Media Watch

I recently found this show called "Media Watch", which follows news media and investigates their story when something is not right. It kind of is an investigative journalism on journalism. This particular episode explored how the show, "Today Tonight" inaccurately reported the lives of asylum seekers and refugees. It was shocking to see how TT reported the lives of refugees and deliberately fueled anger into Australians. I guess this shows the differences between Commercia Media (Today Tonight) and Public Media (Media Watch). I believe any form of journalism, whether commercial or public, should always report truthfully and provide facts. This video was shocking to see how commercial media may distort information to gather more viewers. I think I will be watching my news on ABC or SBS from now on.

Watch the video yourself, the content is quite disturbing:
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3346987.htm

Electric Buses

Brisbane will soon be introducing electric buses, which can fully charge within 10 minutes. This is starting to feel like that Brisbane is becoming very technology and environment-wise! The government granted $250 000 which Varley Electric Vehicles will use to convert the carbon-fuelled buses into electric. I think this is good initiative to help our environment.

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/electric-buses-bound-for-brisbane-streets-20111028-1mo4p.html

Page One: Inside the New York Times

Click here for source

During our week 12 lecture, we were lucky enough to watch the new documentary, “Page On: Inside the New York Times”, which dealt with the happenings of the New York Times newspaper.

The documentary explored the history of this prestigious newspaper, showing the extent of its power. Just like in the past, this newspaper remains very “elitist”. In past times all other forms of news media would refer to the New York Times for the stories. Basically, the New York Times set the agenda.

With the recent rise in technology and introduction of the internet, news has been available in different forms of media. Now days, more people are using the internet as their primary source of information, meaning that newspapers are suffering. Many journalists have lost their jobs due to the loss of newspapers. The New York Times, which offers so many talented journalists who are dedicated to the public are losing their jobs. This means we, in turn, are losing access to valuable information. Does the internet have the same dedicated journalists? Are civilian journalists, the same as these hardworking people? This documentary made us question the new source we are increasingly relying on.

This documentary brings not just informative, it was also very touching. Watching the journalists, who were so dedicated to their field, made me realise the importance of newspapers. It made me realise the importance of journalists themselves. Now, I am seriously considering to subscribing to a newspaper. It is important to be up to date with information. However, it is more important to be up to date with information that was provided by proper journalists.

When was the last time you bought a newspaper?

Lecture 11: Investigative Journalism

Investigative journalism is a serious part of journalism, as it uncovers the truth for the public. But isn't all parts of journalism supposed to achieve that?

So, what is investigative journalism?

"An investigative journalist is a man or woman whose profession is to discover the truth and identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available." (Hugo de Burgh)

Investigative journalism involves being:

• intelligent
• informed
• intuitive
• inside
• invest

Investigative journalism is more critical and thorough than other types of journalism. The journalist can deeply analyse issues over a long period of time. They are also referred to as "custodians of conscience", meaning that they can expose ideas and truths. Their purpose is to provide social justice  and also act as a "fourth estate", allowing a voice for those without power to help maintain democracy.

Recently, Julian Assange has been under the spotlight for his whistleblower site, "wikiLEAKS". This site leaked official government documents for everyone to see. But, is that a form of journalism? I believe, journalism should take one more step than just providing a reported account of an event. They should analyse the situation, and make critical observation without being biased. Perhaps Wikileaks introduced another branch of journalism, where anybody can reveal any type of information.

There are many methods for investigating, these include: interviews, observations and analysing documents. It is always important for any journalist to check their facts, as many sources may not always be truthful. Perhaps another method for checking data should be added to the process of investigative journalism.

Even if investigative journalism is to help the public by exposing the truths, there are many challenges and threats to this field. The increase in public relations decreases the amount of information journalists have access to. Online news always means that less people buy printed media which means less jobs. The future of investigative journalism, like all parts of journalism is the idea of a "Paywall". Online news are making their content available for those who will pay. This should help secure the jobs of many journalists even if the public may not be entirely happy.

Sources for images used (in order of appearance)

• http://edudemic.com/2010/10/google-offers-millions-for-better-journalism/
• http://www.jamiepenn.co.uk/
• http://www.businessreviewusa.com/sectors/hackers-stand-behind-assange-and-wikileaks
• http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/i/investigative_journalism.asp

Lecture 10: News Values

News values can be defined as,

"the degree of prominence a media outlet gives to a story, and the attention that is paid by an audience."

 Basically, news values is:

1. Impact - the way news can really affect its reader
2. Audience Identification - how news can cover topics personally relevant to its readers
3. Pragmatics - being ethical, factual,  and current
4. Source Influence - finding the truth 

News values is also commonly referred to as "newsworthiness" which is a set of values which can determine the impact of a story. The first lecture discussed how a news feature should be written, with the most "newsworthy" information written at the top. This shows how people are after certain things from a topic. It is also interesting to note that, news values are common across different cultures and do not vary across different mediums of news. 

There are many values which can make a story more "newsworthy". These include:

• locality
• negativity
• recency
• currency
• continuity
• uniqueness
• proximity
• simplicity
• personality
• expectedness
• elite nations/people
• size
• exclusivity 

These values make a story more interesting and more likely to capture a greater audience. Hence, it is important for journalists to find a story that can capture many of these values into their story. Many journalists can instinctively determine if a story is more newsworthy.

There are many challenges for news values. Commercialisation of media has begun to threaten journalism by capturing a greater audience. Public relations can sometimes limit/hide information form journalists which may interfere with their news article. 

"If it bleeds, it leads" - Death is a big news value.

News values is a very important part of journalism - it can identify whether a story will be read or not. For me, what is more newsworthy depends if I am interested in that topic. Locality, negativity and elite people are some features that make a story more newsworthy to me. 

The uniqueness of this report makes it newsworthy.
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/

 Sources of Images used (in order of appearance)

• http://www.searchengineoptimizationstlouis.com/
• http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_25.htm
• http://s910673.edublogs.org/2010/02/11/researching-radio-news/
• http://blurredkeys.com/2009/04/two-bloodbaths-on-newspaper-covers/

 

Lecture 9: Agenda Setting

As a person who watches TV regularly, I never really stop to consider how the news shapes my understanding of the significance of each article. I assume, like many others, that if it is covered in depth, it is of greater importance. This week's lecture covered "Agenda Setting" which is defined as,  

"the process of the mass media presenting certain issues frequently and prominently with the result that large segments of the public come to perceive those issues as more important than others. " (Coleman et al., 2008)

Basically, it is a theory which explores how the news determines "reality" for its viewers.  

Firstly, there are four types of agendas:

• Public Agenda - the issues which the public view as important
• Policy Agenda - topics which decision makers think are significant 
• Corporate Agenda - topics that corporations deem important
• Media Agenda - the topics that the media examines  

It was interesting to learn that the reality is a social construction. Our perception of reality is formed through social processes (like language). This is very true when you think about it. When you  are recounting a factual story, you are providing additional information to another person. This enhances that person's knowledge and thus their conception of "reality". It is the media which controls how reality is mediated in our understanding, giving them the power of "constructing reality". They have the ability to filter and shape reality as well as convey greater importance to a story. 

So, where did this theory come from? Walter Lippman reported that the Mass Media had the ability to create pictures in our minds. He also explained that propaganda is used to influence people by creating images in their minds. 

There are two main types of Agenda Setting Theory: 

1. First Level Agenda Setting Theory - how the media proposes what the public should think about
2. Second Level Agenda Setting Theory - how the media proposes how the media should consider a topic

So, what does it do? It is quite obvious that the media can change the way we think about topics. Agenda Setting can even be used for politics - the way we think about policies or politicians, themselves. 

Although the media does not always change our minds, it does give us something to think about. 

The "Agenda Setting Family" is a list of effects that Agenda Setting can accomplish and in result, influence people.

1. Media Gatekeeping - how the media limits the exposure of certain topics 
2. Media Advocacy - how the media promotes certain issues  
3. Agenda Cutting - how the truth is not fully exposed, thus becoming less important through less exposure
4. Agenda Surfing - how the media focuses on what the individuals are more interested in 
5. The diffusion of News - the "when"/ "where"/"how" of the news being delivered
6. Portrayal of an issue - how the media portrays a topic can affect how the audience views the topic 
7. Media Dependence - if a person relies on the media for news more, he/she will be more vulnerable to agenda setting

I am a Facebook user, like millions of others, and do sometimes use it for news. I have seen how many important events have been conveyed over this website and being reported before the news. I can imagine how false information can spread through Facebook quickly. I think we still need to rely on actual news websites, so we can receive more accurate stories. 

A strength of Agenda Setting Theory is that is can explain why many people find certain issues more important and significant. A weakness of this theory is that is does not influence people who have already made a decision. 

Recently, many channels have created a 24 hour news cycle. Other than TV, the internet sufficiently provides us with breaking news all hours of the day. I find this a very useful tool for me to be informed about the current affairs. We can even use our phones when we travel to read news articles as well! 

So, what's a big topic today?? Climate change is a huge issue today, and so many different types of media have covered so much about it. I know that the media influenced my opinion about Global Warming. With the news reports always covering climate issues, it was impossible to not agree with them. Earlier this year, Guillard set the "Carbon Tax" which shocked the nation. This set the agenda for many newspapers for a great period. I think climate change is a big topic and can still set the agenda in the future as well. 

Sources of Images (in order of Appearance)

• http://asne.org/article_view/articleid/501/agenda-setting.aspx
• http://kateto.net/research/
• http://www.mediatenor.com/smi_AS_approach.php
• http://www.mediatenor.com/smi_AS_approach.php
• http://queaprendemoshoy.com/2011/07/24/la-agenda-setting-o-como-los-medios-manejan-la-informacion/
• http://yostandy10.blogspot.com/

Lecture 8: Public Media

This week focused on the opposite of last week's topic of Commercial Media. Public media has different goals and expectations than commercial media and perhaps more responsibility. I learnt that we should make more use of public media, because they are providing the "real" news.

Public media is any form of reporting that was produced to serve the public and not make a profit. Within the Australia Media Landscape, public media channels includes ABC and SBS (both TV and radio). The "Community Media" includes channels like 31 Digital and 4ZZZ. The International Media Landscape's public media includes BBC, PBS, TVNZ and CBC.

In our society, public media allows support of democratic processes. "Public value" is what public media means to produce - things that can help society. According the BBC, public value involves:

1. striving to serve the public
2. quality to overlook the license fee
3.  "weighing public value against market impact"
4. public consultation

The ABC Channel.

 The ABC and SBS channels produce many types  of media, including: news, drama, radio, comedy and documentaries. The ABC was made to promote the nation and has certainly achieved that. Many watch this channel for greater opinion and more intelligent shows. SBS was made as a "multicultural" channel, it features many shows from many different shows. My father watches the "Hindi News" on SBS every single day, and I believe that this channel has allowed us access to a greater extent of information that is not usually presented on other news channels. It can be seen that public media promotes greater thinking and more information. It promotes the nation in many ways:

• building on it
• heritage
• identity
• conversations

The SBS Channel.

There is a commercial aspect of PM, but it strives more to serve the public than make profits. Reports show that 41% of Australians watch ABC news. Their radio channels are the only ones that provide an insight and analysis of current affairs. Personally, I watch SBS "World News" because they are able to address issues globally, which I find more informative. They also provide interviews with politicians. Last week's reading on Commercial Media showed that they had to reduce politics in their channels due to the lack of interest. However, if politics surrounds are society, so why should we remove it from our media?

People may think of PM as "serious", "boring", "importance rather than interest" and even "elitist". However, PM can provide information that is important to our society and make insight and analysis of that. Due to this alone, I believe PM is successful and although these feeling above may turn others away it will still attract an audience. Both channels have also introduced more entertainment shows (which are still intelligent) so they should attract more audience.

I believe PM has achieved many things, they have provided and are:

• quality programs
• being relevant to their audience
• supporting democratic processes
• informing the public 
• independent

Their only challenge, in my opinion, is to continue to deliver this. Many politicians have questioned the agendas of PM and whether they are bias. However, 85% of Australians disagree with this. There are many shows where politicians are able to debate with each other and show their own perspectives. Now days, journalists must always report both sides of a story, even if they do not personally agree with one side. I think this shows true reporting, because in Psychology we must always show the disadvantages and advantages of any findings. From this can we show that we are insightful and not limited with our thinking.

This lecture has definitely made me more interested in PM. It is about time I explore more of the shows that both ABC and SBS offer. "Four Corners" is an interesting show which analyses many current affair, I definitely recommend it to anyone!

Sources of Images used (in order of appearance)

·       http://scienceofblogging.com/working-with-your-publicmedia-relations-office-a-primer-for-researchers/

·       http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/pressure-for-abc-sbs-to-merge/story-e6frfmyi-1111117775944

·       http://www.southasiatimes.com.au/news/ndtv-ousts-dd-on-sbs-tv/