Learning objectives
At the end of the course the student is expected to be able to:
- possess the theoretical-cultural knowledge to understand food and wine journalism, both digital and "analogical";
- write a journalistic article, using all the tools of food writing, which is a professional writing technique that unites more journalistic genres and aims to tell food and wine in a creative, synesthetic and engaging way, not just giving information;
- analyze and evaluate, with autonomy of judgment and critical capacity, the quality of a journalistic article in the food and beverage sector, to understand if the text combines informative contents with a form capable of striking the reader's attention and leaving a mark;
- enter into a relationship with the media in a professional and deontologically correct manner, even in a press office;
- know how to act in a journalistic context, learning to change their communication methods to meet the objectives of the public and of the clients (publishers or food & beverage companies).
Prerequisites
None
Course unit content
Teaching is a "writing gym" with a professional aim, where the theory trains at the parallel of practice, through a series of writing exercises and the testimony in the classroom of some food and wine journalists. It is divided into a series of theoretical and practical modules that, starting from a general overview on food writing and the journalist profession, focuses on food and wine journalism and its specific characteristics, aims and resources.
Full programme
The teaching program will address the following points:
1. The food writing: identikit of a professional writing, based on senses, emotion and memory, which contains in itself different genres.
2. The main areas of action of food & wine writing: publishing, journalism, marketing, tourism.
3. The objectives of a food writer: from originality to the ability to engage.
4. The axes of enogastronomic writing: from the passion for food and wine to the accuracy of language.
5. Journalism: definition, genres and language; online journalism, transmediality and relationship with social media.
6. The tools of the trade: sources, news, editorial machine.
7. Writing is alive (and not vegetates): from 5 W to SEO, from history to storytelling.
8. Deontology and ethics of journalism: papers, codes, principles.
9. The food journalist: definition and salient characteristics.
10. The contents on the table: from the culinary disclosure to the review, to the press release.
11. The 27 virtues of good food journalism: from narrative completeness to the spirit of service.
12. Free lance food journalism: how to hunt stories and write a query letter.
13. New forms of food and wine journalism: from visual journalism to brand journalism, from native journalism to slow journalism, to hyper-local journalism.
14. Food blogging: how to open and maintain an information food blog over time.
Bibliography
Fundamental
Villa M., Professione Food Writer. Ricettario di scrittura con esercizi sodi, strapazzati e à la coque, Dario Flaccovio Editore, Palermo 2018
Optional
Babudro, P., Manuale di scrittura digitale creativa e consapevole, Palermo, Dario Flaccovio Editore, 2016
Barbano A., Manuale di giornalismo, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2012
Carrada L., Il mestiere di scrivere, Apogeo, Milano, 2013
Fabris A. (a cura di), Guida alle etiche della comunicazione, Edizioni ETS, Pisa, 2011
Jacob D., Will Write for Food. The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More, Da Capo Press, Cambridge, 2010.
Mazzocco D., Giornalismo online. Crossmedialità, blogging e social network, Centro di Documentazione Giornalistica, Roma 2014
Schianchi P., #visual journalist. L’immagine è la notizia, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2018
Sorrentino C. e Bianda E., Studiare Giornalismo. Ambiti, logiche, attori, Carrocci, Roma, 2013
Villa M., Il giornalista digitale è uno stinco di santo. 27 virtù da conoscere per sviluppare un comportamento etico, Dario Flaccovio Editore, Palermo 2018
During the lessons, texts will also be suggested to students for possible individual in-depth analysis.
Teaching methods
The course consists of:
- lectures with the use of multimedia tools, alternating with others, of a heuristic-Socratic type, in which the active contribution of students is solicited, through collective discussion and confrontation;
- case studies, presented and critically analyzed;
- classroom exercises, to be carried out in groups or individually;
- testimonies in the classroom by food and wine journalists and communication experts.
The slides used to support the lessons will be loaded weekly on the Elly platform; to download them, it will be necessary to register for the online course.
The slides are an integral part of the fundamental bibliography, therefore it is advisable for non-attending students to download the teaching material from the Elly platform and to follow the instructions provided by the teacher through the platform itself.
Assessment methods and criteria
The summative assessment of learning involves two moments:
- an oral interview on the topics covered during the course (slide downloadable from the Elly platform) and the text indicated in the basic bibliography (this affects 60% on the final evaluation);
- the presentation of a thematic exercise carried out by the single student (this affects the remaining 40%).
Other information
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