NZQA registered unit standard 26842 version 1 Page 1 of 6
Title Produce news and feature photojournalism assignments for publication
Level 6 Credits 20
Purpose This unit standard is for people who are employed in news media outlets and who are required to take and produce photographs and write captions and photo-stories for publication.
People credited with this unit standard are able to: plan news and feature photographs and photojournalism assignments for a news publication; select and configure photographic equipment in accordance with the brief; take and download photographs in accordance with the brief; prepare and edit selected photographs in accordance with the brief; write captions and stories to a publishable standard; and produce photojournalism assignments to a publishable standard in accordance with the brief.
Classification Journalism > Applied Journalism
Available grade Achieved
Entry information
Recommended skills Unit 25361, Develop rounds, gather information, and plan and knowledge stories for publication or broadcast; and Unit 25362, Identify and write news stories for print publication.
Explanatory notes
1 Evidence presented for award of credit must be in accordance with the New Zealand Press Council standards for applied journalism which can be accessed here: http://www.presscouncil.org.nz/principles.php.
2 Relevant legislation may include: Broadcasting Act 1989; Copyright Act 1994; Defamation Act 1992; Electoral Act 1993; Harassment Act 1997; Human Rights Act 1993; New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990; Personal Property Securities Act 1999 (Section 173, sub-section k);
Competenz Ó New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2018 SSB Code 101571 NZQA registered unit standard 26842 version 1 Page 2 of 6
Privacy Act 1993; Telecommunications Act 2001; Terrorism Suppression Act 2002; Trespass Act 1980; Victims' Rights Act 2002.
Relevant laws and legal conventions as described in the standards and texts listed in explanatory notes 1 and 3 may include: Court Newspaper Rule; Law of breach of confidence; Rules on reporting Parliament; Tort of breach of privacy; Tort of defamation; Tort of trespass; Tort of decency.
3 Industry texts: Burrows, John, A Journalist's Guide to the Law (Wellington: New Zealand Journalists Training Organisation, Wellington, 5th ed, 2006); Burrows, John, and Cheer, Ursula, Media Law in New Zealand (South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 5th ed, 2005).
4 For assessment against this unit standard, the candidate is required to submit a portfolio containing: three published photojournalism assignments which include six photographs (three news and three feature) and captions written by the candidate; and a brief and a plan for each assignment.
5 Definitions a brief describes the main purpose of the proposed assignment and contains the who, why, what, where, and when elements of the photographs and story. Approval for the brief will be given by the appropriate person in accordance with workplace practices; a caption refers to the short text that identifies the photograph and its subjects; a feature photograph is a photograph that is not time-critical, can be published on its own, or that illustrates a feature story; a feature story (also known as feature article or news backgrounder) is a story that does not necessarily break news, but takes an in-depth look at a subject. It offers a broader perspective of a news event, issue, or a profile of a person in the news or who is important to a community; a news photograph is a photograph that illustrates a timely event of public interest; a news story is a timely and succinct account of unfolding events of public interest; photojournalism combines photographs and words to tell a news or feature story for print and the internet; photojournalism assignment refers to the compilation of photographs and words required for telling the story; a plan outlines how the requirements of the brief will be achieved. The plan may include how resources such as time, expertise, and materials will be used; photographic specifications; deadlines; and any editorial requirements;
Competenz Ó New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2018 SSB Code 101571 NZQA registered unit standard 26842 version 1 Page 3 of 6
publication refers to publication in newspapers, magazines, periodicals, or on the internet; publishable standard refers to the standard required by news media outlets for them to consider material for publication; workplace practices refer to the documented policies and procedures for the workplace, and the required standards for applied journalism.
6 This unit standard is designed for on-job assessment and the performance of all of the outcomes of this unit standard must be in accordance with workplace practices.
Outcomes and evidence requirements
Outcome 1
Plan news and feature photographs and photojournalism assignments for a news publication.
Evidence requirements
1.1 Brief is developed that identifies the requirements for a news publication.
1.2 Plan is developed in accordance with the brief.
1.3 Brief and plan are approved.
Outcome 2
Select and configure photographic equipment in accordance with the brief.
Evidence requirements
2.1 Camera is selected.
Range may include – single lens reflex (SLR), compact, cellphone, video.
2.2 Camera is configured.
Range may include but is not limited to – lenses – fixed, zoom (optical and digital), panoramic (wide angle), close up (macro); filters – ultra-violet (UV), polarising, infra-red (IR), neutral density, white balance, resolution, image format (tiff, jpeg, raw), camera mode.
2.3 Other equipment and/or resources are selected and prepared.
Range may include but is not limited to – tripod, batteries, tapes, disks, cables, computer equipment, internet access, memory cards, cleaning material, storage.
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Outcome 3
Take and download photographs in accordance with the brief.
Evidence requirements
3.1 Photographs are taken.
Range may include but are not limited to – action, landscape, portrait, close-up, head and shoulders.
3.2 Subjects are consulted as required by law and photographs are taken in accordance with individual, group, and cultural protocols.
Range may include but is not limited to – ethical and legal issues that cover intrusion, privacy, consent, trespass, use of telescopic lenses, children’s rights.
3.3 Photographs are downloaded and viewed.
3.4 Photograph files are saved and named for retrieval.
Outcome 4
Prepare and edit selected photographs in accordance with the brief.
Evidence requirements
4.1 Suitable photographs are selected from those previously taken.
Range considerations for selection may include but are not limited to – composition, focus, depth of field, exposure, movement, sharpness, colours, resolution, tonal range, subjects facing ‘in‘ and ’out’ of a page.
4.2 Selected photographs are digitally adjusted.
Range may include but is not limited to – contrast, brightness, colours, lightness, composition, red eye, blemishes/spots removed, sharpened, physical size, resolution.
4.3 Selected photographs are formatted and saved.
Range includes but is not limited to – file format, file size, colour space, bit depth.
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Outcome 5
Write captions and stories to a publishable standard.
Evidence requirements
5.1 Captions are written for photographs.
5.2 Stories are written for photojournalism assignments.
Outcome 6
Produce photojournalism assignments to a publishable standard in accordance with the brief.
Evidence requirements
6.1 Draft news and feature photographs and photojournalism assignments are prepared, proofed, and edited.
6.2 News and feature photographs and photojournalism assignments are finalised.
6.3 News and feature photographs and photojournalism assignments are approved and published.
Planned review date 31 December 2013
Status information and last date for assessment for superseded versions Process Version Date Last Date for Assessment Registration 1 19 November 2010 N/A
Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP) reference 0002 This AMAP 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, or an inter-institutional body with delegated authority for quality assurance, 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.
Competenz Ó New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2018 SSB Code 101571 NZQA registered unit standard 26842 version 1 Page 6 of 6
Consent requirements and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this standard are outlined in the Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP). The AMAP 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 [email protected] if you wish to suggest changes to the content of this unit standard.
Competenz Ó New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2018 SSB Code 101571