Journalism Innovation and Leadership

Entry requirements

Applicants should have a strong interest in the challenges facing journalism and its leaders and submit a 250-word statement that describes your daily duties, the relevance of the programme to your career or your goals for the course and how you will apply the learning in context.

Degree: undergraduate degree in journalism or a related media subject at least 2:1 or evidence of professional journalism or media industry experience.

IELTS: score of 7 or equivalent. Applicants will also be interviewed either in person or via electronic means.

GCSEs: Maths and English at Grade C/4 or equivalent.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

Our Postgraduate Certificate in Journalism Innovation and Leadership is ideal if you’re an experienced news professional who’s looking to develop advanced knowledge and skills which will enable you to thrive and innovate at the forefront of today’s rapidly changing media industry.

This year-long blended learning programme combines interactive online learning with intensive learning blocks and in-depth projects. We’ll equip you with the practical expertise and entrepreneurial mindset you’ll need to succeed in an influential role within a leading news organisation.

You’ll benefit from mentoring opportunities with some of the leading minds in today’s media industry and cutting-edge research from our University’s Media Innovation Studio. We’ll match you with an experienced industry mentor drawn from our alumni network and collaborators from top industry associations, including the UK Society of Editors, the Digital Editors Network, and the World Association of News Publishers.

As you progress through the course you’ll enhance your leadership skills and stretch your thinking, with a view to identifying ways of propelling your organisation forward. You’ll explore agile management and other complex project management techniques, data-informed approaches, personal and organisational goal-setting, and much more. By engaging with the issues shaping journalism today, you’ll develop a wealth of valuable new skills which will enable you to become a leader at the forefront of tomorrow’s media industry.

This course is for you if you want to:

• Challenge organisational effectiveness and create agile leadership strategies to drive transformation and resilience.
• Develop an advanced data mindset and the skills to gain insights about audiences – and to act on them to enhance performance.
• Understand how to adapt newsroom workflows, organisational structures and mindsets to meet changing demands.
• Develop the practical knowledge to manage innovative projects and diverse teams.
• Explore innovation methods such as design thinking and co-design.
• Stress test new business and revenue models for news in an increasingly complex and competitive market.
• Think deeply about what the issues shaping journalism today means for us all tomorrow.
• Build the personal and professional competencies to grow your team, your organisation – and your career.

Why study with us

• On this flexible course you can study for a Postgraduate Certificate part-time while remaining in your current work role.
• We are part of the Google News Initiative University Network of leading journalism programmes worldwide.
• You’ll tap into the knowledge of global industry thought leaders and world-leading research from our University’s Media Innovation Studio to help you recognise the potential in yourself, others and the future economy.

What you'll do

• We use an innovative blended learning approach which combines online discussions and webinars with intensive residential weeks on campus packed with lectures, hands-on workshops and guest speakers.
• You’ll be mentored by a leading media industry professional. We have strong links with organisations such as the UK Society of Editors, the Digital Editors Network, and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
• You’ll identify practical strategies to help your business to succeed and innovate.

Learning and assessment

This programme offers a flexible learning plan that will equip forward-thinking media professionals to successfully lead teams and organisations in an increasingly complex and competitive media landscape.

The blend of intensive face-to-face seminars, extensive online support and mentoring from experienced industry leaders will help you build the advanced knowledge, skills and confidence you need to propel your organisation forward – and accelerate your career.

Modules are scheduled for spring and autumn with residentials typically in April and October.

We use Adobe Connect for formal teaching sessions and Blackboard supplemented with OneDrive. We will record sessions for playback and offer informal discussions on forums such as WhatsApp and Skype. We’re happy to accommodate you if you’re based in a non-UK time zone, and we’re happy to set up flexible sessions.

A key part of the learning experience is what we call ‘flipped learning’, where we adopt a user-centred approach. You’ll typically prepare for each interactive session online or on campus by completing readings and exercises in advance. This enables us to dedicate class time to exploring topics in greater depth, creating rich learning opportunities. As a result, you’ll be an active participant in all the scheduled sessions and evaluate your learning in a way that’s personally meaningful.

Planning your studies

We recognise that professionals have considerable demands on their time. With that in mind, we suggest you consider the following when planning your studies:

• You should plan to spend 8 to 10 hours per week on the research, reading, discussions, reflection and writing required for each module
• Residential seminars normally begin on Monday mornings and end the following Friday after lunch. Daily activities typically begin at 9am and last until 5pm, with some evening workshops and events. Dress throughout is typically casual.
• Weekly online seminars and coaching is typically scheduled in the early on one evening per week during the semester.
• Course tutors and industry mentors are available for meetings online and in person.

We also tailor our courses to corporate groups or media development programmes. The team are experienced facilitators and are happy to custom training solutions around journalism innovation and leadership. We are fully plugged into the challenges faced by a wide variety of media exploring and implementing diverse route-maps to thrive in the mobile and connected digital landscape. Contact the course team for more information.

Further information

The programme has been developed in close consultation with the Society of Editors UK and an advisory board of alumni and other industry thought leaders:

• Alison Gow, Editor in Chief (Digital) Reach Plc Regionals, UK
• Ian MacMurray, Editor Emeritus, The Telegraph Media Group and Chair of the Society of Editors
• Jethro Goko, Publisher, Associated Newspapers, Zimbabwe
• Cherilyn Ireton, Director, World Editors Forum, WAN-IFRA
• Steve Matthewson, Bureau Chief UK & EMEA, S&P 500 Global Market Intelligence, UK
• Paddi Clay, Media Consultant & Trainer, South Africa