International Traditions – Final Subject Assessment task

A comparative essay examining how contrasting press systems informs the practice of contemporary journalism in two different countries (2,500 words).

Your discussion should draw on a thematic analysis of reporting of a significant international event in the last 10 years by a prominent news outlet in each country.

You should also research and discuss how the political environment, legal context, economic system, ownership of the media and each outlet’s audience influence what each outlet reported.

Length: 2500 words (+/- 10%)

Referencing: Harvard or APA

Due: Sun 21 July 11.59pm (AEST), submitted via Turnitin

Guidelines:

· Reporting by both outlets should be of the same event in one country.

· You cannot use the same news event that you used in assignment 2. You can use the same or different countries and news outlets.

· Your analysis should consider all the reporting by each outlet over the same timeframe. a minimum of 3 days and no more than 2 weeks.

· You should provide examples from the news reporting to support your discussion and cited in your essay using in-text citations.

· You should also provide a table of all the stories published by both outlets in your timeframe. listing the date and url for each article and the headline of each, in English.

Suggested approach:

· Choose an event of enough consequence that it generated news coverage for at least a number of days so you have a depth of reporting to choose from. For an ongoing event, such as the war in Ukraine, focus on a specific time period or development e.g. reporting around the anniversary of the invasion.

· In each country, choose one mainstram, daily news outlet that is representative of the way journalism is practised there.

· Choose a time frame. that is relevant to your topic and see how many stories each outlet published in that period e.g. up to 2 weeks after a big event such as a political crisis, the start of a war, a natural disaster, etc.

o Look at how each outlet has reported this story over a minimum of 3 days.

o You need at least 8 stories from EACH outlet to be able to make an assessment of how journalism is practised there - ideally many more than that.

o Limit the time frame. for your analysis to no more than 2 weeks so you don't have too many stories.
EXAMPLE: one outlet has published 24 articles on your topic in a week, and the other has published 10. That's the data you need for your analysis. You should not just pick 8 random articles from each outlet from that total. The number of articles and the depth of coverage will be part of what you're comparing. What does the number of stories run by that outlet in that time tell you about how significant the story is to its audience?

· Put your results in a table so that you can easily compare findings

· You can include comment, analysis, opinion pieces or editorials but focus primarily on the news reports. You're trying to determine what the reporting suggests about how journalism is practised in that country.

This task requires significant research on both your topic and on each country’s press system.  Consider the following questions to guide your research and thinking:

· What is the role and purpose of journalism in that country? How is journalism practised in each place? What theory or theories best characterise its role in society? Has that function changed in recent years, for instance, in response to a changed political or economic environment?

· Consider press freedom. What laws constrain what, and how, journalists can report on this issue in that country? Are there other threats such as fear of powerful influences in society or more subtle pressures that shape reporting?

· Who owns and controls the news media in that country? What about the outlets whose reporting you're analysing? Consider what economic pressures, ownership, influence and funding may determine what can be reported.

· Does the reporting reflect the outlet’s audience?

Formatting:

· Academic essay format with introduction, body paragraph and conclusion with in-text citations and reference list.

· Please remember to use double spacing so your marker has room to make comments on your essay.

Referencing:

· You should use a minimum of 8 sources including both recent scholarly sources (peer-reviewed academic journals) and non academic but evidence-based sources such as RSF, CPJ, Freedom House AS WELL AS the 16 plus news articles.

· You may also draw on other relevant sources such as press freedom indices, government statements or legislation, and company websites.

· Use Harvard or APA referencing. See Re:cite, the library's guide to referencing.

Criteria:

You will be assessed on:

· the depth, breadth and quality of research undertaken

· understanding of the key concepts, theories and issues as they relate to the topic and understanding of the role of journalism in each country

· critical engagement with the research and quality of your argument

· structure, expression and language

· adherence to referencing conventions

IMPORTANT: All work submitted must be your own.

· You cannot adapt or include material you have submitted for another subject.

· Please make sure you understand the university's policy on plagiarism (presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own)

· Note also that it is strictly forbidden to use someone else or to use AI (artificial intelligence) to research or write your assignments:

If a student uses artificial intelligence software such as ChatGPT or QuillBot to generate material for assessment that they represent as their own ideas, research and/or analysis, they are NOT submitting their own work. Knowingly having a third party, including artificial intelligence technologies, write or produce any work (paid or unpaid) that a student submits as their own work for assessment is deliberate cheating and is academic misconduct.

These policies apply to AI translation tools like DeepL and Google Translate and programs like Grammarly.

Using translation tools to produce material for assessment is not allowed in this unit. That is not your work or your writing. You must submit your own writing.

The University interprets the use of translation software and Grammarly etc under these parts of the policy:

· 42(a) by act or omission does anything which is intended to or is likely to have the effect of obtaining for themselves or other person an advantage in assessment, by unauthorised, unscholarly or unfair means whether or not the advantage was obtained:

· 42(b) in relation to an examination or assessment (i) engages in cheating:

· 42(b) in relation to an examination or assessment (vii) fails to comply with examination or assessment rules or directions:

· 42(b) in relation to an examination or assessment (xiii) purchases or obtains assessment materials from commercial services or other individuals:

The penalties for submitting work that is not a student’s own include failure of the subject, suspension and expulsion.