Semester 1, 2023 Toowoomba On-campus | |
Units : | 1 |
School or Department : | School of Humanities & Communication |
Grading basis : | Graded |
Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Course Coordinator:
Overview
At a time when the digital revolution is spawning an unprecedented flood of information and disinformation each day, we need to be able to judge the credibility and reliability of news reports, and we need to understand why that matters. This course provides critical perspectives on what makes journalism distinct among other forms of content and communications, and examines the role journalism plays in the functions of a society.
This course is designed to teach students how to become more discriminating news producers and/or consumers. The course will seek to help students recognise reliable information and teach them how to apply their critical-thinking skills so they can act on such information. As part of their instruction, students also will learn how the journalistic process works and how professional journalists make decisions.
Course learning outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- identify and describe the concept of news literacy and why it matters;
- critically evaluate and analyse various forms of information to classify news from other forms of content and information, such as propaganda and opinion;
- identify evidence, bias and fairness, assertion and verification, and inference and influence in journalistic work;
- effectively deconstruct written and visual texts, and communicate an analysis of the journalistic process and how journalists make decisions;
- exercise judgment to evaluate the ethical standards in journalistic processes and decisions;
Topics
Description | Weighting(%) | |
---|---|---|
1. | Power, contexts and functions of news media | 15.00 |
2. | Differentiating between news and other forms of media information | 25.00 |
3. | Deconstructing print, digital and broadcast news stories | 25.00 |
4. | Influences on news credibility and reliability | 20.00 |
5. | Journalistic decision-making processes | 15.00 |
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 |
Case 精东传媒app | No | 40 | 1,2,3,4,5 |
Time limited online examinatn | No | 50 | 1,2,3,4,5 |