Journalists can apply now for Knight Center online course “Narrative Journalism in the Internet Era”

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas will be offering its new online course, “Narrative Journalism in the Internet Era,” from April 16 to May 20, 2012. Organized by journalist Paul Alonso, the five-week Spanish-language course includes weekly instruction led by renowned writers such as Maria Teresa Ronderos, Daniel Santoro, Julio Villanueva, Esther Vargas, and Gabriela Wiener.

Even with social media and mobile technology on the rise, narrative journalism still holds a great level of importance. This online course explores different ways of storytelling through lecture and discussion. Weekly guest writers and editors will share their real-life experiences, techniques, and materials, to understand the recent turn journalism has taken and analyze the ways the Internet has impacted the art of storytelling.

The course will be led entirely online by six instructors who will divide the weekly modules amongst themselves. Colombian journalist María Teresa Ronderos, consulting editor of the magazine Semana and the news site Verdad Abierta (Open Truth), will lead the “Editor’s Point-of-View” module. Argentine journalist Daniel Santoro, editor of the political column in the newspaper Clarín, will take charge of the “The Narrative in Investigative Journalism.” Peruvian journalist Julio Villanueva Chang, founder of Etiqueta Negra magazine, will teach techniques about “Narrative Writing and Characters.” Esther Vargas, specialist in digital media and founder of Clasesdeperiodismo.com, will teach “The Multimedia Narrative” and writer Gabriela Wiener will have control of “The Gonzo Narrative.”

Paul Alonso, a Ph.D. candidate in journalism at The University of Texas at Austin and member of the Knight Center staff, will be the course director. “Narrative writing is still one of the most creative areas in this field. This course will be a great opportunity for participating students to share and learn from those journalists who have contributed to the evolution of this genre in this digital era,” Alonso said.

There is a $60 application fee. Journalists can apply up until April 6, 2012, at 5 p.m. (CST).

After some online reading of examples of and materials about narrative writing, practice examples about how to use online resources will be offered. Also, the course will offer multimedia and digital narration experiments that will be available online. The course is divided into several modules, each containing visual presentations and links to online resources. Examples, discussions, and assignments will also be part of the course. Participants will be required to dedicate from 10 to 15 hours per week toward course activities.

More course information can be found here.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas was founded by professor Rosental Alves, from the journalism department at The University of Texas at Austin, in August of 2002, thanks to a generous donation by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Center also receives contributions from other donors, including the Open Society Foundations and the University of Texas at Austin. The main objective of the Center is to help Latin American and Caribbean journalists with interest in bettering the quality of journalism in their countries.