JAI HIND COLLEGE

BASANTSING INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

&
J.T. LALVANI COLLEGE OF COMMERCE
(AUTONOMOUS)
"A" Road, Churchgate, Mumbai - 400 020, India.

Affiliated to
University of Mumbai

Program : BMM

Proposed Course : Mass Media (Journalism)

Semester V

Credit Based Semester and Grading System (CBCS) with

effect from the academic year 2020-21

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 T.Y. B.M.M. (Journalism) Syllabus

Academic year 2019-2020

Semester V

Course Course Title Credits Lectures

Code /Week

ABMMJ501 Reporting 5 4
ABMMJ502 Editing 5 4
ABMMJ503 Journalism and Public Opinion 5 4
ABMMJ504 Feature and Opinion 5 4
ABMMJ505 Indian Regional Journalism 5 4
ABMMJ506 Newspaper and Magazine Making 5 4

Semester VI

Course Course Title Credits Lectures

Code /Week

ABMMJ601 Press Law and Ethics 5 4

ABMMJ602 Issues in Global Media 5 4
ABMMJ603 Broadcast Journalism 5 4
ABMMJ604 Business and Magazine Journalism 5 4
ABMMJ605 News Media Management and 5 4
Entrepreneurship

ABMMJ606 Contemporary Issues 6 4

ABMMJ607 Digital Media 5 4

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 Semester V

Course: Reporting (Credits: 05 Lectures/Week: 04)

ABMMJ501

Objectives: They are employable as reporters in the media.

Outcomes: The study of how to report for print and television, with practical
experience.

15 L
What is News? Definition of News.
Unit I News values. Elements of news/news sense. What makes news as news.

Basic Principles of Reporting

ABC of Reporting Accuracy, Balance/Brevity and Clarity.
Objectivity as the basic principle. Is it possible to adhere to the
principle? Other basic principles such Verification, Attribution of
Sources, Speed.

Do these principles clash with each other?

15 L
News Gathering
Unit II How do reporters gather news.
Press Conference, Public Meetings, Press Release, Interviews, Rallies,
Official Programmes. Incident/On the spot coverage. Sources: Primary
& Secondary
Official & Unofficial or Hidden or Confidential.
Off the record sources/ Self Developed sources.
Role of anonymous sources.
New-age technological sources.
How to develop sources.
Reliability and confidentiality of sources

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 15 L
News-writing:
How to write a news story
Unit III
Construct the news. - Intro, Dateline, Credit-line, Body-text. Inverted
Pyramid style as the basic requirement.
Use of news parlance. Use of verbs, adjectives, comment.

Follow-up Story

Agenda setting report – added

Beats System in Reporting - What is beat system, why it is necessary,

how does it help, What are requirements of various beats.
The basic beats such as.
Crime, Civic Affairs/Local Administration, Law & Courts, Politics,
State Administration, Transport (Road, Rail, Waterways and Aviation),

Infrastructure, Education, Health, Entertainment, Defence.

New upcoming beats:
Community, Women & Child welfare, Technology, Science &
Environment, Youth & Career, Consumer.

Citizen Journalism
Participation of citizens in breaking news-stories. A new branch.

Importance of New Tools in the hands of Reporters.

RTI, Recorders, Camera, Spy Camera and Spy tools, Social Media,
Being undercover.
The use/misuse of these tools, Authenticity and credibility of these tools.
Significance of pictorial/graphic element and support to your news story
or any such extra audio- visual material supporting your story. Can it
add value, efforts to get hold of it, Can it have negative impact.

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Unit IV 15 L
Coverage of Disasters
Do's and Don'ts. Role of Reporters. Mitigation, nuisance value,
constructive role, Risks involved, Special training, if any, Precautions
and responsibilities.
Study these with special in-depth reference to the 26/7 deluge in
Mumbai and 26/11 Mumbai Terrorist Attack.
The references of Tsunami, Nepal Earthquake and Uttarakhand floods
may also be studied.

Investigative Journalism
History of Investigative Journalism in the world and India.
How to cover an investigative story, Do's and don'ts.
The Role of Investigative Reporters in bringing about change in the
respective establishments/society or the system.
Limitations/Obstacles in covering an investigative story. Role of Whistle
Blowers and also news tools.
Sting Operations.

Ethical Issues in reporting/ Credibility of Reporters. Yellow Journalism

and its comparison with other forms. Privileges/Extra powers to
Reporters. Myth or Reality? Imminent Dangers or threats in Reporting.

Case Studies:

 Watergate Scandal

 Tehelka - West End Deal Sting

 Bofors Gun scandal

 2 G Scam

 Anna Hazare Movements Coverage

 Farmer agitation

 Cambridge analytica

 Rafale jet deal

Russian intervention in 2016 American presidential elections

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References:
1. Inside Reporting, Harrower, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2007
2. Fundamentals of Reporting and Editing, Ambrish Saxena, Kanishka Publications,
2007
3. Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production, Jonathan
Kern, University of Chicago Press, 2012
4. Reporting Live, Lesley Stahl, Simon and Schuster, 2000

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Course: Editing (Credits: 05 Lectures/Week: 04)
ABMMJ502

Objectives: Enables the students to get jobs in the desk in print media, and to
be able to create content for news televisions (copyeditors).
Outcomes: The study of the art of editing copy to create relevant headlines and
subheads.

15 L
Covering different writing styles, writing for broadsheet and tabloids, e
Unit I papers and improving language skills. Commonly made mistakes.
Rewriting news. Holistic composition with general rules regarding
editing. Familiarizing national, international abbreviations, local usages,
etc.
Justification of news placements. Beat specialty in writing news.
Art of writing headlines. Types of headlines, strap lines, sub-headlines
and slugs.

15 L
Difference between Headline writing for broadsheets and tabloids.
Unit II Layout- and design. Different types of layouts.
Requirements of copy (sub) editor. Using search engines and
maintaining data and other duties of the sub editor. Additional
responsibilities due to changes in printing technology etc.
Copy editing techniques for digital media and e editions, multi-editional
papers

15 L
Judging newsworthiness and knowing wire services
Unit III
Organisation and hierarchy chart for editorial department and functions
at each level.
Unit IV 15 L
Vocabulary, changing usages of mixed coding and guidelines for writing
according to stylebook.
Photo and visual selection, writing captions, ethics for visual
Case Studies:
Tabloid- Mumbai Mirror, Sandhyakal (Marathi)/ Mumbai Chapher.
Broadsheet- Times of India, Asian Age
Broadsheet: Regional Lokmat
International tabloid- The Sun
International Broadsheet: The Washington Post

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References:
1. Fundamentals of Reporting and Editing, Ambrish Saxena, Kanishka Publications,
2007
2. News Editing in Theory and Practice, Sourin Banerji, K. P. Bagchi, 1992
3. The Art of Readable Writing, Rudolf Flesch, Collier Books, 1962
4. Editing and Design: Newsman’s English, Harold Evans, Heinemann [for] the National
Council for the Training of Journalists, 1973
5. Newspaper Layout and Design: A Team Approach, Daryl R Moen, State University
Press, 1984
6. Creative Editing, Diane L. Borden, Dorothy A. Bowles, 3rd edition, Wadsworth, 2000
7. Digital Sub-Editing and Design, Stephen Quinn, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016

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Course: Journalism and Public Opinion (Credits: 05 Lectures/Week: 04)
ABMMJ503

Objectives: Helps students to apply it when they are reporting and writing
features and when they work as researchers in think tanks.

Outcomes: The study of the theories of opinion formation and how to apply
them in contemporary socio-political environment.

Media theories and their understanding of Public Opinion 15 L

Walter Lippman - Modern Media and Technocracy
Unit I Paul Lazarsfeld– Research, Two Step Flow of Information
Noam Chomsky – Manufacturing Consent, Selective Perception,
Propaganda Model Agenda Setting Vs Uses and Gratifications

15 L
Defining Public Opinion, Its functions in society
Unit II
Media and Political Opinion: Coverage of Political Parties, Personalities
and General Elections by national and international media; media biases
Use of Media for election campaigns: Democrats & Republicans in
U.S.A.; BJP in India

Media shaping opinion with respect to government’s policies (reference

to India): Nuclear policy; Economic policy; Current Foreign Policy.
Media’s role in fanning an activist, Indian Foreign Policy with respect to
“balancing” China, “Embracing” USA, “Isolating” Pakistan

15 L
Role of Media in shaping public opinion during conflicts
Vietnam War; The 2 Gulf Wars, Bangladesh Crisis 1971; Kargil
Unit III conflict; How Public Opinion can translate into Public participation:
Arab Spring - Tunisia; Libya, Egypt; Syria- role of social media
War on international terrorism – media coverage
Islamic State (IS); Al-Qaeda; Taliban, Gaza Crisis 2008-09; 2014

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Unit IV 15 L
Internal Conflicts and Media coverage:
National media vis-à-vis regional media in India’s North East –
Manipur, Nagaland Bodo conflict
Portrayal of Women’s issues in media – gender violence, rape, sexual
assault, domestic violence; - Nirbhaya case, Shakti Mills, Mathura rape
case & other contemporary cases. Kathua and Una Cases
Farmer distress, Forest Rights Act, displacement
Rise of the Dalit Movement, reservation
Media Coverage of Marginalised sections of Society : Perspective from
Above’ (Ignoring the marginalised)
Social media and cause for conflict with special reference to trolling and
fake news

How Covid-19 and media impacted perception and the role of WHO
References:
1. 21st Century Journalism in India, Nalini Rajan, Sage Publications, 2007
2. A Handbook of Journalism: Media in the Information Age, V. Eshwar Anand, K.
Jayanthi, Sage Publication, 2018
3. Public Opinion, Walter Lippmann, Courier Corporation, 2012
4. Public Opinion, Vincent Price, Sage Publications, 1992
5. Opinion Polls and the Media: Reflecting and Shaping Public Opinion, C. Holtz-
Bacha, J. Stromback, Springer, 2012

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Course: Feature and Opinion (Credits: 05 Lectures/Week: 04)
ABMM504

Objectives: The students should be able to get a job in the features department
and become feature editors in the magazine.

Outcomes: The study of the skills to write features for a magazine or

newspapers and to write an opinion piece.

15 L
Difference between ‘hard’ news, ‘soft’ news and how the demarcation
Unit I is blurring
What is a feature
Types of features: Performing art, culture, travel, F&B, literature, web
and social media, fashion & lifestyle, health and fitness.
Difference between news reports and features
Difference between features for newspapers and magazines
Writing a feature:
Formulating a story idea and writing a pitch
Tips and tools
Understanding cultural, political and social nuances
Profile:
What is a profile
How to write a profile
Profiles of established journalists. (Example: S Sadanand, Kumar
Ketkar, ShyamLal, Vinod Mehta, P Sainath)
Snippets
What are snippets
Writing snippets with catchy headlines

News Gathering:
How do reporters gather news:
How to develop sources and build a network
Reliability and confidentiality of sources
Incident/On the spot coverage:
Press Conference, Public Meetings, Press Release, Interviews, Rallies.

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Unit II 15 L
Other aspects of feature writing:
Collecting facts and opinions/anecdotes/quotes
Types of leads
Adding colour and imagery
Outline of:
Seasonal stories
Nostalgic stories
Human interest stories
Trend Stories
Blogs:
How to write a blog with reference to food, travel and fashion

15L
Unit III
Interviews-
Art of interviewing:
Preparing for face-to-face interview
Structuring the questions
Attitude during interview
Transcribing: notes or recording
Writing the interview: question-answer format and descriptive format
Outline and special techniques needed for the following interviews:
Phone
Email
Television
Writing Reviews.
For films books, food, fashion, art & culture.
Format, ethics involved and qualities/skills required
Obituary:
What is an obituary
How to write an obituary
Can obituaries be critical
Types of beats

Film reporting (Bollywood/India films/film festivals/trends), Sports (Indian

and world sports/local - Mumbai sports scene, beyond cricket with football,
badminton and tennis being most popular) (Always use a Dictaphone)

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Unit IV 15 L
Columns:
What is a column
Types: analytical, advisory, interactive and agony aunt columns, ethics
involved
Editorial page:
What is an editorial
Importance of editorial page
Layout of editorial page
Transformation of the page: fading of op-ed, middle,
Erosion of editorial independence with growing commercialisation
A few city-based examples: like Adarsh building scam, Indrani-Peter
trial, Metro III vs. the citizens, and other current issues.

Media coverage on Covid-19 and how fake news impact the public
opinion and their perception towards news.

References:
1. Art of Feature Writing, Huned Contractor, Icon Publications, 2004
2. Writing Opinion: Editorials, William L. Rivers, Bryce McIntyre, Alison Work, Iowa
State University Press, 1991
3. Feature Writing for Newspapers, Daniel R. Williamson, Hastings House Publishers,
1975
4. The Art of Interview: A Guide to Insightful Interviewing, Martin Perlich, Silman
James Press, 2007

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Course: Indian Regional Journalism (Credits: 05 Lectures/Week: 04)
ABMM505

Objectives: The students are exposed to the media, bilingual students will be
able to get jobs in non-English media

Outcomes: The study of the relevance of regional journalism in India and how
they are forming ideas and contributing change.

15 L
Regional press during the British Raj: an overview
Unit I
Hindi media plus any 3 regional media (Marathi Press, Bengali Press,
Urdu Press, Malayalam Press, Telugu Press, Tamil Press) with focus
on the sub-topics as follows:

Birth and earliest publications and Role during the freedom movement
Role in social reforms
Focus on Hindi media today

15 L
Profile leading Journalists of the past and present. For example: Raja
Unit II Rammohan Roy, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, KP Kesava Menon, K.C.
MammenMappillai, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Govind Talwalkar,
S. Sadanand, Ravish Kumar, and others.
Comparison of English and regionalism journalism. Difference in:
Impact
Reporting
Editorial policy
Reach

15 L
Growth of Regional television channels
Increasing ownership and dominance of families with political
Unit III connections over regional newspapers and their influence in editorial
content.
Unit IV Focus on regional broadcast medium as a tool for social change and 15 L
political discourse which will include Hindi media and any 3 other
regional languages.

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References:
1. Indian Regional Journalism, P. K..Ravindranath, Authorspress, 2005
2. 21st Century Journalism in India, Nalini Rajan, Sage Publications, 2007
3. A Handbook of Journalism: Media in the Information Age, V. Eshwar, Anand
Jayanthi, 2018
4. India's Newspaper Revolution: Capitalism, Politics and the Indian-language Press
1977-99, Robin Jeffrey, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000

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Course: Newspaper and Magazine Making (100 Mark Project) (Credits: 05
ABMM506 Lectures/Week: 04)

Objectives:
➢ Print media reporters are expected to file soft copies in formatted fashion
they are able to create
➢ Students are taught relevant software that are in use in contemporary
print media

Outcomes: The students are satisfying the industry requirements of copy editing
and formatting
Why and How 60 L
Why we read
Unit I Need of updates
Favorite topics

Analysing the newspaper from layout point of view

Understanding parts of Newspaper- Stylebook

Total Page Content (TPC)

Terminology, Regulars, Weekly, Columns and Supplements

Headlines- different types and logic behind each

Errors- Orphan, widow, Dog legging, etc.

Grid Structure
Space distribution in Newspaper
Column and Grid Pattern
Newspaper layouts
Distinguishing Factors
Types of Newspaper
Tabloid vs Broadsheet
Stories
Presentations
Structural differences

Introduction to Typography
Typefaces and Font
Classification of Typeface
Combination of Typefaces

Introduction to Adobe InDesign

Runaround, Inset. Box color and Tone
Frame and Linking
Shortcut and Keys
Style Sheets, Colour Palette and Measurement Bar

Introduction to Graphic Principles

Contrast, Balance and Harmony

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 Visual Paths and Visual Syntax

Introduction to the Types of Layout

Types of layouts – Magazine
Adaption of Layout
Final Project
Improving Visual Appeal and Layout
Content Plan (Magazine)
Flat Plan (Magazine)
Rough Layout (Sketch)

Introduction to Print Production

Pagination and Set up
Type of Paper, Surface Nature, Weight and Standard Size
Collating, Gathering and Staple Binding/Saddle Stitch
References:
1. Newspaper Layout &Design: A Team Approach, Daryl R. Moen, Fourth Edition,
Surjeet Publications, 2000
2. Visual Journalism, Rajesh Pandey, Adhyayan Publishers & Distributors, 1st edition, 2009
3. Editorial Art & Design, Randy Stano, Miami Herald
4. The Magazines Handbook, Jenny McKay, Routledge, 2002

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 Evaluation Scheme

[A] Evaluation scheme for Theory courses

I. Continuous Assessment ( C.A.) – 40 Marks

(i) C.A.-I : Project/Assignment – 20 Marks

(ii) C.A.-II : Project/Assignment – 20 Marks

II. Semester End Examination ( SEE) – 60 Marks

[B] Evaluation scheme for Practical courses- Not Applicable

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