MAC2USM Using Social Media - Assessment 2

Assessment 2: Live News Report/News Article

This assessment tests your reporting and writing ability, as well as your social and digital media curating skills to write and edit a story. It will be published on a digital media platform and promoted on social media platforms.

There are options for this assignment depending on your major. Journalism students will write a news story. This could be an analysis of a press conference or reporting of a football match etc. Strategic Communications students can write a content piece that promotes a business/product or cause. This could also be an article about a business affected by the pandemic. Media Industries students may choose to write or create a video. That must be no more than 2 minutes (like a news package). You will need to meet the same criteria outlined in this brief.

You will use news sites and social media posts as the quotes or evidence to support your story. No Harvard Referencing required here, just hyperlinking to relevant sources. This assignment is not simply creating a recap of a particular event using social media posts, but creating an engaging article that your audience wants to read. This needs to be engaging and new, not just a rehashed news story from another source.

There must be at least five relevant sources, and no more than 10. The sources must be varied, but could include Twitter posts, Instagram posts, Facebook posts or comments on Facebook posts, YouTube videos, webpages, media links or images.

You should upload your article to WordPress, LinkedIn Pulse or your own blog. Think strategically about what topic aligns with your personal brand so you can use it to develop your portfolio.

The length of the piece should be 600-700 words, excluding excerpts from social media posts. Video packages should be between 1:15 and 2 minutes.

Stage 2: You must promote the story or article through social media (at least 2 platforms e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn etc). If for any reason you do cannot post the story, you will need to provide an example of the Tweet, or post on a word document.

Marking criteria will be based on how well the assignment meets the brief (to offer a new perspective on an issue), the quality and variety of sources selected to support this, the writing that connects them together into a coherent story, the structure and appropriate grammar and hyperlinking.