iTeach and Unit Guides will be undergoing maintenance today (Tue 17th Feb) from 1-5pm AEDT. Service may be temporarily unavailable during this time. Apologies for any inconvenience. Updates via https://itstatus.mq.edu.au
Students

MMCC2130 – News Media: Facts and Fiction

2022 – Session 1, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convener
Tai Neilson
tai.neilson@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
10HA, 193F
By 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

Using cutting-edge media facilities, this unit introduces students to hands-on news production practices and the critical analysis of news and current affairs across different media forms. Topics covered include: news values; the doctrine of objectivity; the public sphere; broadcast news and mass media, tabloid media; narrative; and ethics.

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: evaluate and apply key theories of news and current affairs to news production and newsroom practices.
  • ULO3: evaluate the relationships between news, current affairs, politics and culture.
  • ULO4: locate Australian news and current affairs within global media.
  • ULO2: analyse historical and technological changes to news media.
  • ULO5: reflect on the relationship between practice and theory.

General Assessment Information

LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENTS

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests, etc.

To be very clear:

  • Unless you have applied for special consideration and had your application approved, for each day your assignment is late, 10 marks will be deducted. For example, if you submit your assignment 7 days late, 70 marks will be deducted, which means you will fail that assignment.
  • If your assignment is more than 7 days late (including weekends), you will get 0 marks for your assignment. These are serious penalties that will substantially alter your final grade and even determine whether you pass or fail this unit. Please make every effort to submit your assignment by the due date.
  • If you find you cannot submit your assignment on time, please apply for Special Consideration through AskMQ. Make sure you read Macquarie University's policy regarding Special Consideration requests before you apply: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Story Pitch 20% No 23:59 18/03/2022 No
News Report 30% No 23:59 06/05/2022 No
News Analysis 50% No 23:59 01/06/2022 No

Story Pitch

Assessment Type 1: Plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 16 hours
Due: 23:59 18/03/2022
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:

You will plan and develop a pitch for a television news story.

Refer to iLearn for further information.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • evaluate and apply key theories of news and current affairs to news production and newsroom practices.
  • evaluate the relationships between news, current affairs, politics and culture.
  • locate Australian news and current affairs within global media.

News Report

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 26 hours
Due: 23:59 06/05/2022
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:

Students will produce news stories.

Refer to iLearn for further information.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • evaluate and apply key theories of news and current affairs to news production and newsroom practices.
  • reflect on the relationship between practice and theory.

News Analysis

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 41 hours
Due: 23:59 01/06/2022
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:

Students will analyse a news article and write an essay that addresses a prompt.

Refer to iLearn for further information.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse historical and technological changes to news media.
  • reflect on the relationship between practice and theory.

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.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

LECTURES AND TUTORIAL WORKSHOPS

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 attend these throughout the semester. There will be online and in-person options for tutorial/workshops. Our news production facility, the Futures Lab, has a news studio, live editing control room, audio recording booth, and editing suits, which are managed by Mike Baber who will assist with this instruction.

 

REQUIRED READING

All of the required readings and links to multimedia texts are available through Leganto in iLearn. You should read and take notes on the required materials before the lecture each week.

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.

 

RESERVING CAMERA EQUIPMENT

You will have access to camera and audio recording equipment, editing suites, and editing software in accordance with university policy and state health guidelines. A link to reserve recording equipment is available on iLearn.

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

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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 2022.02 of the Handbook