JOUR1111 - Lecture 6

Commercial Media.

Going into this lecture on Monday I cant say I was overly enthused. Reflecting on it in hindsight however has allowed me to wrap up my thoughts on it.

I do not have a profound liking for commercial media, what drives it -advertisment, irritates the begeebas out of me. I much prefer to spend my time viewing public media including SBS and the ABC as I find their programs much more interesting and worthwhile as they seemt o teach me something of the world.

The likes of channel ten's 'Big Brother' on the other hand fail to encapture any sense of eagerness in me, even with the inclusion of one of my highschool friends as a housemate. If you wish to spend time that you probably don't have anyway on utter garbage then be my guest and go right ahead.

Whilst I can appreciate the occasional light hearted show every once in a while, rarely do I find myself opting for them over a good hearty doco or travel adventure story.

I found the statement made by C.P Scott from The Guardian, which raised the point of commercial media's first duty being to shun temptations of monopoly, to be quite interesting, especially considering I do not feel barely any do so what so ever. In the day and age in which we live, success, money and profits are at the heart of the commercial media's agenda and thus so are the monopoly's which pull its strings.

He went on to say how '...comment is free but facts are sacred...' I do quite like. I guess this is so because it aligns so well with the right to freedom of speech we have in this country and my belief in the presentation of the truth.

The fact however that '...profit over rides social responsibility...', as John McManus states, means that often this is not the prioriy of commercial media. Profit most certainly comes before quality as Prof. Michael Bromley comments, testament to this is the sinking of channel 9 to reinstate Big Brother onto our television screens, not that such a move was ever going to gain my viewing.

Another point Dr Redman raised was commercial media in the form of radio. I despise having to listen to 95% of the radio stations broadcast out there. Having worked for three years in a pharmacy that played ZZZ FM, the local commercial radio from the area I come, I cannot stand listening to it anymore. Astoundingly, I remember counting one day the number of repeats it got up to of a particular track which ended up being 6 by the time I finished one 8 hour shift. Hence my developed love for Triple JJJ which I feel is a station that really bases itself on its audiences and what brings them pleasure.

Until next time,

x.peace.