This document provides an orientation for an online journalism unit, outlining the topics to be covered, assessment requirements, learning resources, and advice. The 12 topics include introductions to online journalism, principles of online journalism, text-based journalism, multimedia storytelling, social media, data journalism, audience interaction, and futures of online journalism. Students are advised to work ahead, participate in discussions, explore examples of online journalism, and use the provided resources to succeed in the unit. Equipment access and requirements are also outlined.

1. Topic 1: Introduction to online journalism:
People and platforms
COM10111 ONLINE JOURNALISM

2. Agenda
1. Welcome and orientation
2. Unit syllabus
3. Intro to online journalism:
processes, tools and roles
4. Examples of great online
journalism stories
5. Unit Overview
6. Assessment
7. Advice on how to study this unit
8. Weekly lectures/tutorials
9. Unit learning resources
10. Equipment requirements
11. Question & Answer

3. HELLO! AND WELCOME
Orientation …Collaborate check …. Meet and greet

4. JEANTI ST CLAIR
UNIT ASSESSOR, LECTURER
Consultation hour: Tuesday 11-12 ---- Office number: 02 6620 3126 ---- jeanti.stclair@scu.edu.au

7. Syllabus
1. People and platforms
2. Principles of online journalism
3. Text-based journalism
4. Multimedia storytelling 1& 2
5. Online journalism and social
media
6. Data journalism and visualisation
7. Editing and publishing online
8. Audience interaction and user-
generated content
9. Legal stuff
10. Blogging and online opinion
11. Online journalism futures
12. Colloquium and debrief

8. Topic 1 People and platforms
• Convergence of
media and
platforms
• Multimedia
journalists
• Collaborations,
production teams
New roles include:
• Story builder/editor
• Newsflow editor
• UGC editor
• Digital rights manager
• Interactive content manager
• Social media editor
• Data journalists
• Web designers/coders

9. Topic 2 Principles of online journalism

10. Topic 2 Principles of online journalism
• Speed and accuracy in breaking news
• Comprehensiveness in content
• Open-endedness in story development
• Centrality of conversation
From Craig, D. A. Excellence in Online Journalism (2011)

11. Examples
• Breaking news story
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/li
ve-updates-explosion-at-boston-
marathon/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
• Multimedia feature story
• http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/
2013/may/26/firestorm-bushfire-dunalley-
holmes-family [combines text, image, audio,
video, and graphics – truly multimedia
storytelling]

12. Examples
• http://www.theguardian.com/audioslideshows -
from pure art to news and current affairs.
• Image galleries are popular, as is the creation of
stories which collate images with captions. Rely
on news to tell a story or report and event.
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-
21/student-protests-across-australia/5468726

13. Why use social media in journalism?
• Promote your content
• Engage with audience
• Source story ideas
• Gauge the
public/expert mood
on issues (problematic
tho’)
• Verify social media
sources

14. Data journalism is big
• Make sense of numbers with visualisations
• Find the story in numbers
• Encourage audience interaction and aid understanding of
complex data
• Egs:
http://www.thedetail.tv/issues/150/religioninschools/how
-integrated-are-schools-where-you-live
• http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/09/there-will-be-
another-mass-shooting/69508
• http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-history-of-the-
world-cup-in-20-charts/
• http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2014/ma
y/09/budget-cuts-revenue-interactive

15. Audience Interaction & User-generated content
• Encourage active readership – story
comments, social media, transparency
• Crowd source content
• Solicit user generation content – ideas,
images, facts, tips etc
• Be wary of veracity and content ownership
• http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/
interactive/2011/oct/18/occupy-protests-
map-world

16. Content Management System
Style Guide
basic html coding, picture editing
Self-publish – Build-Your-Own blog

17. Online Journalism Futures
Innovate
Explore
Collaborate
Be an Entrepreneur
INDEPENDENT MEDIA
New Matilda
New Daily
Saturday paper
FiveThirtyEight
The Wire
Mama Mia
Hoopla

18. UNIT OVERVIEW
Access via MySCU navigation menu

19. ASSIGNMENT 1: CASE STUDY
Find out about this assignment via MySCU Assessment Details

20. ASSIGNMENT 2: NEWS WEBSITE
PRODUCTION
Find out about this assignment via MySCU Assessment Details

21. LEARNING RESOURCES
MySCU, Textbooks, Study Guide, eReadings, Collaborate,
Discussion Board, Facebook group, MediaDrive site

22. Weekly Lectures and Tutorials
• Monday Weeks 1-6, and Weeks 8-14
 Lecture 6-7pm
 Tutorial 7-7.30pm
• Here on Collaborate
• Tech requirements:
 Broadband
 Microphone
 Preferably a web cam

23. ADVICE ON HOW TO SUCCEED IN
THIS UNIT

24. Advice on how to succeed in this unit
• Work ahead – cover the material the week before a topic is
discussed in lectures/tutorial
• Participate in forum discussions and study guide activities.
• Actively explore internet for examples of good online
journalism, and the tools journalists are using.
• Use the resources section in each Study Guide chapter.
• Lectures explore case studies of great journalism, tutorials
involve discussions on how we can make great online
journalism
• Create a study planner, drawing on the suggested study plan
at the back of the Unit Overview.
• Plan ahead for making publication deadlines in Assignment 2.

25. EQUIPMENT

26. Equipment access
• Arrange your own
access
• Minimum standards
of equipment:
– Audio
– Image
– Video
• SCU Lismore
equipment for loan
• Artsbooking site