This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Models, Structures and Regulation of Digital Media and Journalism

Code: 43962 ECTS Credits: 9
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Journalism and Digital Content Innovation OB 0

Contact

Name:
Carmina Crusafon Baques
Email:
carmina.crusafon@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for enrolling. 


Objectives and Contextualisation

OBJECTIVES:

  • Analyze the structure of the news digital ecosystem.
  • Provide the basis of the dynamics of the digital environment and the tools for its understanding.
  • Explain the main concepts and typologies of companies and digital journalistic products, as well as the regulatory framework and new professional profiles.

Competences

  • Adapt to new situations, have leadership ability and initiative, while maintaining creativity.
  • Apply tools of management, analysis, organisation and planning of information in accordance with objectives and specific information projects.
  • Know and evaluate the management and production processes for digital information content, proposing innovative solutions which involve the use of ICT.
  • Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
  • That the students can apply their knowledge and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.
  • Understand and analyse the trends and dynamics of change in the communicative, informative and regulatory ecosystem of the media company in the twenty-first century.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Build autonomous, complete production processes for journalistic content, creatively, dynamically and innovatively.
  2. Critically adapt news companies' technologies and innovation models to a changing, globalised regulatory context.
  3. Critically analyse the results of implementing positioning strategies and propose alternatives to improve on the success achieved.
  4. Identify and clearly and precisely use applied research methodologies for investigating the use of information and communication technologies in producing and managing journalistic content.
  5. Identify and evaluate the transformation processes of a company and of the media ecosystem in order to introduce innovation models into journalism projects.
  6. Know and use the main tools of digital positioning and marketing based on the criteria of active audiences and consumption tied to social networks.
  7. Propose new ways to build news stories by applying information organisation and analysis processes to different objects of study.
  8. Propose plans for digital positioning of content by formulating a research problem by solving practical cases.
  9. Put forward innovative, creative ideas concerning the work routines of a news company.
  10. Quickly and reliably adapt to changing, dynamic work environments and fulfil the tasks set.
  11. Resolve situations related to news production, taking on a leadership role and proposing creative outcomes.
  12. Solve an applied-research problem, using a scientific method and proposing creative results.
  13. Take on different roles in the dynamics of producing and managing digital content for the media, with responsibility and self-reliance.

Content

Syllabus

TOPIC 1: EVOLUTION AND TRENDS IN DIGITAL MEDIA

  • The digital media ecosystem
  • Journalism companies
  • Digital business models

TOPIC 2: TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION MODELS IN JOURNALISM PROJECTS AND PRODUCTS

  • Technology and innovation in the news industry
  • Innovative journalistic products
  • Case studies of successful initiatives

TOPIC 3: REGULATION AND LEGISLATION

  • Digital public policies
  • Key concepts and dynamics of digital regulation
  • Legal frameworks at national, European, and international levels

TOPIC 4: EMERGING PROFESSIONAL PROFILES

  • Industry needs and new professional roles
  • Entrepreneurship: a new professional path?
  • Emerging careers in the AI-driven media ecosystem

The course content will be addressed from three complementary perspectives: Catalan/Spanish, European, and international.

The subject will integrate a gender-sensitive approach and the use of inclusive language throughout its content.

A detailed calendar with the content of each session will be presented on the first day of class and made available on the Virtual Campus, where students will also find descriptions of assignments and practical exercises, teaching materials, and all relevant information for proper follow-up.

In the event of a change in the teaching modality due to force majeure as determined by the competent authorities, the teaching staff will inform students of the necessary adjustments to the course schedule and methodologies.

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Autonomous work 115 4.6 2, 10, 3, 9, 13, 6, 1, 5, 4, 7, 8, 12, 11
Classroom 60 2.4 2, 3, 9, 6, 5, 4, 7, 12
Seminars 28 1.12 2, 10, 3, 9, 1, 5, 4, 7, 12, 11
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials 13.5 0.54 13, 1, 11

The subject will be developed in theoretical and practical sessions. The master classes will be devoted to the explanation of the core concepts of the subject. The practical sessions will have the following modalities: case analysis, seminars, debates and oral presentation of works. In some activities, the flipped classroom methodology can be used. 

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Essays 30 1.5 0.06 2, 10, 3, 9, 13, 6, 1, 5, 4, 7, 8, 12, 11
Oral Presentations 40 5 0.2 3, 9, 13, 6, 1, 5, 8
Test 30 2 0.08 2, 3, 6, 5, 4, 12, 11

Assessment System

The assessment of this course follows a summative model and includes the following components:

  • Content test (30 points)
  • Oral presentations (40 points)
  • Written assignments (30 points)

In order to pass the course, all assessment activities must be completed.

Justified absences

In exceptional, duly justified cases (e.g. illness, surgery, bereavement, etc.), students may be exempted from attending or submitting an activity on the scheduled date. In such cases, students must notify the teaching staff via the Virtual Campus, providing the appropriate documentation.

Due to the course schedule, activities cannot be rescheduled during the semester. However, students may continue with continuous assessment. Activities not completed for justified reasons may be submitted during a specific reassessment session in January 2026.

Submission of activities

All assignments must be submitted by the stated deadlines and must follow the formal guidelines outlined in each task description. Late submissions will not be accepted to ensure timely grading and the publication of final marks.

Publication of grades and review process

Grades will be published on the Virtual Campus. Once grades are posted, students will have 10 calendar days to request reviews or submit queries.

Tutorials

The instructor will set office hours to provide academic guidance and individual follow-up.

Reassessment

Students are entitled to a reassessment if they have completed activities that account for at least two-thirds (2/3) of the total course grade. To be eligible for reassessment, they must have obtained a minimum average mark of 3.5 out of 10.

Plagiarism and academic misconduct

Any form of academic misconduct (copying, plagiarism, identity fraud, etc.) in an assessment activity will result in a grade of 0 for that activity. In the case of repeated misconduct, the final grade for the course will also be 0.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The use of AI tools is permitted only as a support resource, such as for information searches, bibliographic queries, text editing, or in cases explicitly indicated by the teaching staff.

Students must clearly identify which parts of the work have been generated using AI, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on their impact on both the process and outcome of the task. Lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in partial or total penalties in the grade, or more serious academic consequences if applicable.

Second enrolment

In the case of second enrolment, students may opt to complete a single comprehensive assessment, consisting of a content test and a series of practical exercises. The final course grade will correspond entirely to the result of this assessment.

Students wishing to follow this option must inform the course coordinator in writing at the beginning of the semester.

Single assessment

Students who choose the single assessment option will be evaluated as follows:

  • 50% Theoretical exam on course content
  • 30% Written test involving the resolution of three case studies
  • 20% Oral presentation analysing a communication policy studied in class

The final grade will be the weighted average of the three components.

The dates for these assessments will be announced at the start of the course in the course calendar.

Reassessment of the single assessment

Students who take the single assessment and obtain a minimum overall score of 3.5 out of 10 may take a reassessment, which will include:

  • Multiple-choice questions on course content
  • Case analysis
  • Oral presentation

The date of this reassessment will be announced at the beginning of the course.

 


Bibliography

AVILÉS, José Alberto (2025). Águilas y colibríes: periodistas innovadores en Europa. Alicante: PLAYHACKS.

CEREZO, Pepe (2022). Deconstruyendo los medios. Madrid: Almuzara.

DÖNDERS, Karen (2021). Public service media between theory, rules, and practice. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

FERNÁNDEZ-ROVIRA, Cristina y GIRALDO-LUQUE, Santiago (2020). La felicidad privatizada. Monopolios de la información, control social y ficción democrática en el siglo XXI. Editorial UOC

FLEW, Terry y MARTIN, Fiona R (eds.) (2022) Digital Platform Regulation. Global Perspectives on Internet Governance. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

GARCÍA SANTAMARÍA, José Vicente y Pérez-Serrano María José (2024). Grupos de comunicación españoles: final de etapa. Barcelona: Editorial UOC.

KUENG, Lucy (2023) Strategic Management in the Media:Theory to Practice. Third Edition. London: Sage.

LOTZ, AMANDA D. (2025) After Mass Media. Storytelling for Microaudiences in the Twenty-First Century. New York: New York University Press.

LOTZ, AMANDA D. y HAVENS, Thimothy (2025) Media Industries in the Digital Age. How Media Business Work today. Cambridge: Polity Press

MANSELL, Robin y STEINMUELLER, W. Edward (2020) Advanced Introduction to Platform Economics. Cheltenham: Elgar.

MATEI, Sorin Adam, REBILLARD, Franck, ROCHELANDET, Fabrice (Eds.) (2021). Digital and Social Media Regulation. A Comparative Perspective of the US and Europe. LONDON: Palgrave.

NAFRIA, Ismael (2023) Clarín, actualizado. El relato de la transformación digital del diario Clarín. Barcelona: Galaxia Gutenberg.

NICHOLS, Randy and MARTINEZ, Gabriela (eds.) (2020) Political Economy of Media Industries. Global Transformations and Challenges. New York: Routledge

OSTERWALDER, Alex & PIGNEUR, Yves (2010). Business Model Generation. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.

PICARD, Robert (2020). Media and Communications Policy Making. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

REUTERS OXFORD INSTITUTE (2025) Digital News Report 2025. Oxford: Reuters Institute. (http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/ ).


Software

There is no specific software.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(TEm) Theory (master) 60 Spanish first semester morning-mixed