Ethical Excitement - Week 8

Being in my 8th week of university, i knew by now that Monday mornings are an excuse to overdose on caffeine. So, it was safe to say that by the time my 4 o'clock lecture came round my peak had definitely been and gone, but no matter, I had ethics to keep me awake...

To my surprise, I quite enjoyed the lecture. Guest lecturer John Harrison, an expert on ethics guided us through the good, the bad and ugly. We were shown examples of advertising an asked to judge if we thought they were ethical or unethical, tasteful or just plain tacky. I got some cheap laughs out of this activity so i shall share some with you to brighten up your day.

Ok sorry but the fun bits over time for the nitty gritty's of ethics. 

We were then told to establish how we came to our decisions regarding how we judged each image, how did we work it out? It turns out theres actually a procedure to establish if something is ethical or unethical, or just plain tacky. 

Two big scary words and one not so scary 

- Deontolgy: Rules, Principles and Duties - YOU WILL DO THE RIGHT THING BY FOLLOWING THESE RULES, sorry for the caps but it seemed appropriate. Every code of ethics will be deontological

- Consequentialism: This fancy word basically means it doesn't matter what you to do get there just as long as you do, its all about the outcome not the journey ( I personally don't like this one, life's all about the journey!) 

- Virtue: All about the "goodness" (happiness) that comes from good habits. 

So, in the world of Journalism and Communication, we stick by deontological ethic codes because thats just the way things are done. 

The main code of ethics used is MEAA. In a nutshell this is what MEAA is all about 

- Honesty

- Independence

- Fairness

- Respect for the rights of others 

There we are, I hope you feel like your ready to take on the world now that you know about ethics. 

Factual Story Telling JOUR1111

Brenner Bliss

I just read my about me and realised I haven’t yet blogged about my favourite past time…FOOD!

Just to tantalise your taste buds I’ll recall my latest little food outing. Max Brenner! Who doesn’t love this chocolatey heaven, as soon as you come within 50m you can feel and smell the sweet aromas dancing around your senses. You step inside and you feel like you’ve somehow stumbled across Willy Wonkas chocolate factory, the giant drums of melted chocolate whisper at you to jump the counter and devour them. I order my usual; Tuti Fruiti waffles for one with vanilla ice cream and sit eagerly down at a table. The waiter (It seems as though this place only hires good looking people with sexy accents?) brings me my waffles and I am instantly in total bliss. Here's a photo so you can be in visual bliss...

Celebrity Enforcement

I’m sitting on my couch, laptop overheating on my lap, iphone bleeping from emails and texts, watching this new Titanic series. I had already formed a snobbish opinion to this Titanic series; I’m a devoted fan of the Jack and Rose poor boy meets rich girl version. As I had expected, this new series didn’t captivate me, there were no shivers running down my spine (Yes I’m a Titanic fanatic I’ll be at the 3D screening with bells on). So, as usual, when something loses my attention after about a minute, I turn to my iPhone. I have a quick installment of Facebook, a quick look on Instragram then I see what’s happening on twitter. (I plead guilty to social media obsession). There’s a new tweet from Miranda Kerr promoting her new Reebok campaign. Suddenly, the half eaten Easter bunny in my hand seems much less enticing then it did before when I hunted through the fridge for it. Oh Reebok, you really got it right this time. For a moment there, I actually felt half motivated to rush out and buy your easy-tone-whatever-they’re-called-just-make-me-look-like-her-shoes. But then I remembered it's all well and good to buy runners, but then you actually have to run in them. Maybe I’ll just wear them everywhere I go like Miranda does….

“I work out, do yoga and wear my EasyTone wherever I go so that know that I'm benefiting my body as I go about my daily routine.”

Miranda Kerr

For more on this campaign regrettably click here 

WARNING: To those of you munching on left over easter treats I apologise in advance for disturbing your indulgence.

Procrastination turned productive No.2

If your wondering what this is all about, I explained my selfish self in a previous post:

Procrastination turned Productive... I think! Basically, below is a wish list of the top three things I would like to purchase for this week, but can't. Oh the life of a student (And broke wannabe fashionista)

This pretty rose appliqué jumper from American Apparel has serious Autumn appeal

Lonely Hearts dress, well you can never have too many black dresses, especially when they're this cute! 

Do these need explaining? I love my litas! (That I don't have)

Public Media - Week 7

My weary brain that had just finished an exam, not to mention my unenthusiastic post holiday approach to this particular Monday, tried really hard to absorb and engage with week 7’s lecture on Public Media. Four words… thank god for blackboard. So here I am after an 8am-8pm grind at uni, stomach rumbling and eyes drooping, explaining what I gathered about Public Media.

Public media is government funded and does not strive to make a profit. Within a democratic society, public media is media that is in support of public and democratic processes. Public media has to have public value; this basically means it must have a ‘Public Service’ ethos. Within the Australian media landscape, public media comprises of ABC and SBS. I learnt some fancy new terms that describe what public service broadcasting should provide. It has to have geographical universality, meaning everyone anywhere has access to broadcasts, and universality of appeal, meaning broadcast programs need to cater to the interests and taste of all demographics, which I think is next to impossible.  There should also be special provisions made for minority groups. To me, throughout the lecture it was reinforced that public media is all about nationalism, as it functions are:

-       Nation building

-       National heritage

-        National identity

-        National conversations

      This is obvious when you watch ABC, especially the program Australian Story.

It’s known that many people think ABC and SBS are only for the elderly who refuse to modernise or people who consider themselves superiorly intellectual. This reputation is most probably due to the news style of public media, which is

-       Serious

-       Broadsheet style

-       Importance over interest

-       Considered, not quick and unchecked.

I must admit I’m guilty of previously thinking this. It has only just dawned on my journalism student self how pathetic commercial media really is. I think it may have something to do with immense coverage of teenage girls fainting and damaging their vocal cords over the UK boy band “One Direction”. After viewing media watch on ABC, it occurred to me that ABC is a place for real, true and professional journalism. Robert Richter, an independent producer, summed up exactly how I feel towards public media….

“It is such a special vehicle for voices to be heard ... [for] visions and viewpoints ... ignored by commercial media.”

Not so delightful daiquiri

My friend and I go up to the bar and order two mango daiquiris. The barman pauses, smiles and starts making the drinks. I don’t know how many drinks she had already had, but it wasn’t her first, second, third or fourth for that matter. I had skipped out on pre-drinks and instead opted for an hour-long massage.  I don’t know what it was, it could have been my post-massage relaxed state and her somewhat tipsy stance, but the barman started making what he thought were discreet signals to someone on the other side of the bar. At first I didn’t think much of it, until he blatantly slipped something white and powdery into the drinks. I didn’t know what to do, it was one of those moments when everything sort of freezes. My friend was oblivious. Of course, I panicked. This man had drugged us literally right before our eyes. He continued making the drinks. I pretended not to notice. I said to my friend, “I’ll pay”. He went to take my money, when instead I grabbed the drinks and threw them in his face followed by multiple **********wit#*&^!!! **. I quickly grabbed my friend and headed for the exit. My friend looked at me in shock and confusion, this was really out of character for me. She later understood my actions, and we both thanked our gods that I had noticed. This was in Bali. You’ve seen the party nightlife of Bail on current affairs, you’ve heard about the scooter accidents, the dodgy neon signs, and the death penalty for marijuana. What you might not of heard of, I certainly hadn’t, is that young girls who come to Bali are at a seriously high risk of being victims of drink spiking. Apparently, the bar I was at is renowned for drink spiking, professional surfers on tour go there and pay the bar tenders to drug the girl of their choice. The fact that this Balinese guy thought he could drug me while I was looking right at him is what scares me the most, imagine the girls that come up to the bar barely clothed, extremely intoxicated with no idea or perception of what’s happening around them. This time my friend and I were lucky, it chills me to the spine to think what that surfer had in mind for us. Ever since that close encounter I have been much more alert and the days of strangers (seemingly polite and of course good looking guys) offering to buy me drinks are definitely over. So girls, don’t get me wrong, Bali is an amazing place to party, relax and party some more. Both times I’ve been there it has definitely been a holiday to remember, just make sure it’s for the right reasons!

The famous and severely sweaty bounty club!

Cocktail 'Jugs' for $5

buy 1 get 1 free!

And just because its really pretty, the hotel I stayed at; 101 Legian