MDIA 3329 - Transforming Journalism: Adv Reporting Workshop

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2016

The course information on this page is being finalised for 2016. Please check again before classes commence.

Transformations in the media industry have brought challenges and exciting opportunities for new forms of journalism and reporting. This course focuses on two key areas of journalism ? broadcast and long-form journalism ? as well as providing opportunities to consider a range of changing influences on professional practice. It gives students an in-depth understanding of the media environment through work in Radio Adelaide's newsroom supporting broadcast and online reporting. Students will be taught pre-requisite skills in an intensive fortnight of lectures and then rostered in teams to produce daily news bulletins and publish bulletins online.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code MDIA 3329
    Course Transforming Journalism: Adv Reporting Workshop
    Coordinating Unit Media
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 6
    Contact Up to 6 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Prerequisites MDIA 2333 Reporting Principles and Practice, MDIA 2334 Writing for News Media
    Restrictions Available only to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Media with Journalism major
    Quota A quota of 24 applies
    Course Description Transformations in the media industry have brought challenges and exciting opportunities for new forms of journalism and reporting. This course focuses on two key areas of journalism ? broadcast and long-form journalism ? as well as providing opportunities to consider a range of changing influences on professional practice. It gives students an in-depth understanding of the media environment through work in Radio Adelaide's newsroom supporting broadcast and online reporting. Students will be taught pre-requisite skills in an intensive fortnight of lectures and then rostered in teams to produce daily news bulletins and publish bulletins online.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Kathryn Bowd

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1 Plan, write and present daily local and national radio news bulletins
    2 Research and present news bulletins on air and online
    3 Work co-operatively and effectively as a team member in a working radio station environment
    4 Work competently on a studio panel, studio recording equipment, digital audio editing and online
    5 Exercise critical thinking skills to analyse information and make judgements on news value
    6 Explore professional issues and skills related to journalism, particularly within the context of changing practice
    7 Research and plan long-form journalism outputs
    8 Write and produce long-form journalism outputs
    9 Understand the role of long-form journalism in the media landscape
    10
    University Graduate Attributes

    No information currently available.

  • Learning Resources
    Recommended Resources
    Recommended resources will be listed on MyUni.

    Because students will be writing, producing and presenting radio news bulletins, all students are expected to keep up-to-date with current news events and issues throughout the semester. Useful news resources include:

    www.abc.net.au/news

    www.adelaidenow.com.au

    www.theguardian.com/au

    www.indaily.com.au

    theconversation.com/au



    Online Learning
    This course makes extensive use of MyUni. Assignments are to be submitted through MyUni.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course is taught through a combination of lectures and training at Radio Adelaide - leading to students working in teams to write, produce and present regular radio news bulletins - and on-campus workshops.

    Students will work at Radio Adelaide in small groups under the supervision of the Course Coordinator and Radio Adelaide staff, with increasing independence across the semester, but continual monitoring.

    A series of on-campus workshops during the semester will focus on key issues and skills related to professional practice in journalism.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    Workload in this course is variable across the semester because of the small-group nature of much of the work at Radio Adelaide.

    Total commitment for the semester will be approximately:

    Radio Adelaide training and workshops: 22.5 hours
    Rostered news bulletins: 60 hours
    On-campus workshops: 12 hours
    Preparation for on-campus workshops: 12 hours
    Preparation of assignments and peer/self assessment: 36 hours

    Please note that this is a guide only - individual workloads will vary depending on assignment deadlines and other factors.
    Learning Activities Summary
    A detailed schedule for this course will be posted on MyUni. Students should familiarise themselves with this schedule as soon as possible and make Radio Adelaide aware of any scheduling problems BEFORE news teams are finalised.

    Please be aware that there is extremely limited flexibility in this schedule, and students are responsible for ensuring that their other commitments can be managed around the schedule.

    Training at Radio Adelaide will take place during the first two weeks of the semester. After that, students will be rostered on in their news groups on a weekly basis - one week of breakfast news, followed by one week of drivetime news, followed by a three-week break before the cycle begins again.

    Please note that radio bulletins will continue as normal on public holidays and during the mid-semester break.

    The on-campus workshop program will run for six weeks of the semester - Weeks 3-5 and Weeks 8-10.
    Specific Course Requirements
    Students must ensure they are available when their scheduled news team is rostered to be at Radio Adelaide. News groups will be finalised in Week 1 of the semester.
    Small Group Discovery Experience
    Small Group Discovery Experience is embedded throughout this course, but particularly within the Radio Adelaide news production component. Students work in small teams under the guidance of the Course Coordinator to produce on-air news bulletins. In on-campus workshops students work in small groups to exercise their critical thinking skills.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    As this is a 6-unit course, the assessment workload is approximately double that of a typical 3-unit course.

    There are five assessment items in this course: self-assessment of news radio bulletin work; peer assessment of radio bulletin work; lecturer assessment of radio news scripts/portfolio; feature story; and presentation on a topic related to professional practice in journalism.
    Assessment Detail
    Details of assessment items will be provided through MyUni and in workshops (on campus and at Radio Adelaide).

    Assignment 1: Self-assessment of contribution to radio news bulletins

    Assignment 2: Peer assessment contribution to radio news bulletins

    Assignment 3: Radio news scripts/portfolio

    Assignment 4: Feature story (or radio documentary) + peer assessment

    Assignment 5: Presentation
    Submission
    All written assignments must be submitted through MyUni.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

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  • Policies & Guidelines
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