The Community Journalism Program (CJP)

The Community Journalism Program (CJP) is a training course for employees who are starting their journalism careers at mastheads that are members of Country Press Australia. Country Press Australia owns the course and provides administration services, such as enrolment processing and fee collection. Deakin University provides the curriculum, course direction and tuition.

Students study online, accessing a Deakin portal that provides all their course material and assessment tasks. There is one assessment task per month, which they complete either by emailing their work to their tutor or participating in an online session with their tutor and fellow students. On average, there are eight assessments per year. There are three levels of study.

Students generally spend eight hours a month (two hours a week) reading a module’s learning material and completing its assessment task.

How does the CJP benefit employers?

The course provides new journalists with targeted tuition and extra mentorship, potentially relieving some of the burden on newsroom supervisors. The course aims to improve employees' news production skills and knowledge of the media business as a whole, creating a more rounded and valuable member of the newsroom team who can fill various roles and duties.

How does the CJP benefit students?

Students receive a certificate that acknowledges their completion of each year level of the course. In some instances, employers align completion of each level of the course with a pay upgrade. Students can use completion of the course to help gain Recognition for Prior Learning in Deakin’s Bachelor of Communication (journalism).

If an employee has already gained a relevant tertiary qualification, they are awarded some exemptions from some assessment tasks. The Community Journalism Program is designed specifically for journalists working in rural and regional newsrooms, providing learning that is unique and relevant to their every-day journalism practice, covering areas of the profession that are not typically part of tertiary courses.

Who are the tutors?

Tutors are journalists who have experience working in rural or regional newsrooms and who have held a senior editorial role. Past tutors have included Patrick Elligett (now editor of The Age newspaper), Brigid O’Connell (former senior journalist at News Corp) and Nicole Mills (senior producer at the ABC).

How does enrolment work?

There are two intakes per year – one in March and one in July. CPA administration staff email details about the enrolment process in the month prior to each enrolment period. Contact CPA for information about costs.

Who do I contact about the CJP?

If you have a question relating to the administration process of the course, including enrolments and fees, contact cpadeakin@vcpa.com.au. If you have a question about the curriculum, assessments, tutoring, course structure, due dates etc, contact the course director, Deakin’s Alison McAdam: alison.mcadam@deakin.edu.au.

Testimonials

Chris Manning studied the Community Journalism Program while working at MyCity Logan, Queensland. He won Deakin’s $500 prize for CJP Student of the Year in 2025:

“(The CJP) helped me in a lot of ways. Firstly, it took me back to the basics when I started the course and helped me know that I was doing the basics right, ticking those boxes, and it stressed the importance and values of journalism. I think the biggest thing I took from it was that it encouraged me to think about local news as more than just a journalist - there was also the business aspect and the innovation view that I really valued, especially working here at an independent small business.”

“I’d encourage other journalists in rural or regional newsrooms to just really get involved and try and care and have fun because if you do all of those things, then your audience is going to feel that and feel the same way. If you're having fun out there, then your audience is going to have fun. The readers are going to have fun. And if you care, then so will your readers.” 

Sharon Bonthuys studied the Community Journalism Program while working at Dubbo Photo News, New South Wales. She won Deakin’s $500 prize for CJP Student of the Year in 2024:

“When I first stepped into the role of community journalist in December 2021, I had absolutely no knowledge of how newspapers worked. The course guided me through the basics and I'm so glad I did it. The first year of my work as a community journalist was a whirlwind of learning, supported by the extra-curricular study at Deakin.” 

“People want local news - not stuff generated from capital cities. Rural and regional journalists provide the ‘local’ element - being on the ground, knowing the locals, understanding local issues - and are an important part of the newsgathering and writing process. I'd encourage others who stumble their way into the industry like me to embrace it, have a go, and your communities will appreciate you.