Lecture - News Values

This lecture was quite interesting here we discussed the meaning of news values, threats and the future for news values.
News values is the degree of prominence a media outlet gives out and the result / attention given by the audience.
News Values are the following:
1. Impact
2. Audience identification
3. Pragmatics
4. Source influence
"News journalism has a broadly agreed set of values, often referred to as newsworthiness." A. Boyd (1994)


FORMAT OF NEWS DELIVERY
Most newsworthy information ---> Important details ---> Other general information ---> Background information.


NEWSWORTHINESS: THE FACTORS

1.  Negativity - should carry bad news not only the good.
2. Closeness to home - News should be geographically close to audience and talk about people.
3. Recency - Breaking news
4. Currency - news must be valuable
5. Continuity - must be prolonging news.
6. Uniqueness - news should be unusual
7. Simplicity - delivered in a simple and easy to understand format
8. Personality - News should carry a kind of personality
9. Size - Should be of appropriate size.
10. Exclusivity - News should be exclusive.

WEEK 11 & 12 LECTURE REFLECTION

Most  people think that an investigative journalist work is to discover the truth and to identify lapese from it in whatever media may be available. The deeper definitions and purpose of investigative journalism is that it is a critical and thorough journalism. The journalist is an active participant and try to make a substantial effort. For example, time spent, sources consulted and a thorough approach. It also contain custodians of conscience. Investigation takes society's morals and norms and holds breaches up to public scrutiny. It is trying to provide a voice for those without one and to hold the powerful to account. It is also a watchdog as journalists make accountable public personalities and institutions whose functions impact social and political life.

There are different types of investigation interaction such as interviews, observation, documents, briefings, leaks, trespass and theft. Online news is one of the threats to investigative journalism because the free online news make lesser people to purchase a real newspaper and that means there will be less journalists and less time to investigative journalism. The future of investigative journalism is more focus on internet as people tend to read online news and watch YouTube in order to get world news.

MY SYDNEY EXPERIENCE

On 18/10/2012 I was at the Brisbane Domestic Airport getting ready for my flight to Sydney. It was a short planned trip so got cheap tickets via Tiger Airways not really my cup of tea but i didn't mind as my excitement was over the moon. I reach Sydney airport at 7pm Brisbane time it was nothing different but as soon as we were in the car I could feel the difference... Sydney is so huge, beautiful and has the longest drives considering we were not living in the city.
The next day did nothing during the day but at night decided to visit the night clubs and landed at a famous club called Roxy well it was not to my expectation maybe because it was a Friday night or because I just didn't know where many people go to on Fridays so it was a bummer.
Yeah Saturday came and I was off to the shopping malls, my next best thing after my family. I love Sydney malls they are so huge with plenty of sales and with so many shops compared to Brisbane. Let me just say I shopped till i dropped it was so fun.
Sunday woke up, had breakfast and took a long drive to see the famous Sydney Opera house and truth is the architecture is breathtaking. I also saw the Sydney harbour so beautiful there's something about Sydney that is different and I guess its the buildings and different sites to see.
Monday came and I missed my flight the fury and pressure killed me but I eventually ended up buying another ticket and staying 4hours in the airport doing nothing :-(

Here are my pictures of my well deserved weekend at Sydney.... :-))

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Annotated bibliography assignment 

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Journalism is a form of professional communication used to give current happenings and events. This annotated bibliography will focus on two areas the first will be on investigative journalism and the second area will focus on the issue of asylum seekers which is a trending topic in Australia. The mediums used are a book for the first part and the rest will be from television, online journals and newspapers.

Hugo De Burgh (2000) Investigative journalism: Some issues surrounding investigative journalism. (p.65-66) The author of this book focuses on some issues that affect investigative journalism and this is evident when he states that investigative journalism can be interpreted as simply a weapon in the battles between two competing powers, media and authority to set the public agenda. The development of investigative journalism in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in a spate of inquiries into maladministration and corruption that shocked Britons. It justified journalism by demonstrating that the public service could not be trusted but thanks to investigative journalism there is use of scrutiny to find evidence. This shows that to practice and call yourself an investigative journalist you have to be ready to face difficulties but should have skills such as scrutiny and be able to have a public opinion. I highly agree with the author because some people who are leaders use power to be corrupt and carry out deals but if we have strong journalists who do not fear they can single out this problem easily and this helps millions if citizens all over the world to know the truth that are hidden from them.

Chiara Pazzano, (2011) Asylum seekers: Where Australia stands SBS News. Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1295782/Asylum-seekers-Where-Australia-stands

The SBS news article and other articles from other media houses are focusing a lot on asylum seekers in Australia because it has become a common issue in the headlines. In this article the writer Chiara Pazzano is trying to establish whether asylum seekers who arrive in Australia via air are much better candidates to get citizenship and help than those arriving by boat. Australia is marked as the 47^th country with the highest refugee intake but the boat people have made the country look bad as they are always put in detention camps until their documents are well processed but most die and this under the UN is marked as poor human rights administration. This article is also trying to justify that the government has shown proof that most people arrive by air rather than using boats hence the image portrayed worldwide is actually wrong and that the detention camps are not that bad as usually seen. Hence Australia government is trying very much to change its image worldwide by giving out government figured to show that only a small number of asylum seekers arrive by boat and are forced to stay in detention camps that lead to their deaths or inhumane treatment.

ABC Radio Australia, (2012) More asylum seekers choose home over Nauru. Retrieved from http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-10-16/more-asylum-seekers-choose-home-over-nauru/1030942

The ABC radio recently had an interview where they were interviewing a government official on the new case that more asylum seekers prefer to take the option of going back to their war-torn countries than staying in the detention camps and facing problems. There has been a high case of asylum seekers causing self- harm due to the hardships they are facing and result in hanging of self. The asylum seekers held demonstrations asking Australia to shut down the detention camps as they are willing to return back home rather than dying in the country where they seek refuge. This story is quite unfortunate as the asylum seekers come into the country in search of protection but go through hardships in Australia to a point they prefer going back home and dying there because most have watched their friends or family kill themselves in the centers which is an awful feeling I can imagine. I kind of agree with the station that the minister in charge of this department of immigration should take charge and act because if the news is viewed internationally it is a bad image for the country in general. The faster this problem is solved the better for the country and people involved especially the suffering asylum seekers who seek help.

Pickering S. & Weber L. (2012)  If we care about asylum seekers we must count deaths in detention  Retrieved from http://theconversation.edu.au/if-we-care-about-asylum-seekers-we-must-count-deaths-in-detention-9731  

 This is a blog written by two professors from Monash University. In the blog they state that The Houston Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers was set the task of reducing deaths of asylum seekers following the mounting loss of life on the seas between Indonesia and Australia. But it remained blind to the deaths of asylum seekers in Australian custody. Australia is yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment that is concerned with the oversight and monitoring of detention facilities. It is true to say that the Australian ministry in charge of the asylum seekers has neglected finding the exact number of asylum seekers who have died and this is increasing as the evidence is seen when the asylum seekers in Nauru committed self- harm and nobody noticed or informed the government on this incident this is clearly negligence and this shows lack of care for the asylum seekers who endure hardship in detention centers and opt to die.

APA STYLE  REFERENCE LIST

ABC Radio Australia (2012, Oct 16) more asylum seekers choose   home over Nauru. (Radio webpage) Retrieved from http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-10-16/more-asylum-seekers-choose-home-over-nauru/1030942

Chiara Pazzano (2011, Feb 16) Asylum seekers: Where Australia stands (Web page article) retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1295782/Asylum-seekers-Where-Australia-stands

Hugo De Burgh (2000) Investigative journalism: Context and practice. (p.65-67): Some issues surrounding investigative journalism.  New York, NY: Wall Street.

Pickering S. & Weber L. (2012, Oct 15) If we care about asylum seekers we must count deaths in detention. (Blogpost) Retrieved from http://theconversation.edu.au/if-we-care-about-asylum-seekers-we-must-count-deaths-in-detention-9731

Tattoos

Everywhere you turn nowadays and almost everybody you meet has a tattoo. Some have special meanings and symbols to the owners while others do it for the style and fashion.
Tattoos have become a fashion trend that everybody is striving to follow both the old and new generation. What is your opinion on them let me know people....

In Other News I got pictures of some celebrities with tattoos and on that note I own one too :-)

Here is a picture of my own tatoo..

FACTUAL STORY TRANSITION INTO THE UNKNOWN

We all grow up in a community, nation, country or village and we adapt to the living habits of the place. Time passes and we start to learn that we need to relocate in search of a better future, job, education or life partners.
The hardest transition and the one I decided to pay attention to is the transition of students from their countries of birth and naturalization to other countries in search of education and better their futures.
I grew up in Kenya, Africa and I was used to the life there until the 18th March 2011 when my mum decided to change my fate and move me to Australia "down under". I was frustrated and under denial because I feared the unknown, a place where I had no friends, family and a new race for me. This was hard to come to terms with but I decided to change my attitude three months later.
I am doing a story focusing on the transitions faced by one of my friends.

I start with Vishnudharan kadharan he is 30years old and of Malaysian descend he came to Australia to pursue a degree in accounting and finance. Being an only child and from studying through homeschool method I decided to ask him about his reaction and the transition to Australia. These were the questions used in the interview:

1.      What was your first impression about relocating to a new country?

2.      What was your reaction on stepping foot in Australia?

3.      How has your transition been and would you want to live here forever?

4.      What challenges do you face daily or most of the time?

5.      How different is Australia from your home?

    The format of questioning is through audio as the speaker was quite uncomfortable with using video method.

WEEK 7 LECTURE - PUBLIC MEDIA

Public Media is defined as a media whose mission is to serve or engage a public hence it can be government owned as its main aim is the public.
Examples of Public media companies internationally are: BBC, PBS, NHK(Japan), DR(Denmark)

                                                                                   
                                             
                                                                                 
                                               








Some of the examples of public media in Australia are ABC tv, SBS tv and radio.

The role of the public media is:

• Embedding public service ethos
• Value for licence fee money
• Weighing public value against market impact.

Functions of public media

• Nation building
• Nation heritage
• Nation identity
• National conversations.

Its true to state that there's a difference between public media and commercial media and public media is known for:      

•  Serious in delivering information
• Broadsheet style
• Importance of information over interest
• Boring

Challenges of Public media

• Allegations of biasness / agenda
• Lack of funding
• Lack of sharing opinion with the public.