NZQA registered unit standard
27386 version 1
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Title
Gather material from the internet and write news stories for
publication on an internet news site
Level
5
Purpose
Credits
5
This unit standard is intended for people studying journalism in
an off-job situation.
People credited with this unit standard are able to: explain the
use of the internet for gathering material to write news stories;
explain issues relating to gathering material for news story
writing and selecting news stories for internet news sites; and
gather material from the internet and select and write news
stories for publication on an internet news site.
Classification
Journalism > Journalism Skills
Available grade
Achieved
Entry information
Recommended skills
and knowledge
Unit 27218, Gather and record information and plan news
stories for publication and broadcast; and Unit 27219, Write a
variety of news stories for publication and broadcast; and Unit
27383, Subedit and lay out a page for publication in
newspapers.
Explanatory notes
1
All evidence requirements must be in accordance with the minimum standards for
professional journalism, found in the current editions of: Statement of Principles
(Wellington: New Zealand Press Council, 2006) available at
http://www.presscouncil.org.nz/principles.php – for print journalism; the Codes of the
New Zealand Radio Code of Broadcasting Practice (Wellington: New Zealand
Broadcasting Standards Authority, 2008) available at http://bsa.govt.nz/radio-code/.
These standards encompass the Radio Code, the Free-to-Air Television Code, and
the Pay Television Code.
Competenz
SSB Code 101571
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA registered unit standard
2
27386 version 1
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Industry texts include but are not limited to:
– Burrows, John, A Journalist's Guide to the Law (Wellington: New Zealand
Journalists Training Organisation, Wellington, 5th ed, 2006);
– Price, Steven, Media Minefield: A Journalist’s Guide to Media Regulation in New
Zealand (Wellington: New Zealand Journalists Training Organisation, 2007);
– Tully Jim (ed), Intro: A Beginner's Guide to Professional News Journalism
(Wellington: New Zealand Journalists Training Organisation, 4th edition, 2008).
Relevant text:
Briggs, Mark, Journalism Next: A Practical Guide to Digital Reporting and Publishing
(Washington: CQ Press, A division of SAGE, 2010), www.CQPress.com.
3
Definitions
audio in a radio news item refers to recorded sound in the form of an interview,
background sound, sound effects and/or music;
breaking news refers to stories that describe how news stories develop as more facts
and comment become available;
blogging refers to a style of internet writing that includes formal news-style and
casual opinion-style;
caption refers to the words that identify the graphic’s content, names identifiable
subjects;
graphic refers to an illustration, photograph, line drawing, table, graph, cartoon,
general artwork, video;
house style refers to the conventions used when writing text for print, radio, television
and internet;
internet news sites refer to outlets that publish news, features, opinion and graphics
on the world wide web;
minimum standards for professional journalism refers to the conventions under which
the media operate and may include but are not limited to – stories of publishable
standard, meet agreed deadlines and length and are legally, ethically and culturally
sound;
news cycle refers to the period in which a news outlet gathers news;
news round may refer to general news reporting or relate to a sector of special
podcast refers to pre-recorded audio programmes posted to a website and made
available for download so people can listen to them on personal computers or mobile
devices;
a newsworthy person is anyone whose status, knowledge, activities, statements, or
involvement in a news event means they are topical;
newsworthiness refers to events of sufficient interest or importance to the public to
warrant reporting in the media;
Competenz
SSB Code 101571
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA registered unit standard
27386 version 1
Page 3 of 5
publishable standard refers to the standard required by news media outlets for them
to consider publishing the material. It will meet standards described in the industry
texts and may include but is not limited to – news cycles; news rounds; breaking
news; newsworthy person; newsworthiness; notes; platforms; reliability, validity and
usefulness; news values; introductions (impact, succinctness); structure (appropriate
for story type and platform; arranged logically); grammar; spelling; punctuation;
house style; word selection (jargon and clichés avoided); attribution (mix of direct and
indirect quotes including paraphrasing); understanding (issues in context, key
questions answered); editorial requirements; balance; fairness; language used in
news media publications and broadcasting;
reliability, validity and usefulness when referring to a news source mean that the
bona fides of the person, organisation or reference are established as a credible,
knowledgeable, accurate and authoritative source;
repurpose refers to how a story is used or converted for use in another format;
search engine refers to a computer program that retrieves documents or files or data
from a database or from a computer network (especially from the internet).
Outcomes and evidence requirements
Outcome 1
Explain the use of the internet for gathering material to write news stories.
Range
explanations are in accordance with the industry texts and relevant text.
Evidence requirements
1.1
Internet news sites and search engines are identified and explained in terms of
gathering material for news story writing.
Range
1.2
may include but is not limited to – social bookmarking, really
simple syndication (RSS), Google Reader, Google Alerts, real time
search, social networks and the social web, finding images, using
still and video images, images, copyright and privacy.
Multimedia and data visualisation are explained in terms of gathering material to
write news stories.
Range
Competenz
SSB Code 101571
includes but is not limited to – text, audio, graphics, podcasts, live
streaming, live blogging, data visualisations, social media,
interactive graphics.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA registered unit standard
27386 version 1
Page 4 of 5
Outcome 2
Explain issues relating to gathering material for news story writing and selecting news
stories for internet news sites.
2.1
Challenges of gathering material and selecting news stories through the internet
for news story writing for website publication are explained in accordance with
the industry texts and relevant text.
Range
2.2
includes but is not limited to – accuracy, internet source
verification, legal and ethical considerations, correction of errors,
archive corrections, copyright, place and frequency of publication,
use of third party content.
Repurposing of content for multiple digital platforms is explained in terms of
illustrating the challenges of selecting news stories for internet news sites.
Range
includes but is not limited to – short message service, mobile
tablets, email newsletters, RSS.
Outcome 3
Gather material from the internet and select and write news stories for publication on an
internet news site.
Range
evidence is required for a minimum of five news stories.
Evidence requirements
3.1
Material is gathered from the internet for writing news stories in accordance with
the publishable standard.
3.2
News stories are selected and written in accordance with the publishable
standard.
Range
3.3
includes but is not limited to – intro provides brief summary of
main point and a throw to the package, duration, target audience,
headlines, captions, graphics.
News stories are corrected in accordance with the publishable standard and
filed in accordance with training establishment practices.
Replacement information
This unit standard replaced unit standard 23127.
Planned review date
31 December 2016
Competenz
SSB Code 101571
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
NZQA registered unit standard
27386 version 1
Page 5 of 5
Status information and last date for assessment for superseded versions
Process
Version Date
Last Date for Assessment
Registration
1
21 July 2011
N/A
Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) reference
0002
This CMR can be accessed at http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/framework/search/index.do.
Please note
Providers must be granted consent to assess against standards (accredited) by NZQA,
before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses
of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be granted consent to assess against standards by
NZQA before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.
Providers and Industry Training Organisations, which have been granted consent and
which are assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that
applies to those standards.
Requirements for consent to assess and an outline of the moderation system that applies
to this standard are outlined in the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMRs). The
CMR also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing
to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors
and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact Competenz info@competenz.org.nz if you wish to suggest changes to the
content of this unit standard.
Competenz
SSB Code 101571
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016