Curriculum Outline

The Express Group takes the classroom into the newsroom at its media and journalism school, Express Institute of Media Studies (EXIMS). The Institute offers a challenging one year post-graduate Programme in Journalism.

Students will enjoy the unique opportunity to work closely with the team of highly skilled professional journalists at The Indian Express and The Financial Express. They will learn to be journalists in a real time work environment, guided by senior Express editors committed to excellence, credibility and enterprise. Thus, the newsroom at the Express office in New Delhi becomes the laboratory for EXIMS students to learn and test their skills.

During the 12-month programme, aspiring journalists will learn the skills and the ethics of journalism with courses in reporting and writing, editing and page-making for careers in print journalism. The Programme includes a comprehensive workshop of Broadcast Journalism and another one in Digital Media. Students will acquire the technical skills required in the contemporary environment of multi-media journalism.

Through a series of lectures and seminars, and the flagship Idea Exchange programme, EXIMS offers students an understanding of major issues and the challenges facing young journalists working in India.

EXIMS offers students: Exposure, Experience, Excellence

TERM I Course I - What is News? What is news? What criteria should you use to decide news worthiness? When does a story deserve to be on page 1? Questions like these are addressed in the course. Students learn to develop a nose for news. Analyse newspapers, compare stories, news values.

Express Faculty: Unni Rajen Shanker, Managing Editor, The Indian Express

Course II - Introduction to Reporting and Newswriting Learn the Who, What, Where, When and How of reporting and now the Why and What Next in a 24-hour news cycle. Reporting assignments will be in the high-pressure deadline atmosphere of a newspaper office. Delhi, in all its vastness, complexity and diversity as the nation's capital is the working laboratory for the students.
The Reporting and Newswriting course includes the basic skills common to all media:
  • Write a lead
  • Structure a story
  • Cover local government
  • Report spot news, including crime
  • Research Tools

Express Faculty: Rakesh Sinha, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express.

Course III - Introduction to Copy EditingLearn to `fix' copy, fact-checking, rewrite, rework, give eye-catching headlines.
Students will practise editing reports filed by the Express reporters for an authentic newspaper experience.

Express Faculty: Monojit Majumdar, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express

Course IV - Newspaper Design and PagemakingYou have got the news. Now learn the art of presenting it.
  • Students learn how to design pages
  • Use Quark Express
  • Photo-Shop
  • And the exciting world of fonts

Express Faculty: Bivash Barua, National Design Editor, Prabal Mandal- Design Director & Mithun Chakraborty, Assistant Art Director.

Course V - Introduction to PhotojournalismOne photograph speaks more than a 1,000 words. Learn to take photographs and know the difference between photography and photo-journalism. The basics of the course:
  • How to handle a camera
  • How to take photographs
  • How to compose news photographs
  • How to use Photoshop, etc

Express Faculty: Neeraj Priyadarshi, National Photo Editor, The Indian Express, Oinam Anand -Prinicpal Photographer, Tashi Tobgyal - Special Photographer

Course VI: The Business Of MediaThe course provides a background to the business models of media houses, ownership, financing, circulation, advertising, subscriptions, etc. It looks at how the media earns its keep, how marketing and branding are essential to any media organisation.

Express Faculty: N P Singh, Director-EXIMS, Archna Shukla-Senior Editor

Course VII - Current AffairsGood journalists must be engaged with the world around them.
From politics and governance, to international affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, students will discuss current topical events, make presentations to acquire an understanding of the most crucial issues facing the contemporary world.

Express Faculty: Shailaja Bajpai, Director (Academic) EXIMS

The Idea Exchange ProgrammeEminent personalities from different walks of life, including cabinet ministers, chief ministers, corporate leaders, high ranking bureaucrats, artists, sportspersons, academicians etc., are questioned by Express journalists in a free wheeling session at The Indian Express Building, New Delhi. Compulsory attendance for EXIMS students. In 2013, some of the guests include politicians Kapil Sibal, Sharad Yadav, actor Irrfan, film directors Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta and writer Salman Rushdie.
TERM II Course I - Media Ethics and JurisprudenceLearning when the law restricts what you can write and how to avoid costly legal action. The buck stops where? The dangers of libel and other pitfalls; Privilege Motions, Defamation Law; criminal libel; and the need for fairness and accuracy. The rights enjoyed by the Press and how these relate to those of the private citizen. What is meant by contempt of court; how to recognise situations or stories in which there is a danger of potential contempt.

Express Faculty: Vaidehi Thakkar, Director, Corporate and Legal Affairs, Express Group, Poorvi Kamani, Advocate, Legal Expert

Course II - Student newspaper project Students produce a weekly newspaper and then a daily broadsheet. The student newspaper is written and produced entirely by the students. This gives them hands-on experience in developing their own newslists, reporting, editing/headlines, page layouts, and photography. It also teaches them the dynamics of working as a team.

Express Faculty: Unni Rajen Shanker, Managing Editor, The Indian Express; Rakesh Sinha, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express Shailaja Bajpai Columnist and Director (Academic) EXIMS

Course III - New Media and Online JournalismThe aim is to introduce students to New Media tools and train them to be journalists who can work on digital platforms. Includes running a `mock' live website and an internship with the Express Online editorial. Course will cover: digital tools for modern journalists; RSS & Feedburners; Chain mails, message boards, vines & social networks; Blogs; Mobile paradigm (phones, Readers; Ipads); Searches & Search engines; Website designs & news content.

Express Faculty: Anant Goenka, Director & Head New Media, Express Group, & the Online Team.

Course IV - Current AffairsA continuation of the course from Term I touching upon issues of topical and contemporary interest in India and around the globe.

Express Faculty: Shailaja Bajpai, Director (Academic), EXIMS

Course V - The long form of writing: News features and feature writingThe love of writing expresses itself most clearly in the Long Form. Here, journalists enjoy narrative writing. It is the closest journalism comes to fiction, allowing journalists to explore their creativity while remaining true to events and people or situation. Long Form has to be well-written, well-researched and tell a story that holds the reader. The course will include different types of long form writing: profiles, first person narratives, travel writing, etc.

Express Faculty: Muzamil Jaleel -Associate Editor, Devyani Onial -Associate Editor, Uma Vishna- Senior Editer, Amrita Dutta-Senior Editor

The Idea Exchange Programme
TERM III Course I - Broadcast Journalism Workshop (4-6 weeks)The aim is to proivde a comprehensive introduction to Broadcast News Production and train the students to be video journalists. The key takeaways include practical experience in Writing for Television, Filming a news story with a digital video camera Non-linear Editing on Final Cut Pro, Anchoring and Presenting before Camera. Familiarity with the complex workflow and key roles in TV News Production.

Faculty: Natasha Badhwar, Writer, Film maker, Communication Coach

Course II - Internship with The Indian Express & The Financial ExpressA month-long internship with different editorial departments of The Indian Express and The Financial Express. Course III - Special CoursesTo give students a better understanding of important subjects they will address in their careers, senior editors and correspondents of the Express Group hold detailed lectures, briefings on Politics, Governance, Business and Economics, Arts & Lifestyle, Sports. The idea is to educate the students and demystify seemingly difficult concepts and topics. Students work with the editors and correspondents on these subjects, meeting an array of personalities connected with these fields, be it politicians, bureaucrats, artists, sportspersons.

Express Faculty: Express Group editors and correspondents

Course IV - Field reporting: Outstation assignmentA FIELD assignment outside Delhi for indepth reporting on topical social, political issues. The aim is to give students a chance to research a subject and spend upto a week in the field working on it.

Express Faculty: Senior Express editors and Shailaja Bajpai Director (Academic) (EXIMS)

The Idea Exchange Programme