The NZJTO committee on July 20 confirmed the following report:

Unit standards project

The project to review or create journalism unit standards from Level 2 to Level 6 is drawing to a close.

This has been a massive undertaking involving 43 unit standards and consultations with tertiary providers, industry, secondary school teachers, NZQA and the Ministry of Education.

This work stems from decisions taken in 2008 to create a properly stepped pathway of learning from secondary school to the workplace.

The first part of the project, the creation of the workplace training scheme – the L6 National Diploma in Applied Journalism – was completed in 2009.

The following unit standards have been created or reviewed:

Level 6: 12 units created

Level 5: 17 units reviewed/updated

Level 4: 7 units created

Level 2-3: 7 units reviewed/created

A summary for each level is as follows:

Level 6 – The National Diploma in Applied Journalism

This qualification is dynamic and will grow according to the needs of the industry. Last year photojournalism was added to the options. This year research is underway to create a programme on internet journalism.

Generally the applied diploma builds on the core basics of journalism. Feedback from trainees and supervisors is encouraging. Trainees say they like being recognised for the improvements they make to their work and appreciate the discipline involved in assembling the portfolios. Supervisors are finding the training framework useful.

The planned review date for the L6 unit standards is December 2013.

Level 5 -The National Diploma in Journalism (Multi-media)

This review was undertaken to get the right shape for the qualification, taking into account:

Ø The wishes of industry to emphasise the core elements of journalism in any course.

Ø Changed Government thinking with regard to “local flavour”.

Ø Provider wishes to be able to make choices in the way courses are structured.

These units have been signed-off by providers and are in the final stages of the long and demanding process required by the NZQA.

Reports from the NZQA indicate these units will be registered this month or next month at the latest.

Tertiary providers will be able to use the units from next year. The planned review date for the L5 units is December 2016

Level 4 -The New Zealand Certificate in Journalism

These units will replace the outdated level 3 units and will enable providers to offer the new New Zealand Certificate in Journalism. This qualification is designed as a general taster for persons thinking about journalism as a career and to provide some focus for those interested in iwi radio.

As a result of a change in NZQA policy this project is subject to new scrutiny and rules relating to consultation and “graduate profile”. We are working through the paperwork. Meanwhile the units have reached their final draft stage after a sign-off meeting with tertiary providers.

It is anticipated that despite the changes within NZQA the units will be available for delivery from February next year.

At this stage Aoraki, Southern Institute and Whitireia have confirmed they want to deliver the new qualification. Waiariki is looking closely at the opportunity, while WITT will probably look next year at the option.

The planned review date for the L4 units is 2016

Level 2-3 – units for schools

These units have been reviewed in response to the industry’s request that specific journalism studies, as opposed to media studies, be available to senior secondary students. Teachers, NZQA and Ministry of Education have in general terms endorsed the units put up by the CMITO.

It is expected the consultation process and sign-off will be completed by September. The units at level 2-3 have no qualification but the credits will count towards a student’s learning.

The CMITO has agreed to take over moderation of these units, from NZQA. To assist teachers deliver the subjects we will prepare learning resources which will be available for sale to schools.

The planned review date for the L2-3 units is December 2016

Summary of qualifications

The details of the qualifications are as follows:

National Diploma in Applied Journalism (Level 6)

Level	6
Credits	120

Purpose

This qualification is designed for people who are employed in news media outlets and who are training to become journalists in a range of areas including print, radio, television and sub-editing.

The qualification provides both the generic and specific industry skills that cover the range of tasks required of journalists. It demands a level of performance that enables new trainees to the industry to be immediately productive.

The qualification is made up of a compulsory section, and two elective sections from which the most appropriate unit standards will be chosen to suit the news media outlet and the trainee.

The elective structure was chosen to provide the widest flexibility possible to suit both trainee and news media outlet.

The compulsory unit standards cover media law and, ethical issues.

The Journalism elective includes unit standards that cover developing rounds and planning stories, writing both news and feature stories for the different news media, and sub-editing and laying out stories. As additional unit standards are developed, these will further increase the flexibility necessary for this sector.

The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) elective section allows the inclusion of other specialised skills the news media outlet may require of the trainee.

This qualification builds on the National Diploma in Journalism (Multi-media) (Level 5).

It is expected that this qualification will be delivered and assessed in a workplace environment.

Level 6 units

Unit standard title	Credits
Develop rounds, gather information, and plan stories	30
Identify and write news stories for print publication	30
Write news stories and prepare for broadcast on radio	30
Write news stories and prepare for broadcast on television	30
Write news stories from court proceedings	15
Rewrite a story and analyse and report on ethical issues	10
Rewrite a story and analyse and report on legal issues	15
Write feature stories and prepare for broadcast on radio	20
Write feature stories for print publication	20
Sub-edit and lay out news stories for print publication	40
Sub-edit and lay out feature stories for print publication	45
News and feature photojournalism	20

National Diploma in Journalism (Multi-media) (Level 5)

Level	5
Credits	120

Purpose

The National Diploma in Journalism (Multi-media) is the pre-workplace qualification for employment in professional journalism. Graduates are recognised by industry as having the skills necessary to work in their chosen area of specialisation, which may be magazine, newspaper, radio, television, or internet.

The qualification is made up of compulsory standards, plus an elective section. The compulsory standards are designed to recognise the broad range of skills required of the working journalist. The elective section is designed to give providers some flexibility in the programmes that they offer and to cater for the specialist knowledge required by each sector of the journalism industry.

Graduates are able to gather information and write news stories for publication and broadcast in accordance with the minimum standards for professional journalism and to meet the publishable standard. The range of topics for the stories includes local government activities, court reporting, current events, Māoridom, and numerics and statistics.

They have an understanding of media law and ethics and are able to produce photographs from news and internet assignments.

Other skills, they may have selected from the elective section, depending on their specialisation include design and layout, writing about diversity, writing for broadcast on radio or television, feature writing, producing photographs, video packages or news story editing for posting on the internet.

Credit Range

	Compulsory	Elective
Level 3 credits	10	-
Level 5 credits	85	25
Minimum totals	95	25

Requirements for Award of Qualification

· Compulsory standards

· Elective – A minimum of 5 standards as specified

Detailed Requirements

Compulsory

The following standards are required

Business > Business Administration > Business Information Processing

ID	Title	Level	Credit
117	Write shorthand at 80 words per minute (wpm) and transcribe to produce required information	3	10

Community and Social Services > Journalism > Journalism Skills

ID	Title	Level	Credit
27218	Gather and record information and plan news stories for publication and broadcast	5	25
27219	Write a variety of news stories for publication and broadcast	5	25
27220	Write news stories using interpreted numerical data, and write instructions for producing infographics	5	5
27221	Write news stories from court and related activities, and demonstrate media law and ethics knowledge	5	15
27222	Demonstrate knowledge of current affairs, the role of the news media, and newsroom requirements	5	5
27223	Write news stories from local government activities for publication and broadcast	5	5
27224	Write a news feature on a topic relating to Maori for publication or broadcast	5	5

Elective

A minimum of 5 standards

Community and Social Services > Journalism > Journalism Skills

ID	Title	Level	Credit
27225	Write a news feature about diversity in New Zealand’s population	5	5
27226	Develop and write a feature article for publication	5	5
27227	Develop and write a feature profile and a review for publication	5	5
27228	Produce photographs and an internet sound slide show from news assignments for publication	5	5
27383	Subedit and lay out pages for publication	5	5
27384	Prepare news stories with audio for broadcast on radio	5	5
37385	Prepare and write a news story for broadcast on television	5	5
27386	Gather material from the internet and write news stories for publication on an internet news site	5	5
27387	Produce a video news story package for the internet	5	5

New Zealand Certificate in Journalism (Level 4)

Level	4
Credits	60

This New Zealand Certificate is an introductory level qualification designed for students who are interested in studying journalism with an accredited provider and for those people who are interested in iwi radio. It meets the measurable standards that have been set down by the journalism industry at Level 4.

Achievement of this qualification attests that holders have the skills and knowledge that meet the industry’s news journalism style requirements set down for this level of study.

An elective section has been included in this qualification to increase flexibility for specialisation.

The requirements of the elective strand, where a minimum of 20 credits is required at Level 4 or above from a given list ensures that this qualification is substantially different to any other qualification listed on the NZQF.

Graduates of this qualification are able to gather information and write news stories suitable for publication in community newspapers, on internet news sites and broadcast on radio. They also have an understanding of media law and ethics that apply to journalism prose.

Other skills, they may have achieved from the elective section to make up the 20 credits at level 4, depending on their chosen specialisation, may include: taking photographs for news story publication: writing for radio or internet; writing features, subediting, page layout, producing a sound slide show for the internet; or producing an audio news package for broadcast on the radio.

This qualification certificate is achieved off-job using simulated scenarios. It is not part of a professional journalism course and there is no prerequisite.

People who have achieved this qualification may go on to complete the NZ Diploma in Journalism (Multi-media) (Level 5) [Ref: XXXX].

Graduates who choose to continue studying and achieve the NZ Diploma in Journalism (Multi-media) (Level 5) [Ref: xxxx] may meet the industry requirements for employment in a news media outlet in the journalism industry in print, radio, television or the internet

Credit Range

	Core Compulsory	Elective
Level 4 credits	40	20
Minimum totals	40	20

Summary of Requirements

· Core Compulsory standards

· Elective

Detailed Requirements

Compulsory

The following standards are required

Humanities > Journalism > Journalism Skills

Id	Title	Level	Credit
AAA	Gather material suitable for writing news stories for community newspapers, internet and radio	4	15
BBB	Understand journalism prose and write news suitable for community newspapers, internet and radio	4	20
EEE	Demonstrate knowledge of the rules and ethical codes that apply to journalism prose	4	5

Elective 1

A minimum of 20 credits

Humanities > Journalism > Journalism Skills

Id	Title	Level	Credit
CCC	Write stories with audio suitable for broadcast on radio	4	15
FFF	Record a digital video suitable for publication on an internet website	4	5
GGG	Produce a sound slide show suitable for publication on an internet website	4	5
HHH	Prepare a digital still camera and take photographs for news stories for publication	4	5
III	Write features suitable for community newspapers or the internet	4	5
JJJ	Subedit news stories suitable for publication in community newspapers or on the internet	4	2
KKK	Layout pages suitable for a community newspaper	4	3

*Please note: A further elective unit, on blogging, is to be added to the above table. This was agreed at the July 19 meeting of polytechnic journalism providers.

Schools –L2-L3 (no qualification)

Working title	Credit
Understanding journalism	3
Conduct interviews	4
Write stories	3
Current events	5
Provide photos	3
Sub-edit stories	3
Layout pages	3

Mike Fletcher

Executive Director

New Zealand Journalists Training Organisation