Please note - Swinburne University of Technology

AM504 Professional Production
No, of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: production of a radio program or
short film or television script
This subject is aimed at students including those working in
the industry who have above average radio and print media
skills. It has three areas of focus - radio, writing for the
print media, and writing for film and television.
The radio stream consists of a series of seminars dealing
with key management issues including station operations,
audience research and analysis, marketing, human resources,
the impact of new technology, and broadcast policy issues.
Students taking the radio stream may produce broadcast
quality programs during the semester. This could be, for
example, a major documentary or drama, or a multi-track
production which draws on the student's production,
research and writing skills, and creative ability.
The print stream will focus on advanced investigative
reporting and feature writing skills. Students taking the film
and television stream will develop a script proposal, and a
script for a short film or television program.
Students taking either the print or the film and television
writing streams will also attend seminars whcih address
different forms of writing.
References
Ong, W. Orality and Literacy: the Technologizing of the Wrd.
London: Methuen, 1982
Swinburne Radio Production Notes
White, S.A. Reporring in Australia. South Melbourne: Macmillan,
1991
Windshuttle, K. and E. Writing, Researching, Communicating,
Communication Skills for the Information Age. Sydney: McGraw Hill,
1990
AM505 Workplace Practice
No. of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: presentation of workplace proposal
40%, final report 60%
This subject aims to give students in the final stages of the
Masters the opportunity to undertake a detailed analysis of
the institutional and professional processes of a media
organisation. Students can nominate which organisation they
wish to be placed in, and they will be required to consult
with management when working out the details of the
study. It would be expected that students will produce a
detailed case study which addresses issues such as the
media model under which the organisation operates,
management structures, staffing and human resources,
training, technology, target audiences and programming.
Students can also negotiate with the media organisation to
undertake a consultancy: for example, to research the
feasibility of a particular project such as the conversion of
radio equipment from analogue to digital, the
implementation of a program to increase Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander employment, or to examine the impact
of new broadcast regulations on the organisation.
Possible participating organisations: ABV-2, 3L0, 3RN, 3CR.
3RRR-FM, 3PBS-FM, 3AW. SBSTV.
units. AM500 - Globalisation - Media and
Telecommunications and AM503 Interrogating texts: Cultural
Dreaming, though thesis topics may also emerge from
AM501, AM502, AM504 and AM505. International students
will have the opportunity to pursue topics related to their
country of origin or explore comparative research subjects.
There may be the possibility of electronic access to national
and international databases for research. Supervision of
these may be conducted with electronic means to support
the supervisory-student interaction.
AM507 lnformation Society 2000
No. of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: seminar paper 40%, final report
60%
This subject is an examination of media and communications
in the context of a post-industrial or information society.
Key questions about the contemporary technological
revolution are addressed, such as who decides about new
technologies, and how, whose interests are served, how
national policies are fashioned, and whose information
needs will be met by these technologies of abundance.
Crucial here is a variety of political, social and ethical issues,
including vexed territory such as ownership and control of
information systems, privatisation and de-regulation of
broadcasting and telecommunications, corporate and
community information srjtems and international
information transfer.
References
A Vision of an lnrelligent Island. National Computer Board,
Singapore, March 1992
Alvarado, M. and Thompson, J. (eds.) The Media Reader. London: BFI
Publishing, 1990
Skovan. M. and Schroder, K.C. (eds.) Media Cultures: Re-Appraising
Transnational Media. London: Routledge, 1992
Sussman, G. and Lent, J. Transactional Corporations: Wiring The Third
Mrld. London: Sage Publications, 1991
APIOO Australian Politics
No. of hours per week: three hours
Prerequisites: nil
Assessment: by class work and essays
Subject aims and description
This subject is an introduction to Australian politics. To begin
with the subject covers the basic framework of government.
The following topics are considered: the electoral system, the
constitutional basis, federalism and the Westminster system,
parliament, cabinet and the public service, the organisation
of the main political parties, and the role and future of
minor political parties. These topics are taught at a level
which presumes no previous knowledge of Australian
politics. Howewr, as the subject progresses students are
introduced to the broader dimensions of politics which
include the role of pressure groups, their basis of support, in
the electorate and in society at large, and their bearing on
Australian democracy.
Preliminary reading
Mayer, D.Y. Democracy in Australia. Melbourne: Dellasta, 1991
or
Jaensch. D. Parliament, Parries and People Melbourne: Longman
Cheshire, 1991
AM506 Thesis
Students are required to write a minor thesis, of
approximately 20,000 words, as a mandatory course
requirement. The conceptual and methodological
underpinning for the thesis will centre on the two core