Media Diary Powerpoint (screenshots)

Picture Stories Are Everywhere

This week's lecture on pictures and their importance to a story really interested me in the fact that just one photo can make a big difference in the world of journalism. The example of John Thurston's uncle's funeral photograph, shot by a young woman, was very incapsulating. It showed how it was possible to capture the emotion of a situation if shot a the right moment.

Bruce Redman spoke extensively the origins of picture back to the era of cavemen to the Sistine Chapel, to the high definition photographs we have today. All the elements of taking a picture (framing, focus, lighting, 'the moment') have fuelled me to respect photography on a whole new level. 

A Headline Paints A Thousand Pictures

"Terrorists Hijack 4 Airliners, Destroy World Trade Center, Hit Pentagon; Hundreds Dead"(The Washington Post, 2001). After billions of people citizen read headlines like this across the globe, it is hard not to get an idea of the atrocities that occurred on September 11, 2001.

Skye Doherty's talk on 'Text' during last week's JOUR1111 lecture detailed the importance of text within media and how effective it can be in society. One of her main points was that text is searchable. In other words, if you see a headline in the news agent that grabs your eye such as one on the eternal banter between Julia Gillard and the rest of Australia, you may simply google it at home for more information.

Headlines are the first thing you see on a story. The short phrase you see on the front of a newspaper or on facebook or twitter is arguably the most important part of the story. It captures the reader's attention and is a setup for the following text.

I guess a picture is always a good inclusion in an article, but text is the true heart of all news.