Fundamentals of Journalism Course

Learn the basics of journalism from the experts in this free course. Please read the information on this page before you begin.

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Course requirements

Fulfill all the course requirements to earn a digital credential that you can share on your resume or LinkedIn profile.

  • Complete all the course activities, in any order

  • Watch every video at least 85% of the way through

  • Pass each quiz. For quizzes with more than one question, you are allowed to miss one question per quiz.

Course curriculum

    1. 🎥 Video: Course Introduction

    2. 🎥 Video: Module 1 Introduction

    3. 🗺️ Module 1 Guide

    4. 🎥 Video: The Planning Phase

    5. ✅ Quiz: The Planning Phase

    6. 🎥 Video: Newsgathering and Writing

    7. ✅ Quiz: Newsgathering and Writing

    8. 🎥 Video: Locking in the Rundown

    9. ✅ Quiz: Locking in the Rundown

    10. 🎥 Video: Countdown to Showtime

    11. ✅ Quiz: Countdown to Showtime

    12. ➡️ Explore: Broadcast News Careers

    1. 🎥 Video: Module 2 Introduction

    2. 🗺️ Module 2 Guide

    3. 🎥 Video: What Are Journalism Ethics?

    4. ✅ Quiz: What Are Journalism Ethics?

    5. 📖 Reading: Ethical Journalism — What Does it Mean?

    6. 🎥 Video: Remember the Ethical Acronym F.A.I.T.H.

    7. ➡️ Explore: F.A.I.T.H.

    8. ✅ Quiz: F.A.I.T.H.

    9. 🔎 Additional Resources

    10. 🎥 Video: Ethical Dilemmas

    11. ✅ Quiz: Ethical Dilemmas

    12. ➡️ Explore: Ethical Decision-Making

    13. 📖 Reading: Understanding and Avoiding Bias

    14. ➡️ Explore: Conflicts of Interest

    15. 📖 Reading: Verification

    16. ✅ Quiz: Ethical Decision-Making & Conflicts of Interest

    17. 🔎 Additional Resources

    18. 🎥 Video: Applying F.A.I.T.H.

    19. ✅ Quiz: Applying F.A.I.T.H.

    20. ➡️ Explore: Ethics in Action

    21. ✅ Quiz: Ethics in Action

    22. 🔎 Additional Resources

    23. 🔀 Scenario: Ethical Dilemma

    1. 🎥 Video: Module 3 Introduction

    2. 🗺️ Module 3 Guide

    3. 🎥 Video: How Journalists Find Stories

    4. ✅ Quiz: How Journalists Find Stories

    5. ➡️ Explore: How Reporters Find Stories

    6. 🎥 Video: Defining the Terms

    7. ✅ Quiz: Defining the Terms

    8. ➡️ Explore: Newsgathering

    9. ➡️ Explore: Reporting

    10. ✅ Quiz: Newsgathering & Reporting

    11. 🔎 Additional Resources

    12. 🎥 Video: Evaluating Your Sources

    13. ✅ Quiz: Evaluating Your Sources

    14. ➡️ Explore: Types of Sources

    15. ✅ Quiz: Types of Sources

    16. ➡️ Explore: Evaluating Sources

    17. 🎥 Video: Trusting Authorities

    18. ✅ Quiz: Trusting Authorities

    19. ➡️ Explore: Journalism Sourcing Standards

    20. 📖 Reading: Why Does Diversity in Primary Sources Matter?

    21. 🔎 Additional Resources

    22. 🎥 Video: Newsgathering Pro Tips

    23. 🎥 Video: Going Straight to the Source

    24. ✅ Quiz: Going Straight to the Source

    25. ➡️ Explore: Background Research

    26. ✅ Quiz: Background Research

    27. 🔎 Additional Resources

    28. 🔀 Scenario: Newsgathering on a Scandal

    1. 🎥 Video: Module 4 Introduction

    2. 🗺️ Module 4 Guide

    3. 🎥 Video: What Is News Writing?

    4. ✅ Quiz: What Is News Writing?

    5. ➡️ Explore: Writing & the News

    6. ✅ Quiz: Writing & the News

    7. 🔎 Additional Resources

    8. 🎥 Video: Anatomy of News Writing

    9. ✅ Quiz: Anatomy of News Writing

    10. 📖 Reading: News Writing Fundamentals

    11. ➡️ Explore: News Writing Style: The Inverted Pyramid

    12. ✅ Quiz: The Inverted Pyramid

    13. 📖 Reading: Broadcast Journalism Tips with Ron Allen

    14. ➡️ Explore: Broadcast News Glossary

    15. 🔎 Additional Resources

    16. 🎥 Video: News Writing Pro Tips

    17. 🎥 Video: Ethics in News Writing

    18. ✅ Quiz: Ethics in News Writing

    19. ➡️ Explore: Ethics and Writing

    20. 📖 Reading: 10 News Writing Tips to Remember

    21. ➡️ Explore: How to Avoid Plagiarism

    22. ✅ Quiz: Ethics in News Writing - Part 2

    23. 🔎 Additional Resources

    24. 🔀 Scenario: Writing the News

    1. 🎥 Video: Module 5 Introduction

    2. 🗺️ Module 5 Guide

    3. 🎥 Video: Fundamentals of Pitching

    4. ✅ Quiz: Fundamentals of Pitching

    5. ➡️ Explore: Identifying News Pegs

    6. ➡️ Explore: Elements of a Good Pitch

    7. ✅ Quiz: News Pegs & Pitch Elements

    8. 🔎 Additional Resources

    9. 🎥 Video: Pitching Stories on Underrepresented Communities

    10. ✅ Quiz: Pitching Stories on Underrepresented Communities

    11. ➡️ Explore: Good Pitches

    12. 📖 Reading: What to Avoid in a Pitch

    13. ✅ Quiz: What to Avoid in a Pitch

    14. 🔎 Additional Resources

    15. 🎥 Video: Finding Pitches

    16. ✅ Quiz: Finding Pitches

    17. ➡️ Explore: Pitching Internally vs. Externally

    18. 🔎 Additional Resources

    19. 🔀 Scenario: Making the Pitch

    1. 🎥 Video: Module 6 Introduction

    2. 🗺️ Module 6 Guide

    3. 🎥 Video: What Is an Interview?

    4. ✅ Quiz: What Is an Interview?

    5. 🎥 Video: Types of Interviews

    6. ✅ Quiz: Types of Interviews

    7. ➡️ Explore: Interviewing Basics

    8. ➡️ Explore: Understanding the Purpose of Your Interview

    9. 📖 Reading: Setting Up the Interview

    10. ➡️ Explore: Professionalism

    11. 📖 Reading: Checklist for Preparing for an Interview

    12. 🔎 Additional Resources

    13. 🎥 Video: Reporting and Attribution

    14. ✅ Quiz: Reporting and Attribution

    15. ➡️ Explore: Interview Strategies

    16. 🎥 Video: How to Conduct an Interview for a Digital Profile

    17. 📖 Reading: Online Interview Checklist

    18. ✅ Quiz: How to Conduct an Interview for a Digital Profile

    19. 🎥 Video: Sensitivity and Approaching People with Trauma

    20. ✅ Quiz: Sensitivity and Approaching People with Trauma

    21. 🔎 Additional Resources

    22. 🎥 Video: Interviewing Pro Tips

    23. 🎥 Video: Listening for Sound Bites

    24. ✅ Quiz: Listening for Sound Bites

    25. ➡️ Explore: The Sound Bite

    26. 🔀 Scenario: An Interview After the Storm

About this course

  • Free
  • 175 lessons
  • 3.5 hours of video content
  • 7 hours to complete (average)
  • Published in 2023

Featured reviews

5 star rating

10/10

Kyla Moore

I took this course during my internship, and it quickly became one of the most valuable learning experiences I've had. The lessons were practical and engaging. The course directly related to the work I was doing in a professional newsroom. I was a...

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I took this course during my internship, and it quickly became one of the most valuable learning experiences I've had. The lessons were practical and engaging. The course directly related to the work I was doing in a professional newsroom. I was able to immediately apply what I learned about writing, sourcing, interviewing, ethics, and storytelling to my daily assignments, which helped me become more confident and effective in my role. I would highly recommend this course to anyone pursuing a career in journalism or media because it provides real-world skills that can be used right away.

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5 star rating

Amazing resource!

Timothy Richardson

I came away genuinely impressed with NBCU Academy. The course kept my attention from start to finish, and I found myself taking notes and thinking about ways to apply the concepts in my own media classes. I would definitely recommend it to educato...

Read More

I came away genuinely impressed with NBCU Academy. The course kept my attention from start to finish, and I found myself taking notes and thinking about ways to apply the concepts in my own media classes. I would definitely recommend it to educators, students, and anyone interested in media and journalism.

Read Less
5 star rating

Very inspiring

Tasha Sparks

To see how news staff work together to make news stories happen was very inspiring and gave me a new perspective on the challenges and importance of news production.

To see how news staff work together to make news stories happen was very inspiring and gave me a new perspective on the challenges and importance of news production.

Read Less
5 star rating

A Valuable Foundation for Aspiring Journalists

Wanja Maina

The Fundamentals of Journalism course provided a strong foundation in essential journalism principles, including news gathering, interviewing, storytelling, ethics, and the role of journalists in society. The course was practical, engaging, and he...

Read More

The Fundamentals of Journalism course provided a strong foundation in essential journalism principles, including news gathering, interviewing, storytelling, ethics, and the role of journalists in society. The course was practical, engaging, and helped deepen my understanding of professional journalism standards. It was especially valuable in strengthening my skills in identifying impactful stories, developing sound bites, and presenting information clearly and responsibly. As someone with practical writing experience, I found the course useful in refining my approach and reinforcing the importance of accuracy, fairness, and credibility in journalism.

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