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.

Pantry Ponders

After ridiculous attempts of trying to start one of my many assignments, I gave up and decided my procrastination was too far gone to do anything productive. So, when this happens, which is quite often, I walk down the stairs and stare blankly into my fridge or pantry. Staring at my fridge or pantry is about as satisfying as it is to watch paint dry, this is due to the lack of edible, not 3 weeks out of date or appetising food. So there I was, munching on stale chips gazing into the pantry wishing for something delicious to just appear out of nowhere. After a few minutes and more stale chips, I also gave up on this ridiculous idea and levelled with realty; baked beans or two minute noodles. With my eyes darting back and forth between the two, I noticed both items had that little blue square with a white lower case 'f'. FOLLOW BAKED BEANS ON FACEBOOK? what is the world coming to. I then looked around and saw that everything from my Uncle Toby's porridge to my Campbells chicken stock wanted me to follow them on Facebook. 

- I turned on the TV, the local butcher wanted me to follow them on Facebook

- 3/4 of my current assignments are about Facebook and social media

- You can now let your family know your organ donor status on Facebook

- As I'm writing this baked bean fuelled rant I saw a notification pop up on Facebook (and I checked it)

EVERYTHING in the world is about Facebook, it seems there's no escaping it. By no means am I complaining, if I were, the word hypocrite would be good place to start when describing myself, but it just makes me wonder, whatever did people/companies do without Facebook? If that one guy who's now a trillionaire wasn't born, if his parents hadn't met, if for some reason he wasn't a genius like the rest of us, what would the world be like today? Sure, there would probably be something similar but would it have changed the world like Facebook has? I also wonder if this is just a fad, the whole social media revolution, brave new world rah rah rah thing. Will my kids have Facebook? Will there kids make their relationships 'Facebook official' and tweet about the robot that just that just stole their flying car?

Ah what a rant, and yet still no progress on assignments. Perhaps I have at least given someone else a chance to procrastinate? If so, I'm sorry and your welcome. Now back to the fridge...

Gee Whiz! - Week 9

That awkward moment when you see something on the news and your inner Aussie breaks through and the ol’ Gee Whiz exclamation slips out.... Well don’t worry your not an Aussie bogan because according to my Week 9 lecture that is exactly what the news value ‘impact’ is supposed to do.

So yes, this week’s lecture explored News Values. As English author Arthur Evelyn Waugh once said, “News is what a chap who doesn't care much about anything wants to read. And it's only news until he's read it. After that it's dead.”

 I hear you ask, what are news values? Well they constitute these four things

1.     Impact- (this is where Gee Whiz comes in)

2.     Audience Identification- Basically anything that relates to the rest of the world

3.     Pragmatics- ethics and current affairs and all that jazz

4.      Source influence – where the story comes from e.g. PR people

There are two famous little sayings that go hand in hand with news values

-       If it bleeds it leads

-       If it’s local it leads

It’s obvious why this is the case, us human beings for some reason react more to violence and tragedy than soppy love stories or cute cats being rescued. I guess this is a good thing otherwise humans would be quite apathetic about the well being of one another.

There are many different aspects of a news story to determine if it has ‘news worthiness’. Just to mention a few (there’s 12+), Impact, Negativity, Proximity, Currency, Recency, Continuity and Uniqueness.

So, the next time you say Geewhiz, I cant believe that happened in my street just yesterday when I could have been checking the mailbox, it could happen again any day... you probably wont think to yourself wow I just listed four reasons why what happened is news worthy... but you should. If you like.  I’m going to go now! J