Course program
The course includes a first part (12 hours) in which the news sector in Italy is presented and analyzed, in terms of production structure and consumption dynamics, with specific reference to the radio and television information field.
A second part of the course (18 hours) will be dedicated to the declination within the radio and television information formats of the main journalistic genres: politics, economy, internal news, foreign news, culture, sport. This part will foresee the presence of professionals in the information field, which will bring students concrete experiences related to the case studies analyzed.
A third part of the course (18 hours) will be dedicated to radio and television talk show, starting from an international comparison and to presenting and applying an in-depth analysis of the format, focusing on elements such as: topics treated and intention / ability to frame them in specific narrative or interpretative frames; role of the host, specifically in managing guests and in involving home audience.
The workshop (24 hours) will focus on the analysis and classroom simulation of the editorial dynamics underlying realization of a radio and/or television news format, and its declination in one of the new forms of audiovisual journalism (mobile journalism, podcasting, etc.). Both moments of public discussion of the modalities chosen for the construction of the format, and of presentation of the eventual finished product will be foreseen.
Prerequisites
For a better understanding of the topics covered, a minimum knowledge of journalism theories and techniques is advisable.
Books
1. S. Petrone, C. Ruggiero (eds), "Giornalismo televisivo. Il linguaggio delle news nella post-network era", Mondadori, Milano, 2025
One text to be chosen from:
2a. C. Ruggiero, "La macchina della parola. Struttura, interazione, narrazione nel talk show", FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2014
2b. G. Zanchini, "La radio nella rete, Donzelli", Roma, 2017.
Plus, for non attending students, one text to be chosen from:
4a. C. Ruggiero (ed.), Il virus nell'informazione. I telegiornali italiani nell'anno della pandemia, FrancoAngeli, Milan, 2020 or M. Scaglioni e M. Sala (eds.), L'altro virus. Comunicazione e disinformazione al tempo del Covid-19, Vita&Pensiero, Milan, 2020 (part one except for the Carelli-Vittadini and Villa chapters)
4b. N. Piro, Mobile journalism. Come progettare, girare, montare e distribuire video professionali con il telefonino e... poco altro, Centro di documentazione giornalistica, Rome, 2018
4c. The state (and future) of television news and broadcast news studies: Theoretical perspectives, methodological problems, and practice, Journalism Practice monograph issue (13:9 2019), introduction + 1 monograph article
N.B. during the lessons, further bibliographical indications could accompany or replace the previous ones.
Teaching mode
The course is based on a successful integration between theoretical lectures, lessons with professionals coming from broadcast television sector, whose contribution will go towards providing a privileged point of view on specific technical, professional or productive aspects related to the field of radio and television journalism, seminars on topics of transversal interest.
In particular, the more theoretical part of the course will primarily concern the acquisition of an adequate understanding of the processes of newsmaking applied to the specific radio and television, and therefore the part of the course dedicated to the analysis of evolution, the state of the art and the possible evolutionary trends in radio and television information in the Italian and international context, and in the description and analysis of the production structure and the dynamics of news consumption in Italy.
The lessons with professionals coming from broadcast television sector will instead feed the critical skills necessary to apply the acquired knowledge to the analysis of audiovisual information products, and therefore will primarily focus on the part of the course dedicated to the declination of different genres (politics, economy, internal news, foreign news, culture, sport) in Italian broadcasting information. In this context, professionals will be called (individually or through the construction of lessons-events that involve comparing multiple points of view) to bring students concrete experiences related to the case studies analyzed.
Both the lessons of the course and those of the laboratory provide for the implementation of group exercises and project work, with specific reference to two ways of implementation of critical skills and judgment of students: on the one hand, through the use and implementation of content analysis tools; on the other, the solicitation to design and implement at least the first episode of an information format for radio or television. For both these modalities there will be moments of public discussion, in order to implement students' ability to communicate / transmit what they have learned.
Should the current situation or subsequent developments require it, the teaching activities may be carried out at a distance according to the procedures to be indicated by the University.
Frequency
Attendance to the course will be recorded by signature sheet. Attending students will be entitled to take the exam with a specific program.
Exam mode
The exam includes a part of the return of the more theoretical knowledge learned during the course, related to the processes of newsmaking applied to the specific radio and television, but also the knowledge learned through the testimonies of the professionals coming from broadcast television sector. This is accomplished through an oral test, which represents the crowning of a path of ongoing verification of the knowledge and skills acquired by the student.
During the lessons, in specific moments of public discussion aimed at implementing the skills of communicating / transmitting what has been learned, the acquisition of critical and judgmental skills will have been verified, declined in the skills of analysis of media products in general, and of design and creation of an information format for radio or television specifically.
Lesson mode
The course is based on a successful integration between theoretical lectures, lessons with professionals coming from broadcast television sector, whose contribution will go towards providing a privileged point of view on specific technical, professional or productive aspects related to the field of radio and television journalism, seminars on topics of transversal interest. In particular, the more theoretical part of the course will primarily concern the acquisition of an adequate understanding of the processes of newsmaking applied to the specific radio and television, and therefore the part of the course dedicated to the analysis of evolution, the state of the art and the possible evolutionary trends in radio and television information in the Italian and international context, and in the description and analysis of the production structure and the dynamics of news consumption in Italy. The lessons with professionals coming from broadcast television sector will instead feed the critical skills necessary to apply the acquired knowledge to the analysis of audiovisual information products, and therefore will primarily focus on the part of the course dedicated to the declination of different genres (politics, economy, internal news, foreign news, culture, sport) in Italian broadcasting information. In this context, professionals will be called (individually or through the construction of lessons-events that involve comparing multiple points of view) to bring students concrete experiences related to the case studies analyzed. Both the lessons of the course and those of the laboratory provide for the implementation of group exercises and project work, with specific reference to two ways of implementation of critical skills and judgment of students: on the one hand, through the use and implementation of content analysis tools; on the other, the solicitation to design and implement at least the first episode of an information format for radio or television. For both these modalities there will be moments of public discussion, in order to implement students' ability to communicate / transmit what they have learned.