Hello readers!
Well sadly, the semester of JOUR1111 has come to an end and I will commemorate it with this- my last blog post :)
I have really enjoyed the semester of Journalism and Communication, primarily because of the large amounts of content I have learned along the way.
Topics which I found particularly interesting to learn about were investigative journalism, commercial media and picture stories. The assessment pieces which I enjoyed completing the most were the factual storytelling exercise because my topic was my mum and this blog because I really liked reflecting each week on the lecture and things I thought were useful or worthy of sharing.
In terms of the construction of the course, I wouldn't change anything, I thought all the lecture topics were extremely relevant to budding journalists and the tutorials were correctly spaced out with lots of content to cover.
Finally, this course has enabled me to improve my creative writing skills and expanded my knowledge of all topics which are crucial to journalists today. I look forward to using these skills in whichever career path I choose to take.
Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing!
Monday 11 June 2012
Sunday 10 June 2012
A real world example of news values and agenda setting!
Hello everyone!
I am sorry I haven't blogged anything in a while, I have been very busy with university assessment and planning holidays!
Today I wanted to share with my readers a really interesting article which I think exemplifies the concepts of agenda setting and news values.
This article, published in The Australian media section on the website, describes how channel 9, a free-to-air broadcasting channel deciding to not air the final of the French Open but instead wants to air the finale of the show The Voice. Their reasons for this is because the Voice has higher ratings and it is not in their best interest to air half a game.
In relation to this article relating to the content we learned about agenda setting and news values is that channel 9 has clearly chosen a show which will make them the most money out of advertisements and highest ratings. Furthermore, the Voice has news values which are evidently, more important to them as a company rather than the French Open final.
I thought this article was interesting to see how the concepts learnt in the lectures and tutorials are played out in a real-life example by a high profile broadcasting company.
Below is the link to the article to view.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/nine-delays-french-open-final/story-e6frg996-1226391244500
Enjoy!!
I am sorry I haven't blogged anything in a while, I have been very busy with university assessment and planning holidays!
Today I wanted to share with my readers a really interesting article which I think exemplifies the concepts of agenda setting and news values.
This article, published in The Australian media section on the website, describes how channel 9, a free-to-air broadcasting channel deciding to not air the final of the French Open but instead wants to air the finale of the show The Voice. Their reasons for this is because the Voice has higher ratings and it is not in their best interest to air half a game.
In relation to this article relating to the content we learned about agenda setting and news values is that channel 9 has clearly chosen a show which will make them the most money out of advertisements and highest ratings. Furthermore, the Voice has news values which are evidently, more important to them as a company rather than the French Open final.
I thought this article was interesting to see how the concepts learnt in the lectures and tutorials are played out in a real-life example by a high profile broadcasting company.
Below is the link to the article to view.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/nine-delays-french-open-final/story-e6frg996-1226391244500
Enjoy!!
Thursday 31 May 2012
A very controversial topic
Hi everyone!
Today I was browsing through Media Watch's website and I came across this segment they did on the News of the World scandal. I thought this segment was very insightful and interesting to see all the different newspapers and their perspectives on the News of The World scandal. I also liked how it was related back to Australia and our media.
Whilst it did occur last year, I am amazed at the actions of the News of the World and I think this controversy is an example of the lack of ethics and regard for law in this case, in journalism in this generation.
I am amazed at how journalists believe hacking phones and voice messages is ethical or acceptable for a story!
Below is the link to the episode, it is a very good deconstruction of the media frenzy surrounding the scandal.
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3266976.htm
Today I was browsing through Media Watch's website and I came across this segment they did on the News of the World scandal. I thought this segment was very insightful and interesting to see all the different newspapers and their perspectives on the News of The World scandal. I also liked how it was related back to Australia and our media.
Whilst it did occur last year, I am amazed at the actions of the News of the World and I think this controversy is an example of the lack of ethics and regard for law in this case, in journalism in this generation.
I am amazed at how journalists believe hacking phones and voice messages is ethical or acceptable for a story!
Below is the link to the episode, it is a very good deconstruction of the media frenzy surrounding the scandal.
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3266976.htm
Monday 28 May 2012
Journalism Lecture 12- Guest Speaker-Steve Molk
Hello everyone!
Today's lecture was the last one for the semester. Bruce brought in the guest speaker, Steve Molk. He is an entertainment blogger and has been for two years now. I thought what Steve had to say was really helpful and relevant to students studying journalism currently. He had a couple of great messages and bits of advice which really opened up my thoughts as to the way I approach my journalism studies.
Steve said that if you want to be a journalist, you are able to control your brand starting now. You are able to determine what you do with your brand, how you make it work for you and what it will mean for you in the long run.
When it comes to getting a job, the opportunities for employment are far greater if you can shape the internet media to make yourself the writer you want to be. Through getting a journalism degree, you are able to prove to the employer that you know what media is present and that you have the knowledge to use it in a multitude of ways. These skills make you as an employee, much better off.
When it comes to blogging, which is what Steve does as a career, he says that is is relatively young in terms of mainstream media but is becoming more important in determining how the public receive information and how we process it. For example, in places like China and Korea, the public are not able to access social networking because governments don't want their citizens knowing anything. However, in Australia we are very lucky because we are able to say what we want, do what we want and communicate how we see fit.
Blogging is not only being able to consistently work on the area of writing which you find the most fascinating but also you are able to connect to a subculture of people, the international market, fans of the area of which you write, all whilst your skills as a writer improve. It is essentially the new media form for students and journalists because we are no longer locked behind what the "media machine"tells us.
Another bonus feature about social media and in particular, Twitter, is that you can access all sorts of people in the public eye such as politicians, entertainers, artists without having to go through their PR team and agent. To find out the real story, you don't have to merely trust mainstream media but you are able to go straight to the source which creates or controls the news. This information can then be transformed into an exclusive story.
Steve said that his favourite thing to blog is about TV, and this is what he is most interested in. He admits he loves to sit around and watch TV. Thus, he is able to take information and interact with people because everyone has an opinion on TV. Although people criticise Twitter, Steve says he enjoys communicating with people and he likes to hear what people thing about what he writes and what he does as publisher. It is his choice of personal media domain because he likes the 140 character restriction on each Tweet because it forces you to be succinct and tell the main parts.
Steve reiterates that if you want to be a journalist, the opportunity is right now to show the future employer what type of journalist you are. There are lots of opportunities in journalism and all of them stem from what you do now or how you write and control the story. The chance to become a paid journalist and to be able to pitch the story in the direction you want started before you even signed up for this course.
The beauty of social media is that you have the opportunity to talk to future employers, producers, directors or your favourite writer instantly.
What Steve enjoys about Twitter the most is that it is very noisy sometimes after a big story has just broke and lots of people will tell you what they thought about something and then information will occur as a result. Journalists love Twitter because it spreads news instantly.
Steve personally became a media writer after a mid-life crisis. He says that there is a very narrow segment of media writing in Australia. If you want to get any information, the best place is from the The Australian media diary and the people who write for Fairfax. Recently, Fairfax media are using his writing and he is doing radio spots. thus his audience has opened up.
The most important message Steve gave is that the way we understand how information is given to us and the way we interpret the information presented to us, will impact the kind of journalists we become.
Today's lecture was the last one for the semester. Bruce brought in the guest speaker, Steve Molk. He is an entertainment blogger and has been for two years now. I thought what Steve had to say was really helpful and relevant to students studying journalism currently. He had a couple of great messages and bits of advice which really opened up my thoughts as to the way I approach my journalism studies.
Steve said that if you want to be a journalist, you are able to control your brand starting now. You are able to determine what you do with your brand, how you make it work for you and what it will mean for you in the long run.
When it comes to getting a job, the opportunities for employment are far greater if you can shape the internet media to make yourself the writer you want to be. Through getting a journalism degree, you are able to prove to the employer that you know what media is present and that you have the knowledge to use it in a multitude of ways. These skills make you as an employee, much better off.
When it comes to blogging, which is what Steve does as a career, he says that is is relatively young in terms of mainstream media but is becoming more important in determining how the public receive information and how we process it. For example, in places like China and Korea, the public are not able to access social networking because governments don't want their citizens knowing anything. However, in Australia we are very lucky because we are able to say what we want, do what we want and communicate how we see fit.
Blogging is not only being able to consistently work on the area of writing which you find the most fascinating but also you are able to connect to a subculture of people, the international market, fans of the area of which you write, all whilst your skills as a writer improve. It is essentially the new media form for students and journalists because we are no longer locked behind what the "media machine"tells us.
Another bonus feature about social media and in particular, Twitter, is that you can access all sorts of people in the public eye such as politicians, entertainers, artists without having to go through their PR team and agent. To find out the real story, you don't have to merely trust mainstream media but you are able to go straight to the source which creates or controls the news. This information can then be transformed into an exclusive story.
Steve said that his favourite thing to blog is about TV, and this is what he is most interested in. He admits he loves to sit around and watch TV. Thus, he is able to take information and interact with people because everyone has an opinion on TV. Although people criticise Twitter, Steve says he enjoys communicating with people and he likes to hear what people thing about what he writes and what he does as publisher. It is his choice of personal media domain because he likes the 140 character restriction on each Tweet because it forces you to be succinct and tell the main parts.
Steve reiterates that if you want to be a journalist, the opportunity is right now to show the future employer what type of journalist you are. There are lots of opportunities in journalism and all of them stem from what you do now or how you write and control the story. The chance to become a paid journalist and to be able to pitch the story in the direction you want started before you even signed up for this course.
The beauty of social media is that you have the opportunity to talk to future employers, producers, directors or your favourite writer instantly.
What Steve enjoys about Twitter the most is that it is very noisy sometimes after a big story has just broke and lots of people will tell you what they thought about something and then information will occur as a result. Journalists love Twitter because it spreads news instantly.
Steve personally became a media writer after a mid-life crisis. He says that there is a very narrow segment of media writing in Australia. If you want to get any information, the best place is from the The Australian media diary and the people who write for Fairfax. Recently, Fairfax media are using his writing and he is doing radio spots. thus his audience has opened up.
The most important message Steve gave is that the way we understand how information is given to us and the way we interpret the information presented to us, will impact the kind of journalists we become.
I liked listening to Steve talk about his career as a blogger because it opened my eyes to the instant possibilities of journalist online and in social media networks which weren't available 10 years ago.
·
Thursday 24 May 2012
Annotated Bibliography
JOUR1111 Annotated Bibliography
White,
A. (2008). To Tell You The Truth The
Ethical Journalism Initiative. Belgium: International Federation of
Journalists.
The
author, Aidan White, currently a Director of the Coalition for Ethical
Journalism, is able to apply his decades of experience and knowledge to form
the insightful Ethical Journalism
Initiative. His past credentials as a journalist and General Secretary to
the International Federation of Journalists provide his guidebook to ethics in
journalism with plenty of reliability. The book’s foreword states that it aims
to provide “support for journalists who
are keeping an ethical flame alive in the profession” (White, 2008). White
introduces the initiative with the Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of
Journalists. He explains that one of the most controversial principles within
the American Journalism industry involves the discrimination in the media towards
minority interests. Furthermore, he demonstrates that the current challenge in
American Journalism is that often, the opinions of minority interests are
silenced for the concept of newsworthiness. White states, the ethics of
journalism requires balance in documenting “political arguments so that a
lively debate can take place” (White, 2008). The significant use of examples throughout
the text provides the author’s views and ideas with credibility. This topic is
closely linked with the significant announcement of President Barack Obama’s
support for gay marriage, which has dominated the press in recent weeks. As
White explains, a balance of information is lacking in the three different
mediums of journalism commenting on the announcement, which are cited below.
The similarities across the three articles can be equated to White’s publication
as the political aspect of the announcement is at the forefront of the story
rather than the interests of minority groups.
Gast,
P. (2012). Obama announces he supports
same-sex marriage. Retrieved from
American
cable station, CNN, was able to
broadcast to viewers ABC News’
exclusive interview with President Barack Obama. The announcement was presented
in the format of a video and an accompanying article. Phil Gast, the author,
applies his experience as a writer and editor for CNN, and delivers an extensive, political based article on Obama’s
support for same-sex marriage. Gast introduces the issue with an explicit
reference to the political stakes surrounding the announcement. This article
holds many news values such as impact, audience identification, ethics, recency
and elite nations. The author is careful not to reveal his personal opinion on
the issue and the language used throughout is strictly factual and presents a
balanced viewpoint. For these reasons, the credibility of the article
increases. Gast effectively refers to several highly reliable sources
throughout the article, such as President Barack Obama, political opposition
Mitt Romney, university professor John Green along with multiple sources from
both sides of the issue. A significant difference between the CNN article and text articles is that
the television segment serves its purpose and delivers the message clearly and
succinctly to viewers. Considering CNN’s
extensive broadcasting history, its target audience is the opinionated American
who expects all the vital statistics and implications of the issue. The cable
station delivers the message in a prompt and succinct manner to access the
majority of viewers. The CNN article
can be likened to the previous piece written by Aidan White as the political
aspect of the issue is discussed for the majority of the article, whereas the
implications for same-sex couples are virtually unmentioned.
Jan,
T., Viser, M., & Borcher, C. (2012). President
Obama announces support for gay marriage in reversal of prior stance.
Retrieved from
Tracy
Jan, Matt Viser and Callum Borchers, all political reporters for The Boston Globe, present an accurate
article of the announcement for the support of gay marriage by Barack Obama.
Despite the author’s credentials, the scope of the issue is dealt with fairly
effectively as the majority of the emphasis is placed on the implications of the
statement itself, with a minor section devoted to the political campaign. Due
to this, the article’s credibility is enhanced; this is then accompanied by
balanced and informative language, which is implemented throughout. As a
result, assumptions made on behalf of the journalists are minimal. Furthermore,
multiple reputable sources are cited throughout the piece; quotes from Obama,
Romney, and Obama’s campaign adviser David Axelrod are frequently mentioned. Whilst this particular piece is solely text
based, its purpose is served, as the information is very factual and
informative. The target audience for the website, boston.com, would be traditional Americans and due to the fact that
Massachusetts is one state which has legalized gay marriage,
part of the focus was placed on the political implications of the announcement.
Although less emphasis was placed on the implications of the announcement of
same-sex couples, one credible source was succinctly referred to, broadening
the pieces’ coverage of the issue. Thus, in cohesion with the CNN article and White’s initiative, the
effects of Obama’s announcement on the political campaign is dealt with, with
one reference explicitly citing the implication on minority interests. This
further reiterates the lack of exposure on minority groups in American
journalism.
Calmes,
J., & Baker, P. (2012, May 9). Obama Says Same-Sex Marriage Should Be
Legal. The New York Times. Retrieved
from
Jackie
Calmes and Peter Baker, regular contributors of The New York Times, bring years of experience to present a detailed
portrayal of the issue. The article was featured on the front page of the print
New York Times for May 9, 2012. The
authors examine President Obama’s announcement of support for same-sex marriage
with precise facts regarding the declaration itself, whilst also delivering
extensive information about the surrounding circumstances prior to the
announcement and after. As a result of this, Calmes and Baker’s credibility is
amplified, as the details given were relevant, descriptive and demonstrated
with factual language. Furthermore, the author’s positions on the issue were
undetectable and for this reason, no assumptions were made on behalf of the
journalists. Although Calmes and Baker’s referral to external sources is
limited to President Obama, the author’s citation to the Democrat of
Massachusetts, Barney Frank,
one of the first gay members of congress, is effective in demonstrating their
ability to locate reputable sources to comment on the issue. The New
York Times is the third most read newspaper in America, and thus the target
audience for this article would be all Americans interested in the rights of
minority groups (Shea, 2010). Thus, the newspaper delivered information, which
was highly relevant and non-partisan. In contrast to White’s initiative and
previous articles on this topic, Calmes and Baker’s article examines the
ramifications of Obama’s announcement in itself, rather than commenting on the
political campaign, which surrounds the issue.
Calmes,
J., & Baker, P. (2012, May 9). Obama Says Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Legal.
The New York Times. Retrieved from
Gast,
P. (2012). Obama announces he supports
same-sex marriage. Retrieved from
Jan,
T., Viser, M., & Borcher, C. (2012). President
Obama announces support for gay marriage in reversal of prior stance.
Retrieved from
Shea,
D. (2010). Top 25 Newspapers By
Circulation: Wall Street Journal Trounces USA Today. Retrieved from
White,
A. (2008). To Tell You The Truth The
Ethical Journalism Initiative. Belgium: International Federation of Journalists.
International story of the four Italian girls
This is a story which has dominated the press in recent weeks. The story involves four Italian girls who have run away to avoid being sent back to Italy to their "abusive" father.
Below is a link to an article which explains that the girls father says that the Australian press have distorted the truth. This article is an example of how journalists somehow publish accusations without getting confirmation from both sides of the story. It is an interesting read.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-24/italian-dad-at-centre-of-custody-battle-expresses-concern/4031468
Below is a link to an article which explains that the girls father says that the Australian press have distorted the truth. This article is an example of how journalists somehow publish accusations without getting confirmation from both sides of the story. It is an interesting read.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-24/italian-dad-at-centre-of-custody-battle-expresses-concern/4031468
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Something I am excited about!
Hello everyone!
I just wanted to share with the readers of my blog the Brisbane City Mini Mag for the Autumn season. It is something very exciting for me because my mother, my sister and myself feature on the cover!
I remember when we did the photoshoot for the feature, I was very surprised at the amount of time and effort it took for a photoshoot to take place. Despite this, I really enjoyed being able to spend the day with my mum and sister.
Here is the link to the magazine which you can virtually flick through or look through the The City's website to see all the amazing new events which are coming up in Brisbane.
http://www.bnecity.com.au/News/News-Article.aspx?id=22584&returnurl=~/News/Default.aspx
Thank you!!
I just wanted to share with the readers of my blog the Brisbane City Mini Mag for the Autumn season. It is something very exciting for me because my mother, my sister and myself feature on the cover!
I remember when we did the photoshoot for the feature, I was very surprised at the amount of time and effort it took for a photoshoot to take place. Despite this, I really enjoyed being able to spend the day with my mum and sister.
Here is the link to the magazine which you can virtually flick through or look through the The City's website to see all the amazing new events which are coming up in Brisbane.
http://www.bnecity.com.au/News/News-Article.aspx?id=22584&returnurl=~/News/Default.aspx
Thank you!!
Monday 21 May 2012
Journalism-Lecture 11- Investigative Journalism
Hello again! This week's journalism lecture was about investigative
journalism and all things surrounding it!
To start off, what is investigative journalism?
Well according to Wikipedia, it states, "Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which
reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime,
political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing". This definition is pretty
self-explanatory.
One we were shown in the
lecture which I liked was it was defined as, "“what somebody, somewhere
wants to suppress; all the rest is just advertising". Bruce also said that
all good journalism should to some extent, be investigative journalism- to
discover the truth and identify any lapses in it.
We then talked about what Bruce called the In’s of investigative
journalism.
They are
- intelligent- it has to be well thought out before you go into
somebody life and you must know what you are looking for, money, sex and power
comes up in investigative journalism, weigh all the facts intelligently
- informed- know the facts to the story, know which people are
involved and who you suspect is pulling the strings. If you don't you will miss
out on the real story.
- intuitive- become more experienced, be able to rely on your gut,
be able to ask yourself- is this an unsafe situation, does this story
have some legs, is it dangerous to me or other people? After some experience
you will be able to go with your gut.
- inside- get inside info, get the inside story, what a
journalist needs most from participants is your trust because they are bearing
their lives to you and telling you information that could destroy them. You
must know what is going on
- invest- this refers to investing a lot of yourself, it is
difficult and it costs money and time, sometimes your mental health is at
stake, it can be very tricky and serious, put something of yourself in there,
in some situations people don’t talk to you again when you have broken the
story
Now onto some deeper definitions & purpose of
investigative journalism.
- critical and thorough journalism
critical=the journalist is an active participant,
“active intervention”-
the key idea,
thorough=journalist makes a substantial effort
- Custodians of conscious= “exposure” is the key idea,
“investigation takes society’s morals and norms and holds breaches up to
pubic scrutiny" E.g. Fitzgerald inquiry
- To provide a voice to those without one and to hold the powerful to
account
= social justice-power to the powerless, voice to the voiceless e.g.
KONY 2012
" public interest is key idea", great responsibility
- fourth estate/fourth branch of government/watchdog
- fourth estate= “journalists represent the interests of those without
power to balance the power of government”
fourth branch of government= journalists ensure free flows of
information necessary for the functioning of democracy by interrogating the
judiciary executive, and legislature= agenda setting
watchdog= journalists make accountable public personalities, and
institution whose functions impact social and political life
Some common sayings in the industry
- ‘shoe leather’ –USA= find out what’s going on, talk to people
- standing back (BIG PIC)- not involves the little things but how
does this to relate
- skeptical not cynical- is the attitude to have!
Cutting through the agenda-
John Pilger “It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere
messengers without understanding the hidden agendas of the message and the
myths that surround it.”
Some historical trailblazers in investigative journalism are
- “the Sydney monitor” (1826) Edward Hall Smith. This case shows
how long the history of investigative journalism is in Australia.
- “the maiden tribute of modern Babylon” campaign (1885) W.T
Stead & the Salvos (William Booth)
– created a sting- age
of consent raised from 12 to 16 – big effect
- Bob Woodward-Carl Bernstein 1972-74 “Watergate”- Nixon resigned
- Chris Masters, Phil Dickie, Shaun Hoyt, “The Moonlight State”- 2
years researching for 1 hour of television
- Julian Assange (and others) “WikiLEAKS”
Following this, a question was posed to us. Is Wikileaks journalism?
To which the answer is no!
It is just a bunch of
information and data and it needs journalists to sort through it.
Investigative trailblazers
What do all these investigations have in common?
=making information available that other people don’t want known and
they are changing the world, for example bringing down presidents or
governments
Some examples of local investigate journalism are the
- the global mail
- crikey
- Australian story
What do we investigate?
Old journalism saying:
“if your mother says she loves you,
check it out”
This quote means that you should always check your facts, assume
nothing, expect whistleblowers to be/go crazy
Types of investigative interaction
- Interviews- whistleblowers, people concerned,
- observations- see what’s going on, don’t get it second hand
- documents- important, online or annual reports
- briefings- by officials
- leaks- whistleblowers,
- trespass- up to your morals, depends on your boss
- theft
investigate methods
- interviewing- numerous interviews
- observing- technical issues, scrutiny of government
- analysing documents- law suits, law docs, tax records
Threats to investigative journalism
-Online news, less money less time and therefore less investigative
work.
Also the great debate between Journalism and PR provides a threat towards journalism.
A very interesting book I found when searching through the internet was this one on the history of investigative journalism and how it has differed through cultures.
http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=JMhmwt6h6G0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=investigative+journalism&ots=OXEquZ_gRj&sig=vziHUUgG6W_K4TBT8hKk8nuI3Vo#v=onepage&q=investigative%20journalism&f=false
Also the great debate between Journalism and PR provides a threat towards journalism.
Mostly for these reasons..
http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=JMhmwt6h6G0C&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=investigative+journalism&ots=OXEquZ_gRj&sig=vziHUUgG6W_K4TBT8hKk8nuI3Vo#v=onepage&q=investigative%20journalism&f=false
Overall, I enjoyed this lecture because I thought we could relate it
more practically to the industry itself and it is easier to see examples of
investigative journalism happening every day. I really enjoyed learning about
what it takes and the different facets of it.
Monday 14 May 2012
Journalism-Lecture 10-Agenda Setting
Today's lecture was all about agenda setting in the media. We started off the discussion with a youtube clip essentially poking fun at the stereotypical video reports which are constantly seen on television and media shows.
When defining what is agenda setting, Bruce told us that like all good theories, it is obvious!
A good example of agenda setting in the media is the O.J Simpson trial as the media controlled what people thought about the case.
T he agenda setting family
I liked this lecture because it turned my attention to the media and how much they can control the importance or significance of an issue or block an issue out depending on their preferences.
I also came across this youtube video explaining the agenda setting theory. I thought it explained it very clearly and made it easy to understand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbCYr-U7MAQ
When defining what is agenda setting, Bruce told us that like all good theories, it is obvious!
In my opinion, I believe that agenda setting is the process which certain issues are presented in the media, some more so than others to receive more important or less feedback.
There are several types of agenda setting.. These are as follows,
1. The public agenda- topics seen as important by the public
2. Policy agenda-issues that decision makers that are salient
3. Corporate agenda-issues that big businesses consider
important
4. Media agenda-issues discussed in the media
All of these types are interrelated!
We have to come to terms with the fact that in this day and age, the media shape the way we look at things or at issues, and they are able to tend
importance to certain media exposure on certain issues.
The two basic assumptions of media agenda settings are that the mass media do not merely reflect and report reality but they also filter
and shape reality.
Media concentration on a few issues leads public to perceive
those issues as more important than other issues, this is the main purpose of agenda setting and the essential definition.
On to the question of where did agenda setting actually come from?
A statement by Walter Lippmann which I liked was that mass media creates images of events in our
minds. I liked this because it resonated with me and I thought it really made sense and sums up photo-journalism.
Another quote by Lippmann is that, “propaganda is used as tool to help shape images in the minds
of human beings in support of enterprise, idea or group. Propaganda can be used
to substitute one social pattern for another”. Moreover, he argued that people rely on images in their mind to form judgement
rathe than critically think.
When asking why the media set agenda, the answer is simply, because they can!
1. media gatekeeping- how individuals control the flow of
messages through a communication channel, the exposure of an issue, what the
media chooses to reveal to the public. E.g rubert Murdoch
2. Media advocacy- the purposive promotion of a message e.g.
health through the media
3. Agenda cutting- most of the truth or reality that is going
on in the world isn’t represented, issues like AIDS take a backseat to Justin
Bieber’s new haircut, because aids doesn’t get as much time in the media, the
issue is cared about less
4. Agenda surfing or bandwagon effect- the media follows the
crowd and trends, the media surfs on the wave of topics originally mentioned in
the opinion leading media, bandwagon effects-how existing public opinion influences
others toward that opinion. E.g. kony 2012
5. The diffusion of news- the process through which an
important event is communicated to the public. How, where, when, news is
released. who decides? E.g. osama bin laden death
6. Portrayal of an issue- talk about different aspects of an
issue like aboriginal youth , depends on agenda – the way the issue is
portrayed will often influence how it is perceived by the public, different
media outlets with different portrayals can cause the public to formulate their
own perception
7. Media dependence- the more dependant a person is on the
media for information, the more susceptible that person is to media agenda
setting, the most common media dependency is Facebook/twitter. It has become a
way of life!
Another interesting fact about agenda setting is now there is new prime times rather than years ago the news was released early in the morning of one day and the next
edition doesn’t appear until 24 hours later. Now, there are 24/7 outlets constantly reporting, and it has been said that there are three prime times for news.. - first
thing in the morning- new primetime, traffic, accidents, lunch time, 12-2pm, and another 3pm- people have a coffee and biscuit and they check the news again.
Tuesday 8 May 2012
An Interesting Article...
Today, I was just looking through the news websites to catch up on what has been happening and I came across this article on ninemsn.
It is basically about how an online holiday company used Maddie McCann's photo to promote their holiday spot, which happens to be in close proximity to where she disappeared.
It also comments on how the parents of Maddie feel about the website.
In my opinion, I believe this is terribly disrespectful to Maddie's family given the circumstances and I think it is another example of how the lines of ethics with media and journalism are being blurred.
I think the story of Maddie McCann is a tragic, but fascinating story. I hope there is closure to this ongoing debacle sometime soon.
Here is the link, take a look for yourself.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8464418
It is basically about how an online holiday company used Maddie McCann's photo to promote their holiday spot, which happens to be in close proximity to where she disappeared.
It also comments on how the parents of Maddie feel about the website.
In my opinion, I believe this is terribly disrespectful to Maddie's family given the circumstances and I think it is another example of how the lines of ethics with media and journalism are being blurred.
I think the story of Maddie McCann is a tragic, but fascinating story. I hope there is closure to this ongoing debacle sometime soon.
Here is the link, take a look for yourself.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8464418
Monday 30 April 2012
Journalism-Lecture 9-News Values
Today's lecture was based around news values in the journalism industry.
News Values can be defined as, "the degree of prominence a media outlet gives to a story and the attention that is paid by an audience". So it is essentially how stories are written and how they are marketed to the audience and then how the readers respond to that piece.
An interesting question involving this topic is how do you choose which will be the lead story on the news or in the newspapers or on television?
One quote which was really cool was" News is what a chap who doesn’t care much about anything wants to read. And its only news until he’s read it. After that its dead". Bruce said that this quote was really old but when you think about it, it is still really relevant to modern times.
We were told that there are four factors which govern news values and they are Impact, audience identification, pragmatics and source influence. Impact refers to anything that makes reader surprised or excited or impressed. Audience identification refers to the readers wanting to know what is going on and feeling a sense of ownership and pragmatics refers to ethics and current affairs. Finally, source influence basically means PR and how it is becoming more prominent with journalism.
We were then posed a question; · are news values the same across different news services? Are news values the same across different countries/cultures? And the answer was no!! News values are very different across cultures and countries. It is very much subjective, however there are some exceptions.
The two slogans "If it bleeds, it leads" or "If its local, it leads are common predictors of what will govern the front page of the news. If it bleeds refers to anything relating to deaths of superstars, murders, car accidents or tragedies and if its local refers to floods, droughts, elections, sport or charity things.
News Values can be defined as, "the degree of prominence a media outlet gives to a story and the attention that is paid by an audience". So it is essentially how stories are written and how they are marketed to the audience and then how the readers respond to that piece.
An interesting question involving this topic is how do you choose which will be the lead story on the news or in the newspapers or on television?
One quote which was really cool was" News is what a chap who doesn’t care much about anything wants to read. And its only news until he’s read it. After that its dead". Bruce said that this quote was really old but when you think about it, it is still really relevant to modern times.
We were told that there are four factors which govern news values and they are Impact, audience identification, pragmatics and source influence. Impact refers to anything that makes reader surprised or excited or impressed. Audience identification refers to the readers wanting to know what is going on and feeling a sense of ownership and pragmatics refers to ethics and current affairs. Finally, source influence basically means PR and how it is becoming more prominent with journalism.
We were then posed a question; · are news values the same across different news services? Are news values the same across different countries/cultures? And the answer was no!! News values are very different across cultures and countries. It is very much subjective, however there are some exceptions.
The two slogans "If it bleeds, it leads" or "If its local, it leads are common predictors of what will govern the front page of the news. If it bleeds refers to anything relating to deaths of superstars, murders, car accidents or tragedies and if its local refers to floods, droughts, elections, sport or charity things.
We were then introduced to the initial 12 factors of newsworthiness. They were Negativity, closeness to home(proximity),
recency, currency, continuity, uniqueness, simplicity, personality,
expectedness, elite nations of people, exclusivity, and size.
However, from that point on there have been people who have reduced the factors to less and added in some new ones. For example, some are drama, visual attractiveness, entertainment, importance, size, proximity, negativity, brevity, recency, elites and personalities. O'Neil and Harcup said that the most important factors were the power elite, celebrity, entertainment, surprise, bad news, good news, magnitude, relevance, follow-up and newspaper agenda
Murray Masterson narrowed it down to 6 news values which were significance, proximity, conflict, human interest, novelty and prominence.
One of the main things I learnt from this lecture is how the factors of newsworthiness are constantly changing as time goes on and people can dictate what they think will make news to their own personal opinion.
I thought this lecture was interesting because of these factors and the different headlines for what makes a lead story.
Below is a link to a website which states almost the exact same news values as was stated in the lecture but slightly less. Take a look.
http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/NewsValues.html
Below is a link to a website which states almost the exact same news values as was stated in the lecture but slightly less. Take a look.
http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/NewsValues.html
Thursday 26 April 2012
Factual Story Telling
The Success of Tengdahl Australia
The well-known Queensland designer, Julie Tengdahl has come a long
way since her days in the small rural suburb of Canon Hill, Brisbane. From her
years working in a bridal salon and as a fitness instructor to having three
successful stores in Brisbane’s most engaging suburbs, Tengdahl reflects on her
fashion-designing career. She admits it hasn’t been all glitz and glamour.
Fashion wasn’t always Tengdahl’s first choice when it came to her
career. A determined student, she says that she can pinpoint the beginning of
her career when she attended her college typing class in an outfit she had
created herself the night before. Tengdahl recalls that as soon as she saw her
teacher, she was told she was “in the wrong career” and that she “should be
switching as soon as I can”. She explains that moment as starting her off into a completely different direction of where her career was heading.
Still 17 years old and living at home, whilst her mother was a
talented dressmaker and a tremendous influence on her life, she had never
considered a career in fashion. At the time, Tengdahl was working as a fitness
instructor at the local gym. However, shortly after the “1980’s fitness boom” as
she calls it, she began selling aerobic gear she had made herself. She explains this is where her flare for fashion began.
Tengdahl’s fashion career began with her work at bridal salon,
Dion’s, while studying part-time at college. The experience enabled Tengdahl to
discover her fascination for luxurious fabrics. She adds, “making bridal gowns
gave me a really good grasp of couture because they were outfits for each
individual woman”.
Inspired by the individuality, Tengdahl moved into the fitness
industry, designing her own fitness brand labelled Sunfit, which consisted mainly of triathlon clothing.
Following this she moved into mainstream fashion, starting a
business with her friend entitled Principles
Pty Ltd. The partnership was a business-savvy match adding that her partner
was “a model and very connected in the industry whilst I had the technical
skills of sewing and an extensive knowledge of fabrics”. It was there that Tengdahl
found her passion for designing mainstream fashion. She thought the fashion
industry was lacking, and needed “…
a market for girls wanting an outfit that wasn’t a black suit…it was a very
masculine world…there was only black and navy offered with a white shirt”.
Tengdahl and her partner, who shared the same passion for dressing women, decided
to design creative outfits with brighter colours, which were more fashion
orientated.
Despite their success, the partnership
soon dissolved as Tengdahl recalls feeling unhappy with the direction of the
label and feeling a shift in her own designing capabilities. Shortly after, at
32 years old, in a time where, “the designer was the brand and people had a
direct connection with the designer ”, Tengdahl launched her self-titled business
named Tengdahl Australia.
Tengdahl in her designing showroom
Source: http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/08/22/59881_local-news.html
Whilst
owning her own business can be very stressful at times, Tengdahl says that over
the years, she has become accustomed to the chaos and calm nature of the
industry. However, she does admit that, “It is stressful when I put a
collection out and I put myself out there on the catwalk, that’s very exposing
but also very challenging and rewarding”.
Source: http://tengdahl.com/portal/index.php
Moreover, when asked where she gathers her inspiration from, she
responds, “just being observant and looking at colours, street life…fashion is
a reflection of your identity and an expression of your personality… so its
about stepping back, viewing, soaking it up and creating it back into a garment”.
An outfit from Tengdahl Australia's previous collections
Source: http://tengdahl.com/portal/index.php
Every successful fashion designer has a
purpose for his or her creations and Tengdahl is no different. She says it is
“always to make women shine and feel beautiful, to produce beautiful pieces
with integrity, act with integrity with my business skills and I think I’ve
always done that which is why my brand is still successful”.
In terms of
her dream goal, Tengdahl says it has been the same as it always has been, to
align with her purpose. To be, “successful, stay in the business, to love
looking after women and making them shine, making them feel beautiful about
themselves by putting a lovely garment on them and seeing how their chemistry
changes by a new outfit”.
Despite the
international economic crisis, Tengdahl says she will make sure the future of
her business does not suffer. Her future plans include, “building up a
marketing strategy for an online business”. Due to the fact that Tengdahl may
be one of the few brands that manufacture and retail in Brisbane, she hopes
that, “continuing to work on creating beautiful clothing and an online business
will open me up globally”.
When asked
if Tengdahl thinks the fashion industry has changed over the years, the answer
is a resounding yes. She adds, with the ever-expanding nature of the industry,
the development of the online shopping phenomenon has opened the fashion industry
up to the world as customers. On a more personal level, Tengdahl says that “…fashion
keeps on evolving and each year you pick up things from the past… it’s about
creating something new from things that have succeeded in the past”. According
to Tengdahl, every designer should have a constant piece in his or her
collection, which never goes out of style.
Furthermore, with the recent developments of
the industry, Tengdahl says the future of the fashion industry will be online
as well. Not only is the World Wide Web making fashion brands accessible to
consumers in remote areas, but it is also providing small brands like Tengdahl
Australia with the exposure they need. However, she adds, “fashion is about
connection, people will still want to be connected to their local stores for
the experience of shopping and the advice you receive from a retail assistant… retail
will never be phased out”.
While there is no doubt that exciting things
are on the horizon for this Brisbane designer, Tengdahl says her next
collection will be focused around the upcoming trends. She adds that she is
gathering inspiration from magazines and the Internet to deliver a collection
with an “Italian feel of bright colours, flowing fabrics...whilst still taking
shapes from previous collections”.
Tengdahl has been extremely successful
in her career, however she admits when she was younger; she never imagined her
life would take this path. “I
wanted to be successful when I was young but at that point I didn’t know how I
was going to be successful and how I was going to make my mark in the world,”
Tengdahl says. She adds with a smile, “I’m really happy with what I have
achieved, it has been far greater than my thoughts”.
Tuesday 24 April 2012
Journalism-Lecture 8 - Ethics
This week's lecture was all about ethics and how they can differ between people. We had a guest speaker come to talk to the group, his name was John Harrison and he had worked with Bruce in the past.
We started off the lecture with a picture of a ethics cross with the words good taste, bad taste, ethical and unethical around the quadrants.
We were then shown a series of 10 advertisements or television commercials and asked to rate them in the quadrants according to our feelings about them.
I thought some of them were unethical and inappropriate but some were good advertisements.
These are some examples that we were shown...
We were then shown a series of 10 advertisements or television commercials and asked to rate them in the quadrants according to our feelings about them.
I thought some of them were unethical and inappropriate but some were good advertisements.
These are some examples that we were shown...
After we had finished scoring all of the examples we were then asked how to we distinguish between the good and the bad, the ethical and the unethical, the right from the wrong, the difference between the bad, the wrong and the simply tacky?
How do we work it out? After looking at the advertisements, more importantly who has the right to say if it is right or wrong, good or bad, ethical and unethical?
Primarily because it seems like everyone has a different opinion and view on things.
We were then informed of the various ethical theories which were deontology, consequentialism and virtue. Deontology involves rules, principles and duties. Principles such as you will do the right thing by following these rules, all ethics codes are deontological, and a choice between an absolute right and an absolute wrong.
Consequentialism is about getting a 'good' or 'right' outcome that matters, doesn't matter how we got there, the end may justify the means, and the greatest good for the greatest number.
Finally virtue ethics means that "goodness" comes from good habits or dispositions of character and these habits are 'virtues' such as courage, justice, temperance and prudence.
These habits of character are in the 'golden mean' of behaviour.
The mean, for example courage is the mean between rashness and cowardice. Justice is the mean between the in-justice of overzealous and excessive law and the injustice of lawlessness.
There are several types of ethics codes. They include the MEAA code, the PRIA code, the AFA code and the AANA code.
The main thing I learnt from this lecture is how different people's opinions can be in relation to ethics and how they are applied to real-life examples.
I don't think ethics should be necessarily put into categories but everyone should be allowed to label something how they see it.
Furthermore, considering ethics is such a controversial issue in journalism I looked into some websites relating to ethics in journalism and their codes they abide by.
Below are some links to some interesting reads.
It is interesting because some websites share similar principles of ethics, whereas some have more or less codes to abide by.
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