CNN and University College Dublin team up to train next generation of journalists
Posted 02 June, 2021
A new collaboration between CNN and University College Dublin will equip upcoming global journalists with the skills and methods of the multiplatform media age.
With the growing prevalence of information sources, people are turning to media brands they trust for news and factual journalism. This program will offer valuable insights and essential industry knowledge including approaches to storytelling, international standards and ethics in journalism, and verification techniques.
Accredited by UCD and jointly delivered with CNN Academy, the (opens in a new window)new MA Journalism and International Affairs program connects the classroom to the newsroom, offers direct collaboration with the news industry and gives access to the best practices in multiplatform journalism and production.
Modules will be delivered at the (opens in a new window)UCD Clinton Institute on the campus of UCD, Ireland’s largest and most globally diverse university. Classes will involve modules on the CNN Academy Hub e-learning platform with live interactive seminars and workshops by CNN representatives.
Sessions led by experienced CNN producers, journalists and editors will also include breaking news, field reporting and how to cover critical global issues such as the environment, along with different narrative formats, audience engagement and digital techniques and tools.
The practical training components supported by CNN Academy will be complemented by the Clinton Institute’s academic expertise to provide core modules in research skills, international conflict, cybersecurity, and political communications. The course will help students to understand the structures and dynamics that shape global issues and relations and how to report on them.
Students will produce content throughout the course including podcasts and video stories and their work will feature on the Clinton Institute’s media platform, (opens in a new window)America Unfiltered, with the opportunity for being published on CNN platforms. Students will have the option of submitting their MA dissertation as a piece of multiplatform journalism with guidance from the CNN team.
Vice President, News Operations, International Newsource at CNN, Samson Desta said, “At a time when CNN’s journalism is proving more vital than ever before, we are pleased to be collaborating with UCD to share knowledge, expertise and first-hand experience from across CNN to encourage and empower the next generation of journalists.”
UCD President, (opens in a new window)Professor Andrew Deeks said, “This is the first Masters programme in English that CNN has co-designed in collaboration with a university partner, connecting the classroom to the newsroom with an innovative curriculum that is challenging and employment-orientated.”
“This is a timely initiative, as there is a growing need to develop our capacities to understand and respond to global challenges. In a time of acute global concern about the status of trusted expertise and truthful media this collaboration between UCD and CNN underlines our shared commitment to advancing knowledge and empowering people to make informed decisions about the worlds around and beyond them,” he added.
The MA will appeal to and reward those with a passion to understand the world and explain it in informative and transformative ways. The course will enhance student career pathways, principally in the international news industry and in ancillary sectors that value knowledge of international communications.
By Dominic Martella
