Course Title: Journalism: Issues and Principles

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Journalism: Issues and Principles

Credit Points: 12


Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

COMM1117

City Campus

Postgraduate

335H Applied Communication

Face-to-Face

Sem 2 2006,
Sem 2 2008

COMM1118

City Campus

Undergraduate

335H Applied Communication

Face-to-Face

Sem 2 2006

Course Coordinator: Josie Vine

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3596

Course Coordinator Email:josie.vine@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Building 6, Level 2, Room 18


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

This course will examine the tasks, methods, privileges and responsibilities of today’s professional journalist in Australia. It will develop understanding of the self-regulatory framework in which journalists work, and an apperciation for the rationale behind journalistic method.  


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

- To understand the privileges journalists enjoy in a western liberal democracy

- To consider journalists’ responsibilities to themselves, those they write or broadcast about, their employer and to society.

- To understand the role and nature of Australian journalism’s codes of ethics and self-regulatory system

- To understand the rationale behind journalistic method



- An understanding of the development of Australian journalism’s issues and principles

- An understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of Australian journalism’s codes of ethics and its self-regulatory systems

- An understanding of the diversity of journalistic product

- Skills in basic journalistic method 


Overview of Learning Activities

The course materials will be delivered in weekly seminars. These will include:

- Lectures

- Documentaries

- Classroom exercises

- Classroom discussions

Work to be undertaken outside seminars will include:

- A weekly reading program on-line

- Media consumption, which students will be directed towards in seminars 


Overview of Learning Resources

- Weekly readings to be delivered on-line

- Media consumption, which students will be directed towards in seminars


Overview of Assessment

Class attendance is not compulsory, but students will find it difficult to grasp the necessary concepts without attending regularly. Students need to reach a satisfactory standard in all components of the assessment to pass the course.

Students will be assessed in practical assignments, in-class exercises and class participation.