JOUR1111 Assessment

Personal Media Use & Production Diary

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. 

Top 100 First World Problems

Well this certainly puts things in perspective...

Lecture Reflecture!

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!

Why hello there!

I was way too busy being angry whilst writing my last post that I forgot to introduce myself! How rude of me! So here goes (please bear in mind that I am not very interesting):

This is my face :)

• My name is Amber Madden. Hi!
• I am 17 years old.
• I hail from the Sunshine Coast, and relocated to Brisbane about a month ago to pursue my University career (haha).
• I'm studying a Bachelor of Journalism/Bachelor of Arts.
• I love to read, it's turned into a slight obsession since moving to Brisbane as I have no friends here.
• I'm not the best driver known to man.
• I'm naturally a blonde, and dyed my hair dark late last year. 
• My favourite band is Kings of Leon. I saw them in concert last November. I was in the front row. There were tears.
• I have a slight shopping obsession, which I've had to postpone since becoming a broke uni student.
• I am pigeon toed, so much so that two of my friends have called me 'Pidge' for nearly three years.
• My favourite colour is black. I am aware that black is actually a shade, but 'colour' will do.
• I love to travel; I have been to Hawaii (twice) and Japan. 

That's about it, hope I didn't bore you too much!

KONY (2012) IS PHONY

If you have a Facebook account, you've heard of Kony. You've seen (or at least heard about) the 30 minute video produced by "charity" Invisible Children. You've watched how Joseph Kony has terrorised Uganda for nearly 30 years, ordering mass abductions of children to become either sex-slaves or child soldiers. You may have even felt guilty enough to share the video with all of your Facebook friends to 'Make Kony Famous'. You have now changed society with the click of a button, well done to you (sarcasm intended). You have simply jumped on a bandwagon, fuelled by mindless social networkers who actually believe that by watching and sharing a $500,000 video, they have now taken part in social change and have contributed to Joseph Kony's arrest. 

In addition to the video, Invisible Children have released 'Make Kony Famous' packs, which include posters and stickers which people are encouraged to plaster the streets of their hometown with. For a low price of $30 (plus $30 shipping to Australia) you too can support the Invisible children.

An example of today's social activists...

But who exactly are Invisible Children? Upon further research, I discovered that Invisible Children Inc. was founded in 2004 to make society aware of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army's (LRA) actions. The group intends to put a stop to the LRA's abuse of children in Uganda. Despite winning multiple awards, the group has come under scrutiny regarding their credibility. Although they are a charity organisation and cannot profit, the three filmmakers of KONY 2012 received a combined pay of around $223,000. The group also does not allow themselves to be audited, and it is estimated that only 31% of their money actually goes to victims of the LRA. 

Back to the bandwagon phenomenon; if, like me, you have researched Joseph Kony after viewing the Invisible Children video, you would know that Kony has not actually been seen since 2006. That's right ladies and gentleman, the man you are getting all hot and bothered about has not participated in any LRA activity for nearly six years, and has been suspected dead for two. So before you go handing over your money to a charity that is six years too late, do your research. Don't be lured in by a film that cost $500,000 to make. Did it ever occur to Invisible Children Inc. to give that $500,000 directly to victims of Joseph Kony's terrorism? Apparently not. Publicity is clearly more important.

p.s. If you have been living under a rock and have no idea what video I'm referring to, here it is: