COMM12016 - Media Industries

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Public Relations and journalism are inextricably linked. An understanding of the complexities of the modern digital media environment is critical because it shapes the work a public relations practitioner performs and the manner in which it is undertaken. This unit provides you with a range of contemporary perspectives on Australian and international media industries. It analyses political and social contexts, important issues such as media ownership, diversity and independence, as well as identifying professional and technological changes in media practices and organisations. The unit encourages an understanding of the institutions and industries in which media practitioners work and demonstrates how public relations practitioners can work outside established news organisations through social journalism. As an important part of public relations practice, the unit also promotes research, verification and writing skills (both in an online and offline context) in order to further your training and awareness.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Minimum of 36 credit points


Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Group Discussion 20%
2. Written Assessment 35%
3. Portfolio 45%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 25% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student Unit Evaluation Survey T2 2022
Feedback
Students reported that their experiencing navigating the unit Moodle site was straight forward and supported their learning experience
Recommendation
Continue to update Moodle site with a focus on the student experience
Action Taken
A focus on ease of navigation was maintained.
Source: Student Unit Evaluation Survey T2 2022
Feedback
Some content in the unit is inaccessible (i.e links, or has changed to rely on subscriptions)
Recommendation
Review learning material on an ongoing basis, especially seeking for content which is not flagged as a 'broken link' but becomes otherwise inaccessible
Action Taken
Learning material continues to be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
Source: Teaching Staff Evaluation
Feedback
There is an opportunity for a more significant unit update to reflect the considerable changes to the media environment which have taken place over the last three years
Recommendation
Undertake a significant unit revision.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Informal Student Feedback
Feedback
Students found teaching staff to be approachable and willing to help
Recommendation
Continue to provide an excellent level of support to students.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Analyse examples of contemporary journalistic practice in Australian and international contexts
  2. Review coverage of controversial current affairs in the mediasphere
  3. Critically evaluate the effect of social media and technological development on media industry practices and ethics, with a social journalism focus.

n/a

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Group Discussion •
2 - Written Assessment •
3 - Portfolio •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3
1 - Communication • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • •
8 - Ethical practice • •
9 - Social Innovation • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Group Discussion • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • • •
3 - Portfolio • • • • • •