Unit Synopsis
This unit examines how modern journalism operates in a rapidly evolving media environment. Students will analyse contemporary journalistic practices across traditional and social platforms, while evaluating credibility, ethics, and the shifting role of news in a digital age. The unit explores technological, social, and cultural trends influencing news production and consumption, enabling students to interpret and compare processes across diverse contexts. Through assessments that include critical essays, comparative analyses, and reflective tasks, students will investigate patterns of news reporting and ethical dilemmas impacting both practitioners and audiences. By the end of the unit, students will become critical consumers of news media, aware of the media's role in shaping public opinion, and the ethical obligations of news industries and journalists to produce reliable, verifiable information for audiences.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 2 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Minimum of 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 1 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
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).
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. Group Discussion | 20% |
| 2. Practical Assessment | 35% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 45% |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
No previous feedback available
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 Evaluation Survey
Students would appreciate more opportunities to engage with other learners in the unit
Encourage greater student participation in synchronous learning opportunities.
A peer review component was included in assessment 1 which required students to read and comment on others' discussion forum posts.
Source: Teaching Staff Evaluation
Learning materials should be adapted and updated to meet the needs of a diverse learner cohort
Continue to adapt and update unit learning materials to meet the needs of a diverse learner cohort
The unit has undergone major revision of content and assessments, including a name change, to better reflect the needs of a diverse cohort.
Source: Unit Coordinator Self-reflection
Asynchronous content that supports self-paced learners and increases teacher presence would be useful
Produce instructive pre-recorded overviews for weekly topics to support self-directed learners and enhance teacher presence online
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator Self-reflection
The revised structure and content of the unit emphasised the impact of real-life issues on contemporary culture and journalistic practice
Continue to update resources with current affairs and breaking news to ensure content is fresh, dynamic and remains relevant to students' experiences.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse contemporary journalistic practices and audience framing across traditional and social media platforms
- Evaluate credibility, ethics, and the changing role of news media in a digital environment
- Critically reflect on how technological, social, and cultural trends influence news production and audience consumption
- Interpret and compare news production processes and audience consumption patterns across diverse media contexts
- Analyse patterns of news reporting and the impact of ethical dilemmas on journalistic practices and news consumers.
n/a
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion | • | • | • | ||
| 2 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | ||
| 5 - Team Work | • | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | ||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |