Applications now being accepted for online course on critical journalism and creative storytelling

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas will be offering a five-week online course in July in Spanish, entitled “Critical journalism in times of entertainment and spectacle,” and will be taught by Peruvian journalist and Peruvian writer Paul Alonso. The course will be offered from July 22 through August 25.

The goal of the course is to help journalists develop a creative storytelling style for reporting and non-fiction as well as help them explore unconventional approaches to telling a story.

Journalists can apply to this course until July 12 by 5 p.m. (Austin, Texas time). More details about the course can be found here.

Journalists from print, digital, and broadcast media are welcome to apply. Journalism students in the last semester of their college education are also encouraged to apply. The only requirement is that students must have a medium-to-advanced level of proficiency in reading English because some of the materials in the course will be in that language.

“The course explores different approaches to the interview, gonzo journalism, humor and satire in relation to journalistic discourse,” Alonso says. “It’s a course on critical journalism and is experimental. Journalists will learn and question traditional and experimental forms of journalism and entertainment practices that mixes with the information.”

Students who apply and selected into the course will pay an administrative fee of US$60. This low cost is possible thanks to the support the Knight Center receives from donors like Knight Foundation and Open Society Foundations. The fee is payable only online with a credit card.

Paul Alonso is a journalist and Peruvian writer. He holds a Ph.D. in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published three books of fiction and works with international publications. He has worked at the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas since 2004 and is currently a professor in the School of Modern Languages at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. A selection of his journalistic work can be found at http://paulalonso.wordpress.com

This online course is divided into weekly modules containing multimedia presentations and links to online resources. Most of the course activities can be followed in the days and times most appropriate for each student. Exercises, online discussions and additional assignments will also be part of the curriculum. Participants can expect to spend 6-8 hours per week on the course.

The course will be taught using the Knight Center’s distance learning platform that has benefited more than 7,000 journalists from Latin American and the Caribbean, since it was created in the fall of 2003. On completion of the course persons will receive a Knight Center certificate of participation.

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas was created in 2002 by Professor Rosental Alves at the University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism, thanks to a generous donation from 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 Center’s main goal is to help journalists in Latin American and the Caribbean improve the quality of journalism in their countries.