This week's lecture included a guest speaker. This speaker reinforced Dr Redman's opinion that 'we are the journalist'. Steve Molks originally did a degree in chemistry, but changed career paths a few years ago and became a journalist. Now he is one of the country's most prominent entertainment bloggers, blogging about television, which is something of a passion for him. He spoke about how to control 'your brand' and how to make it work for you. Your brand can even help you get a job.
Steve referred to our JOUR1111 blogs as a portfolio. Our blogs show that we have writing experience and are up to date with technology. He spoke about how blogging is relatively young mainstream media, however it can really take you places and can even turn into a career.
Steve used blogger Mammamia as a prime example. Mammamia just wrote about issues and things she is interested in. Her writing attracted readers, and Mammamia went from being a mother to a professional blogger.
Although Dr Redman has been saying the same thing about blogging all semester, hearing about Steve's real life experience and other blogging successes made me realise how important blogging, and my JOUR1111 blog, is.
This week's lecture was about investigative journalism. I strongly agreed with the opening quote by investigative journalist Ross Coulthart...
"Isn't all journalism meant to involve questioning investigation of facts and opinions presented to us?"
For me, all journalism is investigative. Journalism is an investigation of events, people, issues and places.
Dr Redman outlined the four "in's" of investigative journalism:
Intelligent
Informed
Intuitive
Inside
Then he discussed the purpose of investigative journalism:
Critical and thorough journalism - the journalist is actively seeking out the story
Custodians of conscience - exposure
Giving a voice to the voiceless - an element of justice
Fourth estate / fourth branch of government / watchdog - those without power are represented, free flow of information, journalists make accountable public personalities
The main message I gathered from the lecture was 'ASSUME NOTHING'. Dr Redman stressed the importance of always checking your facts.
Investigative journalism is something that really interests me. Being able to uncover huge scandals and become a figure of social justice is something I aspire to do.
This week's lecture was about agenda setting, which sounded all dark and mysterious. I was intrigued. Agenda setting is sort of like the media's secret power that the public has no idea about. Agenda setting is defined as basically how much attention and life span the media gives a certain story in order to make it seem of more or less importance.
The two basic assumptions of agenda setting are:
The mass media do not merely reflect and report reality, they filter and shape it.
Media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues.
These two assumptions are what lead me to believe hat agenda setting the media's 'secret power'. The fact the media can decide to focus on what they deem to be important is a little unsettling.
Also discussed by Dr Redman in the lecture were the two levels of agenda setting:
First Level Media Agenda Setting Theory - where the media can suggest what they think the public should focus on in media coverage
Second Level Media Agenda Setting Theory - where the media suggests how people should think about an issue.
There is also the Agenda Setting "Family":
Media Gatekeeping - the exposure of an issue
Media Advocacy - promotion of a message through the media
Agenda Cutting - where truth or reality is not represented
Agenda Surfing - the media follows the crowds and trends
The Diffusion of News - the process through which an important event is communicated to the public
Portrayal of an Issue - the way an issue is portrayed to influence it's public perception
Media Dependence - people who are more dependent on the media are more susceptible to agenda setting
The Agenda Setting theory has both it's strengths and weaknesses. Strengths include explanatory power, predictive power and organising power. Weaknesses are people may be skeptical and not ideal for the theory, strong minded people weaken the effects of agenda setting, and news cannot always be concealed.
Dr Redman used the Climate Change as an example of agenda setting. The media plays climate change and global warming up to be a huge issue. Therefore people are more conscious of the problem and are worried about it. Although, it has been speculated that global warming and climate change are natural.
This lecture made me more conscious of agenda setting, and in future I will try to be more aware of bias when viewing news.
To be perfectly honest, I was not at all excited for this lecture. Having previously studied news values in both school and in a uni course I did in grade 11, I didn't want to hear about them for the millionth time. However this lecture put a new spin on news values for me, Dr Bruce Redman explained them differently and more succinctly than my previous teachers.
News values are pretty crucial for every journalist to know. You want to write a story that you know the audience will be interested in and actually want to read. News values can vary between media outlets, but the best list (in my opinion) was included in the lecture:
Negativity
Proximity
Recency
Currency
Continuity
Uniqueness
Simplicity
Personality
Predictability
Elite nations or people
Exclusivity
Size
There were many more different types of news values mentioned during the lecture. It was quite overwhelming to comprehend how many things you should take into account when writing a story to make sure yours is the most interesting to readers.
This idea of this lecture was pretty straightforward for me; what is good or bad in journalism? What is ethical or unethical? What I didn't know about were the ethical theories:
Deontology
Consequentialism (aka Teleology)
Virtue
Deontology is the rules, principles and duties of a journalist. These rules define what is an ethical or unethical story and the correct means of getting the story. Codes of journalism such as MEAA code, PRIA code, AFA code and ANNA code fall under deontology.
Consequentialism is getting the best story no matter the means or breaches of ethics.
Virtue is the "goodness" of journalism, and the good habits. These habits refer to courage, justice, temperance and prudence.
This lecture was pretty reassuring for me, as I have always assumed that journalists are always consequentialists. Knowing that there is actually a set of rules that dictates the fairness of journalism helps me to aspire to be a good journalist; an ethical journalist.
The following
annotated bibliography focuses on the explosion of digital media, the impact of
‘new media’ in today’s society, and what it means for ‘heritage media’. Sources
include a journal article from Australian Journalism Review, an address from
the ABC Director of Television, an online news article from the Dubai Press
Club, and a print article from The Australian.
O’Donnell, P. (2009). That’s Gold! Thinking About
Excellence In Australian Journalism. Australian
Journalism Review. 31(2). 47-60.
Author Dr. Penny O’Donnell is currently the Senior Lecturer in
International Media at the University of Sydney. She has also had many works
published including various journal articles and even her own books. This lends
substantial credibility to the article ‘That’s Gold! Thinking About Excellence
In Australian Journalism’. The article examines the Walkley Awards of
excellence in Australian journalism, in particular the integration of awards
for digital media. In 2009, a new category was announced for ‘Best Online
Journalism’. O’Donnell attributes this to the ‘”growing industry importance
Australian journalism; one of O’Donnell’s favourite research interests
(University of Sydney, 2012). The findings of O’Donnell’s Walkley Award
research conclude that between 1988-2008, print journalists have been awarded
the Gold Walkley over ten times. An online journalist is yet to win a Gold
Walkey, however O’Donnell speculates that this may soon change as many
newspapers become multi-platform. Throughout the article, O’Donnell maintains
an objective tone; she is not biased towards any particular media platform, she
just respects quality journalism, no matter the platform. This contrasts to
other coverage of the issue, which leans considerably towards the rise of
digital media (and subsequently the ‘death’ of print media). The credibility of
this article is irrefutable, due to the fact that it was published in the
Australian Journalism Review.
Dalton, K. (ABC
Director of Television). (2009, November 4). Kanz Broadband Summit, Digital Media Opportunities, Digital Media
Initiatives. [Address transcript]. Auckland, New Zealand. ABC.
Kim Dalton has been the ABC Director of
Television since his appointment in 2006. In 2007 he was awarded the Medal of
the Order of Australia for his service to the film and television industry.
This address from the Korea-Australia-New Zealand (KANZ) Broadband Summit in
2009 focuses on the effect that digital media will have on Free To Air
television. Dalton acknowledges that television is now available in many
platforms – the traditional television, Internet television, and streaming to
mobile phones. He stresses the importance of the National Broadband Network
(NBN) and its role in the “new era of converged entertainment.” Dalton’s
address is slightly biased towards the traditional viewing of television; this
is presumably because he is the ABC’s Director of Television. However, rather
than viewing the new platforms as a burden on traditional Free to Air
television, Dalton seems to accept these advancements in technology as
necessary. He also discusses the opportunities for digital media. For example:
a harmonisation of platforms, rather than digital media simply overruling Free
to Air television. This address is similar to O’Donnell’s opinion of digital
media; that it is not the only way of the future, but it is something that
journalism needs to adapt to, to keep up in this “digital age.”
Experts at Arab Media Forum 2012 concur electronic
media is reshaping traditional journalism. (2012, May 8). Dubai Press Club. Retrieved from http://www.ameinfo.com/experts-arab-media-forum-2012-concur-299788
This article focuses on the opinions of those who attended the 2012 Arab
Media Forum (AMF 2012). Moderators of the forum included Professors from the
United Arab Emirates University and writers from Arab newspapers. The forum
discussed the relevance of multi-faceted journalism due to social media. The
article discusses the impact of social media on traditional media. Opinions
from moderators of the forum are the only ones included in the article, leading
it to be slightly biased. No opinions are included from anyone who believed
that digital media is not affecting traditional journalism. This article
differs from the viewpoints of O’Donnell and Dalton; the article implies that
digital media is the only way forward for journalism, and that traditional
media will be rendered useless. The (unknown) author of the article has used persuasive
language to convince readers of their viewpoint. The article also relies
largely on quotes from the moderators of the forum, who are quoted as
‘experts’. This is most likely to make the article appear more credible.
However, some of the article’s credibility is compromised, as the author is
unknown.
Bodey, M. (2012, March 29). Online media revenue to boom but offline will dominate till 2015:
Google. The Australian. Retrieved
from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/online-media-revenue-to-boom-but-offline-will-dominate-till-2015-google/story-e6frg996-1226312901397
Author
Michael Bodey is a media writer for The Australian. He has previously worked as
arts and media editor for The Daily Telegraph and film critic for The Age. The
article “Online media revenue to boom but offline will dominate till 2015:
Google” focuses on results of a media report conducted by the Boston Consulting
Group. The report showed that the online media sector will contribute to more
than half of the expected $4.3 billion growth from 2011 to 2015. However the
report predicts that ‘offline’ media will account for around 86% of revenue
until 2015. The article relies
mostly on data and quotes from the report, as well as the opinion of Google
Australia and New Zealand’s managing director Nick Leeder. This article differs
from the opinons of the three previous sources, as both O’Donnell and Dalton
lean towards traditional media, and the above source leans toward digital media.
Bodey has managed to deliver a balanced article; it acknowledges the boom in
online media, but still remains realistic about the reign of traditional media
for at least a few years to come. The article is shown to be even more unbiased
as Bodey himself is an advocate of online media; frequently using a Twitter
account, like many of today’s journalists who have adapted to the digital age.
When John Donal
Madden, my grandfather, was diagnosed with Motor neurone disease in mid 2010,
all I could think was that it was such a cruel twist of fate for a man who had
so much life in him.
Motor neurone
disease is a neurological disorder that affects motor neurons. Motor neurons
are the cells that control most muscle activity such as walking, talking,
eating and breathing. Motor neurone disease is of a progressive nature;
eventually the sufferer is rendered disabled and will die. The particularly
brutal part of the disease is that the sufferer’s mind is fully aware and able,
only their body won’t respond.
I think this was
the worst part of the disease for Pa, and everyone around him. Pa was an
extremely intelligent man, always inventing new objects and ways to complete
tasks. He was also very active for a man of his age; before being diagnosed
with Motor neurone, he was 73 and still ran a farm on the Sunshine Coast with
my Nana, Maureen. Nana and Pa grew a variety of fruits and flowers and their
ten-acre property. They also kept bees and chickens for the honey and eggs that
they produced. Every second Saturday they would get up at 2a.m., pack their
truck and head down to New Farm Markets in Brisbane to sell their fruit, honey
and flowers. I was their sales assistant for nearly two years, until school and
my other job got too demanding. My younger brother Jake took over upon my
departure, and he loved it as much as I did, despite the extremely early
starts.
Nana and Pa’s story
started way back in 1955. Pa was 19 years old, and Nana was 15. Nana tells
everyone of the way that Pa used to drop by the pharmacy where she worked to
leave her little gifts. One day Nana was sick and couldn’t make it to work. She
was very surprised when Pa arrived on her doorstep with flowers and a ‘Get
Well’ card; the older ladies at the pharmacy had told Pa all about Nana’s
illness. The pair continued to see each other, and on Nana’s 16th
birthday, Pa presented her with a silver friendship ring. Delicate flowers were
engraved all around the band, and on the inside was ‘Maureen, love John’. That ring is now mine; Nana bequeathed it to
me on my 16th birthday.
Pa also served
in the Navy from ages 20 to 25 as a surveyor. Surveying is the science of determining
the three dimensional distances and angles between points of land. Surveying is
used to create land maps and boundaries. It was something that Pa loved, and
continued to do right up until being diagnosed. He used to create maps of the
blocks of land his children lived on, just to make sure the other maps were
correct.
John and Maureen
became Mr and Mrs Madden in 1961. In October 1962 they welcomed their first
child, Bernard, my father. In September 1963, Michelle was born. In January
1965, they had Susan. And in April 1973, they had their youngest child Allison.
The family lived very happily in Vermont, Victoria.
Being a staunch
Labor supporter, politics was also something Pa was very interested in. In
1979, he was elected the Mayor of Nunawading, a suburb in East Melbourne. What
followed his election was near constant media spotlight, from which my teenage
father was conveniently absent most of the time. Pa served as Mayor for only a
short time, until 1980.
Nana and Pa’s
children all began to grow up. Bernard met Joanne, my mother, and the two
married in 1989. I was born in 1994, and my brother Jake in 1996. Michelle met
David Munro, they were married in 1990 but had welcomed twin girls Tahnee and
Ashleigh in 1986. Their son Benjamin was born in 1991. Susan actually came out
as gay in her late teenage years, and met current partner Michelle in the early
1990’s. Little Allison married her
husband Robert in 1997. The pair had two children, Cassidy, born in 2000, and
Keely, born in 2002.
Starting with
Nana and Pa, then my parents, the whole Madden clan relocated to the Sunshine
Coast, Queensland. Nana and Pa started the farm, and Pa really got to hone his
agricultural skills. The family remained close, regularly getting together for
special occasions.
Fast forward to
2010. Pa felt his left hand going slightly numb. He didn’t think anything of it
until a few weeks later, when the numbness began spreading. As a typical man,
he put off going to the doctors until Nana forced him. The doctor’s results were
that Pa had either had a small stroke, or it could be the beginning of Motor
neurone. The latter was confirmed when the numbness spread up Pa’s whole arm,
rendering it useless. Then the other arm started, then his legs. Eventually Pa
could no longer get around without Nana, and a wheelchair. They had to stop
going to the markets, and eventually had to sell their farm and move into a
retirement resort. The next thing to go was Pa’s voice, and his bladder
control. Nana could no longer take care of him by herself, so in early 2011 he
was moved to an aged care facility in Caloundra.
The whole family
went to visit him regularly. Nana sat with Pa all day and most of the night,
and would do it all again the next day. However it was clear his condition was
worsening. The last time I was Pa was on April 20th, 2011. He
couldn’t move or speak. It was truly heart wrenching for me. This horrible
disease had struck down such a smart, capable man.
John Madden died
the night of April 20th, 2011. His wife, all his daughters, and two
of his granddaughters surrounded him.
John Madden died an incredible man who had experienced a wealth of life
experiences.
To be honest, I didn't attend this week's lecture as I am currently in Melbourne. I also found that hotel Wi-Fi is not exactly the best when trying to download a lecture recording. So in the end I had to settle for reviewing the Powerpoint.
Following on from last week's lecture on commercial media, this week's lecture covered public media. In contrast to commercial media, public media are government funded companies. Their ultimate goal is to serve the public.
Major players in Australian public media include:
· ABC
· ABC 2
· ABC 3
· ABC News 24
· ABC Radio
· SBS
· SBS Two
· SBS Radio
· Triple J
The main role of public media is to show media that is in support of public and democratic processes. The are still able to make a profit; SBS is considered a 'hybrid' channel but is still able to be known as a public media channel. ABC is a conventional public media channel.
Public media should have public value. The Powerpoint outlined public value as:
1. Embedding a 'public service ethos'
2. Value for licence fee money
3. 'Weighing public value against market impact'
4. Public consultation
Public media broadcasting should also involve:
· Geographical universality - available to the whole population
· Universality of appeal - cater to all tastes and interests
· Special provision for minorities
· Special relationship to the sense of national identity and community
· Distance from all vested interests
· Universality of payment
· Competition in good programming rather than competition for numbers
· Liberate rather than restrict broadcasters
Judging from this lecture, I would rather work for a public media company than a commercial media company. I like the public service aspect of their broadcasting, and would rather be dedicated to fair and just media than competing for advertisers and generating profit.
“Advertisers are the real customers of a commercial
media organisation, not its readers, viewers or listeners.”
This week’s
lecture was about Commercial Media. Commercial media organisations are
non-government funded organisations that aim to make a profit through selling
advertising to their audience.
Major players in
the commercial media arena include:
· News Limited
· Fairfax Media
· APN News & Media
· Southern Cross Broadcasting
· WIN Corporation
· Seven West Media
· Ten
· Nine Entertainment Co.
These companies
produce a range of different media, such as television, newspapers, films,
books, sports, advertising, magazines, and cable television. The commercial
media industry is basically a competition - who can bring in the most advertisers?
This brings up the point; can these companies be trusted to accurately and
fairly portray news and other events, when their main goal is to make a profit?
In answer to the
above question, commercial media companies have to meet certain legal requirements,
formal state requirements and are overseen by the state to make sure everything
is kosher.
But despite
these requirements, commercial media players still manage to do the wrong
thing. For example, Rupert Murdoch’s 2011 phone hacking scandal, in which it
was revealed that the phones of the British Royal Family, celebrities,
politicians were hacked and accessed by News
of the World employees. Public outcry ensued when it was unearthed that
employees had also hacked the phones of a murdered schoolgirl, deceased
soldiers and victims of the London Bombings. The following video shows Rupert
and James Murdoch giving a statement about the scandal:
Murdoch's defence for the hackings was that News of the World accounts for less than 1% of his company and that he employs many other ethical people. This shows that commercial media companies' only aim is to gain the biggest audience in order to profit from their true customers ... advertisers.
"Radio is the theatre of the mind, television is the theatre of the mindless" - Steve Allen
This week's lecture was a half hour audio recording about telling stories for radio. I procrastinated listening to it as I didn't think I had the attention span to simply sit at my computer and listen to audio for a whole thirty minutes. My intention was to just play the audio and surf the internet simultaneously. However once the recording had started I found it hard to concentrate on anything except the voices of these two men, whose opinions on radio broadcasting were so very interesting...
Radio presenters Steve Austin (left) and Richard Fidler (right)
The first guest was Richard Fidler, who hosts a radio show on ABC called 'Conversations'. The show is about ordinary people who have done or are doing amazing things. A few of the key points Richard made included:
TV and Radio are completely different mediums and are not interchangeable; this makes for "bad TV and dull radio."
Radio is a more intimate medium than TV - people watch TV from a distance, whereas radio makes listeners feel as if they are included in a conversation. As a radio presenter, you are a facilitator of conversation.
You are more convincing as a presenter if you are genuinely interested in what your interviewee is talking about.
A successful radio show is all about pre-production - pre-interviews with guests makes them feel more relaxed and trusting.
You should always make guests feel safe - Richard prefers to avoid a prosecutorial style of interviewing as this will most likely cause your interviewee to clam up.
Try to keep your mouth shut - allow guests to take and explain themselves. It is a privilege to be part of their recollections.
Richard feels that public radio is thriving - it has remained unscathed through the 'deaths' of other old media by utilising new technologies and blending into new platforms such as podcasts and Twitter.
Richard wants to be of use to listeners and give them something, the 'public service' aspect of radio keeps him energetic and happy.
Richard's pearls of wisdom to young Journalism students were: worldliness is good, read the paper, keep asking questions, be open minded, and most importantly, to expose yourself to different currents of thought.
The second guest was Steve Austin, who hosted ABC 612 Evening for nearly three years. This year Steve took over hosting for ABC 612 Mornings. Steve shared a lot of the same views as Richard, as well as some other wisdom:
When on air, being yourself is important, but so is proper enunciation - people have to understand you.
Like Richard, Steve also tries to avoid the prosecutorial style of interviewing. However if you want to pursue some information, find different ways of asking questions.
On radio, it is very easy for people to tell whether you are lying or being fake. Unlike TV, there is no visual distraction.
A good radio story involves being human - searching and exploring for emotion, not just facts and data. People are driven by emotional responses and life experiences.
As Richard also mentioned, Steve encourages radio presenters to talk less, and listen more.
Steve believes radio is popular because these days people are very time-poor. Radio also forges a human connection, and is more real.
Steve's sole piece of advice for those pursuing a career in radio was to 'never give up.' Pursue your goals and never give up on them, even when people tell you otherwise.
Let's just reflect back to the quote at the beginning of my post, "Radio is the theatre of the mind, television is the theatre of the mindless." Radio presenting is almost an art; you have to forge real human connections, include listeners in a conversation for which they are not present, and most importantly, you have to make pictures with words.
With the recent explosion in social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogger, the correlation between social media and journalism has become much more apparent. These days, people are able to receive news from these social media sites. This has caused the so-called 'death of journalism'. It would, however, be more appropriate to call it the 'death of old media'. Out with the old, in with the new (media), I say!
The JOUR1111 cohort was given the task of logging their personal media use over the course of ten days. Results of this log were then able to be compared with results of a cohort-wide survey undertaken by Dr Bruce Redman.
The following dossier will analyse my personal media use over the ten day period and determine my relationship with journalism and social media. It will also show how I compare with the rest of the JOUR1111 students' preferred use of media. Lastly the dossier will explain the relationship between today's journalism and social media.
Table 1 - Personal Media Use
This table shows my use of media over ten days (March 12th - March 21st). Please note that all times given are an approximation.
Graph A - Percentage of Total Media Use
This graph is a visual representation of my media use. It shows my preferred use of media in percentages of the total 62.35 hours that I spent using said media.
The graph reveals that Facebook was my preferred use of media, taking up 32.47% of my total media use. The next largest use of media was Skype, which was 21.92% of my media usage. Surprisingly, my third most popular use of media was watching News Programs, which was 16.23% of my total media use.
Table C - JOUR1111 Survey Results
This table illustrates the use of the same media that I utilised over the ten day period by the cohort of the JOUR1111 course. The results of the survey are mostly consistent with the findings of my ten day media use log; Facebook is the preferred use of media, along with Blogging and Skype. The difference between my media use and that of JOUR1111 was that they seemed to view a lot more Online News than myself.
Analysis
Should people be worried that a group of journalism students prefer to use Facebook than read Online News? I don't believe that this is necessarily a bad thing, considering most journalists have either a Facebook page or a Twitter account. The latter even allows them to constantly update audiences with breaking news in under 140 characters. The internet permits instant feedback from audiences for journalists, something that was impossible with 'old media' such as newspapers and magazines. Journalists also use social media as a tool to gather information' they can get the first scoop on a story if they come across a 'status' or a 'tweet' that is posted immediately as the event happens.
As for my personal use of media, this log has really opened my eyes as to how much time I actually spend social networking. In the future I intend to cut down on my Facebook addiction and use the time to read more Online News, much like the cohort of JOUR1111.
Note: Yes I am aware that 'reflecture' is not a word.
Being the scatterbrain that I am, I had no idea that the main purpose of this blog was to reflect on my JOUR1111 lectures. I thought that it was just an open target for my 'thought bullets'. So this post is a frantic catch up of the past FOUR lectures.
Warning: This could be long and boring...
Lecture 1 - 27th February 2012
To be honest, this lecture is a vague memory. It took place on my first day at UQ, which mainly consisted of me having a breakdown trying to find anything (parking space, toilets, buildings, Co-op bookshop, the list goes on). By some miracle I actually arrived at Schonell Theatre just in time for my first JOUR1111 lecture. I grabbed a course profile and took a seat next to my friend Brittany. Dr Bruce Redman then began the lecture. It opened with a very appropriate quote by journalist and social critic H.L. Mencken:
"I know of no human being who has a better time than an eager and energetic young reporter."
Being young, and (somewhat) energetic, this quote got my attention instantly. I suddenly envisioned myself in foreign countries with a camera and a microphone. This was strange for two reasons; firstly because I am interested mainly in print (text) journalism, and secondly because I was getting a bit ahead of myself... it was only my first lecture of a four year Bachelor after all.
The rest of the lecture covered everything in the course profile, such as lectures and tutorials, who to contact in times of stress, assessment, etc. Dr Redman also asked "what is Journalism/Communication?" To me journalism is an investigation, uncovering things and revealing them to the public. Maybe I fancy myself as the female Julian Assange (without the sexual assault charges), I dont know.
The lecture concluded with a slide saying 'You are the journalist.'
Lecture 2 - 5th March 2012
This week's lecture was entitled 'New News.' Firstly Dr Redman reminded everyone to complete the media use survey. I made a mental note to do that as soon as I got home, as I had forgotten (typical).
The lecture began with Dr Redman talking about Web Iterations. I learnt that there are four Web Iterations:
1. "Old Media" - This is basically the 'traditional/heritage' media, such as newspapers, radio, television and magazines.
2. "Web 1.0" - Described as 'very advertising friendly', Web 1.0 is the first stage of the World Wide Web.
3. "Web 2.0" - This is the social web that we are all familiar with; Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Youtube, etc.
4. "Web 3.0" - The Semantic Web, Web 3.0 is something that will be coming very soon. It involves the computer making sense of information using meta-tags.
I have always relied on Web 2.0 to get my fill of news and current affairs. However, with many companies going behind the 'paywall', soon it may become more difficult - and expensive - to access what has always been free online news sites. The paywall system will require people to suscribe and pay to access online newspapers. To compete with free news sites, paying subscribers are given extra privileges as an incentive.
In all honesty, I prefer heritage media.
Lecture 3 - 12th March 2012
Skye Doherty was the guest speaker for this week's lecture, called 'What is Text?' Text in media has evolved with technology; from newspapers to internet. Skye discussed the importance of text in the media for both journalists and readers.
Text is:
Fast
Flexible
Complete control
Portable
Searchable
Dominates online
The focus of the lecture was on the inverted pyramid, which means listing the most important information of a story first, and the least important last. A catchy headline is a must. The 5W's and H must be listed in the first paragraph to keep readers interested. The 'body' of the story then follows. This is basically the recipe to write any news story.
Skye then touched on the use of text in all types of media. Most print stories use the inverted pyramid style, whereas online text gets way more complex. 'Hypertext' is used in online text. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks that lead the reader to other texts, allowing the reader to experience the story from multiple angles and perspectives. Hypertext is an easy way to share information on the Web.
This lecture opened my eyes to a whole new world of text media; it's not just for newspapers anymore.
Lecture 4 - 19th March 2012
Week 4 already! This weeks lecture was titled 'Picture Stories.' Everyone has heard the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words.' Cliche I know, but over time it has proved to be very true. Pictures say things that words sometimes can't, they provide a visual representation of the story we are reading. Pictures in today's journalism are very important, they capture a moment in time, sometimes unbelievable and powerful moments.
However the development of Photoshop has had both its praises and criticisms. It is a very controversial topic, the ability to dramatically change one's appearance with a few clicks of a button has its pros and cons. Overuse of Photoshop provides society with a gross misrepresentation of image. For example, magazines that show celebrities and models with flawless skin, hair and figures. This is especially damaging to young audiences, who grow up believing that it is possible to look like that, and therefore have self-esteem issues because of their exposure to over-Photoshopped pictures.
Photo Journalism
For great photo-journalism, you must have a great photo. So what makes a great photo?
Framing
Focus
Angle and Point of View
Exposure (Light)
Timing (Shutter speed)
Capturing "The Moment"
After all...
"A picture has no meaning at all if it can't tell a story" - Eetu Silanpaa
Once again, sorry for the length and tediousness of this post!
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