Students

MMCC3037 – Radio and Podcast: The 'On Air' Career

2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances

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

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Lecturer, Tutor
Helen Wolfenden
Contact via Email
10HA 193E
Please email for an appointment.
Senior Technical Support
Ben Nash
Contact via Email
10HA: 172
Please email for an appointment.
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit is suited to students who already have some experience producing spoken word and/or music audio. It explores diverse radio, audio and podcast forms and production as they are emerging in the contemporary online and broadcast context. Students work across a range of professional roles contributing their skills and output to either a series of programs composed of a variety of radio forms (features, comedy, talk-back, reportage, discussion, live music, performance), or towards a 'live' special event program for 2SER community radio station. Specialist studio/audio production is taught using 'Protools' and appropriate other softwares. Students also advance their skills in voice production and microphone techniques (also applicable to film, news broadcast, podcast, and other audio-visual forms).

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 radio and audio content production to diverse media applications.
  • ULO2: evaluate and apply a range of operational, technical and media industry skills related in particular to audio/radio production, program making and broadcasting.
  • ULO3: communicate, collaborate and plan to produce a range of creative and journalistic outputs.
  • ULO4: analyse and evaluate creative and professional media practice, with an emphasis on radio/audio industry or broadcast media content.

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
Audio Portfolio 50% No Week 12: 28/5/2021 10am
Radio Show/s and Production Diary 50% No Week 12: 28/5/2021 10am

Audio Portfolio

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 33 hours
Due: Week 12: 28/5/2021 10am
Weighting: 50%

 

Pre-produce audio content for the live or ‘as live’ radio show/s you will create for the following assessment. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply radio and audio content production to diverse media applications.
  • evaluate and apply a range of operational, technical and media industry skills related in particular to audio/radio production, program making and broadcasting.
  • communicate, collaborate and plan to produce a range of creative and journalistic outputs.
  • analyse and evaluate creative and professional media practice, with an emphasis on radio/audio industry or broadcast media content.

Radio Show/s and Production Diary

Assessment Type 1: Performance
Indicative Time on Task 2: 33 hours
Due: Week 12: 28/5/2021 10am
Weighting: 50%

 

Produce radio show/s for radio station 2SER. Documentation supporting your contribution to the broadcasts will be required in the form of a Production Diary. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • apply radio and audio content production to diverse media applications.
  • evaluate and apply a range of operational, technical and media industry skills related in particular to audio/radio production, program making and broadcasting.
  • communicate, collaborate and plan to produce a range of creative and journalistic outputs.
  • analyse and evaluate creative and professional media practice, with an emphasis on radio/audio industry or broadcast media 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 is structured using lectures as well as a combination of online and face-to-face tutorial /radio lab /studio workshops and discussion sessions. Please see iLearn for more detail. 

Please note: lectures AND tutorials begin in week 1.

 

REQUIRED READING

A selection of readings are allocated to each week for the first half of the semester 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.

 

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT

• One set of good quality closed or semi-closed headphones (compulsory for each student for hygiene and safety reasons).

• Memory device to store audio data, in progress and for transport between home and university.

 

RECOMMENDED READING

Abel, Jessica; foreword by Ira Glass. Out on the wire: the storytelling secrets of the new masters of radio, New York, 2015.

Ahern, Steve. Making Radio. Allen and Unwin: 2011

Alten, Stanley. Audio in Media. Belmont CA: Most recent edition is best. (The bible of audio production for those really serious about sound.)

Barnard, Stephen. Studying Radio. New York: 2000

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

Beaman, Jim. Interviewing for Radio. London & NY: 2011

Biewen, John. Reality radio: telling true stories in sound, Durham, 2017

Burns, Maureen et al. Histories of public Service Broadcasters on the web, New York: 2011

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

Chignell, Hugh. Key Concepts in Radio Studies. Sage: 2009

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

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

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

Crook, Tim. The Sound Handbook. London. Routledge 2012

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

Emm, Adèle. Researching for the media: television, radio and journalism, London; New York 2014. Online resource.

Fleming, Carole. The Radio Handbook. London: 2010

Frangi, Anthony. Radio toolbox: everything you need to get started in broadcasting. Palgrave Macmillan 2012

Geller, Valerie. Beyond Powerful radio: a communicator's guide to the Internet age. Belmont CA: 2006

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

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

Hicks, Wynford. English for Journalists. London & New York, 2nd Edition 2003

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

Keeble, Richard. Ethics for Journalists. London & New York, 2001

Kern, Jonathon. Sound Reporting: the NPR Guide to audio journalism and production, Chicago: 2008

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

Lingren, Mia, and Philips,Gail. Australian Broadcast Journalism. 3rd Ed. South Melbourne, 2013

Loviglio, Jason & Hilmes, Michele (Eds) Radio's New Wave: Global Sound in the Digital Age, Routledge: 2013

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

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

Shingler & Wieringa. On Air: Methods and 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. London, New York, 2011 Talbot-Smith, Michael. Sound Assistance. London: 1999

Bonini, Tiziano; Monclus, Belen. Eds. Radio audiences and participation in the age of network society, New York, NY, 2015

Turner, Graeme. 'Politics, Radio and Journalism in Australia', in Journalism, Vol 10, no 4, August 2009

 

Journals of relevance (in library/electronic available access via multisearch):

Journal of Radio and Audio Media, (USA)

Australian Journalism Review (articles on all kinds of journalism)

Radiodoc Review online journal reviewing documentary radio/audio (international) https://ro.uow.edu.au/rdr/

 

Online audio sites of interest

Arte-Radio (in French: radio arm of European cultural channel) https://www.arteradio.com

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

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

ABCEditorial Policies https://edpols.abc.net.au

ABC Double J https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/

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

ABC Radio Eye (Archived features and documentaries) https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/radioeye/

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

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

ABC Earshot (features and documentaries shows from 2015-) https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/

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

ABC Local RadioSydney https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sydney/

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

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

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

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

Community Broadcasting Association of Australia https://www.cbaa.org.au

Community Media Association https://www.commedia.org.uk

All The Best (storytelling features on fbi made by volunteers and students) http://allthebestradio.com

fbi (community radio station Sydney) https://fbiradio.com

2GB (AM talkback news station Sydney) https://www.2gb.com

Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva, award winning producers based in USA) http://www.kitchensisters.org/

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

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

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

Radio Lab (innovative US ideas radio show and podcast) https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab

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/

Radiotopia (USA site for cutting edge and creative audio storytelling) https://www.radiotopia.fm

Resonance FM https://www.resonancefm.com

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

2SER https://2ser.com

Serial (breakthrough podcast with season 1 based on re-examination of murder case) https://serialpodcast.org

Sirius satellite radio https://www.siriusxm.com

Story Corps (USA oral history and radio documentary project) https://storycorps.org

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

SYN (community station, based in Melbourne, under 25s) http://syn.org.au

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

Third Coast Radio Festival https://www.thirdcoastfestival.org

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

**Transom (a showcase & workshop for new public radio – VERY useful to students) https://transom.org

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

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

Hearing Voices USA ‘best of Public radio’ Hearing Voices https://hearingvoices.com and https://exchange.prx.org/series/732-hearing-voices

The Wire http://thewire.org.au

WNYC (New York public radio station with live performance space) https://www.wnyc.org

World Service (BBC) https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio

Remember that you can also access LinkedIn Learning online training videos via the library https://libguides.mq.edu.au/linkedinlearning

LinkedIn Learning offers a range of software, creative, and business training including courses on ProTools, AudioSuite plugins, mixing and audio theory.

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