Celebrity Journalism

• Top lecturing team with massive experience - world class figures leading both practical and academic elements
  
   
• Outstanding track record of graduates working with celebrities in a range of diverse roles in journalism and the media
  
   
• Innovative and unique award which reflects the changing industry and combines generic and specialist skills to succeed as a celebrity journalist

Video: Professor Ellis Casmore introduces the new 'Celebrity Journalism' award at Staffordshire University

Celebrity has always been a key focus for journalism.

The expansion of the concept of celebrity and the focus on traditional celebrity figures such as film, TV, pop and sports in recent years has been phenomenal.
Many students express a desire to work on celebrity stories during and after their journalism awards here. But students who work in other areas, such as news or sports, will still be working with modern-day ‘celebrities’. So we have built this course around lecturers’ fantastic knowledge of the world of journalism as a whole, and around practitioners who have global knowledge of celebrities and how they interact with the media.

The course has been designed to incorporate a hands-on, real-world focus and a demanding syllabus that equips graduates with the core journalistic essentials, such as law and shorthand, alongside specialist skills such as interviewing celebrities and writing celebrity features.

Right: Staffordshire University broadcast Journalism graduate Jamie Shepherd interviews X factor twins John and Edward. Jamie now has a successful career at ITN and freelances for popular radio stations like Gold, Capital and XFM.

• Year one will concentrate on essentials – the knowledge, skills and understanding you will need in the job. Students will get an intensive, year-long programme. The schedule includes how to interview celebrities, where to find stories, and how to write articles for the multi-media world – writing for print and the web.
  

• You will also study the key areas of Media Law and Shorthand to enhance your newsgathering and interviewing skills, as well as how to research and find information on the web. The role of the press in today’s celebrity-led society and the ethical considerations for journalists will also be studied.
  

• Year two core modules provide an in-depth focus on writing celebrity features and articles. You will also learn the practical essentials of broadcasting and negotiate and undertake a fully assessed three-week work placement that can become a gold-card route to a career. You can also choose options from a wide range of choices. 
  

• Year three is constructed around establishing and reinforcing a thorough understanding of the professional environment in which you will work. The programme includes a major project working to a real-world brief, working as part of a journalistic team in Newsdays, and gaining a greater understanding of celebrity culture and the role journalists and the media play.

Year 1
• Celebrity Interviewing and Writing
• Theory and Practice 1
• Law for Journalists
• Shorthand
• Story R and D
• Theory and Practice 2
• Thinking Journalism

 Year 2
• Celebrity Features
• Review and Lifestyle Journalism
• Introduction to Broadcast Journalism
• Web-based Journalism
• Screening Journalism
• Work Placement + two optional modules from a list including:

Magazine Writing, Magazine Design, Sports Features, Editing and Production 1 + 2

Year 3
• Journalism Project
• Celebrity Culture
• Newsdays
• Career Development
• Photojournalism
• 1 optional module from a list including:

Political Columnist, Philosophy of Journalism, Women in Journalism, Shorthand 2 + 3

Staffordshire University graduates are working in a wide array of prestigious journalistic and PR roles involving the world of celebrity. Among these successes are students who are working or have worked for major organisations or names such as Grazia magazine, the Trisha Show, Splash news agency in LA, as well as students working as press officers or public relations managers for sports organisations, MPs, private companies (eg. Microsoft), all of which deal with celebrities and celebrity issues on a day by day basis.

The rise of websites and blogs has provided a new platform for young journalists to ply their skills and many will work in these areas. Graduates are completing Staffordshire journalism awards that have the internet at their heart. This equips them to become successful contributors to highly regarded, commercial sites, or to enable them to launch their own independent sites.

The course will also equip students with strong transferable skills and employability credentials for other careers, because top-end and specialised communication skills are prized in every sphere of employment.

Left: Staffordshire University broadcast Journalism graduate Jamie Shepherd interviews music star Lemar. Jamie now has a successful career at ITN and freelances for popular radio stations like Gold, Capital and XFM. 

• Journalism
  
  
• Music Journalism and Broadcasting
  
  
• Journalism (Joint Honours Route) (paired with another subject, e.g. English, media studies, creative writing

2006 graduate Tom Holdcroft, now media and communications manager at Derbyshire County Cricket Club, interviewing the Australian Test player Simon Katich, who was captain of the county side, for the club website.

• BA(Hons) Celebrity Journalism (PDF, file size: 124.93KB)

For more information about Celebrity Journalism (P590) please contact: