University of Technology Sydney

54021 Narrative Multimedia Journalism

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2020 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Communication: Journalism
Credit points: 8 cp
Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 54020 Stories from the Streets: Local Journalism, Social Media OR 58110 Introduction to Journalism
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 58111 Reporting with Sound and Image

Description

In this subject, students explore academic and industry debates relating to the current digital news environment. These debates include identifying, targeting and integrating offline and online audiences, copyright in the digital space and its impact on practice, newsroom adaptation to multimedia journalism and silo breakdown. Students study and develop the skills to produce multimedia works, in narrative form, which includes elements of audio, online text, video and photojournalism. Students are required to explore and understand the latest trends in curating and packaging online news stories for online platforms. Additionally, students are encouraged to think about how to plan stories to suit social media platforms, with a focus on designing their stories for audience experience on the available platforms. Additional learning skills include the use of online news sourcing methods (including social media), understanding online audience consumption patterns, audience engagement strategies, and image analysis.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

a. Identify current debates on multimedia journalism practices
b. Analyse the characteristics of current trends in digital journalistic practice
c. Create high quality news in multimedia narrative form
d. Evaluate the suitability of multimedia elements for particular news stories
e. Reflect on innovative forms of multimedia storytelling

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:

  • Possess a well-developed awareness of professional practice in the context of the communication industries (1.1)
  • Apply theoretically informed understanding of the communication industries in independent and collaborative projects across a range of media (1.2)
  • Possess information literacy skills to locate, gather, organise and synthesise information across diverse platforms to inform the understanding of the communication industries (2.1)
  • Be reflexive critical thinkers and creative practitioners who are intellectually curious, imaginative and innovative, with an ability to evaluate their own and others' work (2.2)
  • Possess well-developed skills and proficiencies to communicate and respond effectively and appropriately across different contexts (6.1)
  • Demonstrate digital literacy and production skills across a range of media and media texts (6.2)

Teaching and learning strategies

This unit is based on face-to-face classes that include a one-hour weekly lecture and two-hour tutorials in which students create narrative multimedia news content using the multimedia tools and techniques acquired and learned in online teaching modules. Progression through the modules (self-directed and independent learning) are monitored online and students requiring assistance consult their tutor. Students will receive formative feedback on early drafts of their editorial content. Face-to-face teaching will incorporate discussions of readings, debates on current practices, and case study examples.

Content (topics)

This unit will focus on developing skills for multiplatform journalism, which include audio and video production, writing for online platforms, and online news sourcing methods. Students will be exposed to various emerging storytelling trends, including understanding audience consumption patterns.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Photo essay or text news story with photographs

Objective(s):

a, b, c, d and e

Weight: 20%
Length:

Option (a): Six photographs, 300 words in total, plus headline

Option (b): Three photographs, 500 words in total, plus headline.

Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Evidence of news values 25 a, b, e 2.1
Photographic composition 20 c 2.1
Narrative structure 30 b, d, e 6.2
Cohesiveness of text and photographs as news 25 b, c 6.1
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Video news package and audio news package

Objective(s):

a, b, c and e

Weight: 40%
Length:

A two-minute video and a three-minute audio package

Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Adherence to structural conventions for video and audio news packages 25 a, b 1.1
Newsworthiness 25 a 2.1
Evidence of ethical practice 25 c 2.2
Editing precision 25 a, e 6.1
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 3: Narrative multimedia news story

Objective(s):

a, b, c and d

Weight: 40%
Length:

800 words plus headline, three still photos and one minute of video

Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Evidence of detailed newsgathering 20 c, d 1.1
Sound editorial judgement in each individual element and overall design 20 a, c, d 1.2
Demonstration of deep engagement with conventions and theory of online news video, image and text production 20 b, c 2.2
Editing precision 20 c 2.1
Ethical application of innovative elements to enrich the immersive audience experience 20 b 6.2
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

In this subject assessment tasks are cumulative so that each task builds understanding and/or skills, informed by formative feedback. Consequently, all assessments must be submitted in order for you to receive feedback. Students who do not submit all assessments will not pass the subject.

Recommended texts

ABC News Digital Innovation Team, 2019, Conquering Mount Everest: High hopes and broken dreams http://tiny.cc/3s378y

ABC News story lab, 2019, The Amazon Race, ABC News http://tiny.cc/au378y

Asher, S., 2019, The beach nobody can touch, BBC News http://tiny.cc/1v378y

Branch, J., 2013, Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek, The New York Times http://tiny.cc/5w378y

Bowden, M., 1997, Black Hawk Down: A story of modern war, The Philadelphia Inquirer http://tiny.cc/yx378y

Capo’s Finest, 2019, Scars of Democracy http://tiny.cc/0y378y

Chavez, N., 2017, Hotel: Paddock opened fire on crowd within 40 seconds after guard was shot, CNN http://tiny.cc/nz378y

Cheong, S., 2016, Escape from the north, ABC News http://tiny.cc/10378y

Crothers, D., et al., 2007, Cutthroat Capitalism: The Game, WIRED Magazine http://tiny.cc/d6378y

Fahey, J., 2015, The Guardian’s decision to publish shocking photos of Aylan Kurdi, The Guardian http://tiny.cc/r6378y

Fyfe, M., et al., (2015) Standing Tall, The Sydney Morning Herald http://tiny.cc/o7378y

Jenkins, H., 2006, ‘From Appointment Television to Engagement Television’, Convergence Culture: Where old and new media collide, New York University Press; New York, pp121-125.

Lamble, S., 2016, ‘Seeking truth and reporting it’, News as it Happens: An Introduction to Journalism 3rd Ed., Melbourne: Oxford pp. 18 - 19.

Lamble, S., 2016, ‘The ‘big six’ news values,’ News as it Happens: An Introduction to Journalism 3rd Ed., Melbourne: Oxford pp. 36 - 41.

MEAA, n.d., MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics http://tiny.cc/a8378y

The National Geographic Society, 2019, Billions of birds migrate. Where do they go? http://tiny.cc/v8378y

Quilty, A., 2016, Man on the Operating Table, ABC News http://tiny.cc/t9378y

Reuters Graphics, 2018,Project Greenland http://tiny.cc/8a478y

SBS Online, 2016, After 6/4 http://tiny.cc/1b478y

Sturmer, et. al., 2019, Inside Super Kamiokande, ABC News http://tiny.cc/hd478y

Weintraub, K., 2019, These Whales are Serenaders of the Seas. It’s Quite a Racket. The New York Times http://tiny.cc/6d478y

References

Bednarek, M. & Caple, H., 2017, The Discourse of News Values: How News Organizations Create Newsworthiness, New York: Oxford University Press.

Bruns, A., 2008, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage, New York: Peter Lang Publishing

Begin, P., 2006, Bunuel, Eisenstein, and the ‘Montage of Attractions’: An Approach to Film Theory and Practice, Bulletin of Spanish Studies, 83:8, 1113-1132

Fahey, J., 2015, The Guardian’s decision to publish shocking photos of Aylan Kurdi, The Guardian http://g-photos-of-aylan-kurdi

Galtung, J. & Ruge, M. H., 1965, The Structure of Foreign News, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 2. No. 1 (1965), pp 6 -91

Grabowicz, P., 2013, Taxonomy of Digital Story Packages http://tiny.cc/4m378y

Hernandez, R. K. & Rue, J., 2016, The Principles of Multimedia Journalism: Packaging Digital News, New York: Routledge

Jenkins, H., 2006, Getting Lost, Confessions of an Aca-fan http://tiny.cc/zn378y

Jenkins, H., 2007, Transmedia Storytelling 101, Confessions of an Aca-fan http://tiny.cc/io378y

Jenkins, H., 2010, The Revenge of the Origami Unicorn: Seven Principles of Transmedia Storytelling, Confessions of an Aca-fan http://tiny.cc/1o378y

Lamble, S., 2016, News as it Happens: An Introduction to Journalism 3rd Ed., Melbourne: Oxford