Wrap up of semester

its a wrap...

A comprehensive understanding of the media operations has been achieved throughout this course. From photojournalism, to public/commerical media studies, to news values and ethics. This course has given me a greater understanding of the international and Australian media landscape.

Hope you've enjoyed it too....

Final lecture

Steve Molks- Molkstvtalk, blogger

Advising us journalism students to start now as journalists. Using the internet and social media.

Blogging is still young in terms of mainstream media, however is growing in importance.

Social media has been used for serious reasons (as we've seen in Egypt), social media can not be accessed in parts of Korea and China.

Australia is a free place in terms of social media, we can write whatever we like.

If you consistently and intentionally write for social media, your writing will improve.

The ability to communicate globally, to interact is a great opportunity for social media.

No longer are we locked behind what the media tells us

Channel 9 told us that kevin Rudd will be challenging for the leadership, however 7 reported the oppostie. To find the truth= watch now, or ask Kevin.

We have access to all sorts of important people. You can ask kevin Rudd a question via twitter- asking the source directly.

Everyone has an opinion on television. Even if you don't watch television.

Steve says he enjoys communicating with people. Knowing what people think, its relevant for his job.

Mia freeman- editor of dolly and cosmo.

She was a journalist, got a job as a special projects. Decided to write a blog and book- mumma-mia. 500,020 viewers in a month.

Partnering with the biggest female focused site in the US. she therefore will have exposure to over 900,000 readers a month.

Now with social media, we can read the news and interact with the people/journalists who make the news. We can ask questions.

Annabel crab is a good person to look at if we are interested in broadcast news.

Twitter is 'noisy at times'. In big events or situations, trying to find the information in the midst of the big events can be difficult. After a while you can sift through the information that's the truth.

Social media networks and new media a processes allow you to a world of information.

Twitter can make journalists lazy. Especially entertainment journalists. for example Micheal Clarke released wedding photos via twitter. All stories used the same photos from twitter.

Molks likes to talk about televtion on his site. He interviews, posts podcasts, provides news stories. He records on his phone with his camera setting.

A writer, interviewer, fairfax prints and purchases some of his work.

The stuff that we put out now, will pay off when we go looking for a job or internship. Clearly expressed by Molks.

Annotated Bibliography Assessment

Annotated Bibliography: An Assessment for Introduction to Journalism 1111.

By Merryn McDonnell.

Student number s4285498.

Today, there is a greater demand for news than ever before. However, discerning audiences want news to have impact, be relatable and be factual (Hartung, B.W. 1979) The information carried by different media texts can vary greatly, even when reporting the same story.

This post will examine four different media texts. In addition to a single academic text, three media texts are considered. These include:

·      a television story from the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC);

·      an online story from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC);

·      a print story from Newsweek magazine (America).

These different news mediums share the same main story- the USA President Barack Obama announcing his support for same sex marriage. However, each text has interpreted the same story in a slightly different way. The single academic text focuses on the US media’s representation of gay rights in the news.

Roberts, R. (2012). Obama's Historic Pro-Gay Marriage Stance. American Broadcast Corporation. May 9, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_RkoMDv3fE&feature=relmfu

This was an interview produced by the ABC (America) television network. In this interview, journalist Robin Roberts interviewed President Obama and Obama verified his support of same sex marriage. As the ABC is a commercial broadcasting television network, stakeholders and shareholders have a great interest in the content of ABC. The main interest of the ABC is to create a story filled with as much drama as possible, in order to achieve high ratings. “Exclusive and historic interview” and “the President’s deeply personal thoughts”, were stated by the journalist throughout the story (Roberts, R. 2012).

The television medium used by the ABC is credible, as it is sourced directly from the ABC network. The content of this television text gives a credible overview of the history of the story. It is important for the ABC to establish previous/current facts, as television news audiences’ prior knowledge of an issue will affect their interpretation of a news story (Schaap, 2009). This overview features President Obama’s changing response to gay marriage, the current and contrasting opinions of the forerunning Republican Presidential-Candidate Mitt Romney and Gay rights activists. In addition, the input of New York Times Correspondent, Jodi Kantor, is also included. This information is credible, as direct footage has been used in conjunction with names and a date/year.

This television story is significantly different from the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) online story. As ABC is an American commercial television network, the story is focused on USA history, the up-coming election and how the President’s words will potentially affect Americans in their voting. In contrast to this, Australia’s public media ABC reported the story, with the addition of the Australian Prime Minister’s opinion. In both stories, hyperlocalisation has been used. This enables audiences’ to feel more connected to the story, depending on their country of residence.

ABCnews (2012). PM unswayed by Obama's gay marriage stance. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. May 10 2012. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-10/pm-reacts-to-obamas-support-for-gay-marriage/4003116.

This online story was produced by the ABC (Australia) news website. Footage from the ABC (America) interview was included above the written Australian online story. Australia’s ABC online story focused on Australian PM Julia Gillard announcing she is still opposed to same sex marriage, despite US president Obama declaring his support of gay marriage.

The ABC is a public media network. Audiences typically see it as a reliable source as the government or advertisers have little or not influence on the network. The ultimate purpose of the ABC is to serve the public and not to turn a profit (WGBH Educational Foundation. 2006).

The medium of ABC news online can be considered credible. Vague claims, undated content, and an absence of information due to a commercial influence are the causes of an online news site’s loss in credibility (Chiagouris, 2008). As the ABC is a public media network, there is typically little question of commercial influence. The online story does not make any vague claim s- it predominately uses direct quotes from sources. Finally, the online story is dated May 12, 2012 17:50:22. These reasons prove not only that the medium of the story is credible, but also the content of the story.

Sullivan, A (2012). Barack Obama's Gay Marriage Evolution: The President of the United States shifted the mainstream in one interview.

Newsweek 159. 21. May 21 2012. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/1013491335.

In contrast to the Australian ABC online text is America’s Newsweek magazine printed text. The ABC online text is unbiased, news- and fact-driven, contains mainly direct quotes and is under 500 words. The print text sourced from Newsweek presents a comprehensive overview regarding the history of the story, includes the author’s personal opinions and is 2400 words.

This print text reports President Obama’s support of same sex marriage in great detail, opinion and length. Newsweek magazine is an American, commercial media corporation. Due various factors including the migration of readers to online news, the advertising revenue of US magazines is declining rapidly and substantially (Perth Now, 2011). It can be assumed that Newsweek is producing vivid stories to entice readers to buy the magazine and sustain advertising revenue. The author of this print text is journalist, Andrew Sullivan. As an openly gay man, Sullivan has taken an extremely personal approach to this story. Sullivan has also written the text in the first person.

The medium of the text is credible as it is directly from the Newsweek magazine corporation. The credibility of the content is inconsistent. Sullivan has used accurate dates, quotes, names and movements to support his story. However, not all of the information, statistics, polls and names included are cited nor sourced.

The print text of this story is considerably different to the academic text cited. This print text is driven by the author’s opinion, commercially funded and poses a very intimate theme. The academic text is a reflection of the American media’s treatment of gay rights, and although the opinions from case studies are included, the opinion of the author is absent.

Moscowitz, L (2012). For better or for worse: News discourse, Gay rights activism and the same sex marriage debate. Indiana University. May 2008. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/304631625/abstract

Author Leigh Moscowitz (Indiana University) has included extensive research regarding how homosexual news stories are presented in the US media.

The medium of this text is highly credible as Indiana University is a highly regarded research institution. The universities’ dissertation and theses standards have been met in the published work.

Content includes the representation of gay rights protests, laws and developments. Moscowitz has also included illustrative case studies on the topic. Furthermore, Moscowitz has presented the content information with accurate referencing, names, dates and case studies. It is evident that thorough fact checking and research has been conducted.

In complete contrast to this academic text is the ABC (America) television text. Although the information presented in both texts is similar, the objectives are opposite. The academic text is research-oriented, seeking only facts. However, the main objective of the ABC television text is to dramatize the story- in order to generate more attention.  As a commercial network, the ABC’s main goal is to attract audiences for advertisers (Redman, 2012).  Furthermore, the academic text is a document larger than 200 pages, the ABC television text is far more condensed (6 minutes).  

Bibliography:

Hartung, B. W. (1979). Attitudes towards the current applicability of the 1947 Hutchins report on social responsibilities of the press. United States International University. 1979. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/302996047/abstract

Roberts, R. (2012). Obama's Historic Pro-Gay Marriage Stance. American Broadcast Corporation. May 9, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_RkoMDv3fE&feature=relmfu

Schaap, G. (2009). Measuring the Complexity of Viewers' Television News Interpretation: Integration. Interpreting Television News. 2009. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/docview/755476857.

WGBH Educational Foundation (2006). Open Content and Public Broadcasting. WGBH Educational Foundation. 2006. Retrieved from http://opencontent.wgbh.org/report/opencontentreport.pdf

Chiagouris, L. Mary, M. Plank, L. & R. E. (2008): The Consumption of Online News: The Relationship of Attitudes Toward the Site and Credibility, Journal of Internet Commerce, 7:4, 528-549. 2008. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15332860802507396.

Perth now (2011). Newspapers ad revenue drops for 20th quarter. September 02, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/media-marketing/newspapers-ad-revenue-drops-for-20th-quarter/story-e6frg2rc-1226128123525

Redman, B (2012). 1111. Introduction to Journalism. (Lecture notes). Retrieved from https://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2187487-dt-content-rid-396604_1/courses/JOUR1111S_6220STx/JOUR1111_Week6_Commercial%20_Media.pdf. Accessed online 20/5/2012.  

Annotated Bibliography

Print text

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1013491335

Lecture 12

investigative journalism

Watergate

the monlight state - Chris Masters, Phil Dickie, Shaun Hoyt.
2 years of research for 1 hour of TV.
Police in high positions, politicians went to jail.

The special branch- Joes secret police. Would have little files, directions. Special branch broke into the ABC film room- looking for 4 corners footage. Bought down a corrupt government.

Julian Assange- from townsville- 'WIKILEAKS'- Sarah Pailn "we should hunt him down like Osama."

Wikileaks- a bunch of stuff- journalists go through- to find story.

What do they have in common: Changed the world.

Local examples:

-Global mail
-Crikey
-Australian Story

Brooke Hargraves (a previous UQ Journalism student) wrote a story about the renovations for the schonell bridge grave site story.

Whistle blowers - usually go crazy.

Interviews - people concerned, whistle blowers

Observations- get out

Rudie Jouliani
- You've got to see it! second hand is not enough

Documents - online, annual reports, forensics

Briefings- officials

Leaks- where are they?

Trespass- not really allowed

Theft- another ethics issue


TRIANGULATION- What you observe and what you see in the documents

Where to look- ( not only google and Wikipedia)

Threats:
-Online news
-empty news rooms
-Journalism VS PR (propaganda)
Growth in PR= Shrinkage in Journalism

Future:
Youtube- channel for investigative journalism- filled with interviews of what investigative journalism is- What is there nothing out there?

mah

1. Outlines of the scope of the article/story.

 2. Critically evaluates the source of the article in terms of its medium and the credibility

of the content. 

3. Compares or contrasts this work with another you have cited.

This post will be an Annotated Bibliography of four media texts. 

Each media text 

US president Barack Obama supporting gay marriage- the TV interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_RkoMDv3fE&feature=relmfu

Lecture 7- Public Media

‘The difference between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference between consumers and citizens’
– Nigel Milan (former Managing Director of SBS)


This week we examined Public media. 
"Public Media's ultimate purpose- to serve the public and not to turn a profit." - WGBH Educational Foundation Conference Open Content and Public Broadcasting (19-21 September 2006) 


So! Ultimately public media (ABC & partly SBS (80/20)) are not funded by share holders and advertisers- who's aim is to sell sell sell. Public media's interest is one thing. The public. Delivering the true stories to the public at large. 

However ABC is commercial. There is the ABC shop which rakes in millions, the online ABC shop, and how they charge for footage. $75 per second to be exact. So they milk it for all they can. 


Public Media=PUBLIC VALUE:


1. Embedding a ‘public service ethos’


2. Value for licence fee money

4. Public consultation
(According to the BBC)


3. ‘Weighing public value against market impact’

Essentially, Public media networks should present news that appeals to all kinds of people.

Public media had a role in reflecting the nations identity, history, culture, views and conversations.

Some view the stories and content of public media to be ‘boring’ and ‘out of touch in terms of not looking at whats new and shiny. However Public media values importance of the story rather than interest. So views can feel confident that the information they are processing is of real relevance to the world and the people in it. Not about Kim Kardashian and her new hair style.

Public media networks look at themes including ‘THE PRESS’, ENTERTAINMENT, UTILITY, SOCIAL, PROPAGANDA- all important and relevant for all people. Not necessarily entertainment however.

A BIG challenge for public Media is to be INDEPENDENT from being bias or able to be influenced.  Big deal for the political scene in particular.

Further challenges for the Public media lot are opinion. Big deal- don’t include it. However the ABC has a show called ‘The Drum’ where journo’s have the opportunity to announce their thoughts and opinions on news subjects.

Personally I hate it when they do this. I feel like they are forcing their opinion on you. I know they are informed, but still. I prefer being told the facts and being able to make up my mind about the topic.

Funding is another big one for Public Media. Where and how will they get the precious dough to fund their journalists!?

That’s all folks!

Annotated Bibliography Assessment

A guide to our next assessment

https://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2225317-dt-content-rid-644987_1/courses/JOUR1111S_6220STx/Annotated%20Bibliography.pdf

Annotated bibliography Online story

Here's Australia's ABC reporting that PM Julia Gillard hasn't changed her position regarding Gay marriage. Despite US president Obama pledging his support.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-10/pm-reacts-to-obamas-support-for-gay-marriage/4003116

Obama's support for Gay Marriage

America's ABC interview with Obama- declaring his support for Gay Marriage.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/obama-sex-marriage-legal-16312940

Gay marriage in the media

News.com with a story about US president Barrack Obama supporting Gay marriage and asking 'where's the love?' from Juila Gillard??

http://www.news.com.au/world/obama-voices-support-for-gay-marriage/story-e6frfkyi-1226351565380