Course code

KOA6039.FK

old course code

KOA6039

Course title in Estonian

Uudis

Course title in English

Critical Analysis of Mediatexts

ECTS credits

6.0

Assessment form

Examination

lecturer of 2026/2027 Autumn semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

lecturer of 2026/2027 Spring semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

Course aims

The aim of the news course is to teach students to analyze media texts, to find topics of new value independently, to communicate with sources for the development of these topics and to write well-focused, comprehensible and linguistically and technically correct news stories.

Brief description of the course

The course provides an overview of the main types of journalistic texts, the principles of news writing, and the fundamentals of reporting. The course covers news value criteria, principles of objectivity, the formulation of article focus and lead paragraphs, and the structure of news stories, including the inverted pyramid model. It also examines journalistic genres and addresses the impact of disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation in the contemporary media environment.
The course places strong emphasis on practical news production: students identify topics, work with sources, write and analyse news stories, and develop the ability to critically evaluate the quality and structure of journalistic texts. Teaching takes place in seminar format and requires active participation, completion of mandatory reading assignments, knowledge assessment through tests, and the regular submission of written assignments.

Learning outcomes in the course

Upon completing the course the student:
- explains and applies the following concepts in the analysis of journalistic texts and the selection of news topics: news threshold, news value criteria, objectivity, the core of a story, article focus, and the lead paragraph;
- distinguishes between disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation, and understands their impact;
- describes and applies the principles of news structure, including the inverted pyramid model;
- uses the basic techniques of reporting (finding topics, describing events, working with sources) in creating simple journalistic texts;
- produces a news story that meets the publication standards of a journalistic outlet;
- critically analyses the structure of news stories and makes well-reasoned suggestions for improvement;
- distinguishes and analyses the main journalistic genres (news story, feature story, reportage, opinion piece, editorial), identifying their characteristic features.

Teacher

Taavi Eilat

The course is a prerequisite

Additional information

Õppetegevus toimub seminaride vormis, kus osalemine on kohustuslik. Kursusel osaleja peab igaks seminariks läbi töötama kohustuslik kirjanduse, mille lugemist kontrollitakse testiga, ja igaks seminariks tuleb tähtajaks esitada hindeline kodutöö. Mõlema täpsed juhised antakse seminaris.

Study programmes containing that course

Journalism ( BFAB/27.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/26.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/25.FK)
History (AIAJM/26.HT)
History (AIAJM/25.HT)
Journalism (KOAB/24.FK)
History (AIAJM/24.HT)
Journalism (KOAB/23.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/22.FK)
History (AIAJM/23.HT)
Journalism (KOAB/21.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/20.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/19.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/18.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/17.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/16.FK)
Journalism (KOAB/15.FK)