Students

MMCC2160 – Radio and Podcast: Creation

2021 – Session 1, Weekday attendance, North Ryde

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Lecturer, Tutor
Helen Wolfenden
helen.wolfenden@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
10HA 193E
Please email for an appointment.
Tutor
Fereydoun Pelarek
fereydoun.pelarek@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Please email for an appointment.
Senior Technical Support
Ben Nash
ben.nash@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
Please email for an appointment.
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Introducing students to the radio broadcasting industry, this unit has a large practical component for radio and podcast. Its main aim is to enable students to produce creative and or journalistic work, including content suitable for broadcast on Sydney station, 2SER.

Students gain a broad understanding of program making and sound production media, with attention to public, commercial and community radio forms. The unit also introduces students to the rapidly expanding realm of podcasting and online radio.

The workshop component of the unit concentrates on techniques of recording and producing pre-recorded sound 'stories'. Through hands-on production classes in the radio lab, students learn to develop skills in interviewing, story construction and voice presentation, and learn to research, record, mix, and write for radio and podcast.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: apply critical and conceptual skills in radio research and production.
  • ULO2: demonstrate a range of communication and expression skills.
  • ULO3: integrate a range of operational, technical and media industry/journalistic skills related in particular to audio/radio production and program making.
  • ULO4: evaluate creative and professional media practice, with an emphasis on production of radio industry audio content.
  • ULO5: collaborate and plan strategically, and develop team skills to produce a range of creative and journalistic outputs.

General Assessment Information

Late Submission

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Vox Pops 20% No Week 6: 1/4/2021 10am
Interview 20% No Week 8: 29/4/2021 10am
Radio or Podcast Feature 45% No Week 12: 27/5/2021 10am
Participation 15% No Weeks 2-12: S1 2021

Vox Pops

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 6: 1/4/2021 10am
Weighting: 20%

 

Record and edit a vox pop. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply critical and conceptual skills in radio research and production.
  • demonstrate a range of communication and expression skills.
  • integrate a range of operational, technical and media industry/journalistic skills related in particular to audio/radio production and program making.

Interview

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 8: 29/4/2021 10am
Weighting: 20%

 

Record and edit an interview. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply critical and conceptual skills in radio research and production.
  • demonstrate a range of communication and expression skills.
  • integrate a range of operational, technical and media industry/journalistic skills related in particular to audio/radio production and program making.
  • evaluate creative and professional media practice, with an emphasis on production of radio industry audio content.

Radio or Podcast Feature

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Week 12: 27/5/2021 10am
Weighting: 45%

 

Produce a short radio feature or podcast episode. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply critical and conceptual skills in radio research and production.
  • demonstrate a range of communication and expression skills.
  • integrate a range of operational, technical and media industry/journalistic skills related in particular to audio/radio production and program making.
  • evaluate creative and professional media practice, with an emphasis on production of radio industry audio content.
  • collaborate and plan strategically, and develop team skills to produce a range of creative and journalistic outputs.

Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Weeks 2-12: S1 2021
Weighting: 15%

 

Demonstrate active engagement with the listenings and readings as well as active engagement in the practical workshop activities. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • demonstrate a range of communication and expression skills.
  • integrate a range of operational, technical and media industry/journalistic skills related in particular to audio/radio production and program making.
  • evaluate creative and professional media practice, with an emphasis on production of radio industry audio content.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

This Unit uses ONLINE Lectures and Workshop/Tutorials.

Please Note: Lectures commence in Week 1. Tutorials/Workshops commence in Week 2.

Please attend all classes.

Technical assistance and demonstrations are given in tutorial/workshops and students need to be able to attend these throughout the semester. Senior Technical Support, Ben Nash will be assisting with this instruction.

 

REQUIRED READING

A selection of readings on radio (historical aspects, forms, specialist skills etc), are allocated to each week and detailed in the Unit Schedule (see iLearn). Readings are accessed via Leganto http://libguides.mq.edu.au/leganto 

NOTE that you MUST access Leganto via the block in iLearn in the first instance. This is how the system verifies you as a student in this unit.

 

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT

• One set of good quality closed or semi-closed headphones

• At least one portable memory device

 

RECOMMENDED READING

(most of these are available in the Macquarie University library)

Abel, Jessica. Out on the wire: the storytelling secrets of the new masters of radio with foreword by Ira Glass. New York 2015. Alten, Stanley. Audio in Media, Tenth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston: 2014

Barkho, Leon. From Theory to Practice: How to assess and apply impartiality in news and current affairs. Uni of Chicago Press: 2013

Barnard, Stephen. Studying Radio. New York: 2000

Beaman, Jim. Programme making for radio. London & NY: 2006

Beaman, Jim. Interviewing for Radio, 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmillan: 2011

Biewen, John & Dilworth, Alexa. Reality Radio - Telling True Stories in Sound, Duke University Press: 2010

Chantler, Paul & Stewart, Peter. Basic Radio Journalism: 2003

Chignell, Hugh. Public Issue Radio: Talks, News and Current Affairs in the Twentieth Century, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan: 2011

Crisell, Andrew & Guy Starkey. Radio Journalism, London: 2009

Crisell, Andrew. Ed. Radio (3 Vols). London: 2009

Cunningham, Stuart & Turnbull, Sue. The Media and Communications in Australia, 4th Ed. Allen & Unwin: 2014

Dubber, Andrew. Radio in the Digital Age, London NY, Polity: 2013

Fleming, Carole. The Radio Handbook. London: 2010

Frangi, Anthony. Radio Toolbox: Everything you need to get started in broadcasting in the Digital Age. Macmillan Education, Australia: 2012

Gordon, Janey. Community Radio in the Twenty-first century, Peter Lang: UK 2012

Griffen-Foley, Bridget. Changing Stations: The Story of Australian Commercial Radio: 2009

Hausman, Carl et al. Modern Radio Production. Production, Programming, and Performance. Belmont CA: 2006

Hendy, David. Radio in the Global Age. Cambridge: 2000

Jukes, S. McDonald K. Starkey, G. Understanding Broadcast Journalism, Routledge, 2018

Keith, Michael. The Radio Station. London: Focal Press, 2000

Kern, Jonathon. Sound Reporting: the NPR Guide to Audio Journalism & Production. Chicago & London: Uni of Chicago Press, 2008.

Kramer, Mark & Wendy Call (Eds). Telling True Stories, NY: 2007

McLeish, Robert. Radio Production, 4th Edition, Oxford: 1999

Loviglio, Jason & Hilmes, Michele. Radio's New Wave: Global sound in the digital era, Routledge: 2013

Mundy, John & White, Glyn. Laughing matters : understanding film, television and radio comedy. Manchester Uni Press: 2012

Nuzum, Eric. Make Noise: A Creator's Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling. Workman Publishing Company: 2020

Patching, Roger & Hirst, Martin. Journalism Ethics: Arguments and cases for the twenty first century: Macmillan 2013

Phillips, Gail and Mia Lindgren. Australian Broadcast Journalism. South Melbourne: 2013.

Shingler & Wieringa. On Air: Methods & Meanings of Radio. London: 1998

Squier, Susan. Ed. Communities of the air. London: 2003

Starkey, Guy. Radio in context. London: 2004

Street Sean. The Poetry of Radio. The Colour of Sound, Routledge: 2013

Talbot-Smith, Michael. Sound Assistance. London: 1999

Winer, Ethan. Audio Expert: Everything you need to know about audio. Taylor and Francis: 2012

 

Radio stations/programs, and audio sites of interest online which include examples of feature and interview content.

American Public Media Reports https://www.apmreports.org

Australian Broadcasting Corporation https://www.abc.net.au

ABC Editorial Policies https://edpols.abc.net.au

ABC Pronunciation Guide https://www2b.c0.abc.net.au/abcpronunciation-external/

ABC RN Features (extracted from across programming) https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/features/

ABC Radio Eye (features and docs, now as an archive) https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/radioeye/

ABC RN 360 Documentaries (ABC features and documentaries program - 2014/archived) https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/360/

ABC RN Earshot (documentaries, lot of freelancer stuff here) https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/

ABC Triple J https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/

ABC Triple J (national current affairs/interviews/features program for young people) https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/

ABC Correspondents Report https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/correspondentsreport/

ABC RN https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/

ABC Radio Sydney https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sydney/

Australian Communications and Media Authority https://www.acma.gov.au

ABC Newsradio https://www.abc.net.au/newsradio/

BBC (UK) Audio https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds

Commercial Radio Australia http://www.commercialradio.com.au

Community Broadcasters Association https://www.cbaa.org.au

Community Media Forum Europe http://www.amarceurope.eu/tag/cmfe/

Download This Show (popular podcast on latest technology) https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/downloadthisshow/

2GB https://www.2gb.com

Love + Radio (groundbreaking podcast) http://loveandradio.org/

Macquarie Sports Radio (formerly 2UE) https://www.sportsradio.com.au

NOVA 96.9 https://www.nova969.com.au/nova969

National Public Radio (USA) https://www.npr.org

NPR Next Generations (helpful NPR training resource) https://nextgenerationradio.org

Radio Lab (groundbreaking American radio show about big ideas) https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab

Radio LaB (University of Bedfordshire community radio station) https://www.studentradio.org.uk/stations/radio-lab-97-1/

Radio-Locator https://radio-locator.com

Radioinfo (subscribe to keep in touch with latest jobs etc in Australia) https://www.radioinfo.com.au

ABC Radio Australia https://www.abc.net.au/radio-australia/

Resonance FM https://www.resonancefm.com

**Story Corps Sound Portraits https://storycorps.org

SBS Radio https://www.sbs.com.au/radio/

**2SER https://2ser.com

**Serial (2014 cult American podcast based on a crime investigation and attracting huge audiences and an international following) https://serialpodcast.org

Sirius Satellite Radio https://www.siriusxm.com

STown (Critically acclaimed podcast by the people who make This American Life and Serial) https://stownpodcast.org/

The Truth Podcast (radio movies, radio drama) http://www.thetruthpodcast.com

ABC Australia: The World Today https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/

The Heart (podcast about intimacy) https://www.theheartradio.org/

Third Coast Radio Festival (a showcase of diverse audio) https://www.thirdcoastfestival.org

**This American Life show https://www.thisamericanlife.org

**Transom (showcase for new public radio (very useful to students, highly recommended!) https://transom.org

UBU Web radio http://www.ubu.com/sound/radio_radio/index.html

UN Radio https://news.un.org/en/audio-hub

USA Public radio Hearing Voices https://hearingvoices.com

The Wire (community radio: current affairs, broadcast from 2SER) http://thewire.org.au

WNYC New York public radio station https://www.wnyc.org

World Radio Network https://www.wrn.com

Unit Schedule

See iLearn for the Unit Schedule.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook