Community Journalism: Digital and Social Media (FutureLearn)

Offered by Cardiff University,
Community Journalism: Digital and Social Media (FutureLearn)

Gain practical skills and insights into hyperlocal journalism, and use digital and social media to create your own news website.

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

Community journalism is a growing area of interest for professional journalists, academics and the wider public. The decline of local newspapers and radio stations, coupled with the low cost of publishing online, means there are more community journalism and hyperlocal websites being launched everyday.

Launch your own community or hyperlocal site
Whether you want to launch and support your own site - or simply study this new media sector - this free online course will give you both useful insights and practical skills.
Community journalism is an area that combines elements of traditional journalism with the new opportunities brought about by digital and social media, so we’ll look at:

  • setting up a community website
  • exploring different forms of community – local, professional or personal
  • identifying and building an audience
  • creating content and establishing a workflow to sustain the site
  • managing an online community
  • and abiding by media law and ethics
  • hands-on tips for Wordpress, Twitter and Facebook
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content (Coursera)

Ever wondered why some things become popular, and other don't? Why some products becomes hits while others flop? Why some ideas take off while others languish? What are the key ideas behind viral marketing? This course explains how things catch on and helps you apply these ideas to be more effective at marketing your ideas, brands, or products. You'll learn how to make ideas stick, how to increase your influence, how to generate more word of mouth, and how to use the power of social networks to spread information and influence.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Power Onboarding (Coursera) Coursera
Northwestern University

Power Onboarding (Coursera)

Power Onboarding provides practical, easy-to-use tools to guide an individual who is transitioning to a new job. Students will prepare an actionable personal onboarding plan that will set them up for success in their new role. Research has shown that an actively followed power onboarding plan will allow an individual to reach proficiency in a new position up to 30% faster than the typical transitioning manager. In this course, students will develop their own onboarding plan, allowing them to contribute sooner and be eligible for promotion earlier.

Aug 3rd 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Journalism (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Strathclyde

Introduction to Journalism (FutureLearn)

Learn about the key principles and debates in journalism and enact the role of a journalist in the context of an escalating story. This free online course is aimed at those curious about journalism and looking to gain a better understanding of what the subject entails. Run by a team of internationally-renowned scholars and journalism practitioners at the University of Strathclyde, it gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the professional world of reporters and editors.

No sessions available
5-12 Weeks
Social Media Marketing Strategy: Objective Setting and Strategic Planning Essentials (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Social Media College

Social Media Marketing Strategy: Objective Setting and Strategic Planning Essentials (FutureLearn)

Learn how to build a comprehensive social media marketing strategy, conduct an audit and set objectives. Build a comprehensive social media marketing strategy. With this rise of mobile phones and connectivity, digital marketing through social media is now the single most important component of the marketing mix for many organisations. This is part 1 of a 4 part series. In Part 1, you’ll learn the step-by-step strategy setting tools and how you can get your message out and onto the screen.

Oct 18th 2021
2 Weeks
Why Does Media Matter for Development? (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of East Anglia

Why Does Media Matter for Development? (FutureLearn)

Explore how the media can help to tackle poverty and inequality all around the world. Learn why the media matters for international development. This comprehensive four-week course will show you the ways that international development is conceptualised, imagined and communicated as an area of study. You’ll decipher the ways in which these understandings impact individuals living in different parts of the world, and how the media can shape, address and enhance key ideas and debates.

Jun 20th 2022
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).

Aug 10th 2026
3 Weeks
Image and video processing: From Mars to Hollywood with a stop at the hospital (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

Image and video processing: From Mars to Hollywood with a stop at the hospital (Coursera)

In this course, you will learn the science behind how digital images and video are made, altered, stored, and used. We will look at the vast world of digital imaging, from how computers and digital cameras form images to how digital special effects are used in Hollywood movies to how the Mars Rover was able to send photographs across millions of miles of space.

Aug 10th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills (Coursera)

We all negotiate on a daily basis. On a personal level, we negotiate with friends, family, landlords, car sellers and employers, among others. Negotiation is also the key to business success. No business can survive without profitable contracts. Within a company, negotiation skills can lead to your career advancement.

Aug 3rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Digital Media Analytics: Earned Media (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Purdue University

Digital Media Analytics: Earned Media (FutureLearn)

Learn about the importance of earned media and how to evaluate it so you can understand how to improve your online presence. Discover the importance of earned media. Earned media are the articles and mentions on social media that are produced by others about you. They can play a key role increasing the size of your online presence.

No sessions available
2 Weeks