ZURb1210 Solutions Journalism

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
Lucie Černá (seminar tutor)
Mgr. et Mgr. Markéta Malá, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Veronika Verešová (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. et Mgr. Markéta Malá, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Boris Rafailov, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
ZURb1107 Feature writing && ZURb1109 Journalism ethics and regulation
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 35 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course is an introduction to solutions journalism in collaboration with representatives of the Solutions Journalism Network. The students will have the opportunity to learn about the current trends in this type of analytical journalism and to master the basic methods of work under the guidance of experienced lecturers. The course combines theoretical and practical teaching, the output is a solution-oriented report. Solutions journalism is an innovative journalistic approach that continues to tell a story where conventional journalism usually ends - after uncovering a problem, it focuses on analysing existing responses to it. It doesn't look for the perfect solution, but looks for how people elsewhere are dealing with similar predicaments. In doing so, it provides inspiration and guidance on practices that have proven to be socially beneficial and have an impact. It is this kind of content that is proving to be of great interest to readers, especially young readers.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, learners will be able to:
- distinguish solutions-oriented journalism from other types of journalistic work
- describe their characteristics and methods
- understand its advantages and limitations
- understand the international context of this type of journalism
- create their own solution-oriented journalistic product
Syllabus
  • The background, history and disciplinary context of solutions-oriented journalism (SJ)
  • the main criteria of SJ - what it is and what it is not, how it differs from PR
  • advantages and disadvantages of this approach
  • methods of work, story retrieval
  • genre rules
  • work on own project (reportage)
Literature
  • LEE-POTTER, Emma. Interviewing for journalists. Third edition. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017, x, 209. ISBN 9781138650237. info
  • LEE-POTTER, Emma. Interviewing for journalists. Third edition. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017, x, 209. ISBN 9781138650237. info
  • O reportáži, o reportérech. Edited by Barbora Osvaldová - Radim Kopáč - Alice Němcová Tejkalová. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, nakladatelství Karolinum, 2010, 130 s. ISBN 9788024617817. info
  • WHEELER, Sharon. Feature writing for journalists. New York, NY: Routledge, 2009, 198 s. ISBN 9780415336352. info
  • BLAŽEJOVSKÁ, Alena. Rozhovory o interview. Edited by Barbora Osvaldová - Radim Kopáč. Vyd. 1. Praha: Karolinum, 2009, 166 s. ISBN 9788024616186. info
  • BECH-KARLSEN, Jo. Být přitom : reportáž jako žánr a metoda. 1. vyd. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1991, 208 s. ISBN 8271470949. info
Teaching methods
lecture, seminar, self-study, work on own project
Assessment methods
attendance, completion of interim tasks, final project
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/ZURb1210