Advanced Magazine Editing and Publishing

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

340 hours

Admission to the Master of Publishing and Communications, Master of Creative Writing, Publishing and Communications

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject provides an overview of the process of editing and publishing magazines, with special emphasis on the skills and knowledge needed to edit magazines today. We examine how a magazine gets from concept to newsstand, including launch proposal, project planning, scheduling, budgeting and copy tracking. Students will study how editors conceive of magazine audiences, and how they go about their day-to-day work: developing stories, briefing writers and working with the editorial and advertising teams. We look at the impact of digital technology and social media on magazine publishing and how publishers are reacting, and study the commercial aspects of magazine publishing – advertising, sales, marketing and promotion. On successful completion of this subject you will have a good understanding of how to edit and publish magazines.

Students who complete this subject will understand:

• the magazine process in all its stages, from idea to paper;
• how the magazine business works;
• current issues and strategies;
• how to take responsibility for editorial decisions and at the same time absorb constructive feedback from others;
• what roles comprise the magazine team; and
• what your own attributes best equip you for in the magazine publishing industry.

Assessment is a mixture of individual and group tasks, comprising a 2000 word analysis of an existing title and the magazine market (20%); a suite of story ideas and briefs for an existing magazine (20%); a research paper of 2000 words examining an aspect of the magazine business in Australia, the USA or the UK (20%); and a group project of a magazine launch proposal (40%) due in the last week of teaching.

Students are required to attend a minimum 80% of classes in order to pass this subject.

A subject reader will be available.

• Baverstock, Bowen & Carey. 'How to Get A Job In Publishing', A&C Black, London: 2009.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• have acquired high-level written and oral communication skills through contribution to class discussions, the completion of exercises and assignments, wide reading on issues of contemporary publishing processes, and exposure to the protocols of editorial practice;
• have a capacity for effective teamwork through group discussions and collaborative exercises;
• have acquired skills in cultural and ethical understanding through reflection and rreading and practical experience of the editor's ethical responsibilities to both authors and readers;
• have acquired skills in information technology literacy and understanding of information management through participation in computer laboratory sessions and completion of exercises and assignments;
• have acquired skills in research, including the use of online as well as print-based materials in the course of exercises and assignments;
• have acquired skills in time management and planning through managing workloads for recommended reading, tutorial presentations and assessment requirements; and
• have acquired a capacity for critical analysis through engagement and critique of a range of publishing strategies.

This subject is only available to students enrolled in the Publishing and Communications program. Media and Communication MA students may enrol in this subject with the permission of the coordinator.