School: Arts and Humanities

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    News and Entertainment Journalism
  • Unit Code

    NEM6100
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    20
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
  • Unit Coordinator

    Ms Andrea PORTER

Description

News and Entertainment Journalism offers a comprehensive dive into the core principles and skills essential for media professionals. Delving into history and theory, it contextualises the evolution of journalism, emphasising ethical practices and the fundamentals of compelling storytelling across news (factual) and entertainment journalism. The unit covers media law, ensuring a nuanced understanding of legalities, and ethical guidelines crucial in today's media landscape, particularly as they relate to culturally sensitive practices, including reporting issues about or affecting Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander people. It equips learners with the ability to identify impactful stories across various platformsonline, radio, and TVemphasising content nuances unique to each. Additionally, the course hones interviewing skills and techniques for developing compelling narratives. Overall, it's a holistic exploration of foundational elements vital for aspiring broadcast journalists.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Evaluate a range of published content across media platforms to develop an understanding of the core principles and history of journalistic practice.
  2. Apply investigative journalistic methodologies to prepare culturally responsive reportage adhering to ethical and legal standards.
  3. Apply interview techniques to produce compelling narratives for various media platforms.
  4. Critically reflect on ethical considerations in reporting, informing a responsible journalistic mindset.

Unit Content

  1. History and fundamentals of journalism.
  2. Media law and guidelines of ethical journalistic practice.
  3. Reporting in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner.
  4. Interviewing skills in order to craft work across various platforms.

Learning Experience

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 1Not Offered13 x 2 hour tutorialNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
EssayEssay on ethics30%
ExerciseNews story40%
Reflective PracticeReflection on ethical practice30%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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