My Online Journalism Syllabus

Johanesa NIANDONIRINA
Interdisciplinary and Vocational Training Department
Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences
University of Antananarivo
E-mail: fikarohako@gmail.com
Phone number: 26 13 31 11 96 92

MULTIMEDIA AND MULTILINGUALISM

DESCRIPTION

By this course, students will learn how to deal with online journalism, multimedia and translation. The focus will be on blog creation, data and information gathering and multilingual blog making. All along the lecture, theories and practices will be combined. Sometimes, students will have sharing sessions.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this course, students are expected to be able to:
-Distinguish online journalism from classical journalism
-Create a new blog and master WordPress functioning
-Write good articles and post them to their blog
-Produce an objective interview and convert it into MP3 file before exporting it on their blog
-Shoot good photos and videos which are suitable for online broadcasting
-Localize and internationalize a blog

COURSE ATTENDANCY

The department regulations must be respected by all students. If a student misses classes three times without good excuse, the disciplinary committee will have a meeting to decide this student’s fate. Everybody have to respect the “academic fifteen minutes.”

COURSE DEADLINES

Students must respect the deadlines; otherwise, they will be penalized.

VERY IMPORTANT

Never give a ring nor send short message to the instructor.
Teaching will be in French

GRADING INFORMATION

Blog creation and personalization, including the article in French<10
Audio<15
Photos and soundslides <20
Video<25
Localization and translation<25
Intervention and level of participation<05
TOTAL<100

COURSE SCHEDULE

I- INTRODUCTION TO THE ONLINE JOURNALISM

Week 1
Introduction to the course and the schedule

Week 2
The difference between the online journalism and the online press

Week 3
The online journalism and multimedia mastering

Week 4
Sharing and discussion on online journalism in Madagascar

II- CREATION OF A NEW BLOG

Week 5
Ethics and online journalism

Week 6
Introduction to blog creation
-Exercise <create your new blog and write an article according and pay attention to lessons in chapter I

Week 7
Discussions and sharing on journalism participatory (student will conduct a survey before that)

Week 8
Introduction to audio interview
Exercise <make an interview related to the topic of your article
(Instruction: do not mention to the interviewee that it is an exercise)

Week 9
Introduction to photojournalism
-shooting and editing in photoshop
Exercise < shoot some photos and edit them

Week 10
Introduction to soundslides
Exercise< with the photos shot for the last exercise, make a sounslides and post it to your blog
Week 11
Introduction to video shooting
Exercise <make a video shooting

III- AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION (TVA) AND LOCALIZATION APPLIED TO ONLINE JOURNALISM

Week 12
Video editing
Exercise <edit your video

Week 13
Introduction to B-roll and video interview
Exercise < combine the interview and B-roll then upload them to Youtube)

Week 14
Sharing and discussion about localization applied to online journalism (the student are supposed to know what is localization and audiovisual translation and how to deal with it)

Week 15
Translation and localization of the blog (part I)
Target languages: Malagasy and French

Week 16
Translation and localization of the blog (part II)
Note: Each course lasts three hours. Each exercise is to do at home. Before starting a new lesson, those who have problems and difficulties can ask questions.

My Tweet Experience

At the beginning, I found it so complicated because I used to facebook interface. I confess, I took about three hours before I understood how it works. But now, I see that it is really another magnitude compared with other blogging.

What impressed me is the way how information is spread. It is relevant and fast, better than on an international media web. And I have noticed that most of subscribers are there for professional goal. Even if it is just four a days now since I had my Twitter account, I have got lots of information from many different countries. I know what happens all around the world in few times, without opening many different web sites. I especially enjoyed the tweetchat I had with my tutor and my colleagues. It drove me to discover another horizon, and proved to me that Twitter is different from Facebook.

It was a good idea to allow subscribers to search for contacts by their centre of interest. For my part, I follow other researchers and teachers in communication, journalism and translation. I also follow those who share news such as Cyberpresse and L’Express. And how nice to discuss with other persons who share your interest! I did not looking for a real-life friend on Twitter and do not know how it works but I like when you do not talk about you personal life in such blog. I remember the day I created my account on Facebook, two days after, I received some fifty friend suggests and I have noticed that many of them talked about nonsense! Of course, it is not that bad but sometimes, you need to discuss about important things. I have noticed that when I deal with serious subject, I have no comments from my friends.

Since I have used Twitter, I have felt to be in security. I mean, I can get all of the information I want and the subscriber I follow do not have to follow me back. That remind me one of my friend’s saying “I fell being naked by Facebook!” And I recognized that somewhere, he was not wrong!

Visit to Madagascar

Mrs Elisabeth accepted to tell us more about her every day tasks, especially what she does each morning!These photos show us her pleasure to serve her family, and also how much she loves her husband and children.

 

Glimpse of Malagasy People

The country sees a new hope in new birth

A Malagasy woman has her family’s welfare at heart

And, we also have good times among friends

No matter what may come on her way, this young women turns her eyes towards the future

However conservative the Malagasy people are, the rap music has reached the country

People voice

Mrs RABEKOTO’s point of view as far as journalism in general, online journalism and multimedia in Madagascar are concerned, shooted on october the 28th 2010. She is a part-time lecturer at the Communication Departement at the University of Madagascar.

My Multimedia Point of View

How multimedia news packages have changed the way of telling stories? This one is about women’s life in India. In one word, it deals with violence and ill-treatment that Indian women endure. The site is accessible by the link http://mediastorm.com/publication/undesired. Two aspects caught my attention. First, the way the video is subtitled. At the same time those who are interview speak, their words are transcribed at the bottom of the video. This will help people who have difficulty to understand the story, and sometimes, like in the beginning, the interviewees do not speak. Also, this later’ expressions are so impressive! Their sufferings and grief are reflected on their face. And the author has chosen the best images to illustrate his interview.

Apart from that, such interactive should be encouraged. It is one of the best tools to heighten public awareness of such issue. Actually, you can comment and give your opinion. What is interesting with this web site is that, they asked your name, your e-mail and your location when you send your comment. You can do that by clicking the button comment at the left of the video. Not only that but, if you want to make a donation, you go to the link http://mediastorm.com/pub/donate.html, where you can also have information about the Media Storm’s missions.

Above the button “comment”, you have the “map”, what is specific with this map is the fact that you can see how the situation becomes worse and worse. Here, you can feel that information is precise and reliable; bloggers can show their compassion and can give help directly.

Another thing I like with this blog is that, men give evidence about the situation to show that it is not only a women’s problem. Either in the form or in the subject, the author proves his objectivity and his transparency.

Finally, I find that it is sensible that we can share this on social multimedia, in such a way that you can share it with your friend. I think that it is one of the means if you want to catch people attention.

On the contrary, the video is too long. I mean, bloggers do not have many time to spend in front of their computer. So that, when we give information in such media, we have to be brief. Otherwise, giving summary or other file that can be downloaded would help. Thus, people can download it and can listen when they have enough time.

Window on Online Journalism in Madagascar

Online journalism has the vocation to improve and develop the journalism field. Conscious that all information given in the web site will be widespread beyond the world, journalists pay more attention to what they publish. As for the case of Madagascar, efforts asked to be developed. Journalists in Madagascar are used to produce sensational information due to commercial stakes. Apart from that, Malagasy people are conservative and jealous as far as their culture is concerned. Despite the fact that the country is opened to the globalization phenomenon, there still have practices and customs that can not be accepted by their way of thinking and perception, such as images of naked woman or mutilated body and other exhibitionist and provocative images. Of course there those who do no have problems with it but the majority of the citizens do not consume it.

http://www.scoopmada.com/scoop-49.html

http://www.scoopmada.com/cat_list_details.php?cat=Sexo

Such seductive images do not illustrate the Malagasy value and culture. And also they underline the concept of sex-object which is an unacceptable in Malagasy way of thinking.

During the last year crisis during which there rifle fire; images of this slaughter were published in writing press, on television and on web sites. For the case of this later, images were well developed in such a way that bloggers could see them in details.

It is also observed that French language is more used than the native one in online journalism in my country. This implies that online journalism is only for those who can speak and/or understand French. Actually, around the 60% of the Malagasy people do not speak other languages apart from their native one. That is to say that they can not get information given on web sites.  Besides, Malagasy language is used in forums that are essentially based on the current political situation.

On the other hand, informations about the Diaspora members are also available, in French again.

http://www.scoopmada.com/cat_list_scoop.php?cat=Europe

http://www.mada.pro/

http://www.midi-madagasikara.mg/

What is noticed is the fact that there are lots of divertissements, and the current events go in the middle ground. It can be viewed in the home page: http://www.scoopmada.com/

Online journalism is a new field that needs improvement in Madagascar. Training and formation.

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