Students study journalism ethics in the context of broader cultural and ethical values. They consider the Australian Journalists Association Code of Ethics and its implications for working journalists. Issues include respect for truth, the public's right to information, confidentiality of sources, advertising considerations and personal privacy. The emphasis of this subject is on journalism research and mass communication research. The first part of the subject considers a variety of news gathering methods and the translation of such research into accurate news stories.
Special attention is paid to developing journalists' interviewing skills.
Advanced news gathering practices are introduced, such as the acquisition and maintenance of contacts, the use of documentary and electronic sources and strategies for dealing with government documents and legislation. The reporting of specialist rounds is considered and students are encouraged to pursue specialist reporting in their undergraduate fields of expertise. The latter part of the subject looks at the broader academic implications of mass communication research as preparation for the students' research projects and dissertations. It uses the issue of violence on television as a case study of mass communication research methods. In this subject students look at the sociology of news and media law.