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 -