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Journalism · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Digital Journalism & Online Media

The newspaper is dead; long live the feed. This course explores the transformation of news from static print to dynamic digital interactivity. Students will learn the mechanics of Content Management Systems (CMS), Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for news, and the art of multimedia storytelling. The curriculum emphasizes data visualization, interactive graphics, and the ethical challenges of the “24/7” update cycle.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Master Content Management Systems (WordPress/Drupal) for news publishing
  2. Apply SEO principles to headlines and metadata to increase organic reach
  3. Create interactive multimedia stories using tools like Flourish or Knight Lab
  4. Verify digital content and debunk viral misinformation (OSINT basics)
  5. Analyze web analytics (Bounce Rate, Time on Page) to guide editorial decisions
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01The Evolution of News: Print vs. Pixel
  2. 02Writing for the Web: Scanning & Hyperlinking
  3. 03CMS Training: Publishing & Formatting
  4. 04SEO for Journalists: Keywords & Trends
  5. 05Multimedia: Embedding Video & Audio
  6. 06Mobile Journalism (MoJo) Recap
  7. 07Digital Ethics: Corrections & Updates
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Data Journalism: Finding Stories in Spreadsheets
  10. 10Data Visualization: Charts & Maps
  11. 11Interactive Storytelling tools (TimelineJS)
  12. 12Audience Engagement: Comments & Community
  13. 13Social Media Strategy for Newsrooms
  14. 14Monetization: Paywalls, Ads, & Subscriptions
  15. 15The Future: AI in the Newsroom
  16. 16Final Project: The Interactive Feature Story

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Interactive Feature Story

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. The Functional Art by Alberto Cairo
  2. Journalism Next by Mark Briggs
  3. The Online Journalism Handbook by Paul Bradshaw
  4. We the Media by Dan Gillmor
  5. HTML & CSS: Design and Build Websites (Basic coding context) by Jon Duckett
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