Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Dr Roy Baker
Contact via email
W3A 509
See iLearn page
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(6cp in LAW or LAWS units at 300 level) or (39cp including MAS214)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
(39cp including (ICOM304 or MAS302 or MAS330 or POL302)) or admission to LLB or BAppFinLLB or BALLB or BA-MediaLLB or BA-PsychLLB or BBALLB or BComLLB or BCom-ProfAccgLLB or BEnvLLB or BITLLB or BIntStudLLB or BPsych(Hons)LLB or BScLLB or BSocScLLB
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
While focusing on Australia, this unit takes an international and comparative perspective on key media issues. How do different countries decide who should control the media, as well as what they should and should not show? If we value free speech, how should we regulate material such as political debate, defamation, privacy, pornography, vilification and advertising? How do we hit the right balance between state media control and the right of individuals to free expression? We look at the day-to-day legal restrictions on the media and students get to experience what it is like to advise on media content.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
In order to pass this unit students need to attain at least 50 marks garnered from the following:
Weekly Quizzes
Twelve weekly quizzes will be set. The questions will be made available via iLearn at least one week prior to the deadline for submission of answers. The quizzes will be conducted using iLearn and students must post their responses via iLearn. Answers submitted by email will not be accepted.
Each quiz will consist of two questions, making 24 questions in total. Each question will be worth one mark. Generally speaking, the first question in each quiz will focus on the issues looked at in previous topics, while the second question will tend to relate to the present topic (although this pattern might be varied from time to time). Questions will often (but not necessarily) follow a standard multiple choice format, with students being required to select the best out of a range of possible answers. However, students will also be required to write a short statement justifying their choice of answer.
Marks will be awarded in relation to each quiz question as follows:
A justification will be deemed adequate only if it fulfils all of the following criteria:
Guidance on writing succinct justifications, as well as examples of what will be deemed adequate and inadequate, can be found in the document entitled Guide to Answering Quiz Questions, which can be found on iLearn.
Students only have one opportunity to submit and justify their answers. Once submitted, neither the answer nor the justification can be amended or supplemented.
Answers to each quiz will be released on iLearn immediately after its deadline, with additional feedback being released (via a pdf document posted to iLearn) very shortly thereafter. For that reason, in no circumstances can an extension be granted for submission of answers.
Very occasionally it may be necessary for the convenor to amend a question after its release. This may be because the convenor has spotted an error or unintended ambiguity in the question. In the event of this happening, students who have already submitted an answer to the original question may choose to either be assessed on the basis of the original question or to instead attempt the revised question, in which case they will be assessed on the basis of their answer to the revised question. Questions will not be amended during the 72 hours leading up to the deadline.
Although you will know whether you have a question right immediately after the deadline, you will not know whether you have gained a mark until the justifications have been manually graded. This will be done shortly after the quiz deadline and students will be notified of the results online as soon as possible thereafter. If you wish to challenge a mark then this must be done by email to the convenor within 72 hours of the release of the marks relating to the relevant quiz.
Mid-Session assignment
Date for release of question: 8 am, Wednesday 22 April 2015 (Week 7)
Deadline for student submission: 11 pm, Sunday 3 May 2015 (Week 9)
Students will write an 1,800-word answer in relation to a hypothetical situation. This will relate to Topics 1 to 7 (inclusive). Guidance on how to succeed in relation to the mid-Session assignment will be posted online at the time of the question’s release.
Final examination
Date for release of exam question: 9 am, Sunday 14 June 2015
Deadline for student submission: 1 pm, Sunday 14 June 2015
There will be a take-home examination which will consist of writing an 1,800 word essay in response to a set question. This may relate to any part of the unit. Guidance on how to succeed in the final examination will be posted online at least one week prior to the exam question’s release.
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Quizzes | 24% | Various |
Mid-session assignment | 36% | 11 pm, 3 May 2015 |
Final examination | 40% | 9 am – 1 pm, 14 June 2015 |
Due: Various
Weighting: 24%
Weekly online quizzes that count towards the student’s grade
Due: 11 pm, 3 May 2015
Weighting: 36%
Answer to a hypothetical question relating to Topics 1 - 7
Due: 9 am – 1 pm, 14 June 2015
Weighting: 40%
Four-hour exam which students can complete at home
Lectures
This unit consists of 12 topics, with one lecture and one tutorial addressing each topic. However, rather than lectures being delivered ‘live’ in a theatre, recordings are available for download from iLearn (click on the ‘Echo 360’ logo on the right hand side of the screen). PowerPoint slides accompany each lecture and are also available from iLearn (in .pptx and .pdf format). When listening to lectures, be sure to have the accompanying PowerPoint slides in front of you, since they will be referred to during lectures.
Lectures are intended to give you an overview of the topic, indicate its most important aspects, make the related readings more interesting and accessible and, if necessary, update those readings. It is assumed that you will listen to the lecture prior to embarking on that week’s readings.
Readings
The lectures should give you a broad overview of the subject, but it is essential to then develop your understanding by completing the related readings. Readings are divided into ‘essential readings’ and ‘desirable readings’. The ‘essential readings’ mostly consist of extracts from the prescribed textbook: Australian Media Law by Des Butler and Sharon Rodrick, (4th edn, 2012, Thomson Reuters), ISBN: 978-0-455-22846-4. However, you are expected to read beyond this text and wherever possible you should read the desirable readings.
In addition to completing the readings, you should appropriately consult the primary legal sources referred to in the lecture (ie statutes, cases, etc). At times this will be essential in order to satisfactorily complete the assignments. You are expected to have sufficient research skills to locate and download these primary sources. If you are having problems then consult your tutor.
Tutorials
Having gained a basic understanding of each topic by listening to the lecture, and having developed that understanding through completing the readings, tutorials are your chance to discuss the issues raised, as well as ask questions in order to clear up any lingering doubts as to whether you understand the material correctly. Tutorials are meant to come towards the end of the learning process, not the beginning. Certainly they are not substitutes for listening to the lectures or doing the readings, although if you are totally stumped by even a basic point then there is no shame in raising it in a tutorial.
There will be 13 tutorials during the Session, starting in Week 1. Week 1 tutorials will deal mostly with administrative matters, while each subsequent tutorial will primarily relate to a specific topic. All internal students should register in a tutorial group. Places are available on a first-come, first-served basis. You should attend the tutorial in which you are registered. However, if it proves difficult to do so then you may occasionally attend another tutorial without asking permission.
Please try not to be late arriving at a tutorial. They will start promptly at five minutes after their advertised commencement time and should end at least five minutes before their advertised finishing time (in order to provide time for students and staff to move from one class to another). If you find it difficult to arrive on time because of problems with public transport or with finding a parking space, the solution is to catch an earlier bus or train or set out for the university earlier. None of these constitutes a valid excuse for disrupting classes with repeated tardiness.
Tutorial Participation
Students are expected to respect the learning space afforded by tutorials, as well as their teachers and fellow students. They do this by:
NB: it is never a problem to:
Tutorials are meant to be non-threatening environments in which students can make mistakes and own up to any difficulties with the material being studied. A tutorial is a place to learn, not just to demonstrate what you have previously learned. While tutors may need to correct mistakes, every effort will be made to avoid causing any degree of embarrassment. In short, tutors should be highly tolerant of failures to understand, highly intolerant of failures to try to understand.
Changing your tutorial group
It is strongly recommended that you attend the same tutorial group throughout the Session. However, if your circumstances change during the Session and you need to change the day or time when you regularly attend (ie for two or more consecutive weeks) then you should re-register into another tutorial group. If the tutorial group that you wish to join is full then you will need to choose another. Under no circumstances will students be permitted to regularly attend a class in which they are not registered.
General discussion forums
In relation to each of the 12 topics, a discussion forum will be set up on iLearn. Students are encouraged to contribute to these discussions, provided the general rules of etiquette are observed. The forums are intended for discussion relating to the issues we are studying. Please post questions relating to administrative matters to the forum called ‘Discussion Forum re Administrative Matters’.
General notes:
Topic 1: The Free Speech Principle
Principles guide policy makers in the design of rules. This lecture asks what principles should govern media law. Should everything be premised on some kind of right to free speech? If so, what do we mean by this right and is it all it is cracked up to be?
Topic 2: Political Expression
This lecture continues to consider the arguments generally used in support of freedom of expression, focussing on the part free speech plays in a healthy democracy. Australia's High Court has given constitutional protection to political expression, but was that a good thing? Looking in particular at the issue of paid political advertising in broadcasting, I argue that the central problem lies in how we habitually conceptualise freedom.
Topic 3: Free Speech and the Nation
Historically, the state regulated speech so as to protect itself from its subjects. While to a degree it still does so, in more democratic times attention has switched towards safeguarding national cohesion. This lecture considers the extent to which states are entitled to regulate speech that vilifies sections of the community, such as racial, ethnic and sexual minorities, and which may lead to internal strife.
Topic 4: Pornography
If we accept the harm principle then we should not regulate erotica simply in order to safeguard the morals of its consumers. But pornography has been accused of objectifying those who appear in it, particularly women. Indeed, it has been described as nothing more than hate speech directed towards women. Using feminist theory, free speech discourse and the latest findings in neuroscience, this lecture compares various regulatory approaches to sexual content.
Topic 5: Liability for Defamation
In Australia, one of the major legal constraints on journalistic freedom derives from defamation law. Starting off by asking whether any of us are entitled to laws that safeguard our reputations, this lecture considers how the tort of defamation is committed.
Topic 6: Defamation Defences and Remedies
Continuing our analysis of defamation law, this lecture looks at the defences available to media outlets that cause damage to reputation, and asks whether those reputations are overly protected.
Topic 7: Alternatives to Defamation
In this lecture I ask whether the tort of defamation is a broken tort, and whether the issue of protection of reputation is not better addressed through other forms of legal action, such as the tort of injurious falsehood or negligence, or a new action for breach of privacy.
Topic 8: Access to Information
This lecture considers the extent to which the law both facilitates and hinders journalists' access to information, as well as its distribution via the media.
Topic 9: Privacy of Information and Communications
Controversy over phone hacking by journalists has exploded in the UK in recent years, has led to the closure of one of the country's oldest newspapers and could even threaten the Murdoch empire as we know it. This lecture considers whether the same thing could happen in Australia.
Topic 10: Personal Privacy
Historically, the common law never offered a remedy specifically designed to protect personal privacy. With the development of a more intrusive press, disquiet over this omission has become increasingly vocal. This lecture compares developments in the law of privacy in Australia with those overseas, particularly in Europe, where laws protecting privacy have a longer pedigree.
Topic 11: Broadcasting Regulation
Of all Australian media, television and radio have been the most tightly regulated in recent decades. With advances in technology, particularly digital broadcasting and the internet, justifications for retaining the traditional structure of regulation have become increasingly strained. This lecture considers the argument for and against rigorous government intervention in broadcasting and asks whether it is time to set television and radio free.
Topic 12: Media Ownership
There is little point in freedom of expression if there is only one man talking. This lecture looks at how Australian law seeks to guarantee at least a modicum of media diversity, and why those efforts have been under attack in recent years.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.