This is a practice based subject taught by leading practitioners, which enables students to develop their skills in researching, writing and producing stories. Students will enhance their understanding of how news stories are put together and will develop advanced skills in researching, writing and producing stories in a new and rapidly changing media environment. The subject examines a range of different research techniques and considers how these can be applied. It also explores a range of writing challenges.

This subject provides a solid grounding in audio journalism skills. The structure of news and current affairs reports is analysed, and training in recording and editing sound packages, and in scripting and presenting is provided. Ethical considerations relevant to audio journalism are canvassed in the context of ‘quality’ journalism, with its roots in serving the public interest, objective scrutiny and fact-based reporting.

This subject will provide students with a grounding in key aspects of media law that all journalists need to be aware of, and offer students an opportunity to engage with particular ethical dilemmas that arise in the field of journalism.It will provide students with an opportunity to gain a deep understanding and capacity to reflect on legal and ethical principles, as well as an understanding of how such knowledge is relevant to the ongoing dilemmas and decisions that journalists are faced with in the course of their work.

The subject will equip students for navigating their careers in a world of changing business models. . It also considers how journalists create a personal brand in a fracturing media landscape and how they develop an entrepreneurial spirit, which is both a mindset and a problem-solving skill set.The subject will focuses on web based publication and small and medium sized journalism enterprises, and the particular skill combination needed to make a commercial success of online journalism outlets, including those serving niche audiences. Students will explore the ways in which social media, including blogs, Twitter and Facebook, are being used to both gather information for journalistic work, and to publicise that work and gather an audience around it. As well as engaging in practical exercises, students will also be introduced to theoretical understandings of the public space, and the ways in which these are being altered by social media. Key examples of journalistic use of social media will be examined. The subject will also examine the managing of money, audiences and people. in small to medium news media enterprises.

This subject builds on basic video and audio journalism skills and takes them to an advanced level, with an emphasis on video and audio reporting across multimedia platforms under tight deadline conditions in newsroom environments, for news and longer-form broadcast and multimedia current affairs reporting.

This subject builds on basic news writing skills to explore feature writing, journalistic essay writing and long term literary journalism. Students are introduced to key examples of leading non fiction writing from Australia and overseas, and are encouraged to reflect on the techniques employed, before bringing the results of this study to their own work in a series of practical exercises.

This subject builds on basic journalistic interview and research skills to introduce the discipline and advanced research techniques of investigative journalism. Students will learn how to access and analyse public records, how to use Freedom of Information legislation, and how to use social media to crowdsource information and be introduced to data journalism. They will be introduced to the multiple ethical and legal issues involved in use of confidential sources and unauthorised disclosures, and how this relates to core journalistic ethical principles. Students will undertake an investigation as part of the subject.

This unit will explore the practice and theoretical underpinnings of data journalism, whereby news content is organized around structured pieces of data, as opposed to conventionally structured news stories. Students will learn how to access key public databases, extract stories from them, and make the data available in visualisations that facilitate citizens’ own inquiries and investigations. Students will be acquainted with the history and current practice of data journalism, including key international examples.

This subject offers an advanced critical examination of the impact of digital technology on contemporary media industries and cultural practices. We will examine the way the internet and new modes of collaborative production in the Web 2.0 environment are driving the transformation of all media sectors, including cinema, music, video, gaming and television. Through case studies in these sectors and close analysis of contemporary internet practices, students will engage with key debates about digital culture, including the transformation of audiences, the emergence of new media platforms, the role of peer to peer networks and social media and the changing nature of power in the digital era.