Lecturers in journalism and media studies at Leiden University College The Hague  use a ‘learning by doing’ method for  their courses ‘Multimedia Journalism’, ‘Investigative Journalism' and ‘Gender, Media and Conflict’. In each course, students gain an understanding of journalism ‘from the inside out’  by simulating the actual tasks completed by journalists in their daily work life. This means leaving the LUC bubble, exploring ‘real world’ problems, speaking to people affected by those problems and the people responsible for resolving them. The students have to identify suitable sources for their investigative reports and multimedia stories, pitch their stories in a simulated news environment, interview their sources and gather all other elements to complete their stories. Students also take part in a series of live conversations with working journalists from the Dutch Broadcasting Organisation NOS and other news media. Students are exposed to numerous publications and broadcasts which exemplify a wide repertoire of methodological and aesthetic tools they learn to use. They are also given practical training in interviewing techniques, journalistic writing, copy editing, online layout and page design and other journalism skills. Field trips to the NOS newsroom in Hilversum are also part of the curriculum. Students are exposed to numerous publications and broadcasts which exemplify a wide repertoire of methodological and aesthetic tools they learn to use. They are also given practical training in interviewing techniques, journalistic writing, copy editing, online layout and page design and other journalism skills. Field trips to the NOS newsroom in Hilversum are also part of the curriculum.

Read more about the published stories that result from these final assignments for the Multimedia Journalism course.