Amber Madden: 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.