| Semester 2, 2022 Online | |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Humanities & Communication |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
| Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Examiner:
Overview
While legal systems differ from country to country, this course considers the laws that affect journalists and the media. It provides a legal and ethical framework for professional practice.
Students will examine the Australian legal system, defamation law, contempt of court and parliament, and the law of copyright. The study of major developments in moral philosophy will form a foundation on which to analyse specific case studies, with particular reference to the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
(MEAA) (Journalists) Code of Ethics.
Course learning outcomes
On successful completion of this course students should be able to:
- extend their knowledge by examining the laws and practices that apply to the ethical reporting and writing of journalistic work;
- analyse legal, ethical, and industry standards, and evaluate published copy that is defamatory, contemptuous or infringes copyright;
- communicate complex ideas and evaluate the impact of technology on the ethical practice of journalism;
- critically reflect on the principles of ethical and legal decision-making processes in industry;
- apply codes of practice and ethical principles and research to identify, evaluate and resolve journalistic case studies;
- analyse the media portrayal of ethnicity, gender, disability, sexuality, age and race, including indigenous populations.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australian legal systems | 5.00 |
| 2. | Principles of defamation | 25.00 |
| 3. | Principles of contempt | 25.00 |
| 4. | Other legal issues | 5.00 |
| 5. | History of moral philosophy | 5.00 |
| 6. | Code of Ethics | 15.00 |
| 7. | Current ethical issues | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
| Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz | No | 10 | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Essay 1 | No | 20 | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |
| Essay 2 | No | 30 | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |
| Time limited online examinatn | No | 40 | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |