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JMSC Undergraduates Go Live For Prospective Students

Five JMSC Bachelor of Journalism (BJ) students put on a live newscast in front of a room full of prospective students and their parents on November 10 as part of Hong Kong University’s annual Information Day for Undergraduate Admissions.

Anchor Nicholas Leung (BJ 2013) in front of a green screen during the live news broadcast.

James Chan Kin-sing (BJ 2013), Nicholas Leung (BJ 2013), Hyun-joo Lee (BJ 2013),  Amy Ha (BJ 2014) and Andy Chau (BJ 2016) used the the technical and storytelling skills they have acquired at the JMSC to highlight the professional aspects of the BJ programme and give the prospective students an idea of what they would learn if they enrolled.

“Instead of giving a normal introduction, we use the television news demo to actually show what students will learn, in a standard broadcast news format”, said Kevin Lau, a JMSC Tutor and Online Media Producer.

The broadcast was ten minutes long and included an overview of the JMSC programme and the apps the school has developed for iPhone and iPad users. There was also a segment on some of the more unusual restaurants found in Hong Kong produced and reported by Chen LiYi, who graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2010.

“The faculty stepped back and the students did it all”, said Jeff Timmermans, a teaching consultant at the JMSC.  “The students wrote the script, they set up the equipment, and they ran the entire interactive presentation”.

Professor Ying Chan addressing the audience of prospective students and their parents after the broadcast.

It was an example, Timmermans said, of two of the JMSC’s core values: emphasizing current digital and multimedia technology and encouraging the students to go beyond the classroom. The JMSC facilities are state of the art, he said, and students learn not only how to stay abreast of technology but also how to use that technology creatively, so that they graduate with the ability to tell stories across a wide variety of platforms.

“We want to produce journalists for the future”, said Ying Chan, a professor and the Director of the JMSC. “We take a convergent approach, which means that students will be able to work in print, broadcast and online”.

James Chan, the director of the demonstration, said JMSC courses run the gamut of essential skills for journalists in the digital era, including social media, live reporting, soundslides, and video and website production.