52708 The Media Business

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Communication: Strategic Communication
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 36 credit points of completed study in spk(s): MAJ09482 48cp Media Business Major OR 36 credit points of completed study in spk(s): MAJ09483 48cp Media Business Major OR 36 credit points of completed study in spk(s): MAJ09484 48cp Media Business Major OR 36 credit points of completed study in spk(s): MAJ09485 48cp Media Business Major

Description

As the capstone subject for the Media Business major, this subject provides students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout their Media Business degree in practical, industry contexts. Over the course of the session, students complete a placement within a relevant Media Business organisation. In this subject, students are enabled to utilise, consolidate and sharpen their Media Business skills and knowledge as they prepare for a career in the Media industries.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

a.	Reflect on their internship experiences and observations to isolate strategies to improve their ability to be professional
b.	Develop industry relevant skills, including workplace communications, negotiating with colleagues, and personal resilience
c.	Critically reflect on how their degree has prepared them for working life
d.	Evaluate the development of professional skills in Media Business

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:

Act in a professional manner appropriate to communication industries (1.1)
Apply theoretically informed understandings of communication industries to independent and collaborative projects across a range of media (1.2)
Act as reflexive critical thinkers and innovative creative practitioners who evaluate their own and others' work (2.2)
Analyse and act ethically in the personal, political and professional contexts of civil society (5.1)

Teaching and learning strategies

This is a practice-based subject reflecting a work integrated learning (WIL) approach to the educational and professional development. In this unit, students complete an internship placement with a relevant media business company selected with the aid of the subject coordinator, forming the basis of their final critical evaluation and reflection as they transition from university study to the workplace.

Students spend between 80-100 hours in the formal context of the placement, with additional time spent investigating and surveying the relevant academic field and industry publications, organising the logistics of their placement, and any other issues that may arise in the field. Students have several contact points with their lecturer during the session, including six seminars and lectures in weeks 1, 2,3,4, 6 and 12. The lectures and seminars are designed to assist students in framing the broader context of the globalised media sector in which the host companies operate as well as developing resources and skills to draw on in the workplace. Classes support the development of student learning objectives and provide a framework from which to critically reflect on workplace culture, opportunities and challenges as a cohort. One-on-one student consultations with the course coordinator/lecturer occur across the session, scheduled via CANVAS.

Content (topics)

The Media Business

A globalised media industry defines the context of the internships.
Themes - audience analytics, business models and technological change.
Case Studies - executive and entrepreneurial career paths

Framing Workplace Culture

Creative collaborators and business leaders over time and across sectors such as the screen sector, gaming, and social media.
Professional attributes of successful executives and effective teams in a globalised media landscape.
Key workplace skills and policy knowledge required to integrate with a team and to ensure productive excellence and a safe workplace.
Examples of skills - active listening, priority management, negotiation, assertive behaviour, respectful behaviours, managing difficult people and conflict resolution.
Policies - Workplace Health and Safety (WHS), Confidentiality and Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP).

Technological Change and a Globalised Entertainment Industry

The impact of globalised technological change on media and specifically Australian media business.
What does the history of entertainment media tell us about its future?
What are the most significant changes and how are they impacting work practices and business decisions?
Strategic thinking - how do executives and teams predict and manage change.

Copyright, Brand, Audience, Monetisation

Key drivers of commercial success in media business - copyright, brand, audience, monetisation.
Examples that draw out how these concepts fuel the entertainment industry.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: The Learning Contract

Objective(s):

a, b, c and d

Weight:

40%

Length:

800 words

Criteria linkages:

Criteria	Weight (%)	SLOs	CILOs
Clarity of role, tasks and objectives	30	a	2.2
Effective identification of skills and attributes	20	b	1.1
Analysis of context	30	c	1.2
Consideration of confidentiality, challenges, and opportunities.	20	d	5.1

SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Critical Evaluation and Reflection

Objective(s):

a, b, c and d

Weight:

60%

Length:

1600-word critical evaluation; 500-word reflection

Criteria linkages:

Criteria	Weight (%)	SLOs	CILOs
Clear expression of the relevance of the issues chosen.	30	d	2.2
Explanation of the business model that their host company relies on.	30	b	1.2
Use of effective examples from the internship	20	a	5.1
Depth of reflection on the internship and post-university life	20	c	1.1

SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

Students will complete an internship of 80 to 100 hours via a self-sourced internship approved by the Subject Coorindator or via an internship assigned to the student by the subject coordinator. Attendance at the six seminars and lectures is essential in this subject. These classes are based on a collaborative approach that involves essential workshopping and interchange of ideas with other students and the course coordinator to build capacities towards meeting the subject learning objectives. A roll will be taken at each class. Students who have more than two absences from class will be refused marking of their final assessment (see Rule 3.8).]. Students need to, where possible, seek approval in advance of a missed class or supply email referencing absence within 48 hours. Students should also note that they are required to attempt and submit both assessment tasks to be assessed for this subject

Required texts

Connock, A. (2022). Media Management and Artificial Intelligence: Understanding Media Business Models in the Digital Age (1st ed., Vol. 1). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003213611

Recommended texts

Connock, A. (2022). Media Management and Artificial Intelligence: Understanding Media Business Models in the Digital Age (1st ed., Vol. 1). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003213611

Cunningham, Stuart, Mehta, Smith, Monteiro Lunardi, Gabriela, & Healy, Guy (2023) “YouTube: The Interface between Television and Social Media Entertainment” | QUT ePrints. In Johnson, Derek (Ed.) From Networks to Netflix: A Guide to Changing Channels. [ 2nd ed.]. Routledge, New York, NY, pp. 213-222.

Cunningham, Stuart and Silver, Jon. Screen Distribution and the New King Kongs of the Online World: Palgrave Macmillan.2013 Chapter 1 ProQuest Ebook Central - Book Details

Curtin, Michael, and Kevin Sanson, eds. Voices of Labor: Creativity, Craft, and Conflict in Global Hollywood, v–vi. University of California Press, 2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pq347f.2

Ilias Kapareliotis, Katerina Voutsina and Athanasios Patsiotis (2019)'Internship and employability prospects: assessing student's work readiness' Higher Education, Skills, and Work-Based Learning, 9/4: 538-549.

Koljonen, Johanna. (2024) Nostradamus Report: Paradox of Hope. Göteborg Film Festival

GFF-Nostradamus-2024-final.pdf (goteborgfilmfestival.se)

Molinsky A., and Pisman, S. (2019) “The Biggest Hurdles Recent Graduates Face Entering the Workforce” The Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2019/04/the-biggest-hurdles-recent-graduates-face-entering-the-workforce

Picard, R. G. (2021). Media Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Governance. Handbook of Global Media Ethics, 59-70.

Villi, M., & Picard, R. (2019). Transformation and Innovation of Media Business Models. In M. Prenger & M. Deuze (Eds.), Making Media: Production, Practices, and Professions (pp. 121-132). Amsterdam University Press.

Will, A., Gossel, B., & Windscheid, J. (2020). Eyes on tech! Media entrepreneurship and the relevance of technology in business models. Media Management Matters: Challenges and Opportunities for Bridging Theory and Practice, 177.

References

Connock, A. (2022). Media Management and Artificial Intelligence: Understanding Media Business Models in the Digital Age (1st ed., Vol. 1). Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003213611

Cunningham, Stuart and Silver, Jon. Screen Distribution and the New King Kongs of the Online World: Palgrave Macmillan.2013 Chapter 1 ProQuest Ebook Central - Book Details

Koljonen, Johanna. (2024) Nostradamus Report: Paradox of Hope. Göteborg Film Festival

GFF-Nostradamus-2024-final.pdf (goteborgfilmfestival.se)

Picard, R. G. (2021). Media Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Governance. Handbook of Global Media Ethics, 59-70.