Availabilities:
2021 unit offering information will be available in November 2020
Unit description
Through the lens of our engagement in everyday life as digital citizens, students gain a critical understanding of the news media’s role in society today and the challenges facing journalists and their audiences in the digital age. Students develop skills in newswriting and production techniques that may be applied broadly across a range of digital news media formats. Practical activities and assessments give students exposure to professional digital journalism workflows.
Unit content
The unit explores journalism’s role in society and develops news production skills through four modules:
- Digital culture, citizens and the news media
- Issues for journalism in the digital age
- News media audiences, platforms and workplaces
- Digital news production tools
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discuss the roles that news journalism can play in digital societies. | Intellectual rigour | Ethical practice | |||||
| 2 | Define news and distinguish it from opinion, commentary and “fake news”. | Intellectual rigour | Ethical practice | |||||
| 3 | Explain how and where news is produced, published and consumed. | Intellectual rigour | Ethical practice | |||||
| 4 | Apply journalistic techniques and conventions in researching, writing and producing news content | Intellectual rigour | Creativity | Ethical practice | ||||
| 5 | Critically discuss representational, legal and ethical issues for journalism in the digital age | Intellectual rigour | Creativity | Ethical practice | ||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
- Discuss the roles that news journalism can play in digital societies.
- GA1: Intellectual rigour
- GA3: Ethical practice
- Define news and distinguish it from opinion, commentary and “fake news”.
- GA1: Intellectual rigour
- GA3: Ethical practice
- Explain how and where news is produced, published and consumed.
- GA1: Intellectual rigour
- GA3: Ethical practice
- Apply journalistic techniques and conventions in researching, writing and producing news content
- GA1: Intellectual rigour
- GA2: Creativity
- GA3: Ethical practice
- Critically discuss representational, legal and ethical issues for journalism in the digital age
- GA1: Intellectual rigour
- GA2: Creativity
- GA3: Ethical practice
Prescribed texts
- Prescribed text information is not currently available.
Teaching and assessment
| Teaching method |
| Lecture on-site 1 hours (12 weeks) |
| Tutorial on-site 2 hours (12 weeks) |
| Assessment | |
| Short written response | 10% |
| News article plus one-page contact list | 20% |
| News article and script, plus two-page contact list | 30% |
| Discussion board | 40% |
| Teaching method |
| Structured online learning 3 hours (12 weeks) |
| Assessment | |
| Short written response | 10% |
| News article plus one-page contact list | 20% |
| News article and script, plus two-page contact list | 30% |
| Discussion board | 40% |
Fee information
Domestic
Commonwealth Supported courses
For information regarding Student Contribution Amounts please visit the Student Contribution Amounts.
Commencing 2021 Commonwealth Supported only. Student contribution band: 1
Fee paying courses
For POSTGRADUATE or UNDERGRADUATE full fee paying courses please check Domestic Postgraduate Fees OR Domestic Undergraduate Fees
International
Please check the international course and fee list to determine the relevant fees.