Riviera Reporter
Riviera Reporter
THE FRENCH RIVIERA'S ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWS MAGAZINE
THE FRENCH RIVIERA'S ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWS MAGAZINE

Breaking news, Nice’s School of Journalism goes international

Director Marie Boselli-Berenguer has the scoop.

Marie Boselli-Berenguer
 
RR: The École du Journalisme (EDJ) in Nice offers Bachelor Degrees in both Journalism and Sports Journalism. What’s the story behind EDJ?

MB: We were tired of hearing the same old thing … “It’s the media’s fault” ... “Journalists just aren’t serious” … so we decided to do something about it. In September 1990 we launched the École du Journalisme  [School of Journalism] in Nice and for 24 years we’ve been applying the same principle: equip young journalists with the tools necessary to enter the workforce!

The basic idea was to have our teachers, who are journalists themselves, share the essence of their profession with the up and coming generation ... And our philosophy is successful! News media have trusted us for over 20 years and so has the national higher education. The school was recognised by the State on May 10th, 1995, and our diploma – the diplôme visé – has been officially approved by the Ministry of National Education, ensuring the quality of our training, since 2010. We also became part of the ERASMUS charter a year ago.

RR: Registration is now open for EDJ’s new Masters in International Journalism, starting September 2014. This is the first program of its kind in France. How did you get the idea, and how long did it take to turn this into reality?

MB: In recent years, the number of applications for international internships has steadily increased as global mobility has become an essential part of journalism. With the internet, young people see every day how news has no borders. They’d like to go abroad, and we wanted to offer them this opportunity.

The idea of the Masters came about several years ago, but it has taken time to implement the program. We needed good teachers, courses that reflect the true nature of the job, and, above all, it was crucial to find internships and a solid partnership, like with www.lepetitjournal.com.

Today we have everything you need for a successful Masters in International Journalism: teachers, pedagogy, classes and lepetitjournal.com!

RR: Lepetitjournal.com is a daily French-language news website aimed at French expats. What role will it play in the new Masters program?

MB: From the get go, Hervé Heyraud, a journalist and founder of lepetitjournal.com, was excited to be a partner in this endeavour.

Lepetitjournal.com is a true partner of the Masters program. This online newspaper is present in 44 cities across the world, where Editors-in-Chief will host our students for internships during their studies. Even the numerous lepetitjournal.com journalists we Skyped with are enthusiastic about welcoming our students.

RR: The Masters is a two-year program open to graduates in journalism and non-journalism. What would be a typical semester for non-journalism freshmen, and what percentage of the program is designed to be taught in English?

MB: The goal of the Masters is to train journalists to work internationally. Students will learn specific journalistic cultures of different countries, new technologies, the sociological psychology within a changing profession and the evolution of international economic models.

This training allows students to acquire a broad general education in line with the challenges of the 21st century but also a mastery of all journalistic practices – print, TV, web and photo.

In the first year, there are two journalism courses taught in English: a course in journalistic techniques taught by Jon Bryant, a correspondent in France for several British media; but there is also the history of major international media course provided by a Franco-Canadian journalist.

During this first year, we’ll concentrate on the technical skills and functions of written press, web and television. Lectures will be focused on international journalistic culture – techniques in English, history of the major international media, freedom of the press, the world economy and international law ...

RR: What can an EDJ graduate with a Masters in International Journalism expect?

MB: The advantage of this training is that it allows students to work anywhere in the world where there is free press. As well, our students are disciplined in multimedia – they can write articles, do TV reports, take photos ...

RR: In 2016, the EDJ Group is set to launch a Masters in International Journalism in English, another first in France. What can you tell us about this program?

MB: We are working with an elite business school in Paris that has an extensive network with international universities in China, India, the United States ... Many students in these countries want to study journalism in France because our teaching has real educational value. And, as it turns out, foreign students share a common ground: the English language. Our English Masters will shadow our traditional program, the difference being that all of the courses will be taught in English. Initially, we’ll launch the Masters for International Journalism in English and then the Masters in Sports Journalism in English.

Maybe the anglophone community on the Côte d’Azur will be interested too. What a fantastic opportunity to see English speakers on the French Riviera be trained in English in France!

See www.edjgroupe.com

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