Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

NB INFORMATION IN THIS UNIT OUTLINE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE PRIOR TO COMMENCEMENT OF SEMESTER

As more news and other factual material including commentary is being processed through online media, practitioners and also intending citizen journalists will benefit directly from studying the social and economic underpinnings of the format, and building up skills for using it.

This unit explores the background and principles of online journalism, and teaches skills, enabling students to write and publish reports online; providing instruction in a set of essential production skills - ready for further expansion of skills ability.

The unit is taught through a weekly lecture and weekly tutorials conducted as online production workshops.

Aims

This unit aims to:
1. Provide you with a comprehensive overview of developments in the field of global online journalism, in the context of wired and wireless online mass communication;
2. Provide you with digital production skills needed to produce and post online news and feature material at a start-ready professional standard, and provide introductory practice in more enabling work with production and communication software used in online journalism;
3. Assist you to write and publish your work at a good standard of journalistic competence, as a showcase of your capabilities.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Conduct surveillance to identify ¿story¿ prospects, and actualise them by researching, producing with illustration, and posting for publication, news or feature articles online - showing due competence as a journalistic writer.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of and competence in using a selection of tools for online journalistic production and related tasks, such as software used for management of images and sound.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the range of Internet resources available for journalism research and promotion of journalism output.
4 Demonstrate the ability to work to strict rolling deadlines and the need to create journalistic copy for multiple platforms and audiences.

Content

This unit addresses content such as:
1. Explorations of the background to practice in online journalism, such as the history and development of it as a mixed medium (accommodating text, images and sound; transmissible via various carriers); its place in contemporary mass communication within audiences/markets, emerging uses and possibilities, and its implications for media industries.
2. Instruction and practise in how online systems are built and how to operate them at a sound level of awareness and skills competency.
3. Extensions of core journalistic knowledge of how news and feature material is found, sourced and delivered to strict deadlines for multiple platforms.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

A one-hour lecture each week will provide information and guidance for study of the possibilities of online journalism and issues relating to its development. A weekly tutorial will be conducted as a workshop for production and posting of reports or features, together with guidance in journalistic writing, and demonstrations with exercises in extended use of production software for online journalism. Some of your reporting and production work will be done individually outside of class with the assistance of a supplementary handbook for the unit.

Assessment

LATE ASSIGNMENTS
An assignment submitted after the due date without an approved extension will not be marked. If you are unable to complete your assignment on time, you should submit on time whatever work you have done.

Faculty Assessment Information
To access complete Creative Industries Faculty Assessment Information please refer to the Blackboard site for this unit.FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
You will receive formative feedback on your progress in this unit during tutorials and discussions throughout the semester. Weight 0%

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
You will be awarded a final grade on a 1 to 7 scale.

Assessment name: Class work
Description: You will be required to complete tutorial exercises during class time. They will measure your progress, judged on your production of news or features, and the development of your competence in the use of software and ability to communicate in an online environment to strict deadlines.
Relates to objectives: 1 to 4
Weight: 60%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Early/Mid/Late Sem

Assessment name: Portfolio: Online news reports
Description: Posting online of a portfolio of reports. You will find, source, report, produce and post three reports on an online publication site, as directed by the Unit Coordinator (as Editor) and your tutor (Sub-editor/Producer). These may be news and/or features as determined through consultation with tutors. Deadlines will be issued for the three postings and these will be, respectively in early, mid and late semester.
Criteria for assessment:
- Demonstrate competence to identify and research 'story' prospects, then write, produce and post them for publication.
- Demonstrate knowledge of and competence in using a selection of tools for online journalistic production.
Relates to objectives: 1 to 4
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Early/Mid/Late Sem

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Required Text

Foust, JC (2009) Online Journalism: Principles and practices of news for the web, 2nd edition, Holcomb Hathaway, Scottsdale Arizona.

Unit readings will be listed on the Blackboard site and a selection of readings will be made available on the Course Materials Database (CMDB), through that site.

Recommended References

Alysen, B, G Sedorkin, M Oakham with R Patching (2003) Reporting in a Multimedia World, Allen and Unwin, Sydney.

Briggs, M (2008) Journalism 2: How to Survive and Thrive - A Digital Literacy Guide for the Information Age, Knight Citizen News, Washington, DC. Available by download from or in hard copy through the Co-op Bookshop. Students should also purchase a course reader from the University Copy Centre.

Craig, R (2005) Online Journalism: Reporting, writing and editing for new media, Thomson - Wadsworth. Melbourne, pp. 215-229, 262-273.

De Wolk, R (2001) Introduction to Online Journalism: Publishing news and information, Allyn and Bacon, Sydney, pp. 69-88.

Fahs, C (2008) How to Do Everything with YouTube, McGraw Hill, Sydney, pp. 152-74.

Herbert, J (2001) Practising Global Journalism: exploring reporting issues worldwide, Focal Press, Oxford.

McAdams, M (2005) Flash Journalism: How to create multimedia news packages, Focal - Elsevier, Sydney, pp. 3-21, 59-72, 73-87.

Rao, M (ed.) (2003) News Media and New Media: the Asia Pacific Internet Handbook, episode V, Eastern Universities Press, Singapore.

Ray, T (2006) Online Journalism: A basic text, Foundation, Delhi, pp. 42-51, 61-79.

Stovall, JG (2004) Web journalism: Practice and promise of a new medium, Pearson, Boston.

Wulfmeyer, KT (2006) Online Newswriting, Blackwell, Ames Iowa, pp. 20-25, 59-65.

Zavoina, SC and JH Davidson (2002) Digital Photojournalism, Allyn and Bacon, Sydney, pp. 59-72.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks for this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 25-Mar-2013