Click Here to view current information
Unit Synopsis
Public Relations and journalism are inextricably linked. An understanding of the complexities of the modern digital media environment is critical because it shapes the work a public relations practitioner performs and the manner in which it is undertaken. This unit provides you with a range of contemporary perspectives on Australian and international media industries. It analyses political and social contexts, important issues such as media ownership, diversity and independence, as well as identifying professional and technological changes in media practices and organisations. The unit encourages an understanding of the institutions and industries in which media practitioners work and demonstrates how public relations practitioners can work outside established news organisations through social journalism. As an important part of public relations practice, the unit also promotes research, verification and writing skills (both in an online and offline context) in order to further your training and awareness.
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 2 - 2025
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. Written Assessment | 35% |
| 3. Portfolio | 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 examples of contemporary journalistic practice in Australian and international contexts
- Review coverage of controversial current affairs in the mediasphere
- Critically evaluate the effect of social media and technological development on media industry practices and ethics, with a social journalism focus.
n/a
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion | • | ||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | ||
| 3 - Portfolio | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • |
| 5 - Team Work | • | ||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | ||
| 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 | |
| 1 - Group Discussion | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 3 - Portfolio | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||