JOUR13001 - Public Relations and the Media

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Understanding the relationship between journalism and public relations is vital when performing the role of media liaison, especially in an organisational context. This unit introduces you to media management theories and concepts, and teaches you skills that form the basis of media liaison. These include writing press releases, preparing talent, targeting effective media, and knowledge of the modern digital media environment. This unit will enable you to develop public relations activities with a journalistic focus, including online social media campaigns.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites 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 1 - 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. Online discussion forum 20%
2. Group Work 30%
3. Written Assessment 50%

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 Evaluations T2 2022
Feedback
Students commented that the Unit Coordinator was engaging and returned assessment items promptly with clear feedback.
Recommendation
Teaching staff are to maintain a focus on student engagement and quick assessment response times.
Action Taken
Teaching staff maintained a focus on student engagement and quick assessment response times where possible.
Source: Student Unit Evaluations T2 2022
Feedback
Student feedback again identified the focus on real-world skills was valuable.
Recommendation
Maintain the current assessment format, with a focus on real-world tasks.
Action Taken
The assessment focus on real-world tasks was maintained.
Source: Teaching Staff Evaluation
Feedback
The focus of learning materials could be broadened to interest and support students who are looking for careers outside of the media and communication industry
Recommendation
Adjust the scope of learning materials to better suit a diverse learner cohort
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Informal Student Feedback
Feedback
Flexibility was appreciated by students, particularly those who take this unit alongside units with intensive work integrated learning, internship-style elements
Recommendation
Continue to deliver content in formats where students can access learning materials at their own pace, while looking for opportunities to offer students flexibility as needed.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Identify the role and context of media manager or media liaison officer within an organisation
  2. Apply journalistic skills within a public relations context
  3. Determine organisational goals when dealing with the media
  4. Prepare and use key messages
  5. Develop strategies for using the media to support public relations activities and an organisation’s goals.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Online discussion forum •
2 - Group Work • •
3 - Written Assessment • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
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 - Online discussion forum • • • •
2 - Group Work • • • • • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • • • • •