Journalism Skills for Engaged Citizens

The University of Melbourne

About this Course

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This is a course in basic journalism skills, designed for the many people who are now taking advantage of new media to publish news, views and information. For five hundred years, the privilege of being able to publish was enjoyed by very few people – those who had access to a printing press or a radio microphone or a television camera. Now, almost anyone can publish to the world within minutes of being able to do so. But is it journalism?
How does a citizen journalist find things out, so they can report facts and news - moving beyond merely braying opinion? And what are the legal and ethical pitfalls to publishing facts that some people might prefer remain secret?

Over six weeks, this course teaches the basics of news writing, how to interview people to gain crucial information, how to develop and manage your sources and how to use your legal rights to access public information - and stay on the right side of the law when you publish. We discuss the ethics behind journalism practice, and conduct a mock investigation into local government. This course aims to empower engaged citizens to better participate in the news ecology.

View the MOOC promotional video here: http://tinyurl.com/jj46rxw

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

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Beginner Level

Approx. 22 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Instructors

Dr. Denis Muller

Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Fellow

Centre for Advancing Journalism

1,414 Learners

1 Course

Dr. Margaret Simons

Associate Professor and Director

Centre for Advancing Journalism

1,414 Learners

1 Course

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 22 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Offered by

The University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is an internationally recognised research intensive University with a strong tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and community engagement. Established in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest University.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week

Week 1

4 hours to complete

What is a Journalist, and What is News?

This week we will discuss what journalism is, what journalists do, and how this has been affected over time by technology. We'll think about the exciting changes of our own time – the first in human history when the means of publication are in everyone's hands. We will then talk about the principles of news writing, and the nature of news. Finally, we will introduce Newstown, a fictitious place in Victoria, Australia. We also attend a news conference held in the Newstown Council Chambers. We will be using Newstown as the basis of our skills based exercises in this MOOC, so please take the time to become familiar with the town and its issues by following the link to Newstown in the course resources.

4 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 64 min), 3 readings, 3 quizzes

7 videos

Journalism Skills for Engaged Citizens - overview3m

Course introduction5m

1.1 What is a journalist? Part A12m

1.2 What is a journalist? Part B14m

1.3 Principles of good news writing15m

1.4 What is news?8m

1.5 Newstown media conference4m

3 readings

Welcome to Journalism Skills for Engaged Citizens10m

Week 1 outline10m

Start of course survey10m

2 practice exercises

Week 1 Newstown quiz - This is a practice quiz and does not contribute to your final grade30m

Active or passive sentences quiz - This is a practice quiz and does not contribute to your final grade30m

Week

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Attribution, Verification and the Structure of News Writing

This week we discuss some more core skills of journalism, particularly the very important concepts of attribution of information, and verification. We explore the structure of news writing in some more detail. Finally, make sure you take a close look at the Newstown site, and keep looking at it from now on as the course develops. Some new information has been posted that you will need to use in this week's first assessable news writing exercise.

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 31 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

4 videos

2.1 Introduction and recap 1m

2.2 Verification6m

2.3 Attribution10m

2.4 News story structure12m

1 reading

Week 2 outline10m

1 practice exercise

Week 2 Newstown quiz - This is a practice quiz and does not contribute to your final grade30m

Week

Week 3

1 hour to complete

Finding Things Out: Places, Paper and People

1 hour to complete

6 videos (Total 49 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

6 videos

3.1 Finding things out10m

3.2 Finding things out: More about places and paper4m

3.3 Freedom of Information14m

3.4 Finding things out: People – interviews5m

3.5 Deception and consent12m

3.6 Summary and learning activity 51s

1 reading

Week 3 outline10m

1 practice exercise

Week 3 ‘Finding things out’ quiz - This is a practice quiz and does not contribute to your final grade30m

Week

Week 4

6 hours to complete

More on Interviews

This week we delve further into the art of interviewing, and watch and discuss some good and bad examples involving the key characters in Newstown.

6 hours to complete

12 videos (Total 96 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

12 videos

4.1 Finding things out: Interviews12m

4.2 Dealing with traumatised people13m

4.3 Interview with the Mayor – a bad example 3m

4.4 Interview with the Mayor – a good example11m

4.5 Interview with the Developer – a bad example8m

4.6 Interview with the Developer – a good example19m

4.7 Interview with a Wildfire Victim – a bad example 1m

4.8 Interview with a Wildfire Victim – a good example 4m

4.9 Interview with a Conservationist – a bad example3m

4.10 Interview with a Conservationist – a good example11m

4.11 Telephone interview – a bad example 1m

4.12 Telephone interview – a good example 5m

1 reading

Week 4 outline10m

1 practice exercise

Week 4 quiz - Open and closed questions - This is a practice quiz and does not contribute to your final grade30m

Week

Week 5

6 hours to complete

Contacts and Confidential Sources; Applying the Skills and Organising Your Material

This week we explore the complications of dealing with off the record sources and long term contacts. We watch an encounter with a Newstown 'Deep Throat' and discuss how to handle the encounter and the information offered. Remember to check out the Newstown website for more information becoming available. We begin to pull all the threads of the Newstown story together, and apply the skills we have learned in the earlier modules of this course. We talk about how to read and analyse the public documents on the Newstown site, how to organise material, what questions to ask based on this material, and how to pull it all together into a story for The Alternative. We also provide you with an exemplar news report to give you some guidance for the final news writing assessment and how it might be done.

6 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 36 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

4 videos

5.1 Sources and confidentiality18m

5.2 Social media and interview with 'Deep Throat'4m

6.1 Organising material7m

6.2 The public interest5m

1 reading

Week 5 Outline10m

1 practice exercise

Week 5 Newstown quiz - This is a practice quiz and does not contribute to your final grade30m

Week

Week 6

2 hours to complete

Media Law and Impartiality; Wrapping Up the Course

This week we concentrate on two aspects of media law – defamation and contempt, and we consider the meaning of journalistic impartiality. We wrap up the course by revisiting the key principles of journalism and what we have learned. We also have a few things to say about the public nature of journalism, and how bruising that can be.

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 71 min), 2 readings, 1 quiz

5 videos

7.1 Impartiality4m

7.2 Defamation – Part A16m

7.3 Defamation – Part B14m

7.4 The law of contempt13m

8.1 Closing remarks and wrap-up21m

2 readings

Week 6 Outline10m

End of course survey10m

1 practice exercise

Week 6 quiz - Media law - This is a practice quiz and does not contribute to your final grade30m

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
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What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
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Is financial aid available?
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Will I earn university credit for completing the Course?
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Journalism Skills for Engaged Citizens