Use framing analysis to analyse Country A's national image in media discourse in Country B or international media discourse. 

The objective of the assignment is to analyse and evaluate two main theories (image and framing), and apply an analytical tool (framing analysis) to analyse one country's national image in the media discourse of another country.

Specific requirements for this essay: 

1. Review the notions of national image and framing theory

2. Select 8-10 news articles about Country A from two mainstream media in Country B or from a global dominant media (e.g. BBC, CNN)

3. Apply framing analysis to analyse the selected news articles 

4. Discuss the findings or frames of Country A's image in the analysis 

Word limit: 1000 words (exclusive of references)

1. Sophisticated analysis and evaluation of key international public relations concepts (image and framing)

2. Correct application of the research method for the analysis of media discourse 

3. Sound interpretation of research findings 

4. Clear and well-organised essay structure, and consistent referencing including in-text citations 

5. Clear and concise writing skills

The objective of the assignment is to research, describe, analyse and evaluate a specific public diplomacy or international public relations campaign by a state, a non-government organisation or a large business operating internationally. This is essentially an exercise in analysis. You may consider questions such as: What was the campaign and what did the actor hope to achieve? What did it do and why? What were the obstacles and the advantages it had? Was it successful? Why or why not? Could it have been improved? How? 

The focus of the essay must have the following features:

* It must be an international campaign. i.e. the campaigner’s target audience should not be its own domestic audience. The audience should be outside the campaigning institution’s own national borders. Such audiences could include diasporic publics. The campaign must have been commissioned by a government, government agency, intergovernmental organisation, nongovernmental organisation or large business. It must be a specific campaign conducted for a specific purpose at a specific time. It must be a public relations or soft public diplomacy exercise, not a hard diplomacy or a 'behind closed doors' diplomatic one, the latter being more relevant to international relations.

* Relate what you say about this specific case to some of the theory that we have discussed in class. In other words, what wider lessons can we learn from this case study and/or how does theory illuminate your case study? Make sure that your conclusion sets out what you think your case study tells us about international public relations and/or public diplomacy in general: What can we learn from this case study? 

*Pay attention to structure, logical flow and conclusions which flow from what you have analysed. Use headings to help you create a solid structure. Make sure your conclusion follows from your argument. The most common mistakes students make are: poor structure; too much description and not enough analysis; the conclusion is too general and/or does not follow from the argument in the paper.

Word limit: 2,000 words (exclusive of references)

Assessment Criteria are:

1. Solid application of relevant research methods

2. Effective analysis and evaluation of an existing campaign in relation to relevant theoretical models

3. Rigorous argumentation and originality of campaign recommendations

4. Clear and concise writing style

The objective of this assignment is to develop and present an original public diplomacy or international public relations campaign that addresses a real issue faced by an international client. The client may be an individual, corporation, non-government organisation, government or international governmental organisation for whom international image is important. This assessment differs from the critical essay in that now you are presenting your own campaign instead of crtitiquing and evaluating one already executed by an organisation. However. you may choose to create a campaign for the same organisation that you do your critical essay on.

The presentation is to be in the format of a persuasive sales pitch rather than an academic paper, but needs to be well researched. You will present your campaign proposal to your prospective client.

You must identify and describe who you are – that is your PR agency - as well as who your prospective client is. For instance, if Australia is experiencing an image problem in Indonesia, your prospective client may be the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In your presentation you need to analyse the client’s image problem (based on solid research into a real problem) and the specific public or audience you wish to reach in the country where the image problem exists. Saying ‘people of Indonesia’ will not suffice - which people specifically will be targeted? Use Diffusion Theory to analyse the audience strategically and identify opinion leaders. 

Remember it must be an international campaign (e.g. an Australian campaign in Indonesia), not a domestic one (e.g.Australian campaign in Australia). Make sure it is a specific timebound public relations or public diplomacy campaign that is aimed at addressing a particular image or related problem.

The presentation should be 8-10 minutes long. It should be accompanied by no more than 8 powerpoint slides (including one with references).

You need to record your oral presentation and upload the recording on iLearn or send the recording to the unit convenor. The Powerpoint slides need to be submitted to Turnitin by 11.59pm on the day of your presentation.

You will be marked on your ability to:

1. Demonstrate appropriate and independent research into a real image problem for your organisation

2. Identify and describe key actors

3. Contextualise the actor's image problem

4. Apply Diffusion Theory to analyse the target audience and opinion leaders

5. Design an effective, original and convincing new campaign strategy

6. Provide effective PPT slides

7. Succinctly and persuasively deliver the campaign pitch within the given time

The critical and response task mark will be based on regular preparation for and participation in online discussions, as well as depth of attention to and reflection on weekly activities. It will be comprised of:

Weekly insights on set readings (10%) - Weeks 1-7

Over the 7 weeks you are expected to post 300-400 word reflections on the most important insights gained from the set readings, Note that this task is not simply a summary of what the readings say, but will highlight your ability to pull out key points that particularly interest you. That is, you will clearly explain the key concept/s or idea/s in your own words and then explain why they are interesting to you e.g. you may explain how particular points changed the way you thought about a particular topic, how they were particularly useful for analysing a situation in your country or a country you are studying, how they were addressed similarly or differently by different authors, or you may link ideas in the readings with other ideas discussed by other students or in lectures, or with current stories in the media. You should end each insight with an interesting or provocative question to discuss with your classmates. 

These insights should be posted by 10am on the Tuesday of the same week the readings correspond to, except for Week 1 readings for which you may have an extra week as you ease into the unit (i.e. insights on Week 1 and Week 2 readings will be due at 10am Tues 7 March/Week 2, Week 3 insights on readings will be due by 10am Tues 14 March/Week 3 etc.). 

It is not necessary to cover every reading in each post, but your ability to succinctly compare and contrast particular ideas across readings over the 7 weeks will be highly regarded.

These insights should be posted to an online blog that will be set up in ilearn. 

Please label your posts Week 1, Week 2 etc. so it is clear which week is being addressed for each post (you may add other interesting headings alongside these if you like).

Note that you will not be able to see other students' posts until you have posted your own insights and questions.

You will be marked on your ability to:

*Strategically select interesting ideas from one or more readings to focus on (one key idea is enough for each post)

*Reflect on and relate ideas with depth of thought and attention in a way that seems important to you personally (i.e. they are not simply summaries of readings)

*Write clearly and succinctly (within the word limit)

Response to questions and/or ideas raised by classmates and/or by the teacher in the lecture (10%) - Weeks 2-7

Within the same blog post you will have a separate section responding to at least one issue or idea raised by other classmates and/or by the teacher in the lecture. Choose a question or point you thought was particularly provocative or interesting, explain why you chose to respond to this question, and show depth of thought and attention in your response. Responses should be no longer than 300 words. These responses should be in the following week's post (i.e. responses to week 1 and 2 questions can be posted in your Week 3 post, responses to Week 3 questions can be posted in your Week 4 post etc.).

You will be marked on your ability to:

*Strategically select thoughtful questions or points raised by classmates or the teacher to respond to

*Respond in a thoughtful manner that shows respect for the person who raised the question or point and depth of thought and attention in your response. This depth of response will ideally be based on further research on the topic.

*Write clearly and succinctly (within the word limit)

Preparation and media research for interviews and press conferences (10%)

The convenor will also post questions on ilearn for you to respond to on a weekly basis. They will mainly involve some media research and coming up with a position that you could use as a spokesperson at a press conference or media interview for a particular organisation operating in an international context. The responses for this section should be no longer than 300 words and will typically comprise of a short position statement, why you chose this statement, and an outline of what media resourses you accessed (provide these as an annotated reference list) with brief notes about key points from each report that helped you come up with your statement. This can be done as dot points. Precise due dates will be provided in the announcements from the convenor. Ensure you regularly access ilearn or have your email settings properly set up so that you are receiving the announcements on time.

You will be marked on your ability to:

*Write a thoughtful and culturally appropriate position statement

*List and succinctly explain relevant media research that underpinned your choice of statement

*Write clearly and succinctly (within the word limit)

-------

Note that your responses for all sections of this assessment task will be monitored by the convenor on a weekly basis. The convenor may respond collectively to interesting ideas from posts in lectures and announcements and will provide collective feedback on the posts to indicate how the cohort is going (e.g. things done well and where some of you could improve). However, your posts will not be individually marked until the end of the course, at which time you will receive a collective mark for all your posts based on the marking criteria. It is at the discretion of the the convenor not to mark posts that were not submitted by the deadline. However, please contact the convenor if there have been issues that have been affecting your studies and an alternative post date may be arranged.