APG5653 - Journalism futures: New York field school - 2018

Change and innovation are sweeping through newsrooms around the globe. In this unit, students will travel to the heart of the world's media industry to observe how industrial crisis and creative responses are transforming news organisations, journalists and audiences in the American context. The program begins online in November, when students will delve into the history, structure, culture and products of leading and cutting-edge US and international media outlets. To follow, students attend an intensive workshop at Monash University (Caulfield) to develop skills in research design, methods, analysis and project management. Students will travel to New York to learn first hand how newsrooms are adapting to change. How have outlets responded to the pressures of changing consumption patterns, delivery platforms and business models? What is it like to be a media practitioner in the contemporary era? How are news values shifting to capture contemporary audiences? And are the foundations of journalism in a liberal democracy - notions of independence, objectivity and fairness - changing too? Students will draw from scholarly and popular literature as well their immersive experience to formulate individual research projects, adopting a case-study approach to their chosen topic.

On completion of the unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate an advanced understanding of the organisation, culture and publications of US and international media outlets operating in the news hub of New York;
2. demonstrate a sound understanding of the complex 'ecology' of major media industries in an era of global journalism;
3. demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge and capacity to make effective use of the scholarly literature in Journalism Studies;
4. demonstrate satisfactory skills in research design, methods, analysis and project management, in direct observation of US and international media outlets and news publications, as a complement to the scholarly literature;
5. collaborate constructively with fellow students in learning and discussion processes, including online forums;
6. produce written work and oral presentations to deadline, making effective use of the conventions of scholarly presentation, including citations and bibliography where required;
7. have confidence in approaching and working with individuals and organisations at the cutting edge of communications and news media industries.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 288 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.

Additional requirements:

Field trip to New York

See also Unit timetable information

Communications and media studies

Journalism