COMMS 321 : News and Journalism in the Digital Age

Arts

2024 Semester One (1243) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Examines the changing nature of news and journalism in the digital age. Themes covered include: news values and news cycles; journalistic principles and practices; the interface between journalism and news sources, including public relations industries; journalism’s ‘fourth estate’ role and the evolving relationship between news and public opinion in the digital age; and the political economy of contemporary journalism.

Course Overview

Within this course, we will explore journalism's relationship to contemporary society, its fundamental tenets, and how they have changed in the digital era. We will explore topics such as news values, which have expanded with digitisation, and news cycles, which have been dramatically shortened; the concepts of the Fourth Estate and the public sphere, and what we might mean by a 'digital public sphere'; ownership models, their impact on the content of journalism but also the financial and ethical consequences of the widespread circulation of the news by social media; the representation of race, gender and indigeneity within journalism and whether the digital age has encouraged greater plurality of voices; the relationship between journalism and the public relations industries; the impact of tabloidisation and 'celebrification'; and the rise of fake news and AI-produced news. This course will suit students interested in careers in journalism but also in the field of communications and public relations, as these latter two always interface with journalism. Students who have already completed Comms 201: Journalism Studies (which ceased being offered in 2022) may find there is some overlap but there will also be significant new content.
 
The course is primarily academic, but there will also be practical instruction around interviewing techniques, writing short news items and 'long-reads'. The assessment is 100% coursework.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 60 points passed at Stage II

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 8: Ethics and Professionalism
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Communication

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Analyse the role that journalism plays in democratic societies in the digital era. (Capability 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8)
  2. Explore the history of journalism and its emergence (Capability 1, 3 and 4)
  3. Explore and describe the way the news is constructed today through a series of news conventions (Capability 3 and 4)
  4. Identify and critically analyse the impact of ownership of the media on news production. (Capability 1, 3, 4 and 8)
  5. Evaluate how the news represents gender, race, and class within the community. (Capability 1, 3 and 4)
  6. Demonstrate an ability to write news items and press releases (Capability 1, 3, 6 and 8)
  7. Explore the rise of citizen journalism, the 'celebrification' of news and the emergence of fake news (Capability 1, 3, 4 and 8)
  8. Explore the relationship between journalism and public relations industries (Capability 1, 3 and 4)
  9. Analyse the impact of social media in news circulation (Capability 1, 3 and 4)
  10. Create a substantial 'long read' as part of your assessment. (Capability 3, 6 and 8)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Coursework (details to be advised) 100% Individual Coursework

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 2 hours of "lectures" (whole group classes) and a 1 hour tutorial. You will also be expected to spend up to 7 hours per week reading and thinking about the content and working on assignments.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including lectures and tutorials to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including will not be available as recordings.
The course may include live online events.
Attendance on campus is not required for the test.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

The SET reports were positive last year, but we will make slight changes according to some of the feedback. It is a large class for a stage 3, about 110 students so we may introduce more group work to encourage class culture and student engagement.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 31/10/2023 08:26 p.m.