Students

MMCC3020 – News Media: New Directions

2023 – Session 2, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convener
Tai Neilson
tai.neilson@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
193F, 10HA
By 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 focuses on emerging trends in news and current affairs, including broadcast, digital production, and social media strategy. It blends practical experience with industry-leading technologies, and critical insights into 'news' genres and careers. Students develop advanced writing and production skills. They engage in quick-turnaround, mobile, and multi-platform journalism. The unit explores hybrid expressions of journalism and interactive news.

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 critical theories of journalism and current affairs.
  • ULO2: analyse emerging trends and technological changes to news media.
  • ULO3: evaluate the relationship between news, current affairs, politics and culture.
  • ULO4: reflect on the relationship between media practice and theory.
  • ULO5: apply production skills to creation and curation of news stories.

General Assessment Information

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, preparation tasks/ journals, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special Consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic. 

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

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.

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

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Journal 15% No 23:55 03/09/2023; 23:55 01/10/2023
Video News Story 50% No 23:55 10/09/2023; 29/10/2023
Portfolio 35% No 23:55 05/11/2023

Journal

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: 23:55 03/09/2023; 23:55 01/10/2023
Weighting: 15%

 

Each student will submit a series of journal entries that will reflect on the production of their news stories, unit readings and topics, and the students' learning. Refer to ilearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • evaluate and apply critical theories of journalism and current affairs.
  • evaluate the relationship between news, current affairs, politics and culture.
  • reflect on the relationship between media practice and theory.

Video News Story

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 38 hours
Due: 23:55 10/09/2023; 29/10/2023
Weighting: 50%

 

Students will produce television news stories for a class bulletin. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse emerging trends and technological changes to news media.
  • evaluate the relationship between news, current affairs, politics and culture.
  • apply production skills to creation and curation of news stories.

Portfolio

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 26 hours
Due: 23:55 05/11/2023
Weighting: 35%

 

Students will create a portfolio including examples and reflections on their journalistic work. Refer to ilearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • evaluate and apply critical theories of journalism and current affairs.
  • evaluate the relationship between news, current affairs, politics and culture.
  • reflect on the relationship between media 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

Delivery and Resources

TUTORIAL WORKSHOPS

Tutorials commence in week 2 of the semester. They are 2 hours long and there are no lectures.

Groups for the Video News Story assessments will be organised in tutorials (if you do not attend you will not be assigned a group).

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.

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 2023.03 of the Handbook