Media and Journalism

Journalism and media are disciplines that have always mattered, but the pressures they face today make them more important to understand than ever. The fragmentation of audiences, the spread of misinformation, the disruption of traditional business models, and questions about the relationship between platforms, governments, and the press are reshaping the information environment in ways that affect everyone. Studying media and journalism means taking these challenges seriously, both as a practitioner learning to do the work and as a critical thinker learning to understand the systems in which that work happens.

At Sussex you will develop practical journalism skills including reporting, interviewing, writing across print and digital formats, audio and video production, and data journalism alongside critical media studies that place these practices in their historical, political, and economic context. You will examine how media organisations work, how journalism ethics operate in practice, how audiences engage with news and information, and how digital technologies are changing the production and consumption of media. Sussex's approach encourages you to think about what journalism is for and what standards it should uphold, equipping you not just to do the work but to understand why it matters.

The programme includes a foundation year for those who need it, providing additional preparation before the main degree begins.

Graduates go on to careers in print, broadcast, and digital journalism, in communications, public relations, content creation, policy, and media management. The critical media literacy the degree develops is also valued in roles in research, education, and the technology sector. Many students continue to postgraduate study in journalism, media studies, or communications.