units

ATS3809

Faculty of Arts

Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
Organisational UnitJournalism
OfferedNot offered in 2015
Coordinator(s)Dr Johan Lidberg

Synopsis

This unit provides a detailed exploration of the research and reporting practices for parliamentary and political reporting. It canvasses the major documentary and database sources, contemporary case studies, key federal and state personalities and institutions, and legal framework in this field. It places contemporary practices in their larger historical and geographical contexts, and critically considers the professional and social implications and accountabilities of reporting in this specialized field. Contact the unit coordinator for details.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. demonstrate an ability to identify and research a political story, conduct interviews and gather appropriate evidentiary material in the appropriate medium
  2. demonstrate an ability to report on political events in a clear, concise, factual and meaningful way using a variety of elements in a coherent package.
  3. identify, observe key ethical and legal obligations associated with political journalism, and reflect critically on their own and others' performance in this regard
  4. work independently and collaboratively in learning and production processes, including online forums, to produce political reports
  5. demonstrate an ability to set and meet deadlines, and report under pressure
  6. demonstrate an awareness of local, national and international people and events relevant to current issues and media issues
  7. demonstrate a critical awareness of the capacities, limitations and socio-professional implications of reporting practices in political journalism.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 100%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Prerequisites

Twelve credit points of second-year Arts units. As this is a third-year level unit, it is highly recommended that students only take this unit after they have completed two second-year level units in Journalism practice.