Making Magazines explores practical and theoretical aspects of contemporary magazine culture. Students work in small groups to conceive, plan, write and design a small 'dummy' (prototype) magazine using InDesign software. The unit emphasises writing, editing and design rather than marketing, although students will learn the importance of producing a magazine for the commercial media landscape.

Students will develop the skills of structural editing, copyediting and proofreading, on screen and paper, across a range of content for both print and digital output. They will understand the significance of the roles of the editor and proofreader and how these roles have been affected by technological change and globalisation.

This unit of study offers core knowledge of book publishing processes and skills, including acquisition strategy, editing, design, production, financial, printing, sales, marketing, distribution, and investigates innovation in different industry sectors. Students will gain insight into the full range of career options via guest lectures.

Publication design focuses on the design and production of magazines and other small-scale publications in print and online form. The unit of study explores the visual language of contemporary magazines and introduces students to basic design principles. Students learn about the complex interplay of text, image and sequence occurring in magazine design through the practical experience of creating their own publication using Adobe InDesign software. The unit links creative design processes to current digital and print practice.

Students will acquire sought-after skills in book design and production of print and digital formats and an overview of the key technologies, workflows and processes. Using various software and digital content development tools, students will develop publishing projects for print and digital delivery on iPad, Kindle and other devices.

This unit celebrates magazines as an important but often over-looked part of Australian print and digital culture. Starting with an overview of the history of print culture in Australia and the role of iconic magazines like the Bulletin and Women's Weekly in constructing literary and popular culture, we then examine a cross-section of publications from 'little' literary magazines to fashion, gossip, sports, special-interest, custom and online magazines.

This core unit hones writing skills as a foundation for all forms of media production. Students are introduced to the elements of journalistic style, the processes of news, and the skills of interviewing and research. While the unit focuses on news and writing, it will be useful for any field that deals with the media, such as PR and communication management.

Media Relations provides students with practical experience in seeking media coverage for a specific issue on behalf of a non-profit organisation. It requires students to research, design, present, implement and evaluate a communication plan, and to develop key tactical elements including media releases for distribution across multi-media platforms.

MECO6902 will introduce students to key legal and ethical issues relevant to journalism and the professional fields of public communication. Students will be given an introductory survey of the main ethical theories in Western thought to establish a framework within which to examine specific ethical issues that relate to media systems. They will also be introduced to the structure of Australia's legal system in comparison with other legal systems, and explore selected law, regulation and policy issues.

This core unit of study analyses corporate communication strategy selection in organisations to determine effectiveness. Students examine the strategic intent of a national or international corporation by studying its corporate communication tactics, specifically its annual reports and other marketing collateral. The unit will equip students to determine the effectiveness of the organisation's communication with stakeholders and strategic publics including customers, employees, environmental groups, governments and shareholders.

The unit will examine how organisations use public relations (PR) to deal with crisis situations. Throughout the unit we will use case studies to explore frameworks, risk prioritisation, issues management, planning, response and evaluation strategies for diverse organisations and topics from environmental and corporate to health and social.

This unit teaches students the basic principles of short-form narrative journalism or feature writing suitable for publication in magazines, websites and newspapers. Genres covered include the profile, the Essay, travel, memoir, investigative journalism, cultural commentary and behind-the-news stories. Skills in pitching story ideas, interviewing, research, structure and style will be covered in workshop-based classes, providing opportunities to critique work and become familiar with editing processes prior to submission of assignments.

This unit will give students a grounding in reporting for Television Journalism as well as Video for online publication from the idea to final story. Students will learn how to record video using professional standard equipment. Students will also learn how to script and edit sound and vision for Television reporting packages. Students will learn about production planning - including multi-camera Television Studio operations - as well as the ethical and legal considerations which underpin current multimedia and convergent working environments.

This unit introduces students to writing and reporting for online news and information services, with a focus on web, social media and mobile delivery. It is a practical unit involving writing exercises in different genres, including feature and opinion pieces. Students will also examine theoretical issues in social journalism and convergent media publishing. They will be encouraged to blog their work, developing basic skills in text, image and audio-visual production for the web, social media and mobile platforms.

This unit of study introduces key concepts in organisational communication. Students will explore various structures of organisations and how those structures affect the flow of communication within workplaces. Upon the completion of the unit, students will develop their understanding of key concepts in organisational communication and apply them to analyse communication problems in organisations. Students will also be able to offer well-grounded criticism on selected organisational issues.

Social Marketing integrates marketing concepts with other approaches to influence behaviours that benefit individuals and communities. Examples include smoking cessation, HIV prevention and recycling. Key elements include research, theory, competition and segmentation. This unit builds students' knowledge of how social marketing can be used to facilitate behaviour change and improve social outcomes, including health, environment, economic and education programs. It will include how to design, manage and communicate social and behaviour change programs in Australia and internationally.

This unit introduces the fundamentals of strategic social media use for professional and organisational communication, media practice and cultural production. It aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills to become competent, ethical social media communicators and to critically analyse social media forms, services and cultures. Students will explore online, mobile and locative platforms for interacting with audiences, publics and online communities, including professional networks.

Interviewing covers a range of styles from the performative to the investigative and is a fundamental skill for media work and much scholarly research. This unit will introduce students to interview research, design and practice for both media and academic outlets. Students will examine best practice examples of a range of interview approaches and techniques, as well as delivering a substantial interview project.

This unit will develop students' knowledge of key research methods used in media, communications and digital cultures research. Students will be introduced to a range of research techniques and methods, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods, and will have the opportunity to reflect critically on these methods through practitioner presentations and directed discussion. The assessment tasks will help students develop their skills to design and undertake a supervised research dissertation and enhance their abilities as researchers and practitioners.

This unit gives students an advanced understanding of the foundational traditions in communications, media, and digital cultures. It relates these traditions to contemporary innovations, rethinking ideas to grasp current and future media and communications forms, practices, structures, and meanings. The unit features detailed reading and analysis of key ideas, texts, thinkers, and contexts.

Podcasting is a relatively new genre of audio production, distribution and consumption with its own aesthetics and values. In this unit students will learn to produce documentary-style audio stories, learning practical skills necessary for working in radio and producing podcasts for various media industries.

This unit introduces sales, marketing and publicity techniques and skills used to get books to buyers and readers. Theoretical and practical study will equip students with the required skills to develop a marketing, publicity and sales plan for a new title in the different sectors of the publishing industry.

Students will acquire skills in manuscript assessment, writing reader's reports, structural editing and managing the dynamics of author/publisher and agent/publisher relationships, as well as scheduling, planning and budgeting. They will develop an understanding of publishing strategy and insight into commissioning and acquisitions.

The internet plays an increasingly important role in all aspects of social, cultural and economic life. This unit of study explores cultures and governance of the online world and investigates how politics manifest not only in public debates and policy, but also in the struggle to develop new information architectures and digital ecosystems.

This unit explores Sydney as a significant literary city in the context of influential debates on community, cosmopolitanism and the poetics of place. We will read key Sydney texts and explore Sydney's major cultural institutions and events, including the Sydney Writers Festival. Students will produce their own creative project in response to Sydney and its storied locales.

This unit focusses attention on the work of writing from the perspective of writers. What kinds of labour are entailed in literary production and publication? What does it mean to describe oneself, or be described, as a writer? Who does a writer work for and what processes produce the literary work as we encounter it? What about 'writer's block'? We will explore different aspects, contexts and genres of writers at work through a mixture of detailed case studies and representations, always with an eye to relations between particular writers, works and readers.

This unit of study introduces students to the principles and practices of creative non-fiction, also known as literary journalism. This diverse genre includes travel, memoir, biography, essays, historical, medical or investigative narratives. The unit provides a scholarly framework to creative non-fiction and the work of writers such as essayists and literary journalists. In addition to the content provided by the coordinators, three major contemporary non-fiction writers take participants through the process of composition of their recent works.

This elective is designed for International postgraduates who are new to study in an English language university. It supports the development of study, research, and critical thinking abilities, spoken English and academic language. Knowledge acquired in this unit will strengthen written and spoken English to help meet the standards necessary for successful completion of FASS Masters by coursework degrees. It is recommended that this elective be taken during the first semester.

This elective supports development of skills in critical analysis, writing in different genres, research, presentation, and developing individual scholarly 'voice'. While valuable for all commencing postgraduates, it is of particular benefit to those returning to academia after an extended break, or for International students wishing to orient themselves to local standards of practice for academic communication. This unit is structured to have additional seminars and lectures early in the semester and fewer later in the semester so students have the opportunity to apply new skills to all their coursework. The unit is ideally taken in the first semester of study.

This unit introduces theories of professional writing with a specific focus on composing in the workplace. Students will develop abilities in analysing, writing, revising, and delivering workplace texts, both print and multimedia. By examining and discussing a range of actual workplace documents, from emails to websites, students will gain a broader understanding of the rhetorical principles and ethical responsibilities inherent in professional writing practice. They will improve their ability to negotiate the relationships, tensions, and politics that influence workplace writing contexts.

This unit introduces practical techniques for editing workplace documents for increased clarity and effectiveness. Applying theories and principles of visual rhetoric, students will learn how to improve the readability and reception of workplace texts according to audience conventions and expectations. By analysing actual workplace documents, students will develop their critical reading abilities and gain a better understanding of how to edit texts for word economy, improved design and layout, and inclusive language. Editing print texts for digital or oral presentation will also be emphasised.

This unit requires students to commence the conduct of their own research projects under the supervision of a member of staff and write a dissertation of 12000 words (completed in the second semester of enrolment in MECO6905). In some cases these projects will give students the opportunity to extend lines of enquiry suggested by units of study already completed for the degree. In other cases, students may have an interest in an area not covered by the coursework programs offered during their candidature that can be developed as a supervised project.

This unit requires completion of a dissertation of 12000 words, begun in the previous semester. Together with MECO6904, the unit allows students to conduct their own research projects under the supervision of a member of staff.

This capstone unit of study offers Master degree students in the Department of Media and Communications (MECO) 20 days (140 hours) work experience in roles relating to their degree. Internships require critical reflection on professional practice and foster skills, knowledge and experience that enhance employment prospects. Placements may include reporting, editing, producing, designing, researching, publishing, public and media relations, campaigns, and other tasks. Available to MECO Master students only, following the completion of at least two core units of study.

This is a project-based capstone unit focusing on specific publication and project outcomes. It builds on knowledge, techniques, professionalism and skills acquired by students who have satisfactorily completed the prerequisite units, and further opportunity to enhance that knowledge, and practice those skills. Students will produce a substantial factual audio/video media project and experience many facets of production and problem solving encountered in delivering a major media project in a convergent production environment.

This capstone unit is designed for students' final semester of study, providing them with the opportunity to apply learning from their degree to the completion of a researched project relevant to their career goals. Working with the coordinator, students choose an academic essay, industry report, media campaign or journalism project. Learning is supported by training in literature reviewing and data collection, research methods, project planning and independent consultations.