Journalism news
2011 Graduates Win Key Jobs
Many 2011 graduates have won key jobs in Australian media. Their success demonstrates the relevance and standards of the Journalism course. Age cadet Craig Butt commented, "Even now it hasn’t quite sunk in that I’ll be working for Australia’s Newspaper of the Year, a paper I’ve read since primary school and one that I entered journalism with the ambition of writing for. I’m grateful that Monash’s degree gave me a solid grounding in core journalism skills as well as an awareness of the multiplatform nature of modern journalism."
January 2012
Global Environmental Journalism Initiative (GEJI) Funded Student Exchanges
Monash hosted four Scandinavian students and one from the UK as part of the GEJI agreement. GEJI involves students at three other Australian and four European universities undertaking exchanges and other forms of collaboration. The students from Europe studied Environmental Reporting in the Monash unit ATS3807 and all wrote very interesting news and feature articles on Australian environmental topics. Their subjects ranged from the Victorian rural mouse plague, to the aftermath of last summer's floods, to restoration of an Aboriginal sacred site.
The GEJI program is now evolving and further student exchanges will occur in the normal Monash Abroad framework.
November 2011
ATS 3919 (Journalism Professional Placement) Students Join the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC's) My Tribe Project
ABC My Tribe is an open exhibition of creative media exploring ideas of belonging, community and social identity.
Produced for the ABC’s social and participatory media site, Pool, the aim of ABC My Tribe is to foster a vibrant and supportive community of practice and interest to develop a range of quality media objects and experiences.
The project is co-sponsored by external partners such as the International Urban Screens Association and Museum Victoria.
ABC My Tribe is now working closely with ATS 3919 (Journalism Professional Placement) students profiling the City of Port Philip – exploring its cultural, environmental and social issues and events.
See ATS 3919/ABC My Tribe project @ http://pool.abc.net.au/media/about-my-tribe-city-port-philip-hub-project
The ABC My Tribe and the (ATS 3919) City of Port Philip Hub project is the first project of its kind to operate on the ABC Pool website for the Monash Journalism program. It will be a platform for ATS 3919 student portfolios in 2nd semester 2011 and an active site for staff research into hyperlocal reporting.
“Encompassing St Kilda, East St Kilda, St Kilda West, Elwood, Middle Park, Albert Park, South Melbourne and Port Melbourne; and home to over 97,000 Melbournians, there is no better microcosm of urban living like the City of Port Philip to learn the tools to be a great reporter”, says project and research convener, Andrea Baker, ATS 3919’s (Journalism Professional Placement) Unit Coordinator.
June 2011
Investigative Journalism Students Blog on "Dangerous Ground"
Under the supervision of Senior Lecturer Bill Birnbauer, Monash University’s investigative journalism students have developed a blog called "Dangerous Ground" at epadangerousground.com
The third-year students who undertook the course were given an assignment option of investigating the Victorian EPA’s contaminated sites. Several of those students and a Masters student then spent the summer break shooting videos, fact checking and updating the assignments. The students were Craig Butt, Emma D’Agostino, Ashley Argoon, Daniel Tran and Rhiana Whitson. Anirudh Asher took many of the photographs that appear on the site.
"Dangerous Ground" is a work in progress – it will be updated with details of other toxic sites as more assignments are completed. Apart from providing the public with valuable information, the students’ work scrutinises and makes accountable a key government body dealing with Victoria’s environment.
April 2011
Monash Journalism Student Jenny Denton Has Won the Melbourne Press Club/Siemens Award for Student Journalism in 2010
Jenny’s winning entry stemmed from her final assignment in the Masters-level Research and Reporting course taught by senior lecturer Bill Birnbauer. Her story about tensions around the declaration of the Barmah State Forest as a national park to be managed by its Aboriginal traditional owners, was published in The Sunday Age in June.
Jenny won $2,000 in cash, tickets to the Melbourne Press Club’s Quill Awards and two weeks of work experience at the ABC.
It is the second year running that a journalism student from Monash University has taken out the prestigious award. In 2009, Julian Trantino collected the award.
December 2010
Monash Students Score Herald Sun Bylines and Jobs
Monash journalism students are making their mark on the sports and news desks of Australia's largest newspaper, the Herald Sun.
Sam Landsberger has reported on the VFL this season and has written on major AFL and VFL stories, including football identity Jason Akermanis and Good Friday football. Sam recently broke a lead story, revealing the VFL has allowed football to play on Good Friday but the AFL will not re-consider it. Sam is also blogging live on AFL matches and enjoyed success with a cracking game between Carlton and Essendon in Round 19.
Julian Trantino, Jack Cannon and other sports interns are achieving bylines for their AFL work in the Herald Sun. The stories are also published on News Ltd websites across Australia. Julian wrote a story on Collingwood star Dayne Beams, who booted three goals against Geelong in the top-of-the-table blockbuster at the MCG on August 7. Jack revealed the Essendon Football Club was considering six alternate venues for its new multi-million-dollar training facility.
Daniel D'Alfonso is writing sport and general news for Herald and Weekly Times publications. Daniel has gained full-time employment on the Sunday Herald Sun and he is also writing columns for Statewide, a sports page featuring the work of Monash's sports interns in the Herald Sun's sports section. Daniel wrote an interesting tale of two turtles who entertained children and customers in a western suburb's bottle shop.
Monash journalism graduate Chris Gillett has earned a full-time position on the Herald Sun news desk, where he's writing on general news and property. Chris recently wrote a powerful opinion piece on the future of Australia's aged-care facilities. He received a huge reaction after his work was published nationally.
Congratulations to the students who are publishing great work in the Herald Sun.
August 2010
Journalism Students Head to the Global Media Core
A reporting trip to New York and London will give sixteen final year journalism students a rare insight into the world's leading media outlets.
In New York, the trip will feature site visits to global news agencies (eg, Bloomberg, Thomson/Reuters and Associated Press, and the United Nation's Media Unit) and cultural magazines (eg, Rolling Stone and TimeOut). Students will also visit the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University to catch up with Resident Scholar, Dave Winer.
Site visits in London include The Times, Agence France Presse, News Corporation, Al Jazeera English, the historic BBC Broadcasting House and BBC World. Students will also have the opportunity to be in the audience of Top Gear, one of the BBC's most popular TV shows.
Students will write a news story in each city and upload their stories to newshit.com, the online student publication. Andrea Baker, Lecturer in Journalism and Unit Coordinator of JRN: 3902 Applied Journalism Research Project, has spearheaded the international field trips since 2006. She says, "New York City and London are the centres of journalism practice. This trip offers a comprehensive overview of the theory and practice of global journalism."
June/July 2010
Students Meet Top Investigative Journalists
Several of Australia's top investigative journalists visited Monash University's Caulfield campus in June and spoke to students about their jobs and the stories they have covered.
Richard Baker from The Age's investigative unit outlined recent stories he has investigated with colleague, Nick McKenzie, about the Reserve Bank's currency subsidiary, Securency International, allegedly paying lucrative commissions to middlemen to win foreign government contracts for polymer banknotes.
The Herald Sun's Russell Robinson spoke about his four-month investigation into double murderer Leigh Robinson and the importance of winning trust and making contacts. Russell produced and narrated a "special report" documentary and also wrote articles on the murders, highlighting the powerful storytelling of combined online and print outlets.
Rafael Epstein from The Age and formerly the ABC inspired students about a life in journalism as well as discussing his experiences in exposing false allegations against Dr. Mohamed Haneef and reporting on alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
The coordinator of Monash University's investigative journalism course, Bill Birnbauer, thanked the reporters and said it was fantastic that students could meet and question three of Australia's finest journalists. "These guys are researching and doing the tough stuff daily and hopefully these students will follow their footsteps in future,'' he said.
June 2010
Students Make Their Mark in Australia's Biggest Newsroom
As part of work experience at the Herald Sun, Monash journalism students are scoring bylines in the newspaper's sports pages and online. The students, who started their Herald Sun sports internship on May 24, have enjoyed the opportunity to work on major stories in sport.
Julian Trantino initiated a story about the extreme sun glare at Etihad Stadium and how it was impacting on the players. The sun glare drew criticism from Carlton coach Brett Ratten after the Blues' loss to Hawthorn. The Herald Sun and most News Ltd. websites (plus newspaper copy) ran Julian's byline for the story.
Henry Peters contributed to a major story about Geelong's intention to win the AFL premiership, rather than worrying about Gary Ablett's offer to play for the Gold Coast. Henry's story was one of the newspaper's leads on May 26. Please see Herald Sun and News Ltd. websites.
Henry also wrote a story on Barry Hall that was published on News Ltd. websites across the country, including Sydney's Daily Telegraph, news.com.au, Brisbane's Courier Mail and Perth Now.
Daniel Dufty's story on Andrew Walker's spy role appeared in the Herald Sun and on most News Ltd websites (plus newspaper copy).
Congratulations to the students for making the most of their opportunity.
May/June 2010
Shane Elson and Julie Tullberg Receive Dean's Sessional Commendations
Shane Elson (Radio Journalism) and Julie Tullberg (Online Journalism) have received Dean's Sessional Commendations for Semester 2, 2009 and Semester 1, 2010, respectively.
The Dean's Sessional Commendations recognise and support the work done by sessional teaching staff in Faculty. Every semester, Heads and Undergraduate Coordinators are asked to consult within their Schools and to select one sessional staff member who has made a significant contribution to innovation/excellence in pedagogy and shown outstanding support for students.
May 2010
Applications for Mid-Year Intake Into Postgraduate Journalism Now Open
Applications for the mid-year intake into the postgraduate Journalism program are now open. The new semester starts in mid-July, and prospective students should apply early to ensure they receive an offer.
We offer a Master of Journalism, Graduate Diploma of Journalism and Graduate Certificate of Journalism (three, two and one semesters of full-time study, respectively, or their part-time equivalent). We also offer five double Master degrees (two years full-time or part-time equivalent) for which graduates receive two separate awards. Details of the content and structure of the single and double programs are available on:
http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/future/postgraduate/courses-communications.php
Domestic students can apply online on:
http://adm.monash.edu.au/admissions/applyonline-instruct.html
International students can apply using procedures detailed on:
http://www.monash.edu/study/international
After considering the information available at those sites, if you have further queries about enrolment procedures, you should contact Helen Edwards at helen.edwards@arts.monash.edu.au If you want academic advice about the contents and outcomes of the courses, you can contact Professor Chris Nash at chris.nash@arts.monash.edu.au
May 2010
New Postgraduate Program
Monash Journalism launched its revamped Master of Journalism in February 2010. The program is intended for people with an undergraduate degree in any discipline who want to enter a career in professional journalism. It combines a strong emphasis on the practical skills of research and reporting in all media-print, video, radio and online-with a rigorous scholarly approach to the role of journalism in contemporary society, in both Australia and internationally. Students build their portfolio during their studies, and are prepared for a successful entry into media careers. For more information contact Eileen McCarthy at eileen.mccarthy@arts.monash.edu.au
Monash Student Wins Top Award
Monash University journalism student Julian Trantino has won the 2009 Melbourne Press Club/ Siemens Award for Student Journalism.
Julian, a second year student, collected his award before more than 100 people at Crown Palladium just minutes before the Victorian Opposition leader Ted Baillieu addressed the luncheon.
Julian secured an interview with Italian soccer legend Francesco Totti – the player who ensured the Socceroos exist from the 2006 World Cup with a controversial last-minute penalty. His story ran on the front page of the Soccer International magazine.
The judges said his work married the best of old and new media. “He used old fashioned tenacity and weeks of legwork to secure an interview on Skype … his entry is proof that the effort involved in getting the story is sometimes as commendable as the story itself,’’ the judges said.
Julian won $2000, one week of work experience at The Age and two tickets to the Quill awards dinner on March 19.
Australian Youth Ambassador for Development
In October 2009, recent Monash journalism graduate, Jenelle Whittaker, will leave for China as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development.
Jenelle will be working for 12 months in Beijing as a Communications Officer for Community Alliance, a non government organisation which advocates for elderly citizen rights in China. While on assignment in Beijing, her role will be to raise public awareness on aging and promote corporate responsibility in China.
Jenelle plans to conduct numerous public relations and networking activities to attract international attention on aging and support for the elderly. Earlier this year Jenelle participated in the ACICIS program in Jakarta, Indonesia and secured an internship at Antara, Indonesia's National News Agency.
During her time in Indonesia, Jenelle covered the floods, Indonesian parliament, foreign affairs, sport and edited articles written by Indonesian journalists. This experience no doubt will enhance her success as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development in Beijing.
October 2009
Exchange Students Chosen
Four Monash students have been chosen to study next semester in Europe as part of the regular exchanges between Monash and universities in Denmark, Finland, Greece and the UK. The students are Christie Sinclair and Carmel Rodda (Aristotle University, Greece) and Joel Smith and Samantha Lenkic (Helsinki University, Finland).
The four students are going to Europe as part of the Global Environmental Journalism Initiative project, which was started in 2008 by four Australian and five European universities that are leaders in journalism education in their countries.
The project involves:
- International collaboration in the teaching and learning of journalism about environmental sustainability
- Students working together locally and globally to produce journalism about environmental sustainability
There are two students from Europe studying at Monash as part of the project this semester and four Monash students studying in Europe, Sana Mazloum and Adam Rubenis at the Danish School of Media and Journalism and Isabelle Tolhurst and Andrea Christou at City University, London.
Our visitors are Natasha Culzac from London and Hanna Othman from Finland. Give them a big welcome if you see them!
September 2009