There is growing concern about falling trust in news and spread of mis and dis information in the online information environment. To boost credibility and transparency, the use of data to tell important stories in professional communication and journalism is growing rapidly. In this unit you will critically reflect on the use of personal and public data in the creation of journalism. Working in project teams around key topics, you will learn to locate, analyse and deploy public online searchable data sources (OSINT) to tell stories of public interest. This unit will also focus on the role of AI in data generation and ask you to critically reflect on how it is being used in journalism, and on its wider social impacts.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Critically assess the role data journalism and AI in the online information environment;
2. Research, analyse and employ publicly available data sources in the creation of journalism content; and
3. Collaborate to analytically produce stories of public importance.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development

Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.