What is news? (Coursera)

What is news? (Coursera)

This course will guide you through the basic elements of professional journalism and the news values and ethics of covering real-world issues and events. The overview and examples of the types of news coverage helps introduce the different types of journalism, such as social media, multimedia, print, visual and broadcast, and how professional journalists effectively use each format.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Course 1 of 5 in the Become a Journalist: Report the News! Specialization.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Welcome to the Michigan State School of Journalism!
You will learn about the School of Journalism, our award-winning faculty and the world-class atmosphere of Michigan State University. We are a special place, where amazing things happen every day.

WEEK 2
Earning and keeping trust
In every module of this course, we will go deeper into journalistic values and ethics. In many ways, these values are what distinguish journalism from the many other kinds of content. You will learn how to move beyond creating content to creating journalism through understanding and using these values.

WEEK 3
Connecting with audiences and communities
You will learn how to reach your audience and community as a journalist, by exploring news reports, interest and importance, and values and ethics.

WEEK 4
Forms of journalism and their purposes
Understanding the ways journalism happens is just as important as knowing how to do it. There are many different types of journalism, as our world is filled with so many things to communicate about: sports, cars, celebrities, movies, war, business, real estate, pets, art...if you can name it, you can do journalism about it.

WEEK 5
Journalism happens in interesting ways
Journalists are working in new and exciting places such as social media. Technology has allowed the profession and journalists to do their jobs in innovative ways. You will learn about how technology impacts journalism, and best practices for blogs, Twitter, Instagram, Periscope, WeChat, Facebook and other realities of engaging in social media.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

English for Journalism (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

English for Journalism (Coursera)

Welcome to English for Journalism, a course created by the University of Pennsylvania, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs. This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in developing the skills needed for a career in modern journalism.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Media ethics & governance (Coursera) Coursera
University of Amsterdam

Media ethics & governance (Coursera)

This course explores some of the basic theories, models and concepts in the field of media ethics. We will introduce influential ethical theories and perspectives, explore changing societal demands and expectations of media creation and media use, and we will elaborate on existing ethical norms for media professionals. After following this course, you will be able to reflect on ethical dilemmas and develop a well-substantiated argumentation for ethical decision making in a variety of media-related contexts.

Nov 16th 2026
4 Weeks
Digital Footprint (Coursera) Coursera
University of Edinburgh

Digital Footprint (Coursera)

If I Googled you, what would I find? As we move around the online world we leave tracks and traces of our activity all the time: social media accounts, tagged images, professional presences, scraps of text, but also many artefacts we don't always realise we are leaving behind, or that others leave about us. In this course you will hear from a range of experts and you will have an opportunity to explore and reflect on your own online tracks and traces, to understand why your digital footprint is important. We will introduce you to some of the tools and approaches to effectively manage your online presence (or digital footprint).

Nov 2nd 2026
3 Weeks
Google SEO Fundamentals (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Davis

Google SEO Fundamentals (Coursera)

Gain an understanding of search engine algorithms and how they affect organic search results and websites. Building on this knowledge, you’ll learn the key elements for creating an effective SEO strategy, including how to select keywords and perform keyword research; consumer psychology and search behavior; and how to conduct on-page SEO analysis to identify opportunities to improve a website’s search optimization.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Groundwork for Success in Sales Development (Coursera) Coursera
Salesforce,SV Academy

Groundwork for Success in Sales Development (Coursera)

This is Course 1 in the Salesforce Sales Development Representative Professional Certificate. In order to successfully complete later courses, please ensure you have completed this course before moving on. This course is here to introduce you to the key role of a Sales Development Representative at a tech company. We want you to develop a winning professional mindset powered by emotional literacy, strategic thinking, time management, and task prioritization.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Effectively delivering the news to your audience (Coursera) Coursera
Michigan State University

Effectively delivering the news to your audience (Coursera)

Being a successful journalist is more than hunting down information. How journalists process the information, then put it together, are key steps for news reports. You will learn the process, planning, requirements of how journalists develop their news reports. There are many ways to report news reports, and you will learn different forms of how to perform reporting and writing to serve different audiences.

Nov 16th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Data Collection: Online, Telephone and Face-to-face (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Data Collection: Online, Telephone and Face-to-face (Coursera)

This course presents research conducted to increase our understanding of how data collection decisions affect survey errors. This is not a “how–to-do-it” course on data collection, but instead reviews the literature on survey design decisions and data quality in order to sensitize learners to how alternative survey designs might impact the data obtained from those surveys.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Digital Marketing (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Irvine

Introduction to Digital Marketing (Coursera)

Although traditional marketing strategies are still used, companies continue to shift their focus to digital approaches such as search engines, social media. These technologies take into account the journey of the customer and how they make their purchase decisions. It is important for marketers to have an understanding of digital marketing strategies and familiarize themselves with the key technologies underlying them.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Social Media Data Analytics (Coursera) Coursera
University of Washington

Social Media Data Analytics (Coursera)

Learner Outcomes: After taking this course, you will be able to: utilize various Application Programming Interface (API) services to collect data from different social media sources such as YouTube, Twitter, and Flickr; process the collected data - primarily structured - using methods involving correlation, regression, and classification to derive insights about the sources and people who generated that data; analyze unstructured data - primarily textual comments - for sentiments expressed in them; use different tools for collecting, analyzing, and exploring social media data for research and development purposes.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Social Computing (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, San Diego

Social Computing (Coursera)

People are social creatures and the modern Internet reflects that. Technology has made collaboration at a distance possible in new ways that present their own set of challenges. This course will introduce you to the major challenges and opportunities for creating online communities. What does the future hold? Learn how social computing can create collaboration experiences that go beyond what’s possible face to face.

Nov 16th 2026
3 Weeks
Foundations for Interviewing with Confidence (Coursera) Coursera
Salesforce,SV Academy

Foundations for Interviewing with Confidence (Coursera)

This is Course 2 in the Salesforce Sales Development Representative Professional Certificate. In order to successfully complete the course, please ensure you have taken Course 1: Groundwork for Success in Sales Development. The goal of this course is to prepare you to build your professional tech sales portfolio, and develop and leverage your personal and professional brand.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks