Your Average Girl, But...

Oh the story I could have done on trying to upload this assignment...

Finally, after ten attempts of uploading onto this blog, and another two to YouTube, I can submit the third assignment for this course!

Despite the drama at the end, it was very, very enjoyable. This video is all about a friend of mine who is such an inspiration to me. Her honesty and kindness made this video possible and I hope that her message is delivered through this video.

I could honestly do a video or blog about making this video. Everything I included or didn't is done for a specific reason that I hope people can pick out.

But regardless of that, and without much further ado, I present to you with my Assessment 3 piece!


...Apparently this blog can't find my video on YouTube despite my giving it the URL. So I will provide the link here for you to view it on my YouTube channel.

For the record, my YouTube channel is sirTamii and there will only be one other video on there besides this assignment, just in case you need proof of identity.

Here's the link:

http://youtu.be/7Z3kpYF8N9Q
http://youtu.be/7Z3kpYF8N9Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z3kpYF8N9Q&feature=plcp

Public Media, a Special Vehicle - Lecture 7

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

Robert Richter (independent producer of

PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, Discovery Channel)

I related to the content of this lecture to a greater extent than the lecture that regarded commercial media. I associate this to the fact that I have grown up with public media due to the influence of my parents. I guess you could say I grew up in the 'Aunty ABC' era and so most of my childhood I was obsessed with shows such as Playschool, Bananas in Pyjamas, and other general ABC kids news shows. Nowadays I work in Community Media as an announcer at my local community radio station 99.7fm (which you can see the logo for below). In any case, what I found the most appealing about Public Media is that it is owned by and serves the people and maintains an independency I approve of.

(This is where I go to work every weekend. Ain't she a beauty?)

There is a misunderstanding that public media mediums, such as the ABC, are run by the Federal Government, particularly because they hand them their money. But that money is tax-payer money and is therefore controlled by the general public. We are the ones who pay, we are the ones who watch and listen; we are the ones in control.

Of course the ABC is not the only Public Media resource, we also have SBS and access to the UK's BBC and when I was in Japan I watched plenty of NHK (which is a huge public media channel there).

To me, Public Media serves a great purpose; supports public and democratic processes while aiming to hold public value. It aims to reach both majority and minority groups, which is probably why they are so successful. We were told that:

·         41% of Australians received their news from the ABC, and;

·         12.6 million Australians watch ABCTV per week.

I find myself of the similar opinion that Public Media generally contains less bias and is wonderful for doing longer, more detailed interviews, which is the only medium to do so besides talk-back radio.

I do, however, find that the popular opinions against Public Media do hold some merit. While I appreciate the serious "News style" that is used, I do find the limited interest and overall presentation out of touch and slightly boring. Society seems to have developed a strong value in entertainment. If there were a way to take the best of Commercial Media and Public Media and merge it, I think we would all be winners. As it is, I think the ABC and other Public Media domains are on the right track - if they can produce quality that is relevant, engaging, intellectual and socially valuable whilst continuing to 'bite the hand that feeds it' than Public Media will remain a strong force in modern day society.

The only issue I have is the idea that personal opinion in Public Media should be taboo. Once again I think balance is key. I want to hear opinions and be able to debate because that is how I best learn - I don't want to be told what to think, I want to be able to hear both sides of an argument and make an educated decision. To me this falls under the 'give me a fish and I will eat for a week, teach me to fish I will eat for a lifetime' scenario. Telling me the news, what is happening around the nation and globe is one thing, but providing me the opportunity to hear new stories whilst urging me to think for myself and I will have lifetime skills.

 Also, I would probably never change the channel...

‘The difference between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference between consumers and citizens’

– Nigel Milan (former Managing Director of SBS)

Because We're Living in a Material World...- Lecture 6

Commercial Media is an enormous element of Journalism and Communication and so the lecture discussing it was also rather big and tricky. If I were being completely honest, I wasn't surprised by the truths that were revealed. I did notice a few interesting patterns, however.

First things first: who are the main players of Commercial Media?

Well here's just a few:

    

 

Here's one of the biggest facts you need to know when regarding this form of media:

Commercial Media = $$$$

Basically, Commercial Media is profit-driven media production. It is a business and like all businesses its survival is completely reliant on its success. That success is audience ratings. Thus the business is generating audiences. The way they make profit is through advertising, which is why all those big shot channels always have a dozen ads every five minutes of a show - and on big nights such as the State of Origin or the Logies like the other night, you will notice an upsurge on commercials again.

Perhaps the biggest example I can provide is the fame (or infamy) that is created over the ads during the American Superbowl - in which not only is the advert itself admired or discussed, but the amount of money paid to have the advertisement aired throughout the show is made a big deal. So big in fact that they are typically shown in most talk-shows and viewed again on YouTube mere days after the event. Here are some of the 'highlight' Super Bowl ads:

(By the way, I would say numer 3 was the best purely because of song choice.)

Here's what I found when it comes to Commercial Media:

Everything is fiercely competitive. One of the reasons I am sometimes put off watching regular television, such as 7, 9 and 10 is that they all put each other down. The business politics reminds me a little too much like normal politics - and I know I am not the only person who is tired of watching one channel waste five-ten minutes on a snarky story about a comment or show on another channel that is bad for society. Also, I've heard many complaints around me over the constant changes made to the programming - disjointed episodes to a drama, or putting on a repeat despite advertising something new and unseen. Now I understand they are trying to keep up with the other channels' 'big showtime' schedules (competing with 'The Voice' the last few nights must have been a nightmare for every other channel that was not the 9 network) but it does not build trust in the loyal audiences - it just builds frustration. Take me for example; I've given up on watching shows like NCIS and prefer to either a) watch it online, or; b) wait until the DVDs are released. Channel 10 just lost one audience member for an hour or two per week. That’ll add up for them.

The other point I noticed is that everything to do with Commercial Media is much larger than we could initially imagine. Everything is connected. There is no single business; each organisation has 'tentacles' that typically span over both old and new media. It is fairly common that one organisation will own several channels (take the 9 network which has channel 9, Go, Gem and then magazines and Ticketek and ninemsn, as a prime example), radio stations and newspapers both physical copies and online. Success to them apparently means covering as much in as many methods as is possible.

The major challenge Commercial Media is facing at the moment is that it is seemingly prioritising profit before quality, and by doing that it is failing its social responsibilities. Those include presenting truthful, comprehensive and intelligent accounts, providing a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism as well as being representative of all social groups. In the intense 'desire to please' its audiences, the commercial media market has largely been reduced to what has been called 'Mickey Mouse' news. It is hard to find intellectual content amongst the gossip and reality TV shows.

In the end there is a need for quality. Satisfying that need is perhaps the best solution for Commercial Media. By serving the audience their market will grow and steady revenue be received.


On a completely unrelated note, I found an interesting Australian blog by a seemingly popular journalist who focuses on PR stories:

http://prdisasters.com/?cat=16

Talk It Up!

I like talk shows. I don’t know why, but I do. I am pretty selective in what I like to watch though. Mostly, I just watch Ellen Degeneres’s show. She makes me happy. Proud to be human and makes me care. The best bit is I’m not the only one.

So, today I was watching a particular interview she did on her show with Captain Dave Anderson (one my mum recorded for me to watch because it was an amazing story) who saved a whale tangled in a large fishing net. Here’s the interview (in two parts):

Although the story itself is full of wonderful things – a dedicated and good man and team, a happy ending, emotion, facts – what I reacted to the most was the fact that I suddenly cared more than I had a few moments previously. That their only major motivation was to spread the word about these nets and the damage they are doing. Because it is the first step, and possibly the most important.

I knew that these fishing nets were bad for the environment and I wasn’t happy. I didn’t do anything about it though. I wasn’t aware however to what extent these nets were hurting our marine life, or how big these nets were, or that 308 000 dolphins and whales dying per year. An average of 1,000 a day.

I like that Ellen said we could do what we want with this information. She gave up eating fish. She didn’t encourage we do it, just shared her own reaction and how she felt. That has more power that telling us anything. While this can be treated as strategic (I’m including a video of a great scene from my all-time favourite non-animated television show in which one of the main characters explains the power of suggestion towards the human mind because I find it fascinating), Ellen is too kind-hearted, straight-forward and genuine to do anything more than say how she feels. I love that honesty; in fact I strive for it in everything I do.

So I’m following Ellen and Captain Anderson’s advice. I’m spreading the word. I’m posting a comment on Facebook and my normal Twitter account. And now I’m blogging the videos. It really can be that simple.

If you don't believe me than I suggest reading some of the comments after the part II Ellen interview with Captain Anderson. It speaks for itself.

Here is the video about the power of suggestion and the way the human brain works. I couldn't find a video that plays just the one scene, so you have a collection of scenes from the one episode.

To make life easier, the scene you want is from 4.05 -4.35 (which is obviously minutes and seconds but I won't take anything for granted).

If you do want to watch the entire video, please do! It's such a great show; my favourite as I said. It's called Leverage by the way, forgot to mention that.

4.05-4.35

Also, because my love for Ellen knows no bounds, and because this is such a 'pause and rewind' story, I'm going to put this interview up. It's about a 14-year-old girl who bought a house. Yeah, you read that right.

Howdy Neighbour

"Neighbours...everybody needs good neighbours..."

Yeah, I did that...

Every now and again I sit down with my mother and try to keep up with her evening TV routines. This consists of watching the 5pm report on channel 10, followed by the 6 – 6.30pm report on channel 9 and lastly A Current Affairs (except I usually insist on watching The Project instead). Tonight was one of those nights and I was amazed by the different stories – from Logie Leaks, to an investigative journalist report: today was just one those full-on news days.

 

One particular story caught my attention – that of the 3 year old toddler found playing next to the body of her dead mother within her home. So I thought I would share what I know and what it means for society.

So what I can deduce from the three separate coverage of the story is this: a year old toddler girl was found playing next to her deceased mother in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. If this was not heartbreaking enough, a disturbing fact came into light when officials looked over the mother’s body: she had been dead for at least three days, other reports are saying five. This meant that the child was left completely alone for up to five days and it is suspected she only survived from eating Easter eggs.

The last time the mother was seen was Easter Monday, collecting some of her washing before going inside with the chore only half completed. From then on several days passed and it wasn’t until a neighbour found the laundry still left out suspicious and contacted the local priests who (allegedly) climbed through a window and found the two bodies inside, one alive and the other not, before calling in the police. From what has been released so far, the death looks to be caused from a pre-existing medical condition on the mother’s part.

The good news is the child is as fine as one can be when in such a situation. Obviously she is suffering from severe dehydration (since she wouldn’t have had a drink in up to five days) and high blood-sugar levels from living off only chocolate eggs. I do wonder what psychological issues could arise in the future from this trauma though.

In any case, the interesting – and sad – point I took from all of this was that neighbourhoods are not what they used to be, or what I thought they were.

Now I’d like to think I’m fairly objective and I try to avoid assumptions at all costs, but I’m surprised by how someone can be dead for five days with a child, not be seen at all, and no one wonders about it. I remember another story a few years ago where an elderly woman had been dead for weeks in her apartment and it was someone like the landlord who found her after all that time. It’s terrible.

I live in the same neighbourhood I’ve grown up with; I’ve never moved house. While most of my neighbours have come and gone; we are a very close street. I know each person’s name of almost every person on my street. I know where they work, how to contact them, what’s happening this week for them, when their birthdays are – we all give each other Christmas presents and birthday presents to each other when the time comes. Most importantly, we look out for each other. My next door neighbours a few years ago were out one time and two boys tried to rob them, but because my mother could hear something and a neighbour across the road saw them, the whole street came together to chase after the robbers once they decided to flee after being caught. We look out for each other’s animals, and we help each other out if an accident occurs or a car breaks down. It’s hard to believe that others do not share the unique experience of living in a great place, but I am aware it happens, far too occasionally.

What my point is here is that I think society is becoming too solitary – with technology keeping us indoors and preoccupied, even though it provides us the opportunity to connect with others all over the place, including globally, it does not help us get outside, go next door and at least find out if someone is living next to us. Is it a fear, or laziness, or a narrow-minded sense of self that does this? I’m not sure, but I am taking the gift I have been given of great neighbours and cherishing it for all it is worth – at least I know if I am ever in trouble there are people around who will not only notice, but lend out a helping hand.

So listen to the radio... - Lecture 5

“As it is in life, as it is in radio.” – Steve A.

This lecture is hands down my favourite. This is because I am biased – I’m an avid radio fan, mostly because I work on the radio. So, heads up, this blog post is going to be a little more personal.

To demonstrate this, I am including a picture of me doing my radio show at my local radio station.

So this lecture was all about sound, and keeping true to form, it was done as an mp3 recording of two radio interviews. And I loved it.

I’ve always been fascinated by the radio, probably because I’ve grown up listening to it. My mother would always have it on in the early mornings; we still listen to it in the car every time we go out, but my favourite memories of listening to the radio is when the power was out. Whether it was a storm, or power outage, or Earth hour, I would sit with my mother in the dark with our little battery powered radio and listen to talk back radio shows. I would always sit back and wonder what it would be like to work at a radio station. Never did I think I would actually do it. But I did.

Similar to the first guest speaker, Richard F. (because I don’t know how to properly spell his last name), I accidentally got into radio. This is something I’ve always known was a huge gift and privilege given to me, but I never realised how important it can be to other radio announcers. Unlike the second guest speaker, Steve A., I did not spend years sending letter after letter out to get a gig in radio. In fact, I did it on a whim, and got the gig in the span of two weeks. Honestly, I think it is luck of the draw – because I still feel like the luckiest 18 year old around.

This highlights one of the big things about radio. It’s all human and real. Half the announcers grew up aiming to get that seat behind the mic, others didn’t. Some started young, others fell into it later on. Radio is a completely different medium than its broadcasting counterpart, television. It is intimate with its audience, personal, almost familiar. The trick to radio announcing is to include your audience, speak as if you are talking to one individual rather than a group (a trick that is not as easy as you think – I’m still working on it and have been given the advice to bring in a small toy that I can put in front of me and look at when doing a voice break to practice). I like the comment Richard made about the radio coming from inside the listener’s head. This is a good way of describing that closeness that radio provides. This is mostly because it fits in with everyday life. At home, in the car, on the bus while travelling two hours to university (ahem), whether walking the dog, washing the dishes, making dinner or the kids’ lunches for school  - you can listen to radio while living your life. It’s a multi-taskers dream. This is probably why radio is thriving so well nowadays, and perhaps even growing stronger: because it is not time-consuming in a society where everyone is very time-poor.

Radio is great because it is a happening now enterprise. By that I mean that the news is current, the topics relevant, most of the time you hear the show you can ring up and speak to that person about what they just said. Radio is a public service and serves a purpose – to be useful to the public.

These particular conversations revolved more around the act of interviewing people on air. As I have done two or three interviews with special guests in the last year I say from experience that it is quite different. Conventionally you do not want a voice break to go longer than 7 minutes and it is up to the announcer to keep the interview going, either by just letting the guest talk and listening, or by participating in an active conversation. Either way, as the journalist you have to be genuinely interested – which is great for me because I love learning new things – especially when it’s small tidbit information. There is also an etiquette to interviewing someone: don’t probe, respect the guest even if you do not agree with what they are saying and let them speak. I always think being able to tease them is a great asset too because it not only builds rapport but shares that with the audience. Of course teasing falls into common sense and you need to establish whether it is acceptable to do so before you go on air. The best piece of advice I got out of doing live interviews is to remember that it is a privilege. Whether you like them or not, you feel comfortable or interested, agree or disagree with their opinions, it is a privilege to have someone come in and open themselves up on air and that is something to be awed and humbled by.

Another tip I got was the usefulness of silence. When I do my radio show, silence scares me. Normally it means that either the equipment isn’t working or I’ve done something wrong with the panel. But in the case of an interview silence is a tool. It can be profound. Radio is all about the voice. There is no visual distractions, there is just sound to deliver a story, to create an image, to influence others. To go completely silent in a moment and have nothing there seems almost magical.

There is really only one aspect that I tend to disagree with and that is a comment made by Steve. He said that ‘if you wouldn’t do it in life, don’t even think about doing it in radio’ – meaning whatever content or act or comment you intend to share on air, you must think about your actions. I of course think this is very important, but I also think it depends on context. For me, working on radio builds my confidence. I would rather do something for radio than just because. Radio provides opportunities as much as it does information and entertainment and I believe everything should be at least considered. Don’t restrict yourself, but be sensible.

Overall, I think I wrote more tips for my radio show than I did general notes. But I learnt so much on various levels and thought it was wonderful to experience a lecture in a different manner. If anything, my love and respect for radio has definitely strengthened as a result of this.

“Radio is the theatre of the mind.”

Picture Power! - Lecture 4

"A picture has no meaning at all if it can't tell a story." - Eetu Silanpaa

“When things happen to people, they radiate a light. Because they have a picture caught inside them. Because they were there and you weren't. And because you only got a piece. And because all you can do is shrink and blow up that one tiny piece.”

I've always been more of a text person. Even before filling out those Multiple Intelligences or ‘how am I smart’ quizzes you're always given in high school I was aware that writing was my biggest strength and the best way for me to learn. My results from those quizzes said the same: strength - linguistics; learning style - written. I'm also really good at memory recall when it comes to things discussed (oral learning). But pictures? They are my weakest link. I think that makes it understandable that I was slightly reluctant to participate in this week's lecture.

But I was wrong - I really enjoyed the lecture!

There were many points provided that I was already aware of. The history of pictures I knew all about due to my being a passionate history student. From ancient caves to biblical references; I had seen all of these. I was also aware of the developments of pictures over time and how much simpler and easier it is to take a photo and share it nowadays. For example, many people only need a decent phone rather than a professional camera to develop their skills and develop an interest in photography.

(I've additionally noticed a difference between generations as my dad prefers his professional cameras to the smart phone and video camera that I own, as seen below.)

But I was still able to learn more and realise the depth to decent pictures as methods of telling stories. My favourite example used is a famous one of an Afghanistan girl on the Times Magazine (see below). I have never read the article from that magazine, but I can recognise that photo (and style) and immediately associate it with a news article, which I believe is a powerful action. That photo captures my attention, is retained in my memory. I'm also, for all that I love text, one of those people that enjoys looking at photos, finding it feels more personal and I like to feel part of the scene, but I didn't really know this, or make myself identify this part of my personality until this lecture.

Here are some examples of story-telling photos, including the Afghanistan girl from Time Magazine previously mentioned:

There is a series of really funny video from my favourite internet personas (who I will probably reference many times on this blog) who really highlight this focus and affection for photos. It started with one of their videos’ still frames being of ‘giraffe love’ despite not really having much to do with that topic at all, and yet somehow the video gained millions of views and became their most popular video. This escalated into a series of videos where this fact was mentioned, all with their main images being that of ‘giraffe love’ and all receiving larger number of views. I’ve linked the latest video of this phenomenon which is dated two years after the others and actually discussed giraffe mating habits. You only have to watch the first 30 seconds or so, but if you are curious, the entire video is educational, and more than just a little disturbing.

To me, this proves that pictures that stand out and make you question lead you to venture out and discover more. I find this logic applies to journalism. Of course, you generally try to keep things more relevant when it comes to telling a factual story.

In the course of a day I have learnt to appreciate visual affects much more. Taking a photo is one thing, but telling a story is something completely different and requires an entirely different set of skills. I mean how many photos do we have that just sit on our hard drives on our computers, or in the albums on Facebook? How many of them actually tell a story? The fact that they are different never hit me until today.

As a side note, I'm an incredibly lazy person. But hearing talk of journalism becoming more and more of a 'one person operation' I feel a little intimidated, but also more excited at all the possibilities. In the case of what that means for journalism, if one can do it themselves, will we then be able to hear more alternating points of views (citizen journalists - bloggers?) or be able to see things from a personal view due to technology and the ability to whip out the phone camera at just the right time? Furthermore, it makes me wonder over what this means for my future - the skills I will require and will obtain through experience and seeking different opportunities out.

There are two factors of journalism that I greatly appreciate; it makes things more personal - an event could take place on the other side of the Earth, but we can find out and even watch it happening live as if we are part of it, and see things from another's point of view. The second relates to the revelation I sort of made during this lecture, looking over the timeline of pictures and that is that journalism is always moving, always exciting. You will never get the same thing twice, just like a photo. There will be many things the similar, but not a duplicate.

Journalism is moving towards more photos, more pictures and cartoons to deliver information.

All in all, this lecture made me realise that although I may learn first and fore mostly through text, I am not immune to the power of a good picture telling a story.

If you don't know what quizzes I meant, here are a couple of links to what I found were pretty decent tests:

http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=3209

Also, thanks to ImageBlogs, which many of the images in this blog were located.

http://www.imageblogs.org/splendid-examples-photo-journalism-19-images

Using Text to Talk About Text - Lecture 3

Lecture 3 was loaded with not only new information, but a new face and perception to become accustomed to. I think I adjusted to it very well and Skye Doherty was very interesting to listen to. I felt like we were both sort of on the same page and had the same understanding about the world in relation to text, which is a great thing because it helps me maintain my concentration.

What I really like about text is how it is almost ubiquitous. Even those who claim they don’t read much are not immune to text, particularly in this highly online-oriented society we are members of.

But what is text?

Text is:

• Fast
• Flexible
• In complete control
• Portable
• Searchable

In journalism, text is the predominant method of delivering news. So much so that there has been a particular style and system that has developed to produce the best possible story for readers.

The rules I obtained from this lecture were that the introductions were vital. They have to be short and simple, but still provide the basic information of who, what, where, when and how usually in twenty words or less. From this point, the rest of the story is teased out from that introduction and with the inverted pyramid can be heavily edited down or cut out without losing any essential information.

Inverted Pyramid diagram:

I also learnt what general factors make a good headline. These three tips I thought were great advice:

1. Use a verb
2. Make them true
3. Avoid puns

Considering I have a wicked sense of humour that has been nurtured by my father, being told straightforwardly to avoid them in headlines was highly appreciated. Mostly because I would have used puns. A lot. So I think Skye might have just saved me from some awkward or disastrous headline-making attempts.

Just as a side tangent – last year, in my final year of high school, I worked for my school newsletter and wrote a number of featured stories and took plenty of photographs. I did this with one other friend. Writing the stories and taking the photographs were very easy for me. What I could never do, however, was write a headline. I attempted, several times, but I never could create anything. As was said in the lecture, creating good headlines and intros are crafts, ones that are crucial to master. So let’s say that Skye’s advice has definitely been taken to heart. I do regret not trying more in high school, however, after Skye informed us that the act of creating a headline and standfirst, and pull-out quotes are typically restricted to senior journalists and not the amateurs. I understand this process, but I personally think it helps no one. Young journalists take longer to learn and senior journalists spend half their time (maybe more, maybe less) writing headlines and standfirsts and so on for other people’s stories. I feel that I was gifted with a great opportunity to work on those skills, and kind of let it drift me by. I will find a way to amend this, somehow.

Earlier I mentioned that text is practically omnipresent, especially when it comes to the internet. Well, this was discussed in our lecture in quite some detail too! The fact is, text is fundamental online – the ‘heart of digital publishing’ is all words.

We use it in:

ü  Emails

ü  Forums

ü  Blogs

ü  Comments – Facebook, YouTube, Blogs, on basically everything

ü  Blurring

ü  Facebook

The last example is important because Facebook is phenomenal at the moment, and is one of the major ways in which people are receiving news. They are also encouraging for debates. If I could share all the interesting discussions I’ve taken part in with my friends on Facebook over a simple observation or emotional outburst, I would – but there are too many examples and that little issue of privacy.

An example I will give however is The Project on Channel 10 weeknights. Their Facebook and Twitter accounts are always posting stories and surveys for people to read and comment on to enhance their show and gain interest. Plus they read many of their comments on air too, which is a great way to motivate people to participate.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/theprojecttv - like it and take part of so many surveys and read many stories. It's fascinating, really.

Overall, I was not surprised by the importance of text. I learn from words and spend a lot of time on the internet reading. I was surprised by how stories on the internet differ from older media news stories, with aspects like tags and excerpts making spreading the news easier. Personally, I always considered working for an online magazine, and this lecture only further encouraged me to do so.