LAW 3535 - Media Law
North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2024
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General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code LAW 3535 Course Media Law Coordinating Unit Adelaide Law School Term Semester 2 Level Undergraduate Law (LLB) Location/s North Terrace Campus Units 3 Contact Up to 3 hours per week (when averaged over the Semester) Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y Prerequisites LAW 1504 Incompatible LAW 2107 or LAW 2108 Restrictions Available to LLB and B.Criminology with B.Laws and BArts Advanced with B.Laws students only Assessment Assessment in a course of this kind would typically include one or more of the following: an exam, a research essay, a class presentation, and/or assessment of contributions to class discussion. Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Lisa Parker
Lisa Cooper (Parker) (coordinator)
Telephone: 8313 4480 (work)
email: lisa.parker@adelaide.edu.auCourse Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .
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Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Analyse advanced principles of media law (especially on themes related to platform regulation and free speech), undertake self-directed legal research at an intermediate level, and evaluate complex legal information.
2. Apply media law principles to complex legal problems through individual and group work.
3. Structure and sustain concise and cohesive written arguments for a legal audience in the field of media law.
4. Conduct legal research in the field of media law.
5. Reflect on their abilities to effectively undertake work as a legal practitioner in the field of media law.University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth
Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.
1 Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving
Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.
2 Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills
Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.
3 Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness
Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.
4 Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.
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Learning Resources
Required Resources
Required reading material will be made available through MyUni
Recommended Resources
David Rolph, Matt Vittins, Judith Bannister, Daniel Joyce, Jason Bosland, Michael Douglas, Jonathan Gill Media Law, Cases, Materials and Commentary, 3rd ed (Oxford University Press, 2022)
Eric Barendt, Freedom of Speech, 2nd ed (Oxford University Press, 2009)
Timothy Garton Ash, Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World (Atlantic Books, 2016)
Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, Content Moderation and the Hidden Decisions that Shape Social Media (Yale University Press, 2018)
Nicolas P Suzor, Lawless:The Secret Rules that Govern our Digital Lives (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
Zeynep Tufekci, Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest (Yale University Press, 2017)
Jean Burgess and Nancy K Baym, Twitter: A Biography (New York University Press, 2020)
Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (Profile Books, 2019)
Extracts from recommended reading material will be made available through MyUni
Online Learning
MyUni will be used to post announcements, post additional lecture materials (including slides) and announce assignment tasks. It will also
contain electronic copies of the Course Information, Lecture and Seminar Guides, and Course Materials and a Discussion Forum.Students
are expected to check MyUni regularly to keep up to date with these materials and additional learning resources throughout the course. -
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
This course is comprised of weekly three hour classes drawing on the reading material that is assigned for the week. The classes are nominally divided into 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of seminars. Students are expected to read the reading material for the classes before attending the classes. The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours of private study each week per 3-unit course in addition to your regular classes.
Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
Contact time: 3 hour classes across 12 weeks. This amounts to 36 hours of formal class time across the semester.
Preparation time: In addition to attending formal classes it is anticipated that students will do substantial independent work to
prepare for classes and to complete the course assignments.Learning Activities Summary
Draft Schedule (subject to change) Week Topics Week 1 Free Speech: Theoretical and Legal Underpinnings Week 2 Political Speech: Sedition & Insurrection Week 3 Hate Speech and Vilification Week 4 Obscenity and Pornography Week 5 Regulation by, and of Platforms Week 6 Case Study: Facebook Week 7 Case Study: X (formerly known as Twitter) Week 8 Case Study: YouTube MID-SEMESTER BREAK Week 9 Case Study: WhatsApp Week 10 Case Study: Tik Tok Week 11 Revision and Group Presentations Week 12 Revision and Group Presentations -
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
Assessment Task Task Type (Group or Individual) Due Weighting Length Redeemable? Course Learning Outcome Problem Solving Assessment Individual Week 6 30% 1500 words No 1, 2, 3, 4 Research Paper (with footnotes and Bibliography) Individual Week 13 50% 2500 words No 1, 2, 3, 4 Student Presentation Individual Weeks 12 20% No 1, 4, 5 Assessment Detail
1. Problem solving assessment (30%) (1500 words)
Students will be asked to answer a problem-based assignnment related to the topic of the course and will be marked based on their ability to engage with the course material, their problem-solving ability, and clarity of writing.
2. Research Paper (50%) (2500 words)
The research paper, on a theme that students can choose in consultation with the course coordinator, will be evaluated for a clear argument or hypothesis, analytical skills, correct citation and academic presentation, and engagement with primary and secondary sources.
3. Student Presentation (20%)
Students will be asked to record a case analysis presentation and upload it to MyUni.
Submission
Research assignment
The assignment must be submitted in electronic form through Turnitin on MyUni. Students must retain a copy of the assignment submitted. All references must be appropriately cited in order to acknowledge sources, and avoid plagiarism. Students should ensure that when citing material they comply with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.
Late Submission Penalties
When an assessment is submitted after the due date, without an extension, 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it is late, including each day on a weekend and public holidays. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An essay that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc.
Extensions
Requests for extensions must be made electronically according to law school policy. Extensions will be granted only for unexpected illness, hardship or on compassionate grounds in accordance with University Policy. Work commitments, travel, holidays or sporting engagements are not unexpected circumstances.
Word Length Penalties
5% of the total mark possible for a written assessment will be deducted for every 100 words (or part thereof) by which it exceeds a stipulated word limit. For example, a 3,000 word essay graded at 63% will have 5% deducted if it is between 3,001 and 3,100 words long for a final mark of 58%. If the essay is between 3,101 and 3,200 words long, 10% will be deducted for a final mark of 53%, etc. Word limits include all words in the text, in headings, in quotations, but exclude citations in footnotes. Any separate cover page, table of contents, bibliography or list of sources is excluded from the word limit. If the word limit is misstated, this may be regarded as academic dishonesty.Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme) Grade Mark Description FNS Fail No Submission F 1-49 Fail P 50-64 Pass C 65-74 Credit D 75-84 Distinction HD 85-100 High Distinction CN Continuing NFE No Formal Examination RP Result Pending Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Finality of Assessment Grades
Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework
Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).
Moderation
In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course.
Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:
*assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered ineach course;
*detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of
items of assessment;
*sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
*reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
*comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
*automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
*the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.
Approval of Results by Board of Examiners
Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under theAssessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.
Final results for this course will be made available through .
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Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student feedback The course is constantly being updated and revised to reflect the evolution of the law, to respond to student feedback, and to engage with the latest teaching practices. Student feedback is collected each time the course is run, including through SELT reports. Previous SELT reports, and staff feedback on them, are posted on the course MyUni site for students to view and consider. -
Student Support
- Academic Integrity for Students
- Academic Support with Maths
- Academic Support with writing and study skills
- Careers Services
- Library Services for Students
- LinkedIn Learning
- Student Life Counselling Support - Personal counselling for issues affecting study
- Students with a Disability - Alternative academic arrangements
The provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the 成人大片.
The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.Lex Salus Program
Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.
Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our , and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.
Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.
Student Life Counselling Support
The University’s service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life. -
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
- Academic Credit Arrangements Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy
- Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy
- Copyright Compliance Policy
- Coursework Academic Programs Policy
- Intellectual Property Policy
- IT Acceptable Use and Security Policy
- Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments to Learning, Teaching & Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy
- Student Experience of Learning and Teaching Policy
- Student Grievance Resolution Process
Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty is a serious act of academic misconduct. All students must be familiar with the University’s
Academic Honesty Policy.
Academic dishonesty is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic
dishonesty (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia.
Academic honesty is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the
law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.
Students must be aware of the 成人大片's policy on the responsible use, and citation practices involving AI available here: /student/academic-skills/academic-integrity-for-students
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Fraud Awareness
Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student鈥檚 disciplinary procedures.
The 成人大片 is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The 成人大片 therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.
