Unit overview: Newsbeat
UoP journalism students put their professional news hunter gatherer skills into practice in a second year unit called Newsbeat.
And the work they produce is often published in the city news media helping them build crucial portfolios of industry standard work.
In Newsbeat, students take on a part — or district — of Portsmouth to cover for a year.
They make contact with key people in their area, interview sources, snap pictures and write a range of news and feature stories, emulating the work of professional journalists.
They also produce an audio slideshow about an important story from their district.
The best stories appear in the city’s regional newspaper The News and aboutmyarea.co.uk, a hyperlocal website for Portsmouth.
Current second year student Ollie Marsh was the third Newsbeat student to recently have a page lead in The News, following up a soccer story which had been picked up by the media worldwide.
Ollie said: “I think Newsbeat is one of the most important units on the journalism course because it teaches the correct format, structure and style that is needed for professional news writing.
“I found being encouraged to go out and find stories very useful because it gave me the experience of real journalism and real story-hunting.
“The uni’s relationship with local news outlets such as The News and aboutmyarea is brilliant because students get the chance to have their stories published.
“Seeing my work in print and reaching a big audience was certainly a great feeling, and having a by-line in The News is a fantastic thing to be able to put on my CV.”
Newsbeat includes visits to magistrates and crown courts and inquests, sessions on photography and writing news for different platforms. It also helps students gain a deep understanding of working for the UK news media.
Students also meet a range of visiting journalists from news organisations, digital publishers and news agencies.
For more information about Newsbeat please contact bernie.saunders@port.ac.uk, the journalism lecturer who runs the unit.
Bernie Saunders, Senior Lecturer in Journalism
