Diploma of Media & Communication

As workplaces become more interactive and interconnected, interviewing skills are becoming more important across a range of vocations. In this subject, students study the processes and skills required for interviewing, focusing on key case studies in literature, print journalism, cinema, and broadcasting and online. A key component of the subject will be interviews undertaken by students in all or some of the key interview formats, including live discussion, email, pre-recorded audio, and written profile pieces. Students undertaking this subject will gain a broader appreciation of the art of inquiry and personal interaction and develop greater confidence in everything from one-on-one communications to public speaking to critical analysis. Students will also gain a clear understanding of the use of quotation technique including quote punctuation, in written work and develop an appreciation of key editing issues, both practical and ethical.

Class requirements

Timetabled hours per week (4 hours) – 48 hours in total

• One 2-hour lecture per week
• One 2-hour tutorial per week

Assessments

This subject takes an interdisciplinary approach to the adaptation of stories between the literary arts, theatre, cinema and virtual media. How do stories change when they move from stage to screen, from book page to web page, from live performance to YouTube? Is the book always better than the film? How do stories move us? Students will analyse ways in which storytellers use existing stories: to challenge, re-brand, or re-examine texts from a different point of view. The subject will evaluate the dynamic and contested relationships between the source text and its adaptations. Students will have practical opportunities to create their own adaptations and discover new ways of thinking about and creating stories across different media.

Class requirements

Timetabled hours per week (4 hours) – 48 

• One 2-hour lecture per week 
• One 2-hour tutorial per week

Assessments

The Emerging Journalist introduces students to the shifting roles and responsibilities of journalists and journalism within liberal democratic societies. At the successful completion of The Emerging Journalist, you will appreciate the contemporary media landscape and the role of journalists and media organisations in relation to social, economic, political, and cultural power structures. Topics and issues covered include: the changing nature of audiences and the new ways that journalists are engaging and interacting with audiences; the journalistic applications of social media; best practices in reporting and writing; and the impacts of cultural and technological impacts on journalism as both a profession and as a practice.

Class requirements

Timetabled hours per week (4 hours) – 48 hours in total

• One 2-hour lecture per week 
• One 2-hour tutorial per week

Assessments

Learning to write well brings benefits within and beyond university. This interdisciplinary unit offers you the opportunity to strengthen your professional, creative and academic writing skills. We develop a conceptual framework for analysing the writing of others and editing your own work effectively, as well as improving your skills in the generation of ideas, elements of style and identification with the audience. These areas of writing will be explored through modules with theoretical and practical components: -- Academic writing, including essay writing, essay structure, avoiding plagiarism, editing, and proofreading. -- Non-fiction writing across a number of genres, particularly writing for popular media, reviews of the arts and writing for the web. -- Creative writing, which can include fiction, poetry, and scriptwriting. 

Class requirements

Timetabled hours per week (4 hours) – 48 hours in total

• One 2-hour lecture per week 
• One 2-hour tutorial per week

Assessments

Marketing: Stand and Deliver is an introductory subject to marketing principles and practice as applied to mainly fast-moving consumer goods. A key focus of this subject will be development of communication and presentation skills that are integral to the marketing profession and success in business. Through the integration of these skills within the subject, you will develop transferable skills that will used throughout your business career to engage with a range of stakeholders. Topics will cover the marketing concept, the marketing environment, buying behaviour in consumer and organisational markets, customer segmentation, targeting and positioning, developing the marketing mix, and the implementation and control of marketing programs. This subject provides a sound foundation for future marketing subjects, advanced skill-development, and your career.

Class requirements

Timetabled hours per week (4 hours) – 48 hours in total

• One 2-hour lecture per week 
• One 2-hour tutorial per week

Assessments

In this introductory subject, students will learn some basic television and news-gathering techniques and create their own news program. Students will learn a lot in a short time about working in a studio, as a member of a team while applying what is learned in journalism to activities and assessments in this class.

Although the culmination of this subject is the successful screening of a television news bulletin, almost all of the technique’s students will learn are transferable to other areas of the media. Making Media will give students the opportunity to acquire foundation skills in video and sound editing, as well as writing and scripting a television news bulletin.

Class requirements

Timetabled hours per week (4 hours) – 48 hours in total

• One 2-hour lecture per week 
• One 2-hour tutorial per week

Assessments

Thinking and reasoning are essential components of human life. But much of our thinking and reasoning is biased, distorted, and uninformed. This subject trains you to reason well, to think clearly and independently, and also to engage fairly with others in discussions and debates. You will develop useful skills in presenting, analysing, and evaluating different types of arguments. You will learn to apply these skills to real cases from popular culture, current affairs, and philosophy. You will also learn to use diagrams and symbols to assist higher and more abstract levels of logical reasoning and systematic thinking. Because the ability to think and to argue clearly and fairly is central not just to philosophy but to university studies in general, many students find the experience gained in this subject immensely valuable, both within the university and later in employment whatever their subsequent areas of specialization.

Class requirements

Timetabled hours per week (4 hours) – 48 

• One 2-hour lecture per week 
• One 2-hour tutorial per week

Assessments