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Course Outline

CMN305 News Rounds

Course Coordinator:Jane Stephens (efynes@usc.edu.au) School:School of Business and Creative Industries

2026Semester 2

UniSC Sunshine Coast

 Blended learning Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online.

Online

 Online You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement.

Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.

What is this course about?

Description

In this course you will complete practical exercises working in two cornerstones of news reporting rounds – the courts and local government. You will develop a sound knowledge of courts and local government and report on actual court cases and council meetings. Your reports will be balanced, accurate, fair and legally “safe”. They will be of a high standard suitable for publication in a converged media environment and will meet strict deadlines.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus tutorial/workshop for 12 weeks (or equivalent). 2hrs Week 1 12 times
Online
Online – 2 hours online content for 12 weeks (or equivalent). 2hrs Week 1 12 times

Course Topics

Council reporting, court reporting, accuracy in journalism, sources, on and off the record,  balanced reporting, the importance of contacts, journalism ethics, accuracy, publishing your work, getting job ready. 

What level is this course?

300 Level (Graduate)

Demonstrating coherence and breadth or depth of knowledge and skills. Independent application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Meeting professional requirements and AQF descriptors for the degree. May require pre-requisites where discipline specific introductory or developing knowledge or skills is necessary. Normally undertaken in the third or fourth full-time study year of an undergraduate program.

What is the unit value of this course?

12 units

How does this course contribute to my learning?

Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming...
1 Identify, observe and enact key ethical decisions Ethical
2 Develop local contacts through regular, courteous, professional behaviours Engaged
3 Produce news stories that are practically, legally and ethically sound Ethical
Engaged
4 Generate publishable news stories from scratch Ethical
Engaged

Am I eligible to enrol in this course?

Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.

Pre-requisites

Not applicable

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Demonstrated basic understanding of media law; the concepts, applications and knowledge of news gathering, writing and delivery as laid out in CMN130: Introduction to Journalism.Demonstrated basic new gathering and newswriting skills; understanding and applications of journalism ethics; familiarity with interviewing.

Microcredential Information

Not applicable

How am I going to be assessed?

Grading Scale

Standard Grading (GRD)

High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL).

Details of early feedback on progress

Students are required to complete a self-marking formative quiz on the content by week 3.

Assessment tasks

Delivery mode Task No. Assessment Product Individual or Group Weighting % What is the duration / length? When should I submit? Where should I submit it?
All 1 Written Piece Individual 30% 
As per Blackboard
 Week 5 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 2 Written Piece Individual 30% 
As per Blackboard
 Week 10 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 3 Written Piece Individual 40% 
As per Blackboard
 Week 13 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All - Assessment Task 1:News stories portfolios
Goal: 
To develop skills and understanding around generating news stories in two specific areas
Product: Written Piece
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Professional/industry format. You will attend council meetings or courts as directed, interview subjects and write news reports for print, broadcast or online as directed in tutorials.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Overall quality of reports;
 4
2 
Balance, accuracy and fairness;
 4
3 
Use of correct news writing style;
 3
4 
Newsworthiness of topic and identification of story lead
 2
5 
Demonstrated understandings of the rules, laws and conventions in the areas
reported on
 1
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 2:News stories portfolios
Goal: 
To develop skills and understanding around generating news stories in two specific areas
Product: Written Piece
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Professional/industry format. You will attend council meetings or courts as directed, interview subjects and write news reports for print, broadcast or online as directed in tutorials.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Overall quality of reports;
 4
2 
Balance, accuracy and fairness;
 4
3 
Use of correct news writing style;
 3
4 
Newsworthiness of topic and identification of story lead;
 2
5 
Demonstrated understandings of the rules, laws and conventions in the areas
reported on.
 1
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy
All - Assessment Task 3:News stories portfolios
Goal: 
To develop skills and understanding around generating news stories in two specific areas
Product: Written Piece
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Professional/industry format. You will attend council meetings or courts as directed, interview subjects and write news reports for print, broadcast or online as directed in tutorials.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Overall quality of reports;
 1 4
2 
Balance, accuracy and fairness;
 4
3 
Use of correct news writing style;
 3
4 
Newsworthiness of topic and identification of story lead;
 2 3 4
5 
Demonstrated understandings of local government or the courts.
 1 2
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Collaboration, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy

Directed study hours

A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.

What resources do I need to undertake this course?

Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.

Prescribed text(s) or course reader

There are no required/recommended resources for this course.

Specific requirements

You will be required to make your own way to council meetings, courthouses and interviews.

How are risks managed in this course?

Risk assessments have been performed for all field activities and a low level of health and safety risk exists. Some risks concerns may include working in an unknown environment as well as slip and trip hazards. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

What administrative information is relevant to this course?

Assessment: Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.

Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.

In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.

Assessment: Additional Requirements

Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct

Assessment: Submission penalties

Late submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate: - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.

Links to relevant University policy and procedures

For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:

  • Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
  • Review of Assessment and Final Grades
  • Supplementary Assessment
  • Central Examinations
  • Deferred Examinations
  • Student Conduct
  • Students with a Disability

For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching

Student Charter

UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.

General Enquiries

  • In person:
    • UniSC Sunshine Coast - Student Central, Ground Floor, Building C, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs
    • UniSC Moreton Bay - Service Centre, Ground Floor, Foundation Building, Gympie Road, Petrie
    • UniSC SouthBank - Student Central, Building A4 (SW1), 52 Merivale Street, South Brisbane
    • UniSC Gympie - Student Central, 71 Cartwright Road, Gympie
    • UniSC Fraser Coast - Student Central, Student Central, Building A, 161 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay
    • UniSC Caboolture - Student Central, Level 1 Building J, Cnr Manley and Tallon Street, Caboolture
  • Tel:+61 7 5430 2890
  • Email:studentcentral@usc.edu.au
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