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Journalism

Unit Code: LPW501

Duration	Contact Hours	Campus	Prerequisite	Corequisite
13 week study period	3 Hours per Week	Online	Nil

Credit Points: 12.5 Credit Points

Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Graduate Certificate of Arts (Writing), Graduate Diploma of Arts (Writing) and Master of Arts (Writing)

Aims & Objectives:

In this subject, students will learn how the media operates, how stories are constructed, and how to identify potential outlets for their own work.

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

demonstrate skills in writing news stories
articulate and apply the skills involved in understanding and practising the conventions of journalistic reporting
apply knowledge of how feature articles are constructed
demonstrate the practical skills of understanding and applying journalistic constraints and ethics
understand and apply skills of writing for radio
develop insights into how stories are constructed and presented in the media
identify media styles
shape work for a particular media outlet
apply critical insights into media writing
apply critical insights into one’s own journalistic writing

Teaching Methods:

This unit is delivered online and includes a range of flexible and multi-modal learning approaches, such as virtual lectures, virtual tutorials, electronic media, set readings for response. The unit Web page provides the following information: interactivities, multimedia links, hypertext links, references and virtual community opportunities and is supported by an online tutor and opportunities for peer mentoring.

Assessment:

Written Assignments 60% - 70%
Participation in Weekly Discussion Threads 30% - 40%

Generic Skills Outcomes:

This unit will provide discipline-based knowledge and professional capabilities and experiences contributing to students’ progress in attaining generic skills such as:

Analytical skills developed through interactive applied, critical and reflective writing tasks and reviews requiring critical thinking
Communication skills developed through interactive discussion forums and web-based communication
Ability to work independently developed through web-based research and online learning, in addition to library research

Content:

critical and cultural perspectives on the function of the news media
news values and conventions of news stories
writing style and the news story
content and the news story
structure and the news story
the characteristics of feature articles
interviewing and the ethics of journalism
radio news
television news
reporting on war
alternative forms of journalism
opportunities for publication

Reading Materials:

Allan, S. 2005, Journalism: Critical Issues, Open University Press, Maidenhead.
Arnold, J. 2007 Practice Led Research: A dynamic way to knowledge, Melbourne, Rock View Press.
Eunson, Baden, 2005. Communicating in the 21st Century. Sydney: John Wiley & Sons.
Fox W. 2001, Writing the News: A Guide for Print Journalists, London: John Wiley & Sons.

Holm, K. (ed.) 2000, Writers Market: 8,000 Editors Who Buy What You Write, Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books.

Hurst J. 2007. Ethics in Journalism: Arguments and Cases, Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Kovach, B. & Rosenstiel, T. 2007, The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect. Opelousas, LA: Three Rivers Press.

Kramer, M. & Call, W. (eds.). 2007, Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. New York: Plume.

Loffelholz, M. (ed.) 2008, Global Journalism Research, London: John Wiley & Sons.

The Macquarie Dictionary.

The Macquarie Thesaurus.

The Macquarie website: http://www.macnet.mq.edu.au

Paul, N. M. 1999, Computer-Assisted Research: A Guide to Tapping Online Information for Journalists, U.S.: Bonns Books.

Pearson, M. 2004, The Journalist’s Guide to Media Law: Dealing with Legal and Ethical Issues. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Phillips, G. 2006, Australian Broadcast Journalism. South Melbourne: OUP.

Shields, Pam., 2000, Poet’s market: 1,800 places to publish your poetry, Cincinatti, OH: Writer’s Digest Books.

Starkey, G. 2006, Balance and Bias in Journalism: Representation Regulation and Democracy. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Strunk, W, The Elements of Style (any recent edition) or online: http://www.bartleby.com/141/

And the following electronic resources:

Canadian Journal of Communication. http://cjc-online.ca/
Columbia Journalism Review. www.cjr.org.
The Future of the Printed Press: Challenges in a Digital World, European Journalism Centre: http://www.ejc.nl/hp/fpp/contents.html
Poynter Online. http://www.poynter.org/
Reporter’s Toolbox. http://www.snn-rdr.ca/snn/nr_reporterstoolbox/newsreporting.html
Weekly hypertext weblinks.

References:

Allan, S 2005, Journalism: Critical Issues, Open University Press, Maidenhead.

Bainbridge, J & Goc, N & Tynan, L 2008, Media & Journalism, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Conley, D & Lamble, S 2008,The Daily Miracle: An Introduction to Journalism, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Eunson, B 2005, Communicating in the 21st Century, John Wiley & Sons, Sydney.

Fox, W 2001, Writing the News: A Guide for Print Journalists, John Wiley & Sons, Sydney.

Holm, K (ed.) 2000, Writers Market: 8,000 Editors Who Buy What You Write, Writer’s Digest Books, Ohio.

Hurst, J 2007, Ethics in Journalism: Arguments and Cases, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Kovach, B & Rosenstiel T 2007, The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, Three Rivers Press, Los Angeles.

Kramer, M & Call, W (eds.) 2007, Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University, Plume, New York.

Loffelholz, M (ed.) 2008, Global Journalism Research, John Wiley & Sons, London.

The Macquarie Dictionary

The Macquarie Thesaurus

Paul, NM 1999, Computer-Assisted Research: A Guide to Tapping Online Information for Journalists, Bonns Books, U.S.

Pearson, M 2004, The Journalist’s Guide to Media Law: Dealing with Legal and Ethical Issues, Allen & Unwin, NSW.

Phillips, G 2006, Australian Broadcast Journalism, OUP, South Melbourne.

Simons, M 2007, The Content Makers: Understanding the Media in Australia, Penguin Group, Victoria, Australia.

Starkey, G 2006, Balance and Bias in Journalism: Representation Regulation and Democracy, Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Strunk, W The Elements of Style (any recent edition) or online: http://www.bartleby.com/141/

Deuze, M 2010, Cultural Meanings of News: A Text-Reader, Sage Publications, California.

Phillips, A 2010, ‘Transparency and the New Ethics of Journalism’, Journalism Practice, 1751-2794, March

And the following electronic resources:

Canadian Journal of Communication. http://cjc-online.ca/

Columbia Journalism Review. www.cjr.org.

The Future of the Printed Press: Challenges in a Digital World, European Journalism Centre: http://www.ejc.nl/hp/fpp/contents.html

Poynter Online. http://www.poynter.org/

Reporter’s Toolbox. http://www.snn-rdr.ca/snn/nr_reporterstoolbox/newsreporting.html