalist is that I learn every day something new about the world and its people. This summer, I didn’t learn only about the world and Sweden, I also learned Swedish language and culture. At the moment, I am continuing my studies in Copenhagen but will work part-time in Sisuradio’s Malmö office.

After the summer, my heart still beats when I’m going to do an interview in Swedish. But it doesn’t beat as fast as three months ago. The interviews don’t always go like “on Strömsö”, like they say in Finnish, but at least I can smile like a Swedish. I know I will succeed and I will fail many times. For those reasons, among others, I want to encourage young (and old) journalists and journalism students to take a train or a ferry to a neighbour country. It is an international experience, which again can bring along many new ones.

Karoliina Kantola

The author is studying MSc degree in Global studies and International development at Roskilde University, Denmark. Previously, she has taken BA in Comparative literature and MSc in Journalism at the University of Tampere, Finland. During the summer, she worked as a radio news journalist in Stockholm at the Sveriges Radios Finnish-speaking channel Sisuradio focusing on the affairs related to the Finnish living in Sweden.

Fortsätt läsa Want to work abroad? Don’t forget your Nordic neighbours!

Journalism studies in Iceland: ”I’ve got to know my country and society better”

Erna Agnes Sigurgeirsdóttir is a journalism student at the University of Iceland.

I’m very glad that I chose the Master’s Program in Journalism at the University of Iceland. After my first year of studies, my journalistic appetite has only grown and I have learned a lot about my country and myself.

I had just finished my BA in Art Theory and had been working at a kindergarten. I thought about choosing educational studies for my Master’s and I had already written my application letter. A year before that I had heard about this journalism program in the University of Iceland. I thought it was very interesting but I wasn’t ‘t sure if I was up for the journalism environment. So after some thought, I finally decided to apply for the Master in Journalism – and got accepted.

Although I loved working with children and I thought the educational studies program sounded very good, I didn’t ‘t have the same flutter in my stomach as when I thought about the journalism program.

Different in a good way

I knew from the start that I was most interested in human interest stuff and cultural angles. My dream was, and still is, to work in radio and make different kinds of segments. And for that, choosing Master’s in Journalism was probably one of the best decision I have ever made.

As soon as I started I realized what good a decision I had made, and I loved it from the start. It was very different from what I had been used to when I studied Art Theory, and it was different in a good way. The courses I took were very hands-on. I learned how to write for different kinds of news media and I also learned how to handle all of the technical equipment that is essential in the media environment.

Looking back to my first year

I have now finished my first year and have one year left. During this year I have boosted my self-esteem for I have seen that I can actually do the work, yet it is not easy and I have a lot to learn. Our teachers encourage us students to find their voice. They have helped me find my way, and they make sure that I also step out of my comfort zone. That is one of the best ways to learn.

At Háskólatorg where people usually meet up before class. It also has the best coffee on campus.

I have also got to know my country and society better. I have always been interested in social matters but in this program I have been able to dig deeper. I have learned how to find news and what matters.

The internship and the reality

One of my favorite part of my first academic year was the final month. That month I, and my fellow students, had the opportunity to work as an intern in a media company of the preference of our own.

The internship period was, for me at least, the most important course I had taken during the first year. There I really learned how the real media environment works. I learned so much during this month, and I loved every, and sometimes difficult, minute of it. I was also able to grow my social network, which, of course, is extremely important to a journalist.

I got to work in the news department at Ríkisútvarpið, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. First, I worked at the news department for two weeks and thereafter for another two weeks at Rás 2, which is a radio station specialized in current events. I did segments for the morning and afternoon radio. That was absolutely my favorite part of the internship.

During my first year I have learned a lot – not just about myself but also about how the media work, and about its power and influence on the social environment and political structures. I look forward to the next year, because I know I still have so a lot more to learn.

Erna Agnes Sigurgeirsdóttir

The writer studies journalism at the University of Iceland. It is a two year program that is both practical and theoretical. The number of new students per year is around 21. Erna Agnes’ post starts a series of blog posts with the title Min utbildning, presenting study programmes at journalism schools in the Nordic countries.

Det nordiska nätverket för journalistutbildningar på högskolenivå