Introduced to Journalism?

Do I feel like I've been introduced to journalism? I can confidently say that this course is appropriately named. The difference between the girl who attended lecture 1 and lecture 14 is uncanny. To be honest,  I didn't know what to expect from this course. I chose to study journalism because in high school I seemed fairly good at english and I enjoy writing. At the beginning of the course, the lecturer said: "Anyone who chose journalism because you like writing, your doing the  wrong degree". A quick glance around the lecture theatre and it was obvious that like me, many people suffered a mini anxiety attack at that very moment. However, many weeks later, I understand what the lecturer was getting at. It all really depends on what area of journalism you want to make your mark in. I have never aspired to be a hard core print journalist with stringent deadlines and shrinking word counts, like many I'm sure, the feature writing, in depth and influential aspects of journalism have been my attraction. This course has made me realise both the difficulty involved in entering the journalism world, but has also revealed the potentials this "brave new world" brings into the journalism profession. As we keep getting told, now is an exciting time for journalism, despite the deathly outlooks for traditional media, so I guess you could say for now I'm just going to go with the flow, try my best to keep blogging, perhaps even start a new blog, be active in the twitter world, and just write and write and be the journalist our lecturer always told me I was. 

Euro Gap Year

The long awaited Hamish & Andy's Euro gap year finally arrived to our TV screens, brightening up the gloom of prime time Thursday night television. I must admit I've never really been a Hamish & Andy fanatic, but now I know thats only because I didn't know the extent of their comical value. Running a muck in Europe, the two best friends take on everything from death defying bridge jumps, drag racing taxi drivers through the streets of England and participate in the serious sport of rabbit jumping in Stockholm. While watching this program, laughs aside, I couldn't help but feel the decision to work full time in my home town during my gap year was a massive mistake. Besides paying off my car, and surviving the first semester of university unemployed I can't help but feel i've missed out. I might sound a tad dramatic, as I'm only 19 and have got my whole life ahead of me, but I just feel so under travelled. I guess for now all I can do is dream of lands far far away and hope that one day I'll be lucky enough to get there. I've just realised this has turned into a deep life reflection instead of a light and fluffy tv program overview, oh well, below is the trailer for the series have a look! 

Fashion Blogosphere

Fashion Blogger: It's something I've always want to do. I've dreamed of doing it as soon as I found out about this strange new thing called blogging. I don't consider myself a fashionista of any degree, I just like the thought of being able to express how I feel through what I wear, pushing beyond the materialistic qualities of fashion. In light of our last lecture in JOUR1111, blogging has become more and more appealing to me. The latest marketing creation from Toni&Guy "Blogged and Bound"explores the intertwining relationship between hair and wardrobe. Twenty influential bloggers from Australia's fashion blogosphere were chosen by Toni&Guy to join the "blogged and bound" campaign, including two of my favourites Oracle Fox and Sabo Skirt. While viewing the campaign I was captivated, the style of the writing, the photos, the stories, they all excited me. Here's a quote from the campaign's home page that really sums up what I was trying to get at up there ^ 


"Fashion is not defined by fabric or thread, but by ideas, life, people and places. It’s the elusive fibre that intertwines mass culture and individuality. Fashion is how the world talks 
to you, but your interpretation of fashion is how you talk back." 


I was going to try and write about what the campaign had to say about each individual blogger, but I just can't compete with the creativeness and just pure goodness of the writing. All I can say is if your interested in the wonderful world of fashion, hair and beauty this is a must see! You can flick through the campaign here

The dingo did eat her baby

Lindy Chamberlain is a famous name in Australia for all the wrong reasons. I wasn't even born when this case first came into to public scrutiny, but I've always thought that Lindy was innocent and a dingo did in fact take her 9 week old baby Azaria Chamberlain all those many years ago. While watching Sunrise this morning, the question was raised whether Lindy and her family deserve an apology from Australia. In my opinion, an apology doesn't quite cut it. Not only did Lindy serve years in jail for a crime she did not commit, but this tragedy has shaped their family and the way they go about their lives.  The fact that 32 years later, the court ruled Lindy Chamberlain and her family innocent, is an ultimate display of persistence, determination and courage.  After four inquests, a murder trial and a judicial inquiry, Lindy and her family have fought for justice like no one ever has. After the coroner broke down offering her deepest sympathy for the family, not a dry eye was seen in the courtroom. The awaiting press applauded them as they walked out of the courtroom proudly displaying Azaria Chamberlain's death certificate. I can't help but feel that the Australian public, Australian government and specifically N.T's government owe this family something more then they could ever possibly give. 

The End; The Last Lecture

What a way to restore our faith in our perspective journalism careers. For our final lecture to our introduction to journalism, the chemistry graduate turned media writer Steve Molk covered the art and potential of blogging, twitter, and anything-social media.

Suffering a mid life crisis, the IT professional decided he wanted to write. He described himself as a lazy person who likes to sit on his arse and watch a lot of TV, I’m not proud of it but this is something that I can relate to ( I don’t know how but the morning show sometimes has the power to make me stay in my pj’s right up until the midday movie comes on, then I give myself a reality check and start my day.) Steve’s take on the new media platform of blogging really motivated me. Although it’s relatively new on the media scene, it’s very powerful. Blogs provide you with an escape from mainstream media; I found it very interesting that some countries like China and Korea ban some social media sites at the fear of people finding out information that the government doesn’t want them to know. Another point Steve mentioned that appealed to me is that blogging gives you ultimate freedom to express your view, when you want, how you want and from whichever angle you desire. This is something that your not able to do when you work for a media organisation, you have sub editors and editors telling you what to do and how to do it.

Steve talked about journalist Mia Freedman. I didn’t know it before this lecture but since Mia has become my career idol. At the age of 19 she did work experience for Cleo magazine, and as I’m sure just like any other 19 year old girl this to would be my dream come true. Just 5 short years later, she became the editor of Cleo, the moved on to be the editor in chief of Cleo, Cosmo and Dolly. After leaving the magazine world behind and working on the Channel Nine Network, Mia decided to leave traditional media behind and join the new media revolution. This saw the birth of Mamamia, a blog that you could say is extremely popular, covering everything from current affairs to fashion and pop culture. I’d better stop here other wise this post will become a bio rather then a lecture review, but she really is living my ideal life.

Before I leave the subject of blogging, I’d like to share some of my current favourite blogs.

Oracle Fox: Fashion Blogger, photographer and visual artist  

What Katie Ate: A clever foodie photography blog

Face Hunter: A fancy fashion blog

Steve then went on to talk about the wonders of twitter. Until this course I had never imagined my self using twitter, as a girl of many words I find 140 characters to restricting, but its not all about the posting of the amazing sandwich you just ate. The ability to connect and communicate with journalists, entertainment figures and politicians is something we thought would never be possible without going through media agents, PR people and personal assistants, but alas! Twitter has done it.

So I’m going to wrap it up here, I must say I’m appreciative of this lecture. It was certainly an eye opener, motivational and encouraging. I now realise that my journalism career has started in my first semester at university and that as budding journalists the online world really is our oyster.

Fun Fact: I only like oysters Kilpatrick

Investigative Journalism

My second last lecture in this course turned out to be the most compelling and you could say inspiring lecture. Throughout the lectures this semester, I began to deeply question my chosen career path of journalism. Churning out hard news stories and living my life by meeting deadline after deadline didn’t seem like my idea of living at all. So it was a welcome relief when my initial, unclouded and somewhat novice perception of journalism made itself apparent when Dr Redman covered investigative journalism. In a way its ironic, because you would expect anything you read that has been written by someone in the journalism profession to be well researched, thought out and planned. However, as I mentioned earlier a little thing called deadlines and of course money stop this from happening. Investigative journalism is the stuff that has the potential to change the world, and if that doesn’t inspire me then I don’t know what would.

These are the characteristics of investigative journalism that hit home with me:

Active intervention: the journalist doesn’t spend their days sipping skinny latte’s behind their desk; they’re out their getting involved with their story. The time spent on the story should almost make the journalist go insane, their sources should be well researched and thorough, just like the facts.

Exposure: appropriately titled Custodians of Conscience on the lecture slide, (Ettema and Glasser) investigation takes what the society considers normal and moral and identifies any breaches that may appear and brings them into public scrutiny. News of the world scandal anyone?

Public Interest: I like this one; it’s the idea of giving a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless. In a sense it delivers social justice.

Fourth estate/Watchdog: In a way journalists are democracy detectives. Through interrogating the judiciary and government they ensure the free flow of information necessary to maintain a democratic society.

Dr Redman then went through and discussed the historical and honourable achievements of investigative journalism. The two trail blazers that stood out to me and are still fresh in my mind many weeks after this lecture are:

-       W.T. Stead and & The Salvos (William Booth); The maiden tribute of the modern Babylon. These journalists exposed in graphic detail the abduction, entrapment and sale of young girls to British brothels in the nineteenth century. Their investigation lead to the age of consent being increased from 13 to 16.

-       Although its not as awe-inspiring as the other trail blazers and it didn’t really change the world, the fact that student reporters from UQ uncovered something extremely news worthy and as a result the story was published seems pretty commendable to me.

The lecture then covered how to get an interview and what to do when you’re actually interviewing. Then of course, then inevitable threats to investigative journalism were covered, ranging from shrinking newsrooms to the rise of PR.

All in all, I consider this lecture to be the most interesting and captivating. It left me thinking that maybe even amongst all this gloom and deathly outlooks for journalism, investigative journalism is so powerful that surely it wont be resting in peace any time soon. 

Rookie Reporting

So there I was in the VIP room at Noosa Food and Wine Festival. I look to my right and I see Matt Preston and Matt Moran jovially chatting away, no doubt critiquing the food samples they were devouring. I look to my left and I see camera lenses longer than I thought possible, news crews and reputable reporters. Although the badge pinned to my dress says “press” I cant help but feel slightly scared, overwhelmed and powerless. Then I thought, hey, I’m never going to get anywhere in life if I let fancy cameras and people wearing channel 7 hats get in the way of me getting my story. So with all my non-existent experience in approaching famous/recognized people for an interview, I went on up to Master Chef winners Julie Goodwin and Adam Liaw and somehow, I got an interview. It turns out they were both very lovely people, I explained I was a journalism student reporting on Noosa Food and Wine Festival and they were more then happy to have a chat to me. Julie even asked me all about my degree and what I wanted to do! And yes, this was for an assessment, my final task for my reporting course. I’m not going to post the final video here, only because I find my piece to camera far to cringe worthy, but here’s a few happy snaps J  

Get Outside

 My weekend camping at Noosa's North Shore- crystal clear water, fire (marshmallows involved) & a beautiful sunset

Annotated Bibliography

“Crime news is a staple of journalism, and reporting it has been considered a public duty of the press”. (Jaehnig, Weaver, & Fico, 1981) This annotated bibliography will explore and uncover the underlying principles of how crime is reported, with a primary focus on the media coverage regarding Queensland’s recent school stabbing incident. The sourced academic journal and the news story presented through varying mediums, radio, TV, and an online article, all convey how crime is represented differently in order to appeal to a specific audience.

Jaehnig, W. B., Weaver, D. H., & Fico, F. (1981). Measuring media influence reporting crime and fearing crime in three communities. Journal of Communication, 31(1), 88-88.

The three authors of this text, Walter B. Jaehnig, David H. Weaver and Federick Fico are all associate professors of journalism at Indiana University. Their specialised knowledge and journalistic backgrounds enables the authors to provide an extensive analysis on how crime is reported in the media. The article begins by outlining that the traditional role of journalists is to present an accurate and unbiased representation of reality, allowing society to objectively assess the situation. The authors continue by explaining that the press apprehends this process, as news values determine the selection and presentation of information. (Jaehnig, Walter, & Fico, 1981). The issue of public opinion is also addressed, highlighting that due to the majority of society having minimal personal exposure to crime, mass media is the chosen vehicle for knowledge. This therefore allows the media to construct society’s attitudes and opinions towards criminal behaviour (Jaehnig, Walter, & Fico, 1981). The authors add depth and creditability to the piece by the inclusion of their study, which details the discrepancies between the actualities of criminal acts and how three national media outlets covered the incidents. Cited below are three media texts from different platforms that support this article and articulate how crime is subjectively represented in the media.

Trembath, B. (2012, May 9). School stabbing deemed an isolated incident. ABC Radio. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3499280.htm

Senior reporter and radio broadcaster for ABC, Brendan Trembath, brings over decades of experience in the journalism and communication industry to this broadcast. Trembath introduces the incident by establishing the nature of the crime, a schoolyard attack with an unknown motive.  Throughout the segment it is made apparent that the attack occurred at an exclusive private Catholic school, with an emphasis on how the school reiterates the event as an isolated incident, an attempt to protect the school’s reputation. The school’s principal, police, and concerned parents were the sources used for interviews, delivering a sense of both authority and community concern to the audience. The inclusion of community sources also demonstrates the news values of locality and proximity, making this story extremely newsworthy. Unlike alternative media texts covering this incident, this ABC radio broadcast draws upon previous Queensland and Australian school stabbing attacks, which therefore elevates the incident to a state and national level, a characteristic closely associated with ABC, as the targeted audience is on a national scale.  Trembath then establishes further national validity by applying this local incident to the largely debated issue of school security measures. Although the medium of radio can be limited to audio, this report gains credibility and significance, as the ABC is renowned for their analytical and investigative approach to news.

Jeffreys, S. (reporter) (May 9, 2012) Brisbane Girl Stabbed, Channel 9 News. [Television Broadcast] Retrieved from http://news.ninemsn.com.au/queensland/

The commercial media platform, Nine News, formerly known as National Nine News, is the news service for the Nine Network in Australia(Nine News, May 2012). The bulletin on May 9, 2012 covering the Queensland school stabbing incident differs significantly from the above cited ABC radio report.  The television broadcast primarily focuses on the details of the crime, and the condition of the victim. The emotional and descriptive language used by the reporter establishes the prominence of the news values violence and impact, articulating how news values determine the information presented to the audience (Jaehnig, Walter, & Fico, 1981). The broadcast then crosses to a live reporter, who explains that the victim is believed to be the perpetrators girlfriend, and further entertains the news value of impact by detailing the victim’s injuries. Throughout the segment, there is no prominence given to the fact that the attack took place in an exclusive private Catholic school, and no sources were interviewed. The broadcast of this incident has been specifically tailored to appeal to Nine News’s targeted audience, who prefer a mainstream and light approach to news (Brand Map, n.d.). In addition to filtering news for a targeted audience, the media platform of television is time restricted, and therefore does not allow for a comprehensive and analytical approach to news, as seen in the ABC radio report.

  

Jabour, B. (May 10, 2012) Boy charged over school stabbing. The Age Online Retrieved from http://www.theage.com.au/queensland/boy-charged-over-school-stabbing-20120509-1ybv4.html

Brisbane Times, a Fairfax Digital owned and operated company, is an online based news website. The online article published by Brodie Jabour, a breaking news, business and property reporter employed by Brisbane Times, begins by stating the 16-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after stabbing the 14-year-old girl at a Caboolture school.  The news values of impact and violence are once again introduced early in the piece, confirming the story’s news worthiness. Coinciding with Nine News, Brisbane Times, also a platform for commercial media, refrains from giving significant prominence to the fact the incident occurred at an exclusive private Catholic school.  Unlike the other media platforms cited above, the structure of an online article provides the opportunity for multiple quotes and statements. The author includes statements from police, providing the article with authority and in-depth detail with regards to the alleged weapon, motive, and the ongoing investigation. In comparison to the other media platforms cited, this online article had more depth with regards to the actual crime incident, however unlike the ABC radio report, the incident was not expanded to a national level. Traditionally, online content is considered to be less reliable and trustworthy as conventional media, such as print media, however this article gains creditability as Brisbane Times is a predominately online focused media outlet, operating under the reputable company Fairfax Digital (Brisbane Times, 2011).

Reference List

Jaehnig, W. B., Weaver, D. H., & Fico, F. (1981). Measuring media influence reporting crime and fearing crime in three communities. Journal of Communication, 31(1), 88-88.

Trembath, B. (2012, May 9). School stabbing deemed an isolated incident. ABC Radio. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3499280.htm

Jeffreys, S. (reporter) (May 9, 2012) Brisbane Girl Stabbed, Channel 9 News. [Television Broadcast] Retrieved from http://news.ninemsn.com.au/queensland/

Jabour, B. (writer) (May 10, 2012) Boy charged over school stabbing. The Age Online Retrieved from http://www.theage.com.au/queensland/boy-charged-over-school-stabbing-20120509-1ybv4.html

Nine News, (May 19, 2012) Wikipedia Retrieved May 25, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_News

Brand Map, (n.d.) Retrieved May 25, 2012 from http://mi9.com.au/brands

Brisbane Times (2011) Wikipedia Retrieved May 25, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane_Times

Winter...Mints

I don't usually align my fashion with seasons, come to think of it I suppose lace, mint, pastels, rose gold and florals don't really scream out winter, theres more of a spring feeling going on here, maybe I'm just in denial... but anyway heres my current obsessions, and thanks to my current financials they will remain just that! 

Agenda Bender

The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky and paradise awaits me (I'm in Noosa). But hang on, says my responsible, boring side of my brain, you haven't wrote about agenda setting yet! the choice is defiantly not a hard one, but I suppose I had better get it over and done with. 

Thanks to that somewhat unenthusiastic introduction to agenda setting, you're most likely getting the impression that i don't care much for this subject, well, your right and wrong really, because as normal young adult with any sort of idea what life is all about this isn't the funnest of topics, but as a budding journalist agenda setting is pretty much the pinnacle of my someday future. 

Absolutely everything we see in the media, is courtesy of agenda setting. I'm going to get all deep here, think about your idea of reality, it exists right? Sorry to break it to you, but you didn't think of it all by yourself, you see, the way we know reality and the way we talk about it is constructed through social life, and the media plays a big role in mediating the way we understand the social world. 

Before i go into the exhilarating technicalities of agenda setting, an example (perhaps exaggerated) springs to mind. Somehow, the media has made us think that a "flu scare" in the Queensland Origin camp is more important than starving children in third world countries. 

OR

Don't worry, we are not heartless human beings, it's because by the media concentrating on select few issues and subjects, this makes us perceive the issues presented to us as being more important than other issues.

The four players in agenda setting......

- Public agenda

- Policy agenda

- Corporate agenda

- Media agenda

Why does the media set an agenda? In the wise words from Dr Redman it's because they can. 

Throw in some fancy awe inspiring quotes, some important people that feel they have given birth to agenda setting, who the family members of agenda setting are, a KONY and JB haircut reference, social media dependency syndrome and you've got yourself some knowledge on agenda setting. As Dr Redman said, its all pretty obvious. Voila' my week 11 lecture.

Book Review

I was in Russia during the Hitler invasion, deeply in-love with a handsome soldier who was fighting for my country. 

At least this is how Paullina Simons made me feel while enthralled in her novel 'The Bronzed Horseman'. If you're looking for a book that you literally can't put down, where you find yourself dreaming of what will happen next and you actually start to ask yourself how you would feel and what you would do in the characters situation, this stunning Russian romance novel is right for you. 

It's mesmerising from the start to the finish, bringing alive the story of an intimate and impossible romance between a young Russian girl and a Red Army soldier triumphing over the devastation of their country at war. 

I have just finished this book and I consider it quite sad that I'm currently having withdrawals from not being able to immerse myself in this heart wrenching story, instead I have to endure my boring reality of assessments and car parking blues. Not to worry though, of course this amazing author has written a sequel “The Summer Garden” and soon enough I shall once again be able to indulge in the land of fiction. For now, here’s an enticer so you understand what I’m talking about and don’t leave this page thinking I’m some kind of desperado in search of a soppy love story. Enjoy!  

I haven't done the ol' I want this post in a while.... so here we are! (Yes, I'm currently fighting with my brain to overcome distractions and write one sentence in my assignment)

These floral shorts make me want to go on a picnic to a grassy meadow and pick raspberries to go with freshly baked scones...standard?

Michael Kors knows where it's at with this stunning rose gold watch 

You may have noticed I'm getting all flourished about florals, in my opinion petal patterns never grow old.