Writing a strong rationale COMM 2079 What is

Writing a strong rationale COMM 2079

What is a rationale? An articulation or explanation of the reasons for doing something. In Assessment 1, you have to write a rationale for selecting the 5 media outlets that will be interested in your story (presented in the media release) An academic discussion Demonstrating a critical level of thought Incorporating relevant media theories Citing where appropriate 2

Points to consider when writing a rationale • What is the media release about? • Why did you choose the 5 media outlets? • What is the link between the story in the media release and the outlets? • What are some of the media theories that directed your choice of media outlets? • How do the choices you have made demonstrate your understanding of the concepts and theories that have been introduced? • How do the choices you have made demonstrate critical reading of the material for this course?

An example of media outlets 1. Gold Cost Bulletin Audience: women 18 -50 across the Gold Coast community. This outlet is a trusted source for local events and culture. Attention: Catherine Webber, Editor • 2. Collective Magazine Targeted towards an article in the surfing news, beaches or lifestyle sections of both print and online. Audience: business owners, entrepreneurs and people interested in inspirations stories and new ventures or events. Attention: Tara Francis, Features Editor • Lead times tailor towards a feature articles in a future monthly edition. 3. SEA FM Audience: target demographics that listen to contemporary music and local news for coastal regions. Attention: Andrew Very, Content Director • Aimed towards study during news or surf reports. 4. Nine Gold Coast News Audience: popular TV news for locals including online sources Attention: Rod Power, Gold Coast News Director • 5. Gold Coast Magazine A story during news bulleting and online. Audience: fashion and culture conscious woman from Byron Bay to Brisbane Attention: Logan Smith, Editor • Due to lead times, targeted for feature, also for future events listed in upcoming editions.

An example of rationale for the identified media outlets The author has based their The audience groups identified in the five media outlets match that of Mazarine Aqua including key demographics, lifestyle interests and proximity, which is key to successful planning (Bivins 2014, p. 35). The selection of outlets was curated to provide coverage over a number of mediums, timeframes and include current and potential public. The author has also demonstrated that they understand the different media theories that were introduced in the course by using them to justify their selection of the outlets reasons on evidence. They have demonstrated that they understand the concepts that were introduced in course. Their choice of the outlets were directed by their readings. Reflection on Framing Theory provided guidance for selecting outlets based on news-values and tailoring the newsworthiness of the release to suit (Johnston & Sheehan 2014, p. 401). Agenda Setting Theory is relevant when considering the transfer of a story’s importance from media to the public based on what media consider news; the public then form an interest (Chia & Synnott 2009, p. 16) Therefore, it is important to select media outlets that find the story newsworthy for a greater chance of coverage. Narrative Theory suggests that organisational identities are created via their stories and positive stories can be persuasive (Johnston & Sheehan 2014, p. 402). Consequently, significance of this for the chosen outlets is selecting media that have a higher likelihood of conveying the positive nature of the narrative. The author has presented a coherent and cohesive academic and critical discussion by using formal language and citing where necessary

An example of a weak rationale These media outlets have been chosen as they are the top three television news shows to air on South Australian television and collectively reach a very large South Australian audience. Being a current South Australian issue, the story is very relevant and therefore topical to the audience of these television shows who regularly cover similar stories of road fatalities and accidents in which this news release might act as a nice support story while presenting its own news worthiness. The writer has also not demonstrated that their choice of outlets were informed by their readings of the course material and research. While this rationale is coherent and cohesive, it is not academic as the writer has not put forth a credible discussion that is based on evidence. While the writer has presented a sound discussion, they have not demonstrated that they have made this observation based on the concepts or theories that have been introduced in the course. The newspaper outlets have been chosen such as The Advertiser is a well-known newspaper that mainly covers news current to the South Australian state and its major city, Adelaide. While The Advertiser can be viewed online from any location in the world, it’s main form of product manifests itself in physical print form, sold from within the state of South Australia. Therefore state wide news stories are regularly given prominence over other small Australian news items as it is most relevant to the majority of the audience who consume it. In addition to The Advertiser, the other small newspapers mentioned represent regional areas of South Australia which as we can recognise from the text form a large portion of the news presented.