Unit Outline

This unit introduces you to the principles, practices and theories of public relations and places the profession in its societal and media contexts. You will become familiar with public relations writing and develop skills in gathering, organizing and presenting information. The dual emphasis on practical matters and their underpinning theory will allow you to develop an understanding and knowledge of how public relations practitioners interact with the media and the community.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Recognise and describe the key concepts and debates in public relations
2.	Analyse the effectiveness of public relations strategies and tactics in the broader context of journalism, media and communications theory and practice
3.	Apply the research, writing, planning and strategic techniques used by PR practitioners to produce a PR material
4.	Describe and evaluate the role of public relations in the broader context of media and communication in local and global contexts

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	HEJ250 Public Relations and HEJ350 Public Relations

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Media Release writing exercise	See the MyLO site for the due date	20 %	LO3
Assessment Task 2:	PR in the Media exercise	See the MyLO site for the due date	40 %	LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Campaign Analysis	See the MyLO site for the due date	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Media Release writing exercise

Task Description:

You will be given a campaign, client or issue from which to write a media release.

Task Length:

300 Words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Clearly identify an interesting angle	LO3
2	Apply news writing conventions, including concise language and quotes, to communicate	LO3
3	Has identified spokespeople and includes their quotes where relevant	LO3

Assessment Task 2: PR in the Media exercise

Task Description:

Investigate a recent news story to determine the ways that it originates or might be derived from public relations communications.
Choose ONE recent (this year) news article from the Australian news (it can be
print media or online). Using
scholarly PR research relating to the relationship between public relations and journalism, analyse the article closely and demonstrate any
obvious connection to public relations. You are recommended to research your article for originating PR information (for example, an existing
media release or PR campaign, featured interview with PR representative, etc).
Make sure to include the news article as an appendix with your assessment (it does not count in the word count).
You need to use
Microsoft Word or a similar program to submit this assignment (do not use PDF).

Task Length:

1500 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Effectiveness of analysis, including knowledge and application of relevant public relations theories, concepts and methods	LO2, LO3
2	Ability to support your views with evidence from your media monitoring as well as your independent research	LO3
3	Communicate in a professional writing style that meets the assignment specifications and includes appropriate structure, spelling, grammar and punctuation, clarity of written expression	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Campaign Analysis

Task Description:

Choose one PR campaign for analysis. This will be either a:

Corporate Social Responsibility campaign from a company or corporate entity (for example a professional sports club)

A campaign backed by a government agency or agencies (for example ‘Eat Well Tasmania’)

A campaign from a Not for Profit or NGO organisation

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Discuss the type of organisation that developed the campaign you’re analysing, and why they may have chosen the particular methods and style for this campaign	LO1
2	What media forms are used and targeted	LO1, LO3
3	What is the target audience and how is that relevant to the design of the campaign?	LO2, LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.