JO.225 Social Responsibility in Journalism, 5 cr

The course is organized in the autumn semester as self-study online. You can start the course flexibly during late August or September and the course closes in December when the final assignment must be completed.

The course offers a comprehensive overview of sustainability issues within journalistic media. It addresses various current phenomena, such as news medias’ economic crisis, it’s (digital) emissions, rise of AI, news avoidance, disinformation and  trust in journalism, systemic thinking and the call for diversity and pluralism. In the course we look for tools to enhance sustainability of journalism amidst these major changes. We also explore the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030, aiming to equip the students to engage with these global challenges. The course consists of six thematic modules, each requiring 2-4 days of full-time work (at your own pace). Learning activities include video lectures by several academics, journalism practicioners and civil society actors from Finland and abroad, literature, podcasts, discussions and writing assignments. Some assignments are assessed by the teacher, but students also give peer reviews to each other.

The course is offered as a MOOC course. Since the course is funded by Vikes, Finnish Foundation for Media and Development, regular open university fees do not apply to this course. It is free for everyone during this academic year. You will need the course key 210784 when entering the course at DigiCampus.