JOUR1111 - Lecture 11

Agenda Setting

With week 10 being Mid Semester break (how did that come round so quickly?!) I was relatively keen to get back and stuck into the remainder of the semester with the summer holidays in sight. 

This weeks topic for Journo1111 being Agenda Setting, Dr Redman began with the quote 'How the media constructs reality' and from there had me interested to understand the ins and outs of exactly this. 

He outlined the four 'agendas' of the media being as follows and commented on the fact that it is important to understand they are all interrelated:

1.Public Agenda - what the public sees as important

2.Policy Agenda - issues decision makers think are important

3.Corporate Agenda - what big businesses and corporations deem as important

4.Media Agenda - issues discussed by other media

Significant I believe is the point made amongst the lecture slides presented that the media does not simply 'reflect and report' reality but rather 'filters and shapes' it. This in turn affects the perceptions and opinions of issues developed by the greater majority of society and is therefore the reason it is so important to have good journalists aiming for ethical reporting with balance and morality. 

It is also of absolute significance to take from this understanding that one should not always trust the media for if the audience doesnt keep its wits about it then the media will literally assume control of individuals and their thoughts and in turn larger numbers of society. 

The scary and vivid image of the world created by George Orwell in his horrific masterpiece '1984' that I studied in year 12 comes to mind.

The media is without argument vital in ensuring local, national and international events and issues are known by the wider population, to help cure ignorance and people getting too caught up in their own small day to day life. It is an essential reminder that we are all part of something much bigger than ourselves. Within saying this however, the nature of it requires each of us to be critical, to remain on edge and seek out the truth by talking to a variety of people, reading and watching a number of sources, so as to not be blinded by one person or corporations opinions or view on certain topics, especially those that may be heated and controversial for significant reasons. 

Till the next installment,

Peace.x

Foal's Bread

Foal's Bread

Recently I was home for a short while to have a break from college before the onslaught of exams and the end of semester. It was both my own and Dad's birthday and I was extremely excited to get back and breathe in that fresh country air. 

Whilst I was home I paid my usual visit to the book store and happened across the latest edition to my ever growing collection - 'Foal's Bread'. 

Written by a local author Gillian Mears and having won numerous awards this year since its release including the 2012 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction I was keen as a bean to get stuck into it and that I have done. About half the way through it having begun only a few days ago I am already loving the intriguing and somber story line Mears has woven and can't wait to find out what next lays in store for her characters, the hard ships they are yet to face. 

Will certainly make sure to keep you updated as I progress through its pages and then finish it so as to determine whether or not it is a recommended read for you all or not. 

Oh and I love the cover design. 

Peace and happy reading.x

The Disconnected Society by Tom Barker for Distilled Magazine

http://distilledmagazine.com/the-disconnected-society/

This morning I stumbled across this well written article by Tom Barker from the magazine 'Distilled'. Centred upon the disconnection of our modern society due to the way in which we choose to have technology consume and overwhelm so many aspects of our lives, I feel it has many valuable messages and warnings to share. 

Read it. 

Now back to my personal reflection...

Now don't get me wrong, I have Facebook and for the most part I enjoy it on a regular basis but I hope I never become more engrossed in its virtual world than want to spend time with my friends and family face to face, in real life. With a number of my closest friends having moved overseas to live over the last few years and with having moved out of home myself, it is the most frequent and convenient way to keep in contact with them and my family at home and I am very glad I have it in this regard. Within saying this however, I would much prefer to take up the opportunity to see them all in person. 

Another form of communication I feel very much overlooked these days is the good old fashioned post and writing letters. If there is something that I love to receive and get excited about then I'd have to say its a simple old letter or postcard. They are golden. 

Ok, maybe not golden but there is a certain sentimental feel to a letter that a Facebook message just doesn't seem to hold. There is added meaning behind the handwritten words that says 'I took the time to sit down and write to you, to think about you and am interested in more than just your daily status update. 

Anyway, there is my little rant for this morning. Lunch now and then some more blogging of the last two lectures of the year I feel. Cannot believe it is the end of Semester 2 already, it literally flew by. Absolute craziness. 

Peace.x

Argo.

After having listened to a movie review that gave 'Argo' a 4.5/5 star rating on Triple J, the highest I have ever heard whilst listening to the station, I decided to check out the trailer to break up the study and let my mind monetarily wander. 

In short I'd like to simply say that the trailer makes the movie look pretty dam good, as it is intended to do and I am now keen to see the movie when it comes out on DVD as I highly doubt there will be time for a cinema trip during the next few weeks. 

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w918Eh3fij0

Peace.x

Teaching....Say Whaaaat?!

YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

So, here it comes, the bombshell which involves me finally having decided what to do with my life...well for now anyway ;)

I am going to do High School Teaching.

Preferably years 10, 11 & 12 for English, History - Ancient & Modern & Religion. 

This is such a big deal, well for me anyway. I have spent the entirety of this year in the unknown of what it is I intended doing come 2013, the only thing I was sure of was that I didn't want to go through another year of Arts without a major, trying out whatever courses struck me as interesting in the hope of finding something I like and may wish to pursue further. Whilst I feel it has been necessary to do this for a year, I am excited to be going into something set that has a stable qualification and jobs prospects at its conclusion.

The more I think about it actually the more I feel I probably would have come to do teaching at some point in the future anyway. I guess I just didn't want to jump straight back into school having just left but I feel by the time I return I will have grown as a person and matured a lot and who is to say I will go straight into teaching at the end of my degree anyway?

There are so many positives I see when I look at it as a career path and the more I think about them the happier I seem to get with the decision I have made...woe is me when it comes to any kind of decision, whether it be choosing an ice cream flavour or a career path. 

a) relatively good pay

b) awesome holidays

c) can do it casual or full time

d) not just confined to the classroom...extra curricular stuff including sporting and social justice opportunities

e) can do it anywhere in the world, city and country

f) good for if one day I would like to settle down and have a family

g) you have the opportunity to impact and change young people's lives for the better...who wouldn't want to do that?

At this current point in time I would really like to go out West and teach once I have graduated, whether that be at a high school or as a governess on a station or what not. Who knows, the opportunities seem to be abundant if you are willing.

I have a long time to ponder and think about this however with only starting the degree from scratch next year. I guess that is the only downside at the moment I have come across that is a bit of a pain. After having been at uni for a year already I am starting afresh next year with the possibility of being at uni for another 5 years. Such a long time. The way I intend one doing it is this...

Bachelor of Arts - 3 years doing three majors with no electives (English, History, Religion)

and then either a Diploma of Education (1 year)

or

a Master of Teaching (2 years) if they change it by the time I get to this stage to the latter option as it is currently only required you do a Diploma. That however is out of my hands. 

Anyway, just thought I'd share because I'm looking forward to it so much, only problem is I have to get through this semesters exams which I don't feel is going to be the most pleasant of experiences but nothing I reckon can ever be worse than the HSC so on we go.

Peace.

JOUR1111 - Lecture 9

News Values

26.9.12

Well, what exactly is the definition of this? 

'The degree of prominence a media outlet gives to a story, and the attention that is paid by an audience'

That is where this weeks lecture began which I thought was great because I found the title 'News Values' to be quite an expansive concept that needed some boundaries set to it. Little did I know that Dr. Redman would shortly go on to set all boundaries aside with his quote from Stuart Hall which stated ''...News Values are one of the most opaque structures of meaning in modern society...'' Yep, so much for my boundaries of concept confinement...

He went on to remind me of the billions of events and stories that occur on a day to day basis, a sand grain of which actually become 'news'. It is this selection that is what concerns us as 'wannabe' journalists and it is News Values which determine it. 

The 'Values' include:

1. IMPACT...grabbing the readers attention, the 'WOW' factor

2. AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION...topics/stories of interest that engage audiences and don't bore them to tears

3. PRAGMATICS...includes what is ethically sound and practical to publish, day to day current affairs and information people will find useful

4. SOURCE INFLUENCE'...the relationship between journalism and public relations, the constraint PR places on that which i able to be published and that which must be withheld

What is plain to see however is that what constitutes News Values for one person, culture, country and so on, can vary considerably in comparison to the next. This in turn means that it is impossible to set forth exact individual values - there is just too much diversity!! The most commonly used image to illustrate News Values across such diversity however is the inverted pyramid. Professor John Galtung's research also demonstrates that which is deemed as 'newsworthiness' across different cultures and countries with his '12+ Factors'. Such things as negativity, uniqueness, recency, currency and so on all have different effects on what is determined as the most important news and what should be published and in what order or left out altogether and so on. Complementing this is his and Ruge's 'newsworthiness Hypotheses' which follows:

>The additivity hypothesis = the more of the 12+factors an event satisfies, the higher the probability is becomes news

>The complementarity hypothesis that the factors will tend to exclude each other

>The exclusion hypothesis that events that satisfy none or very few factors will usually not become news

Murray Masterson had another version of this idea, suggesting that in fact it was 'the big 6 values' that determined the news, those being significance, proximity, conflict, human interest, novelty and prominence. 

News Values, it appears however, are not set in stone and therefore not one criteria for what constitutes newsworthiness is right or wrong. What the audience wants and indeed the audience itself is changing all the time and as a result so are News Values. 

Jour1111 - Lecture 8

Ethics

with Donna Meiklejohn

18.9.12

As a person with a strong moral background, with a large influence from Christianity which deems people should act in empathy and concern for others, the topic of ethics in journalism is pertinent and one I find hard to wrap my head around. It is indeed the stereotypical evasive and ruthless nature of the majority of the journalism industry that had initially put a bad taste in my mouth in relation to pursuing it as a career. I did not want to be the one to interrogate the death victim's family and friends, to insist on asking those questions which quite blatantly break people's hearts. Even now, whilst journalism remains an interest, I do not see myself ever being able to be tough or insensitive enough, depending on how you see it, to be successful in this job. 

As Meiklejohn rightly questions 'how do we know what is right and wrong ethically?' There is such a large discrepancy in relation to people's opinions and values within society due to the unique contexts and circumstances that make up who they are, such things include upbringing, religion, schooling and so on, and as a result whilst you may be acting in an ethical light in your own eyes, to someone else you could be defying the very core of what they deem as righteous and respectful behaviour. It has been said there is a very fine line between what should and shouldn't be published...how do we know what sits where in relation to this line?

Donna Meiklejohn, during the lecture this week, proposed that in order to attempt to be as ethical as possible whilst practicing journalism one must follow an 'Ethics Theory'. There are a number of different theories possible to follow and they include: Deontology refers to sticking to a set of rules, duties, principles and codes. It prescribes you are being ethical and doing the right thing if you follow such rules. Consequentialism involves the process of getting a good or right outcome as that is all that matters, it does not mind how we get there as the end may justify the means. It rests on the principle of the greatest good for the greatest majority. Virtue is the simple idea of asking oneself whether or not that which is being done aligns with the type of person you want to be. It is the belief goodness comes from morally good habits of character and thus people should be able to decipher the ethical from the non-ethical on a personal level. 

Meiklejohn also outlined the 'Doctrine of the Mean' as something which journalists can use to help them in their quest for ethical practice. Doctrine of the Mean: >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

Overall this lecture proved to me just how much grey area there is when it comes to journalism and ethics and why it is I have decided to keep it as an area of interest rather than pursue it as a career. 

JOUR1111 Assessment - Annotated Bibliography

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

-The Live Export Trade-

 

The issue of the live export trade has found itself a recurring news item throughout the country since early 2011. Initiated by ABC’s ‘Four Corners’ report on Australia’s live cattle exports to Indonesian abattoirs, it has had an enormous amount of media coverage across a multiple number of mediums. This and the fact that it is a debate with two very intense sides makes it both a suitable and interesting topic to analyse in relation to the journalistic articles, reports and interviews that surround it.

 

ABC News Online. (2011, May 30). ‘Doco reveals Australian cattle tortured overseas’. Sydney Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Accessed 11^th October 2012: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-05-30/doco-reveals-australian-cattle-tortured-overseas/2737644

 

Anne Worthington is an experienced journalist having worked for the ABC on its program ‘Four Corners’. Jointly receiving a Walkley gold award in 2011 for her combined journalistic excellence that went into helping produce the television report titled ‘A Bloody Business’, an investigation into the live export of cattle from Australia to Indonesian abattoirs, Worthington’s credibility is unquestionable. Looking at her written report featured on the ABC News website titled ‘Doco reveals Australian cattle tortured overseas’, a number of journalistic techniques are employed to enhance her piece. The uses of the graphic images of beasts about to be slaughtered are placed among the text to effectively draw in and hold audiences attention. In contrast to this is the Western Australian Country Hour radio segment, which due to its different medium, uses interviewing and presenting techniques including voice modulation, pitch and other sound variations to convey its messages regarding the live export trade. As with the ABC television news report, the decision to include a number of interview quotes and exerts is another extremely significant technique as it provides support for what the journalist is saying from reliable, informative and credible sources. Written with select audiences in mind, the brief nature of the article allows it to get straight to the point and to avoid embellishing the topic so as to provide a clear cut piece which in turn allows for the audience to develop their own feelings towards the live export issue. This is in contrast to the other two forms of media which generally have an affect on people 's opinions, depending upon which side of the debate they feel a stronger association with the motives behind, due to the journalistic vice they both employ of playing on human emotion to make a story a success.

  

ABC Rural. (2012, October 9). WA Country Hour [Radio broadcast]. Perth, Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Accessed 11^th October: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/wa/content/2012/10/s3607071.htm

 

Western Australian Country Hour radio presenter Belinda Varischetti has worked in the journalism and presenting media industry for nineteen years. Having had stints presenting on regional and national rural programs for the ABC, Varischetti’s experience is enviable, giving her an edge in the field of interview, engaging with diverse audiences and segment compilation, all journalistic techniques a part of the radio medium required to be an effective and engaging presenter. As can be seen in the live exports segment she headed on the 9^th of October 2012, Varischetti uses her knowledge to insight into the topical issue, questioning professional and qualified spokes men and women from both sides of the debate. When comparing the radio segment with the report written by Anne Worthington and Sarah Ferguson’s television report, all include the use of interviewing subjects from both sides of the issue, an important investigative process to ensure bias is minimised and a well rounded coverage is obtained. In contrast to Worthington’s written report wherein only a few lines from each person questioned are able to be included, the mediums of radio and television allow for a much greater scope and depth into the opinions and thoughts of people on the live export issue.

  

ABC Television. (2011, May 30). Four Corners ‘A Bloody Business’. Sydney, Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Accessed 11^th October: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20110530/cattle/

 

Having worked abroad at the BBC in the UK, for the SBS and ABC in Australia as well as having been awarded numerous accolades for her investigative prowess, Sarah Ferguson with her ‘Four Corners’ report on the live export trade, 'A Bloody Business', is a cut above the rest. The use of explicit imagery by way of extensive film shots of the cruel treatment of the cattle within the Indonesian abattoirs throughout the report makes, as she puts it, ‘even the hardest viewer squirm’ Ferguson’s dry and distasteful tone matched by her horrified expression as she is filmed reporting from within the abattoirs is a powerful technique employed by the ABC crew and effectively captures audiences attention and does not let them go out of sheer weight of the issue at hand. In contrast to this, the simplicity of the text presented in the written report by Anne Worthington and the lack of the visual medium to complement and help portray the story means that it is not as engaging to as large an audience as the television show. Within saying this it does, however, divulge its point a lot faster taking only a few minutes to be read as opposed to the lengthy viewing of the four corners program. This obvious difference is a reflection of the varying audiences each medium is intended for. 

 

Wien, C. (2005). ‘Defining Objectivity within Journalism’. Nordicom Review, 2, 3-15.

 

The article titled ‘Defining Objectivity within Journalism’, written by Charlotte Wien, effectively explores the relationship between the journalism profession and its pursuit for truth and fact amidst opinion and bias. Wien comments on the importance of journalism as being reality, being centred and focused upon what actually happened or is going to happen, as opposed to unrealistic representations and stories. Whilst the embellishment of elements within journalism is inevitable due to the way in which it has the potential to turn a bland bunch of facts into an interesting read and thus engages audiences, it is important to ensure this is not over done and that the truth of situations and occurrences remains at the heart of reports. Wien also makes note of the difficulty associated with operationalising objectivity in the everyday due to inherent bias’ and contextual influences each journalist is unable to escape. Within accepting this, however, Wien reiterates the remaining significance of keeping objectivity as a goal and something that must be continuously strived for so as to allow the audience to make up its own mind regarding those issues and topics being reported on. It is presented in the article by Wien that journalists should try to keep in mind not to be misleading, assert only true and essential things and be thorough in order to write and create a balanced, quality piece of work. 

 

 

HSC horror

3 Letters...HSC!

This time last year I was a mere 10 days away from the first of my dreaded 7 HSC exams that would sum up the entirety of my highschool academic life and play a huge role in determining what my future would behold.

One year on I feel it is safe to say I do not miss the way I felt a year ago in any sense, the focus and determination I mustered to put in the amount of study I did still ceases to amaze me.

'HSC' being a trend on twitter over this past week with 70,000 NSW year 12 students tweeting about their fears, hopes and anxiety for what is about to hit them, it has brought back the unpleasant memories of my own experience.

I turned 18 last year on the day of my Advanced English Modules paper and it is hard, when I think about it now, to understand that it has already been a whole year.

My advice to any year 12 student about to stumble into this next intense month of your life would be to maintain focus, you are honestly nearly there.
Keep revising, study as much as you can, read over your notes and be prepared, they can only ask you what is on the syllabus - make sure you and it have a very intimate relationship.
Take big deep breaths and remember that these exams are at the end of the day just a drop in the ocean when you put things into perspective, your life is so so much more and will go on no matter the outcome of your results.

Goodluck!