News of The Day!

It's hard not to keep up with the Kardashians

You would have to be living under a rock, if you haven't heard all the sage surrounding Kim Kardashian. It's the hollywood human headline who is on Australia shores after filing for divorce after 72 days. What strikes me is the amount of young girls who essentially idolise these sisters who are famous for doing nothing except being famous. The Kardashian family live a life so public that as Kim heads back to America to try and deal with the fall out of her divorce will she truly be able to with the intense media scrutiny. Those at the Sydney Airport this week described the media frenzy like something they'd never seen before. While the Kardashian family made the choice to live in the public eye, its time we let them step out of it, even just for a minute.

Air Competition Heating Up

As the industrial dispute between Qantas and its workers begins to move from the front page of our papers, a new player in the Australian air travel market has been announced. Air Australia is set to be another budget airline calling our shores home. For Strategic Airline its a good time for a re-branding with consumer trust in Qantas at an all time low.

Where I am now?

At the start of this semester we had to write about ourselves and why we were studying Introduction to Journalism and Communication - JOUR1111. Over the past thirteen weeks I've shared with you what I've learnt through my lecture reflections and assignments, and now I'd like to share with you what I've learnt about myself, where I want to go, and how I want to get there.

- I realised that more than ever, I want to be sports journalist. I would love to write about something that I'm interested in everyday.
- I would love nothing more than to write on a country/regional paper for a year. Throughout the course it has been described as the best starting place for journalists and something that I genuinely find exciting.

I have also learnt about the power of social media. Over the duration of this course I have learnt about the significant role that sites like Twitter and Facebook play in how we receive our news and the way we will get our news in the future.

If this course has done nothing else, its further increased my hunger to be a journalist.

Lecture Twelve - Steve Molks

In our final lecture, we were treated to a guest lecture by Steve Molks, founder of Molks TV. Essentially Steve has created his own online following, through the use of Social Media. In the fast changing world of Journalism, it is refreshing to hear from someone who has found their place in Journalism through Social Media and writing about something they have a passion for and love.

The lecture also made me reflect on myself, and what I want out of my journalism degree. I am more sure than ever, that despite the challenges I would like to go into print media, with my dream job in sports journalism.

To see just what Steve Molks does visit his website MolksTVTalk or find him on twitter.

Page One: Inside the New York Times

"With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source, and newspapers going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the media industry’s transformation and assesses the high stakes for democracy.

The film deftly makes a beeline for the eye of the storm or, depending on how you look at it, the inner sanctum of the media, gaining unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom for a year. At the media desk, a dialectical play-within-a-play transpires as writers like salty David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent, publishing material from WikiLeaks and encouraging writers to connect more directly with their audience. Meanwhile, rigorous journalism—including vibrant cross-cubicle debate and collaboration, tenacious jockeying for on-record quotes, and skilful page-one pitching—is alive and well. The resources, intellectual capital, stamina, and self-awareness mobilized when it counts attest there are no shortcuts when analyzing and reporting complex truths." - Sundance Film Description

When it comes to newspapers, there are none more famous than the New York Times. The documentary, Page One: Inside the New York Times, takes a look at just that a year of the New York Times. Documentary maker Andrew Rossi, takes a look at what many describe as a struggling news industry.

In a year in which the 'death' of the newspaper was talked about more than ever, due to the Wikileaks website, there was one clear message from the movie, the news industry is not dying, there is and always will be a need for news.

The documentary has captured the industry at an interesting moment in its history as newspapers struggle to  keep up with the growing presence of news on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The documentary also captures the introduction of the New York Times Paywall, a model that may just be the saviour of the newspaper industry.

If you're interested in the newspaper industry, take a look at the film, showing at the Schonell Theatre. If you don't have time to get there, have a look at this video, which features interview with those involved in the production -

Annotated Bibliography - Coal Seam Gas Mining in the Scenic Rim

Vines, J (2001). News values and country non-daily reporting. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 10, 38-48. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/fullText;dn=200114456;res=APAFT

The author is an academic who has lectured in Journalism at Deakin University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, which demonstrates that she has a strong knowledge of the area. The article uses a range of sources including those who have knowledge of the country newspaper industry to back up the articles idea, however the reliability of the article is questionable due to the fact that it was written in 2001. Due to technological advancements since then one of the key ideas of country towns being isolated due to a lack of technology is outdated, however the key idea of country publications focusing on the community is still seen in country newspapers today. The article is well referenced, with the author citing sources from a variety of different perspectives, which helps to strengthen the article. The language used in the article is easy to understand, making it easy for the reader to comprehend the authors intended meaning. The article is quite helpful to understand the differences between reporting in a country publication and daily publication. One of the key ideas in the article is that country non-daily publications focus more on the ideals of the community instead of the typical ‘if it bleeds it leads’ news value.

Best, M. (Reporter). (2011, October 16). Channel Seven News [Television Broadcast]. Brisbane, QLD: Channel Seven

This clip from Channel Seven news illustrates the difference between the treatment of country news by large media organisations and local media organisations. While the local news organisations focus more on the effect on the local community, the channel seven story uses both facts and emotion and focuses on the bigger story. The story also gives background information to ensure that those who aren’t from the Scenic Rim can understand the story. As this story was a television story on a major network, the target audience was substantially larger than that of a local/regional newspaper. It is interesting to note that the story focused largely on the threat of the community losing its lifestyle as well as the ‘country’ values that exist within the Scenic Rim.  While this is central to the reason that many residents do not want Coal Seam Gas mining, the stories from the local papers focused more on the protest itself, not the effect of Coal Seam Gas mining.  The channel seven story also featured a balancing viewpoint from Arrow Energy who is responsible for the Coal Seam Gas exploration, and Alligence Coal, who are responsible for any future Coal Mining.  In many ways this demonstrates the way in which major news organisation will present an issue of conflict whereas local papers like the Fassifern Guardian and Beaudesert Times are more inclined to report about Community Development. Unlike the other articles, the author has no interest in the region or the impact of Coal Seam Gas mining, meaning a less biased viewpoint is presented.

Cunningham, C. (2011, 18 October) Anti-Mining Fight Reaches New Heights. Beaudesert Times. Retrieved from http://www.beaudeserttimes.com.au/beaudesert/150-anti-mining-fight-reaches-new-heights

The online version of the Beaudesert Times, also featured an article on Coal Seam Gas Mining in the Scenic Rim. The article appears to be originally intended for print, however adapted to feature on the website. Beaudesert and its surrounds are the most populated region of the Scenic Rim, however the paper still has a relatively small circulation. The viewpoint of the Beaudesert Times is quite similar to that of the Fassifern Guardian, and despite the article being almost two weeks old it was still the central focus of the homepage, illustrating that it is a major issue in the community. The article uses many of the same sources as the Fassifern Guardian, however like the Seven News report it gave more background details. One of the main differences found when looking at the articles from country/regional non-daily papers and other media sources is the fact that a balancing sources was not used in either the Beaudesert Times or the Fassifern Guardian, rather the opinion and groups consulted only seem to reflect the view of the wider community.  Amongst the community the paper is seen to be a quite reliable source of information on local issues, which reflects the fact that the paper is written almost entirely with its target audience of local residents in mind.

Battle for the Scenic Rim. (2011, October 19). The Fassifern Guardian, p. 6-7.

The Fassifern Guardian is the local paper in the Boonah-Fassifern Region of the Scenic Rim and has covered the issue of Coal Seam Gas mining and exploration in great detail over the past few years. The paper is thought to be a reliable source of information by many locals who purchase the paper to find out about the issues that affect them, which is one of the main values of country newspapers and reporting. Paper recently won, the Best The Best Newspaper (circulation less than 10,000) at the Queensland Country Press Association conference. The article focuses more on the impact of Coal Seam Gas mining on the locals instead of the facts and figures which are the focus of other articles on the issues, written by those not from the region. While the paper doesn’t present a evident bias in the article, the journalists have in previous articles expressed their concern about the Coal Seam Gas in the Scenic Rim. While some may believe that this impacts on the reliability of the source, the view shared by the paper is the shared by the wider community, adding to the community value of the source. The article, which got a full front page and a spread in the centre of the paper is definitely is in line with the news value ‘if it is local it leads’ a value which is central to Country news publications. 

One in Seven Billion

The worlds population is forecast to reach 7 Billion next Monday. What does this mean for the human population? While the growing population is set to have little affect on those who live in first world nations, its those in developing who will be impacted the most over the next 25 years.

The human population has already exceeded forecasts in terms of the population that the planet can sustain. Problems seem certain in the future however, with famines already affecting many in third world countries. It is only a matter of time before we see the stabilisation of the human population through one of the population controls identified by Thomas Malthus which included, war, famine and disease. 

They say that one man can change the world, but its time all 7 billion people worked together to ensure that we do have enough resources to cater for the worlds growth. 

Apparently the Burgers are No Longer Better at Hungry Jacks - But they're Organic

Hungry Jacks to Change Its Image

In a bid to change their image Hungry Jacks has ditched its current slogan, introduced vegetable sticks and put Calorie information on their menu board. They have also introduced 'country style' burgers made from Organic Beef all around the country. 

Are customers however really concerned about the nutritional value of their meal? Does anyone really go to a fast food chain to purchase salad sticks with the burger? People go to these places mainly out of convenience with knowing that it is not the healthiest food or most nutritional food. 

While customers always take to the new products in the long run, you only have to take a look at the Hungry Jacks Facebook page to see that many customers are upset over the removal of some burgers including the Aussie Burger as well as the changing of the slogan. 

In terms of their new 'Country' burgers is it just another example of companies tagging on the idea of the country or homestyle to simply sell more? The beef industry is full of labels from Angus to Grain Fed, to Organic. Terms which were once used only by beef producers, butchers and fine dining resturants are now common place in our supermarkets and fast food chains.