| Semester 1, 2020 Online | |
| Short Description: | Specialised Reporting (Masters |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Humanities & Communication |
| Student contribution band : | Band 1 |
| ASCED code : | 100703 - Journalism |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in the following Program: MARA
Other requisites
Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.
Rationale
This course makes it possible to study Journalism at the Masters level through an engagement with specialised reporting including innovative practices and changing theoretical frameworks. Students will develop advanced skills in writing and reporting to cover a specialised news “round”. Specialist reporting is based on a journalist’s practical experience and knowledge of a particular aspect of society or world conditions. This course allows Master of Arts students to apply their previously acquired knowledge of an academic area to the practice of journalism.
Synopsis
In reporting and writing on a major round or beat, journalists are expected to communicate clearly, accurately and creatively on complex ideas related to specialised areas of knowledge. This course helps students to develop their expertise in reporting the current news and ideas from a particular journalism 'round' including international stories, politics, the environment, the police and crime. Students will advance their skills in critical analysis of specialised news reporting, complex storytelling and writing with imaginative flair. The emphasis will be on explanatory reporting for the general public to facilitate the students' ability to accomplish investigative reporting projects of a high-quality, publishable standard. Students will reflect on their professional practice in the context of ethical issues and values related to truthtelling.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
- demonstrate high journalistic skills in the practice of developing, researching and reporting on investigative news stories in an accurate, creative and ethical manner;
- demonstrate an understanding of the need to develop and maintain multiple, varied contacts and sources in specialist reporting;
- demonstrate advanced skills in identifying and assessing information from new media and traditional sources;
- demonstrate an understanding of key studies and major theoretical frameworks in the analysis and practice of specialist reporting, related multimedia, audiences and publics;
- identify how changing theoretical frameworks generate fresh challenges, issues, opportunities and forms of analysis in the practice of specialised reporting;
- apply ethical frameworks and methods of analysis in their own studies of specialist reporting and critically reflect on these for achieving a high journalism standard;
- complete the process of creating a high-level, major piece of specialist journalism;
- reflect critically on their professional practice as specialist journalists.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The journey: topic selection, background research, reporting and interviewing, organising, writing, rewriting and polishing | 40.00 |
| 2. | In the toolbox: computer-assisted reporting | 10.00 |
| 3. | Storytelling: the medium, the tools, strengths and weaknesses | 10.00 |
| 4. | Bumps in the road: from economic to fairness and PR issues | 10.00 |
| 5. | Journalistic ethics: truthtelling, critical thinking and practice, universal values or relativism, and the future for journalism | 10.00 |
| 6. | That went well, or did it? critical self-reflection | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=JRN8004)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Private ľ«¶«´«Ă˝app | 165.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSIGNMENT 1 | 100 | 20 | 06 Apr 2020 | (see note 1) |
| ASSIGNMENT 2 | 100 | 40 | 18 May 2020 | (see note 2) |
| ASSIGNMENT 3 | 100 | 40 | 09 Jun 2020 | (see note 3) |
Notes
- Story pitch and reporting plan (1,000 words). PLEASE NOTE: No assignment submitted for this course can have been written for, or submitted for publication by any media outlet within three months of the assignment due date.
- Investigative, specialist news story (1,500 words).
- Essay (2,500 words).
Important assessment information
-
Attendance requirements:
Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.
External and Online:
There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students’ responsibility to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
On-campus
It is the students’ responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted
marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
There is no examination for this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. -
ľ«¶«´«Ă˝app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ľ«¶«´«Ă˝app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .