Annotated Bibliography Assessment

Croteau, D, Hoynes, W. (2006). The Business of Media: Corporate Media and the Public Interest. PineForgePress.Retrievedfrom:http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=s1GYiTi2vgAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=journalism+%2B+public+interest+&ots=5xeLdr8C9-&sig=y3barSR_yO0FCjY_CIbYj-a9K4Y#v=onepage&q=journalism%20%2B%20public%20interest&f=false

David Croteau and William Hoynes, the authors of this book, are both renowned academic and social commentators in the areas of sociology of media and culture. Croteau taught as an associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University whilst Hoynes is a professor of sociology at Vasser College, New York. Their published works and extent of academic careers indicates credibility in this subject matter. In their publication a key tenet is the concept of promoting diversity and avoiding homogeneity in the media for the benefit of public interest. The authors suggest the best way to promote public interest is exposure to a wide range of ideas to allow better understanding of societal views. To enable this exposure it is suggested that presentation of ideas outside the boundaries of the ‘norm’ in a variety of formats and platforms benefits public interest by encouraging public debate. Further, the authors suggest that a range of ideas should include views that relate to race, gender, political and ideological perspectives to facilitate that debate. This is credible because a democratic society champions free speech and the exchange of ideas. Furthermore, the expansive list of references used by the authors indicates the extensive amount of research undertaken.  

Slater, J. (2012, October 12). The greatest (cheat) of them all. The Courier Mail, p. 22-23.

Jim Slater constructs a well- supported article outlining Lance Armstrong’s alleged involvement in a doping conspiracy. Slater, a journalist for respected Queensland newspaper The Courier Mail, constructs an article which reveals allegations made against Armstrong in the US Anti-Doping Agency’s report against him. There is less emphasis on Armstrong being ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and more placed on the accusations published in the report. Quotes from Armstrong’s manager support his innocence and are included alongside quotes made by USADA chief executive Travis Tygart as a stark contrast. Tygart describes Armstrong as having “pressured team mates to take performance enhancing drugs and to keep quiet about it.” The number of quotes from those supporting Armstrong’s guilt far outweighs the number proclaiming his innocence. Both men quoted have strong connections to the case and their inside knowledge adds credibility to the article. At the conclusion of the article readers are presented with fifteen claims that were made against Armstrong in the USADA report. The last impression left on the reader is one of guilt on Armstrong’s behalf which suggests a bias that is only downplayed due to brief hints of his innocence. There is a hint of sarcasm in the headline which also appears intriguing to the reader. This source appears to be credible due to the presentation of evidence cited directly from the report released by the USADA and the strong reputation of the publishing newspaper. This in turn reduces concern about the author’s seeming inexperience. However, unlike David Kent’s article for Mail Online (cited below), a blatant display of bias is evident despite Armstrong’s unproven guilt. This is not overly concerning as the evidence against Armstrong is strong.

 

Kent, D. (2012, October 14). 'Serial cheat' Armstrong could take lie detector test to prove innocence. Mail Online. Retrieved October 16 2012 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2217691/Lance-Armstrong-lie-detector-test.html

This article was written by David Kent for Mail Online, the online version of the Daily Mail. This newspaper is the United Kingdom’s second most read and is highly regarded amongst the journalism community. The paper’s accolades being awarded a number of British Press Awards including the 2012 National Newspaper of the Year. This fact instills trust in the article’s content. The article is shorter than Slater’s two page spread (mentioned above) and does not allude to Armstrong’s innocence or his guilt, instead addressing both possibilities. Armstrong’s lawyer, Tim Herman, is the sole interviewee and he maintains his client’s innocence throughout and suggests the possibility of a lie detector test to prove it. Immediately after these comments are descriptions of Armstrong as a ‘drug-cheat’ made by the USADA. This back and forth opinion continues throughout the article and does not attempt to sway the opinion of the reader. Herman’s closing quote, “most people had staked out their position a long time ago about Lance. There are fans and there are haters,” offers little insight into the matter, allowing the reader to form an opinion. Whilst this source is considered credible due to its unbiased nature and publisher’s stellar reputation, it does not provide any hard hitting evidence against Armstrong and does not prove his innocence. In comparison to Slater’s article which provides an extensive update of the mounting evidence against Armstrong, Kent’s article provides an update on the situation. It simply opens the issue up for discussion within the public arena and is a story of interest. The image of Armstrong taking a past drug test adds substance to the article and effectively draws the reader in through curiosity.

McEwan, B. (2012, October 18). On ya bike. Ten News. Retrieved from http://tensport.com.au/video.htm?movideo_m=236528&movideo_p=47596

Channel Ten’s Brad McEwan presents this two minute news story as part of the Ten News sports report. Ten News is home to a number of award-winning journalists and McEwan boasts over fifteen years of sports journalism experience. Viewers can feel an increased confidence in the value and validity of the story as a result. Unlike the previous two articles cited which had a primary focus on Armstrong’s guilt or innocence, this story focuses on his major sponsor, Nike, forfeiting its sponsorship. McEwan reveals the decision was made by the sporting apparel company after Armstrong’s decision to step down from his position as chairman of Livestrong, his cancer charity. The journalist mentions Armstrong’s tarnished reputation, giving the viewer background information as to why he made the decision. An interview with Livestrong vice-president, Katherine McLane, further explains the reasons for his decision, adding that Armstrong felt remaining in his position would jeopardise the charity’s future. McLane’s close association with Armstrong adds to credibility of the source and gives the viewer a sense of receiving the ‘inside scoop’. Footage of a 2001 Nike advertisement is shown and McEwan discusses how the latest allegations against Armstrong completely discredit his promotion of the brand. A quote from Nike is shown on the screen and states that “(we) have been lied to for the past decade.” This focus on the effect of the allegations on Armstrong’s sponsors is refreshing for the viewer as it strays from the typical perspectives of Armstrong or his fans being affected. Ten News’s decision to focus on the different perspective shows originality of content and impeccable sourcing in accessing the interview with Katherine McLane. The interesting variety in footage was engaging and relevant to the story, adding to the credibility of this source.

Factual Storytelling Assessment

Battle Scars: A Tale of Childhood Cancer 

There is a post card hanging up in Maddy Ryan’s room quoting the great Nelson Mandela. “There are few misfortunes in the world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill.” It’s an interesting poster choice for a teenager but perhaps these words resonate with Maddy more than most. After all, she is a cancer survivor and has endured more hardship at 15 years old than most people do in a lifetime.

In September 2010, Maddy then thirteen was having scans on her left leg, thinking the diagnosis would be shin splints. As a competitive gymnast who trained 20 hours per week, an injury like this was pretty normal. So, when the doctors at the Royal Brisbane Children’s Hospital sat her down to explain she actually had bone cancer, her world as she knew it changed forever.

“When the doctors told me I had cancer I got this sick feeling in my stomach and started crying. The first thing I asked my doctor was ‘am I going to die?’ He reassured me they were confident they could cure me. I felt like that wasn’t enough though.”

Even as she recalls this harrowing experience Maddy doesn’t show much emotion. Her eyes are fixed ahead and she gives extremely eloquent answers for someone so young. The only hint of discomfort I notice comes from her constantly fidgeting hands. Despite her obvious strength of mind, her body is still frail and recovering from the effects of chemo and a new knee joint.

Just four days after the initial diagnosis came the first of 20 rounds of chemotherapy. The drugs that were helping ‘make her better’ made Maddy so nauseous that she couldn’t even look at food. Her body was sapped of every of last ounce of energy and there were days when she never left her hospital bed. Mum, Janine, stayed by her daughter’s bedside throughout the entire ordeal and even left her job to care for Maddy.

“There was no other option and I would do it again in a heartbeat. It’s emotionally draining watching your child feel so sick, it’s the worst thing I’ve experienced as a parent.” explains Janine.

A long scar on Maddy’s left shin and knee are evidence of the eight hour surgery that saved her leg. Had the cancer spread any further Maddy would have been faced with the task of learning to use a prosthetic leg.

“As soon as I woke up I asked Mum if I still had both of my legs. I was high from the pain killers and my legs were numb from the anaesthetic. I cried when they showed me they were still there.”

Instead she was given a new knee joint and part of her shin bone is now titanium. She is known as ‘Robo girl’ amongst doctors at RBCH and thanks to her $75,000 leg she is literally one of the most valuable teenagers walking around Brisbane. That’s right; she’s walking again and is not impartial to walking on her hands either. It’s an ex-gymnast’s habit she just can’t kick.

“Even though I can’t do competitive gym(nastics) anymore I’m glad I can at least do school gym. I’m just grateful I have two legs,” says Maddy, a sincere look of gratitude enveloping her face.

Her comment is thought provoking and forces me to reflect upon my own attitude towards life. A silence lingers in the air and I make a vow to appreciate the simpler privileges I have. Perhaps sensing the impact of her words, Maddy looks awkwardly around the room. She doesn’t like people feeling sorry for her; in fact, it’s one of her pet hates. Maddy insists that people have no reason to feel sorry for her, especially now that she is in remission. She has the gruelling nine month post-surgery chemo regime to thank for that.

The ‘R’ word in the world of oncology brings both a sense of sheer relief and uncertainty to the families and patients. There are no guarantees that the cancer won’t re- invade the body. Not until the long awaited ‘five years cancer free’ milestone is made are families able to relax and pull down their ‘cancer relapse’ radar. Five years is when Maddy can finally say ‘I don’t have cancer anymore.’ Until that day though, Maddy vows to live as normally as her body will allow her to. She is ready to move on with her life, a process that has already begun.

Not only has her hair grown back, but with it has come an offer from a prestigious Brisbane modelling agency. They didn’t even notice the scar on her leg.

 “At first I hated being the only one with short hair. The modelling scout said it brought out my features and since then I’ve grown to accept it,” she admits. 

It looks as though Maddy will have to throw out her collection of twelve scarves she once used to hide her bald head. If she has it her way there will be a ceremonial ‘burning of the scarves’ in the backyard and she’ll never look back.

Besides, Maddy has too much to look forward to in the next little while to even think about what she’s been through. An all- expense paid trip to Paris, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, is on the cards in the next two weeks. It will be a holiday well deserved for the entire Ryan clan and a chance to re-charge the batteries worn out from Maddy’s two year battle. I have to laugh though, when Maddy reveals the sense of humour that helped her get through treatment. The story of how she came to choose her ‘wish’ is a crack-up.

“Make-A-Wish said I could ask for anything and at first I just said I wanted an iPad. After a while I thought, actually l can do better than that, how about a trip to Paris?” Maddy grins with a ‘why not?’ shrug of the shoulders.

Although she refuses to accept the accolade, Maddy Ryan is an inspiration. The one word that makes her squirm with discomfort when used to describe her is most fitting. I can’t help but smile as I watch her leave the room, a slight limp in her step. She is a straight ‘A’ student, model, guitarist, cancer survivor and inspiration to many. If all goes well where her health is concerned, you can’t help but feel that the future is full of promise for Maddy Ryan.     

Bridge to Brisbane

Okay, so I decided to sign up for the Bridge to Brisbane this year. Who wouldn’t want to raise money for a well deserving cause AND get exercise at the same time. A LOT OF EXERCISE. It seemed like a great idea at the time. I was still feeling that post-Olympic euphoria where you suddenly consider any athletic endeavour you attempt to be entirely possible. ‘Why not?’ I thought, and promptly signed up for the 10 kilometre race. How hard can it be?

                                                                  It's hardly a mountain......

Well since then the euphoria (and the motivation) has faded and I’m feeling nervous about ‘the big run’. I went for a six kilometre run last week and the burn in my thighs has only just faded. Oh well, I’m still going to give it my all. There may be tears (and heart failure) along the way, but raising the money will be worth it. However, there may just be one less journalism student around UQ come Monday…. Wish me luck J

Lecture Six: Commercial Media

Upwards and onwards!!! For our sixth lecture we moved away from journalism skills and into the realm of journalism studies. Commercial media was our first taste.

The major players in commercial media are:

·         News Limited – newspapers, cable T.V, Film, magazines, books, sport

·         Fairfax Media – newspapers, digital media,

·         APN – Regional newspapers, digital media, radio, outdoor advertising

·         Nine entertainment – Free To Air (FTA) T.V, magazines, digital media

·         Win – FTA T.V, radio, sport, tele-communications

·         Southern Cross – FTA T.V, radio

·         Seven West Media – FTA, newspapers, magazines, digital media

·         Ten – FTA T.V, tele-comm

On the other hand, we only have two major public media players:

·         ABC

·         SBS

Commercial media exists for one main reason. MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!! It is a business, first and foremost and at the end of the day is profit driven. If not for its primary customers, the advertisers, commercial media would essentially fail. Money is made from advertisers who pay big money to expose the world to their products. Contrary to public media (where government funding is provided), commercial media’s key focus is the customer.

There are three forms of commercial media; subscription i.e. Foxtel, sponsored i.e. Channel 9 and subsidised i.e. government funded. In terms of the way they functions there are three options; commercial, propaganda and social.

With social media these days we tend to be bombarded with advertisements (breakfast radio crap anyone?) and the element of the ‘public sphere’ seems to be lost. This is obviously due to the commercial media providers chasing profits (which is understandable). There is a need for a provision of balance between commercial and social aspects.  But how can this be done?

Some suggestions have been put forth and already implemented including government agencies regulating content, state press subsidies and some countries have even introduced licensed journalism. All of these suggestions are in practice around the globe, however, they all come with problems. If governments are to keep censoring media content, where will they know when to stop? What happens if the government can’t handle a controversial issue but the public can? Don’t we live in a democracy??

Over the years commercial media has changed from a “truthful account of the day’s events”, into a dumbed down and money greedy form of media relying on tabloids. Perhaps commercial media giants could take a lesson from Global Media who state “Our audience is our only agenda.” Now wouldn’t that be nice?

 

I Went to a Fairy Party and This is What I Saw...

I have to admit, when I was invited to my good friend’s 16^th birthday party and read it was a fairy theme, I was more than excited. A bit of an unconventional theme for a 16 year old but nonetheless fun. Of course I jumped at the chance to re-live my six year old glory days where my fairy party was THE talk of grade one (I’m being serious, it was amazing).  

Anyway, upon arrival on day of party I was a little nervous. It looked as if the ominous clouds were threatening to burst open and drench us all. But it wasn’t to be. It must have been the magic in the air, for the day soon transformed into an image of perfection. This was no ordinary 16^th birthday celebration.

Fairy wands and intricate costume make-up were the order of the day. Hugs and squeals of ‘Oh my God, you look so cute,’ were the standard greeting and there was not a teenage scowl in sight. Perhaps it was the flashback to youth that added to the festive cheer.

A round of good old hide and seek was enough to keep us entertained that day. We were just glad to be in each other’s company. There were gasps of ‘ooh’ and ‘ah’ as the birthday girl opened her presents and smiles of relief as she announced her adoration for each gift received. What a refreshing sight. An entire group of teenagers who were all getting along and who didn’t need alcohol to have a good time. Who’d have thought?

I guess sometimes it’s more fun to escape back to your childhood, even if only for a few hours. At the conclusion of the party we made a decision. ‘We should have fairy parties more often, just because.’ Nods of agreement all around. And with that, the fairies left and re-entered the world of reality.   

My Dirty Little Secret...

We’ve all seen the media hype surrounding T.V shows Being Lara Bingle and The Shire. Everyone’s bitched and moaned about the ‘rubbish’ that dominates our screens. ‘No one watches that crap’ seems to be the general consensus among the public. Or so they’ll have you believe. I’ll admit I feign disgust at the trivial content of these shows, but it’s all an act. Hello, my name is Taylor and I am addicted to trashy T.V. There, I’ve said it, you can start judging me now.

I secretly love trashy T.V shows. I haven’t stooped to The Shire yet but I’m willing to give it a go. Wife Swap and Dating In the Dark are both guilty pleasures of mine and that’s not where it stops. I’m currently so addicted to Dance Moms that I just HAD to watch the next season online, before it came to Australia. Is that sad? Probably, but I know I’m not the only one harbouring this secret.

Why do I love it so much? That’s simple. I love sitting down to these shows because of their easy viewing. No brain function required. Simply sit back and relax. Before you know it a couple of hours have passed and the most strenuous thing you’ve done is ponder which six year old is going to win the ‘Ultimate Supreme’ beauty queen title. For a couple of hours life is simple.

So, next time you’re sitting at home watching Toddlers and Tiaras with the curtains drawn, remember you’re not alone. I’ll probably be watching the psychotic pageant mums and killing off my brain cells too.

For those of you yet to experience the magic of Toddlers and Tiaras, I invite you to have a sneak peek. I promise you won't regret it.

Lecture Five: Picture Stories

 

1991 Pulitzer Prize Winner: Perfect example of ‘capturing the moment’

Picture stories are not a new concept. In fact Aboriginal cave paintings date back thousands of years. Since then we’ve seen picture stories pop up everywhere including T.V, photos (who’d have thought?), games, advertising, graffiti and even the humble five dollar note.

Still images are just as effective at telling a story as an entire feature length film or a news article. The key is ensuring that the framing, angle, focus, exposure, timing and skill of “capturing the moment” are all in sync. This, I’m afraid, is easier said than done. The photo we were shown of Jonathon Thurston at his uncle’s funeral did manage to have all of these elements. What’s more is it was taken on a Samsung phone, eliminating the myth that you need hi-tech equipment to take an amazing photo. I could feel the emotion that must have been at the funeral just by looking at the photo.

Moving pictures are a relatively new way to tell a story. The first movie was shot in the late 1800’s and is one of the most popular ways of storytelling. Imagine having to go to the cinema just so you could your fix of the daily news. Well that’s what they did ‘back in the day’. Now, thanks to the invention of television, Internet, social media and use of eye witness video, we have access to the news 24/7. There are more citizen journalists than ever before as a result of the mobile phone features now containing a video camera. The London Bombings in 2005 proved to be the catalyst for citizen journos providing footage. Video journalists can whip out their camera or phone, film their story and upload the footage straight away. The world is now a very convenient place if you have the right tools.

A picture can tell 1000 words if you happen to capture it perfectly. Let’s be honest, perfection is hard to come by. Pictures can break down cultural barriers as they often don’t require words to interpret. For journalists today, they are pretty darn important. Now, because I’m pretty deep and full of wisdom I’ll leave you with a quote that sums it up perfectly. “If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that’s a good picture.”