ATS3808 Investigative reporting

Unit Guide Semester 1, 2013

The information contained in this unit guide is correct at time of publication. The University has the right to change any of the elements contained in this document at any time. Last updated: 19 Feb 2013

Table of Contents
ATS3808 Investigative reporting - Semester 1, 2013.............................................................................1 Mode of Delivery..............................................................................................................................1 Contact hours..................................................................................................................................1 Workload requirements ....................................................................................................................1 Unit Relationships............................................................................................................................1 Prerequisites........................................................................................................................1 Chief Examiner(s)........................................................................................................................................1 Unit Coordinator(s)......................................................................................................................................1 Caulfield...........................................................................................................................................1 Campus Coordinator(s)...............................................................................................................................1 Tutor(s)........................................................................................................................................................2 Caulfield...........................................................................................................................................2 Academic Overview ...................................................................................................................................3 Learning Outcomes.........................................................................................................................3 Unit Schedule .............................................................................................................................................4 Assessment Summary.....................................................................................................................4 Hurdle Requirements...........................................................................................................4 Assessment, Exams & Results Policies and Procedures....................................................4 Teaching Approach.....................................................................................................................................5 Assessment Requirements......................................................................................................................6 Assessment Tasks ...........................................................................................................................6 Participation.........................................................................................................................6 Examinations.............................................................................................................................................10 Learning resources....................................................................................................................................10 Feedback to you........................................................................................................................................11 Returning assignments..............................................................................................................................11 Assignments returned electronically..........................................................................................................11 Assignment submission.............................................................................................................................11 Online Submission .....................................................................................................................................11 Prescribed text(s) and readings.....................................................................................................11 Other Information....................................................................................................................................12 Policies..........................................................................................................................................12 Graduate Attributes Policy.................................................................................................12 Student services........................................................................................................................................12 Monash University Library.........................................................................................................................12 Moodle.......................................................................................................................................................12 Disability Liaison Unit................................................................................................................................13 Your Feedback to Us.................................................................................................................................13 Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit ..................................................................................................13 Arts Academic Language and Learning Unit.................................................................................13

ATS3808 Investigative reporting - Semester 1, 2013

This unit provides a detailed exploration of the research and reporting practices for in depth investigative reporting. It canvasses the major documentary and database sources, contemporary case studies, key institutions, and legal framework in this field. It places contemporary practices in their larger historical and geographical contexts, and critically considers the professional and social implications and accountabilities of reporting in this specialized field. Please be aware that access to certain technology/equipment will be required for this unit. Contact the unit coordinator for details.

Mode of Delivery
Caulfield (Day) Caulfield (Off-campus) Sunway (Day)

Contact hours
One 2-hour seminar per week

Workload requirements Unit Relationships

Prerequisites
ATS1329 and 12 points of Journalism units at the 2nd year level

Chief Examiner(s)
Robert Carey

Unit Coordinator(s)
Caulfield
Mr William Birnbauer Campus: Caulfield Phone: +61 3 990 34308 Email: Bill.Birnbauer@monash.edu Contact hours: By email appointment

Campus Coordinator(s)

ATS3808 Investigative reporting - Semester 1, 2013

Tutor(s)
Caulfield
Mr Malcolm Schmidtke Campus: Caulfield Email: Malcolm.Schmidtke@monash.edu Contact hours: By email appointment Mr William Birnbauer Campus: Caulfield Phone: +61 3 990 34308 Email: Bill.Birnbauer@monash.edu Contact hours: By email appointment

Academic Overview
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course students should be able to: 1. demonstrate an ability to identify and research an investigative story, conduct interviews and gather appropriate evidentiary material in the appropriate medium 2. demonstrate an ability to report on an investigation in a clear, concise, factual and meaningful way using a variety of elements in a coherent package. 3. identify, observe key ethical and legal obligations associated with investigative journalism, and reflect critically on their own and others' performance in this regard 4. work independently and collaboratively in learning and production processes, including online forums, to produce investigative reports 5. demonstrate an ability to set and meet deadlines, and report under pressure 6. demonstrate an awareness of local, national and international people and events relevant to current issues and media issues 7. demonstrate a critical awareness of the capacities, limitations and socio-professional implications of reporting practices in investigative journalism.

Unit Schedule
Week 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Unit preview: Course introduction. Assignments. Resources. Introduce FoI project. Activities Assessment No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 Students should start looking for projects. Weekly readings

Finding & developing projects: where to look. Draft FoI Readings. Forums. request (in class). Workshop story ideas Writing investigative reports: news & features style. Intro to ethics. Project presentations. Readings and familiarisation with search engines

Online searching: Google and more. Searching public Readings. Research brief due March 29 records. Corporate records. FoI. Research brief presentations. Readings. Forum reminder. Interviewing. Crunching database information: Excel etc Guest speaker Confidential sources: off and on the record, background. Ethics. Project presentations. Crafting the story Feedback: no classes. Student meet their lecturer. Editing and assignment discussion Publishing investigative reports. Multimedia. SWOT VAC Examination period Readings and start writing draft Readings Story draft due May 3 Make appointment for lecturer interview. Readings Forums Readings/ forums Major project & final forum post due Friday, May 31 No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html

Assessment Summary
Hurdle Requirements
Students are required to submit every assignment to pass this unit.

Assessment, Exams & Results Policies and Procedures

For all policies and procedures go to http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/assessment.php

Unit Schedule

Teaching Approach
Seminars Student learning is by seminar attendance and undertaking 'real world' assignments. Issues that emerge from the investigative assignments will be raised in class and students are envouraged to offer solutions. The emphasis is to provide guidance and tools in seminars but students learn experientially by undertaking investigative issues to research and write about.

Assessment Requirements
Assessment Tasks
Participation
Assessment Summary Assessment Task 1. Research brief & reflection 2. Draft story & reflection 3. Major project & reflection 4. Online forum Value 15% 30% 45% 10% Due Date March 29 May 3 May 31 May 31

ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS Assessment Tasks Participation Seminar attendance is an important component of this unit. Students are allowed a maximum of three absences. Failure to meet the attendance requirements could result in failing the course or a reduction in marks. Arts Faculty attendance policy: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/policies/tutorial-attendance.php Assessment Task 1: Research brief and self reflection Date due: March 29 Details of task: Students work toward producing one investigative story over the semester in the media of their choice. ALL story proposals must be approved by a lecturer before proceeding. Ideas will be canvassed in class. Assessment Task One involves researching and writing a research brief (like a pitch to an editor) and reflection on the story to be pursued. Students must find a story from one of these categories: 1.Environmental regulation Students investigate an aspect of environmental regulation in Victoria. Previously, students have examined sites listed as contaminated by the Environmental Protection Authority, reporting on the history of the site, its health and environmental risks, neighbours' complaints and have scrutinised the EPA's performance. Other stories have been found on the EPA's website or through contact with environmental action groups. Students have downloaded data bases of compliance breaches and found stories there. NOTE: This option builds on previous students work in this unit, and may be published on the Dangerous Ground website, http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/dangerousground/. Students cannot write about a site or issue that has previously been investigated. Please check with the course coordinator/lecturer that your story selection is appropriate. 2.Juvenile Justice

Assessment Requirements Students investigate an aspect of juvenile justice. This may relate to the sentencing of young offenders; calls for reform; conditions inside juvenile justice centres - including abuse of inmates and violence; the system of after-release care and integration into the community. An important issue, for instance, is the inbalance in the percentage of young Aboriginal youths in such facilities. This assignment focuses on systemic flaws but with a human face. Students would be expected to talk to human rights activists, lawyers, welfare groups, and young people who have been in the system. NOTE: Stories under this selection may be considered for publication after assessment on a US-based site known as the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange: http://jjie.org/ and YouthPolicy.org, an international public affairs site that addresses how policies affect the rights of youth. 3. Open choice: Students can suggest their own projects but require the approval of their lecturer before proceeding. Students will produce a research brief that sets out their proposed story, identifies the issues to be canvassed, identifies likely sources and documents, and provides a feasibility analysis of how they will pursue the story. The brief does not have to be in story form but must indicate the research that has occurred. In the self reflection students should answer the following questions at a minimum: 1. 2. 3. 4. Why did you choose the issue you did? On what basis do you claim it is appropriate? How is it in the public interest? What you do hope to reveal? What difficulties do you anticipate in covering this story?

Word limit: 800 word brief plus 300-word self reflection Value: 15% Presentation requirements: ALL assignments should be lodged electronically on Moodle. There are no hard copies in this course. The assignments must include a signed coversheet and hyperlinks to reference material. The names and contact numbers for the people interviewed should be included. Please post the story and reflection on a single Word document. Double or 1.5 line spacing. Clearly mark your name and assignment title on the document. NOTE: This assignment is not presented in news story form: it is a research brief - a pitch of proposals to an editor. It can take the form of headings and a text or dot points etc. Criteria for Marking: 1. 2. 3. Evident breadth and depth of research Creative approach to finding a story Clarity and presentation of brief

Assessment Requirements 4. 5. 6. Originality and strength of story proposal Comprehension of journalistic implications of research material An honest, dispassionate and constructive self reflection including: Insight into processes of researching the proposal Insight into decisions made and the reasons for them. Strong and clear arguments

Estimated return date: Within two weeks of the due date Hurdle requirements: Assignment must be submitted or student will fail entire unit.

Assessment Task 2: Story draft & self reflection Date due: May 3 Details of task: Students are to produce a draft story from the material they have to date plus a self reflection. This assignment is important as it will set the parameters of the individual student-lecturer discussion that will follow. The draft need not be of story quality - there can be gaps where students would indicate the information they would like to go in, e.g., interview with Mr X or background on salinity and so on. But it must show that students have conducted interviews, other research and are thinking about the structure of their final assignment. NOTE: Students MUST include material gathered from a minimum of THREE INTERVIEWS in their drafts. The reflection should identify issues and difficulties that have arisen in the research and that students would like to discuss with their lecturers. They should also say what worked well and what they think they still need to do. Word limit: 1000 words plus a 400 word self reflection Value: 30% Presentation requirements: ALL assignments should be lodged electronically on Moodle. There are no hard copies in this course. The assignments must include a signed coversheet, hyperlinks to reference material and photographs of the relevant persons or scenes. Relevant transcripts must be included together with the names and contact numbers for the people interviewed. Please post the story, reflection, and transcript on a single Word document, with the story first. Double or 1.5 line spacing. Clearly mark your name and assignment title on the document. Estimated return date: Within two weeks of the due date Hurdle requirements: Assignment must be submitted or student will fail entire unit

Assessment Requirements Criteria for Marking: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Depth of research Progress in developing the story Clarity and presentation of draft Understanding of ethical issues Comprehension of journalistic implications of research material

Requirements for self-reflection: In their analysis students should answer the following questions at a minimum: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. How did you prepare for interviews? How did they go? How do you feel about your project choice now? What are your strategies for discovering new information? What were the single best and worst decisions you made and why do you say so? If you were to do the assignment again what would you do differently?

Assessment Task 3: Major project and self reflection Due Date: May 31 Details of task: Students submit their final project and self reflection. Stories can be presented in any media and/or include a combination of media and print styles, e.g. news story, feature, background story. The reflection should summarise students views about their assignment; describe how involved or concerned they became with the issues investigated; how they related to the people they interviewed; the obstacles they encountered and how they dealt with them; what worked and didnt or could have been done better. Word limit: 2000-word investigative project (this can comprise one or several stories) plus a 500-word reflection. (Note videos should be about seven minutes; radio about 14 minutes). Value: 45% Presentation requirements: ALL assignments should be lodged electronically on Moodle. There are no hard copies in this course. The assignments must include a signed coversheet, hyperlinks to reference material and photographs of the relevant persons or scenes. Relevant transcripts must be included together with the names and contact numbers for the people interviewed. Please post the story, reflection, transcript and photos on a single Word document, with the story first. Double or 1.5 line spacing. Clearly mark your name and assignment title on the document. 9

Assessment Requirements Criteria for Marking: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Newsworthiness of the project Research Presentation of information Clarity, fairness and accuracy of the information Originality Insightful, honest and detached self-assessment in the reflection

Assessment Task 4: Online discussion Due Date: May 31 Details of task: Students must contribute throughout the semester to their groups online forum. They can use the forums to alert others to an investigative story they have read, discuss how media organisations have presented investigative projects or raise points about the material covered in the seminars. Students are encouraged to seek help from other students if the encounter roadblocks in their research or writing or search for sources. Students should keep a cumulative word count on each entry they make to the discussion forum. Random word checks will be undertaken by lecturers. Contributions should be made throughout the semester with at least six posts. Students who post a slab of text just before the end of the semester will be penalised. Word limit: 1000 words minimum Value: 10% Presentation requirements: Regular posts. NOTE: Students should copy and paste their contributions on a single Word document that includes a total for the number of words and post it in the assignments folder at the end of the semester. Criteria for Marking: Students who post regularly and constructively with the required minimum number of words will pass. To achieve more than a pass, students must demonstrate they are engaged in the course; initiate threads and assist other students. Quality matters here.

Examinations Learning resources

Monash Library Unit Reading List http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html

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Assessment Requirements

Feedback to you
Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are: Informal feedback on progress in labs/tutes Graded assignments with comments

Returning assignments Assignments returned electronically Assignment submission

It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/plagiarism-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. The coversheet is accessible via the Monash portal page located at http://my.monash.edu.au under the heading 'Learning and teaching tools'. For online submission, copy and paste the coversheet as the first page the assignment and complete the details; you should type your name at the signature prompt. Alternatively, if your Unit Coordinator has enabled the coversheet feature in Moodle, you can tick the checkbox to signal that you have read and agreed with the statement. For hardcopy submission print, complete all the details, sign and staple the coversheet to the front of the assignment.

Online Submission
Log into Moodle 2 via the my.monash portal and select the unit for which you wish to submit work. Submit your assignment using the Moodle 2 assignment link by the due date and time. Do not submit files attached to email. Instructions for submitting an assignment electronically using Moodle are found at http://www.vle.monash.edu/supporttraining/learnbytech/moodle/students/submitting-an-assignment.html Unless you have made prior arrangements with your Unit's Chief Examiner, only the following file formats will be accepted: NB: Once you submit an assignment you are taken back to the assignment page where the page shows, in the 'Submission' box, what you have submitted. It is a good idea to save a screenshot for your records.

Prescribed text(s) and readings

Journalism Investigation & Research, edited by Stephen Tanner. (Longman) Pearson Education Australia

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Other Information
Policies
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the Universitys academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monashs Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html Key educational policies include: Plagiarism; Assessment in Coursework Programs; Special Consideration; Grading Scale; Discipline: Student Policy; Academic Calendar and Semesters; Orientation and Transition; and Academic and Administrative Complaints and Grievances Policy.

Graduate Attributes Policy

http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/management/monash-graduate-attributes-policy.ht

Student services
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students

Monash University Library

The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information.

Moodle
All unit and lecture materials, plus other information of importance to students, are available through the Moodle2 site. You can access Moodle2 via the My.Monash Portal: http://my.monash.edu.au For assistance, you can contact the eSolutions Desk by: Service Desk Online: http://servicedeskonline.monash.edu.au Phone: (+61 3) 990 32777 Further information can be obtained from the following site http://vle.monash.edu.au/

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Other Information

Disability Liaison Unit

Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis. Website: http://www.monash.edu/equity-diversity/disability/index.htmlTelephone: 03 9905 5704 to book an appointment with a DLO;Email: dlu@monash.eduDrop In: Equity and Diversity Centre, Level 1, Building 55, Clayton Campus.

Your Feedback to Us
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The Universitys student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement. For more information on Monashs educational strategy, see: www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/directions.html and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html

Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit

If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp

Arts Academic Language and Learning Unit

The Faculty of Arts Academic Language and Learning Unit (AALLU) offer focused teaching at Caulfield and Clayton for all students in Arts (UG,PG coursework and HDR) on campus and online to enhance your development of study and research techniques, writing and academic English. All program, courses and consultations are free for currently enrolled Arts Students. Our teaching includes individual consultations with students (by appointment), electives for credit and a variety of workshops, seminars and short courses. See our website for full details and contacts: http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/aallu

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