Steve Molk's talk about his journey and his experience in journalism gave us a different yet helpful insight into what we have install after finishing our degree. He touched on a few focus points, but the most important thing he noted was the vitality of writing. What you write about can determine your career. There will be far more success and enjoyment out of your work if you choose a subject you like and follow it with journalism.
Molk's opinions on blogging seemed like a love/hate relationship. He admitted the sometimes uselessness of blogging, for instance, Twitter can be somewhat limited in its capabilities despite it being succinct at getting your point across. However, the freedom of internet blogging is unparalleled compared to working for an editor or something similar.
Jordan Lite from the Scientific American put it well when he said Twitter "allows users to blast small bursts of info at their followers". He also agreed with Molk in saying Twitter is a growing journalism platform.
Personally, I think Twitter is more of an advertising platform for journalism. With a passion for music and reporting on all things in the music industry, I think it would be highly useful to have a Twitter account to advertise quickly the latest news and reports for a different blogging site or magazine, allowing people to interpret the headline, then read on if it catches their eye.
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Introduction to Journalism
"Journalism is the first rough draft of history" - Philip Graham.
The first lecture of the Introduction to Journalism and Communication course gave a brilliant insight into the life of a journalist and the power one can hold when reporting. There were a few themes to the presentation, but the most important one was arguably 'the opportunity to speak'; the opportunity to reveal the truth.
Many wise quotes were included in the slideshow which offered an entertaining yet truthful view into the values and respects of journalism.
"Journalism is organised gossip" - Edward Eggleston
"People may expect too much from journalism. Not only do they expect it to be entertaining, they expect it to be true" - Lewis H. Lapham
The audience was shown the challenges journalism is facing nowadays, which truly revealed how undervalued some journalism is. With the digital phenomenon growing exponentially, hardcopy newspapers could be looking at extinction. PR and public opinion journalism is on the rise also which is putting investigative journalism at risk of extinction also.
Overall, the lecture was informative and interesting - erasing my initial concerns about joining the journalism cohort.
The first lecture of the Introduction to Journalism and Communication course gave a brilliant insight into the life of a journalist and the power one can hold when reporting. There were a few themes to the presentation, but the most important one was arguably 'the opportunity to speak'; the opportunity to reveal the truth.
Many wise quotes were included in the slideshow which offered an entertaining yet truthful view into the values and respects of journalism.
"Journalism is organised gossip" - Edward Eggleston
"People may expect too much from journalism. Not only do they expect it to be entertaining, they expect it to be true" - Lewis H. Lapham
The audience was shown the challenges journalism is facing nowadays, which truly revealed how undervalued some journalism is. With the digital phenomenon growing exponentially, hardcopy newspapers could be looking at extinction. PR and public opinion journalism is on the rise also which is putting investigative journalism at risk of extinction also.
Overall, the lecture was informative and interesting - erasing my initial concerns about joining the journalism cohort.
Ross "Crazy" Kemp
Watching TV last night, I stumbled across a show called "Ross Kemp On Gangs". Before long I realised that this man was possibly the craziest, risk-taking, committed, best damn journalist I had ever seen. He has been all over the world, infiltrating some of the most dangerous and violent gangs on the planet.
London, Moscow, Kenya, South Africa, Poland, East Timor: these are just some of the places Kemp has explored and revealed the nature of some their citizens. He joins the Neo-nazis of Moscow and learns about their racial attacks. He interviews high leaders of the Mungiki gang in Kenya, labelled as the most dangerous outfit in Africa. Leaders who were ambushed and killed by the secret police just two weeks after Kemp's departure. He interviews the notorious Polish football club gangs - gangs who beat to death any opposing gang member on sight.
Kemp has won a BAFTA for the series and risked his life many times for the sake of investigative journalism. Not only does he provide great entertainment, but he gives a good insight into what some humans are capable of. If anyone wishes to keep up with his activity, here is a link to his twitter:
Ross Kemp Twitter
Here is Kemp in action, checking out some of the gang riots and fights in Poland:
London, Moscow, Kenya, South Africa, Poland, East Timor: these are just some of the places Kemp has explored and revealed the nature of some their citizens. He joins the Neo-nazis of Moscow and learns about their racial attacks. He interviews high leaders of the Mungiki gang in Kenya, labelled as the most dangerous outfit in Africa. Leaders who were ambushed and killed by the secret police just two weeks after Kemp's departure. He interviews the notorious Polish football club gangs - gangs who beat to death any opposing gang member on sight.
Kemp has won a BAFTA for the series and risked his life many times for the sake of investigative journalism. Not only does he provide great entertainment, but he gives a good insight into what some humans are capable of. If anyone wishes to keep up with his activity, here is a link to his twitter:
Ross Kemp Twitter
Here is Kemp in action, checking out some of the gang riots and fights in Poland:
Saturday, 9 June 2012
Sugar's Malicious Intent
Recent discoveries have shone light on new, more incriminating evidence against the side effects of sugar. Dr. Robert Lustig from the UCHD says that sugar is the number one cause of Type 2 Diabetes and obesity. The percentage of overweight or obese adults has increased from an already dreadful 56% to 61% from 1995 to 2008 (Australian Bureau of Statistics). The big question is, what is causing these statistics to rise? It is vital to answer this question in order to resolve a potentially genocidal issue.
High Fructose Corn Syrup is a substance added to a huge proportion of non-organic foods that humans consume everyday. It is in pie, pizza, bread and most relevant to the matter at hand, soft drinks. Soft drinks, according to Dr. Lustig, are the main perpetrators in the sucrose epidemic. Serving sizes have increased, moreover making intakes of sugar higher.
It is unproven as to whether sugar is an addictive chemical or not, however, experts around the world, including Lustig, agree that it is poisonous and that the dangerous level at which HFCS is being exploited must decrease, or else the world may face a new breed of plague.
Here is Dr. Robert Lustig giving an informative lecture about the dangers of sugar:
High Fructose Corn Syrup is a substance added to a huge proportion of non-organic foods that humans consume everyday. It is in pie, pizza, bread and most relevant to the matter at hand, soft drinks. Soft drinks, according to Dr. Lustig, are the main perpetrators in the sucrose epidemic. Serving sizes have increased, moreover making intakes of sugar higher.
It is unproven as to whether sugar is an addictive chemical or not, however, experts around the world, including Lustig, agree that it is poisonous and that the dangerous level at which HFCS is being exploited must decrease, or else the world may face a new breed of plague.
Here is Dr. Robert Lustig giving an informative lecture about the dangers of sugar:
Thursday, 7 June 2012
My Musical Youtube Career
On the 28th of March, I uploaded my first Youtube video. I took three of Coldplay's best songs - The Scientist, Yellow and Paradise - and mashed them into one. All the instruments are there (minus the drums) and so far it has received only positive reviews!
I've always wanted to have a musical career. Surprisingly, I was reluctant to start guitar lessons when I was young, but my mother eventually convinced me, using the time old chorus of, "Girls will love you!". Seven years later, I've uploaded three music cover videos and composed countless tunes of my own.
The way I recorded the instruments was plugging them all into a cheap interface which plugs into my laptop. Using a program called Cubase, I recorded, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and even my voice all on separate tracks. When it all comes together, it sounds like this:
If you're interested to see more of my music, visit my Facebook page here:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Steed/144129905657044?sk=app_2405167945
And here is my Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmartinwalker?feature=mhee
I've always wanted to have a musical career. Surprisingly, I was reluctant to start guitar lessons when I was young, but my mother eventually convinced me, using the time old chorus of, "Girls will love you!". Seven years later, I've uploaded three music cover videos and composed countless tunes of my own.
The way I recorded the instruments was plugging them all into a cheap interface which plugs into my laptop. Using a program called Cubase, I recorded, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and even my voice all on separate tracks. When it all comes together, it sounds like this:
If you're interested to see more of my music, visit my Facebook page here:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Steed/144129905657044?sk=app_2405167945
And here is my Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmartinwalker?feature=mhee
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Game of Downloading
HBO's epic new television series, "Game Of Thrones", is fast becoming the most illegally downloaded show in the world. Forbes magazine recently made public information that showed the medieval action-thriller on the verge of being the most pirated show on television. Forbes says it is because of the inability to podcast the show on iTunes or pay for it online, hence forcing tens of millions of people who do not subscribe to HBO to download the show illegally.
Personally, I couldn't stand to see this happen. "Game Of Thrones" is easily one of the best shows on TV at the moment alongside shows like "Supernatural" and "Entourage". The first season of Thrones averaged a little over two million viewers per episode in North America, which are good, but not as good as they could be. The second season, which hasn't finished yet, is averaging over three million per episode. If HBO wants to draw the fan base this program deserves, they will have to start opening their horizons and let the public purchase the episodes online, or else pirating will really have done some damage this time... so what does the future hold?
Downloading illegally is already known to have made music artists suffer. UK singer Lily Allen admits that one of the reasons she took a hiatus from the industry four years ago was because it was getting to the stage where album profits were starting to wear thin. It seems inevitable that television shows and other disciplines in the Art business will feel pain under the costly click of the public mouse.
Personally, I couldn't stand to see this happen. "Game Of Thrones" is easily one of the best shows on TV at the moment alongside shows like "Supernatural" and "Entourage". The first season of Thrones averaged a little over two million viewers per episode in North America, which are good, but not as good as they could be. The second season, which hasn't finished yet, is averaging over three million per episode. If HBO wants to draw the fan base this program deserves, they will have to start opening their horizons and let the public purchase the episodes online, or else pirating will really have done some damage this time... so what does the future hold?
Downloading illegally is already known to have made music artists suffer. UK singer Lily Allen admits that one of the reasons she took a hiatus from the industry four years ago was because it was getting to the stage where album profits were starting to wear thin. It seems inevitable that television shows and other disciplines in the Art business will feel pain under the costly click of the public mouse.
Monday, 28 May 2012
Is The Voice Rigged?
Channel Nine's new hit show, The Voice, has been questioned vigourously by the public as to whether it could be rigged. A shocking exit by Peta Jeffress after a battle round with Viktoria Bolonina brought dispute to the show due to the obvious superiority of Peta. Although it appeared to be Delta Goodrem's decision as to who won the battle round, one can not help but question if there is a bias towards some individuals.
Another factor which supports the 'rigged theory' is the advertising strategy by Channel Nine. There are currently sixteen performers still running in the competition, however, only five or six are shown on television ads. By supporting these few artists via advertising, they increase their public vote while the other less attractive participants are only televised when they actually sing.
A slightly less cynical but more specific view of The Voice notices the fact that the judges' teams fill up evenly through the auditions, despite the giant chasm in talent and worldwide celebrity between the likes of Seal and Joel Madden compared to Delta Goodrem. This begs the question of whether the auditions for the show are taken place in a different context than what appears on television, and the show is just an act...
Another factor which supports the 'rigged theory' is the advertising strategy by Channel Nine. There are currently sixteen performers still running in the competition, however, only five or six are shown on television ads. By supporting these few artists via advertising, they increase their public vote while the other less attractive participants are only televised when they actually sing.
A slightly less cynical but more specific view of The Voice notices the fact that the judges' teams fill up evenly through the auditions, despite the giant chasm in talent and worldwide celebrity between the likes of Seal and Joel Madden compared to Delta Goodrem. This begs the question of whether the auditions for the show are taken place in a different context than what appears on television, and the show is just an act...
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