Lecture 12 - Investigative Journalism

Ross Coulthart said "isn't all journalism meant to involve questioning investigation of facts and opinions presented to us?"  

The in's of investigative journalism:

Investigative
Intelligent - should be well thought out.  Weigh it up intelligently.
Informed - need to be briefed on the fact.  If you're informed, you'll be able to inform.  Be well    researched.
Intuitive - be able to sniff the air to know that something is going on.  Sharpen your intuition skills.  Can't be taught but it comes naturally to some.  Combination of nature & nurture.
Inside (intimate) - try to get inside.  Finding out what is going on.  Infiltrate people's heads and lives be careful not to exploit them.
Invest - an investment of time (research), money, relationships.

Two major examples spring to mind when thinking about investigative journalism are the Watergate scandal and WikiLeaks.  A successful piece of investigative journalism aims to uncover new and fresh information to deliver to the public.  Investigative journalists are considered 'the voice of the voiceless'.  

Citizen journalism is becoming more popular and with mediums like YouTube Investigate, more people can present stories of their own.  It will be interesting to see how much need there is for professional investigative journalists when most people think they can do it themselves.

Lily xxx

Week 11 - Agenda Settings

Explained simply, agenda setting is about how much importance the media places on specific parts of a story in order to have it written then they way they would like it to be.  It correlates with news values but it is related mainly with broadcast media, that is, what the journalist believes is the most important part of the story rather that presenting the story purely using the facts.  The first agenda is the public agenda.  This suggests that the media will present the story in a way they think the public perceive it to be important.  The second agenda is the policy agenda, that is, issues that decision makers think are salient, for example legislators.  Thirdly, corporate agenda is are issues that big business and corporations consider important.  Finally, the media agenda are issues that are discussed in the media.  These agendas are not discreet and in their own little world.  They are interrelated and are happening all the time.  

The media outlets have all the control over what they put on the front page of the paper or the online bulletin.  They can misconstrue court cases, make famous people's dinner dates seem more important than the upcoming election and even tell us that Harper Beckham's wardrobe costs 5000 pounds (why do I know that!?)  With the technology advancing faster than ever, media outlets follow the masses to pump out stories that are being written 24 hours a day.  If we want to stay on top of it, we need to make sure we consume a variety of different trusted media sources to ensure we're privy to the whole picture.

Lily xx

Lecture 9 - News Values

News values relates to how important or valuable a news story is.  It is the degree of prominence a media outlet gives to a story and the attention that is paid by an audience as a result.  We select stories based on how popular they will be with the public.  Things like celebrities, local stories and follow ups are considered popular news.  Firstly, you want to make an impact.  You want to make a reader say 'gee whiz'!  Secondly, there is audience identification.  News is anything that's interesting, that relates to what's happening in the world, what's happening in areas of the culture that would be of interest to your audience.  Then there are pragmatics - ethics, facticity, current affairs etc.  Source influence comes next.  Journalism loves to hate PR...whether for spinning, controlling access, approving copy or protecting clients at the expense of the truth (Julia Hobsbawm).  

It is also important to point out that news values differ substantially across different news services and also across different cultures and countries.  People want to hear about news that affects them.  The people of Brisbane don't want to know if it's going to be a scorching hot weekend in Sydney, they want to know what the weather will be like where they live!  A good journalist will always keep news values at the forefront when writing a story to make sure they are engaging their target audience and providing relevant information.  People who want to find out about things going on in different parts of the world may just have to search a little bit harder that the 6pm bulletin to find what they're looking for.

Lily x

Lecture 8 - Ethics

This weeks guest lecturer, Donna Meiklejohn, looks at what is right and what is wrong and how we can analyse why.  How do we base our decisions?  Journalists have a reputation for not having a moral compass, being cold and not really caring about the emotions and feelings of others.  There is a very fine line between what should and should not be published and how something should be reported.  

There are three theories surrounding ethics in journalism,  Firstly, there is deontology.  This is where subscribers follow a set of rules, principles and duties.  In effect, you do the right thing ethically by following the rules.  All ethics codes are deontological.  The second theory, consequentialism, is all about outcomes.  It follows the principals of:  It doesn't matter how you got the end result.  The end may justify the means and the greatest good for the greatest number.  Finally, the ethics of virtue whereby the question is asked does it align with the person I want to be.  Goodness comes from morally good habits (or dispositions) of character.  It is based on virtues based by Aristotle.

I believe throughout a journalist's career they will have to call on all three of the ethical theories to make the right decisions.  Some people will have a more difficult time making these decisions where others won't even need to bat an eyelid.  

Lily xxx

Lecture 7 - Public Media

I previously blogged about commercial media so It seems fitting to follow up with a rant on public media.  

From the words of WGBH Educational Foundation Conference, Public media is media whose mission is to serve or engage a public...It may be for profit, so long as its ultimate purpose is to serve the public and not turn a profit.  In the Australian media landscape we're talking about ABC, SBS and their digital counterparts.  Public media is vast across the world.  There is lots in Europe, Africa and Canada.  Internationally, public media consists of Channel 4, BBC, NHK, PBS, NPR, ARTE, RTHK. Public media is in support of a democratic society.  According to the BBC: there is the idea of embedding a public service ethos, value for licence fee money, weighing public value against market impact and public consultation.  A lot of us that actually enjoy the ABC are so grateful that we can watch some really good quality television made here in Australia without being interrupted by irritating advertisements.  

One of the many advantages of public media is the lack of commercial advertising.  It is for this reason that public media doesn't have to rely on the revenue from advertising which in turn gives it a great advantage over commercial media to report unbiased news and events.  I will point out that it's impossible for them to be completely unbiased but compared with commercial media, there is a significant difference.  This is mainly because public media are not obliged in any way to format their opinion or angle of a news story to support an advertising endorsement or partner.  

In this day and age of social media, reality TV and money hungry companies, it's a relief to know you can switch over to the ABC or SBS and be able to watch an unbiased news broadcast (most of the time).

On a final note, I was recently introduced to a new show called 'A Moody Christmas' which debuted on the ABC this week.  Check it out!

Lily xxx

Fishing

I remember previously mentioning that this summer I want to learn to surf...well I haven't learnt just yet but this weekend I learnt to fish!  It was fabulously therapeutic.  I went down to the Gold Coast, found a perfect spot on a rock at Tallebudgera Creek and got casting.  I had to handle live worms (which was disgusting) but once I had threaded them onto the hook and got myself underway it was great fun!  At first I thought it was a tiny bit boring because I wasn't get any bites but then just as I was ready to throw in the towel, I caught a Whiting!  I was so excited, we packed up straight away and cooked it up for lunch!  Another summer skill under my belt.

Lily x

Week 11: Annotated Bibliography

“The Olympic games are among the most significant sporting events in contemporary world.  Olympic broadcasts and news media accordingly are followed by large audiences, which places sport momentarily at the centre of the worlds attention” (Markula, P., 2009).  Journalism is an integral part of the Olympics, delivering content to households all over the world.  This annotated bibliography will explore the present news stories surrounding the 2012 Olympics, paying particular focus on media’s representation of women during the games.  It will be examined through the viewpoints of ABC News Radio, the Daily Mail online, The Australian Women’s Weekly and Dr Pirkko Markula.  The contrasting mediums of radio, print and online will seek to give a broad array of opinions on the issue in order to build credibility and critically engage. 

Markula, P. (Eds). (2009).  Olympic Women and the Media: International Perspectives.  Hampshire, UK: Palgrace Macmillan

Pirkko Markula is Professor of socio-cultural Studies of Sport and Physical Activity at the University of Alberta.  Her research interests are vast and include ethnography and poststructuralist feminist analysis of dance.  She has gained her credibility and reputation from co-authoring several highly revered books and journals with her main focus on women in sport.  This book specifically focuses on Olympic women and how they are represented and covered by the media.  This book is a collection of articles written by female 13 female academics from around the world.  The articles range from broad discussions of sport media representation of women, to specific case studies of female Olympians being underrepresented in the media during their performance in comparison with their male counterparts.  There is also detailed analysis of specific female Olympians being represented as sex objects rather than professional athletes.  On the contrary, some case studies explore certain country’s female athletes being represented equally.  Markula links the pieces together to create a balanced book with concise arguments surrounding the issue of female representation by the media at the Olympics.  The book is well referenced and includes evidence of coverage using newspaper excerpts and specific television broadcast information.  The significant use of citations throughout the book adds credibility to the research being presented by the editor and the contributors.

Brown, R. (Presenter).  (2012, July 27).  Australia’s first female Olympic flag bearer in 20 years [Podcast radio program].  Sydney: ABC The World Today.  Retrieved October 20, 2012, from http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2012/s3554849.htm

This radio conversation was found on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) website.  The ABC is one of Australia’s few public media entities.  It provides television, radio, online and mobile services.  Although funded and owned by the government, the ABC remains editorially independent.  London based ABC journalist Rachael Brown conducted the interview.  She speaks to Nick Green, the Australian Olympic team boss who had just named Lauren Jackson as the team captain and the first female flag bearer in 20 years.  The article focuses on the positive as to why Lauren Jackson was chosen as the flag bearer.  Whilst the title of the interview insinuates the main focus will be about the first female in 20 years to carry the flag, the actual crux of the story is focused on whether Britain will beat Australia in the medal tally.  The ABC withholds a high level of credibility and its content is seen to be of a high standard.  However, this article doesn’t go into enough depth about the flag bearer for the 2012 Olympic games.  Rachael Brown chooses to keep the interview to a light conversation and avoids the real substance to the story.

Burke, E. (2012, July 19).  Olympics outrage: Female athletes fly economy, men fly business.  The Australian Women’s Weekly.  Retrieved from http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/news/newsstories/8501753/olympics-outrage-female-athletes-fly-economy-men-fly-business

This article from a popular magazine, the Australian Women’s Weekly, is a heated piece about female athletes being treated unfairly compared with male athletes.  As expected in a women’s magazine, Burke writes passionately about the inequalities that the Australian female athletes faced during the 2012 Olympics.  She focuses on the fact that Australian female basketball team flew economy to London, while the men were flew business class.  The article is short but fairly well balanced.  It includes a rebuttal from basketball Australia denying any sexism and claiming that the player’s average heights determine their seating arrangements.  Burke also makes mention to other countries who flew their female athletes in a lower class than the men.  This article has been shortened and appropriated for online consumption.  The Women’s Weekly is published by ACP Magazines which is a division of PBL Media and while seen as a credible source, the articles are more lifestyle and entertainment based as opposed to hard news.  However, seeing as this issue focuses on women and so does the magazine, it makes a fitting platform for this particular content delivery. 

‘The Olympics has destroyed womanhood’: Columnist provokes storm of criticism after attack on ‘chestless, manlike’ competitors.  (2012, August 8).  The Mail Online.  Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185510/Newspaper-columnist-provokes-worldwide-outrage-saying-Olympic-Games-destroying-female-figure.html

This piece written by a Mail Online reporter is in reaction to another article that caused uproar and controversy all over the world.  The original opinion piece written by a Turkish columnist was describing how the Olympics have destroyed womanhood.  He wrote that the games was distorting women’s bodies and that extra points should be given to female athletes based on how feminine they looked.  In response, this online article describes the reaction from the rest of the world. On their website, the Mail Online do not publish the names of the journalists which lessens the credibility of the work.  The Mail Online journalist picks apart the original column and also includes images of the specific female athletes being scrutinized.  It also includes a comments section at the end of the story for people to voice their own opinion of the story.  The Mail Online is owned by Daily Mail and General Trust and is one of the largest media conglomerates in Europe.  Its popularity is a reflection of its credibility.  This article directly relates back to Markula’s research that shows the inequality and misrepresentation of women by the media during the Olympic games.