COMS304-17S2 (C) Semester Two 2017

Journalists at Work

30 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 17 July 2017
End Date: Sunday, 19 November 2017
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 28 July 2017
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 13 October 2017

Description

This course introduces students to the sociological and cultural analysis of journalistic practices. Students will study newsrooms, journalists' relations with others, their self conceptions and the relations of these with popular representations of journalists.

COMS304 introduces students to the analysis of newsroom practice and culture. The
first half explores issues such as how journalists relate to sources, how the newsroom is
organised, how journalists decide what’s news and how journalism practice is
changing. The second half deals with ideas about journalism and journalistic identities
which surround the practice, what’s often called the culture of journalism.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the course a student should be able to:
- critique the news based on an understanding of the social, economic and
technological contexts and constraints of its production
- understand debates surrounding journalistic practice, particularly criteria of
good practice such as impartiality, independence and responsible reporting
- discuss the role that journalism’s self-understanding plays in the news
- produce her or his own analysis of an aspect of journalism
- understand a range of theoretical approaches to studying news practice.

Prerequisites

30 points at the 200 level in COMS. Students without this prerequisite, but with at least a B average in 60 points of relevant courses, may enter the course with the approval of the Department Coordinator or the Undergraduate Coordinator for COMS.

Course Coordinator

Donald Matheson

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
News story 11 Aug 2017 15% Write one news story plus a reflective analysis of it, on any topic of your choice.
New Analysis 15 Sep 2017 30% Analyse some journalism that is high quality and in the public interest.
Final Project 20 Oct 2017 40% Conduct a case study of a news organisation or form of reporting that you think is addressing the challenges that journalism in Aotearoa New Zealand faces. Construct an evidence-based argument about what makes it successful or a positive step for journalism.
Workshop Participation 15% Up to 3 marks for each workshop, for evidence that you prepared for the 5 workshops. Students who participate without preparing get a maximum of 1 mark.


Assignments will be submitted electronically on Learn.

Textbooks / Resources

Readings will be provided on Learn.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,464.00

International fee $5,950.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Language, Social and Political Sciences .

All COMS304 Occurrences

  • COMS304-17S2 (C) Semester Two 2017
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