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...

Annotated Bibliography

Haines, R. (2012). In search of the truth: Investigative journalism in a digital age. THE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM. http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/05/02/in-search-of-the-truth-investigative-journalism-in-a-digital-age/.

Roger Haines is a recurring author on the new website of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. His report is based on the talk given by Iain Overton, the managing editor of the BIJ, in April 2012. The main focus of the report is the crisis that Investigative Journalism is in with the ever apparent evolution into the digital age. Haines writes how the rapid increase of popularity with online-based medias such as Facebook and other blogs and forums and the ease of reproduction of news is inversely proportional with the decline of investigative journalism. Haines’ continuous mention of ‘The Digital Age’ successfully transfers the idea across to the reader that the traditional method of reporting facts and publishing hard-copy newspapers is fast becoming extinct. Haines also agrees with Overton’s notion that journalists need to adapt and invest accordingly to the changes in society. Haines cleverly proposes the idea of gathering followers via Twitter and Facebook for individual journalists and appropriately take advantage of ‘viral-marketing’ and ‘gonzo-journalism’.

Brown, R. (2012, May 24). Assange extradition judgement set for next week. Abc news. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-24/assange-judgement-due-may-30/4029642.

Rachael Brown, a Europe correspondent for the ABC, writes a factual and non-biased story regarding Julian Assange’s possible extradition to Sweden after allegedly sexually assaulting two women. The piece is broken down into two parts; the first being the facts surrounding the allegations and the Supreme Court’s decision. The second part refers to why Assange is infamous and his possibilities for the future. Brown shows her investigative journalism skills in both parts by refraining from giving an opinion and supplying only facts. Brown includes both sides of the story, mentioning that Assange has previously stated that the sex was consensual. She also makes a note that this allegation comes after the WikiLeaks scandal, leaving the reader to contemplate whether the claims are real or politically based. Brown uses a picture of Assange that is not incriminating in any way; however, it does show police officers in the background, suggesting that Assange has been under some stress recently. The equal-sidedness and citation of Assange’s lawyers gives Rachael Brown credibility and demonstrates her value of truth in the news and investigative journalism.

Picture from Time Magazine

Dorling, P. (2012, February 29). Revealed: US plans to charge Assange. The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/revealed-us-plans-to-charge-assange-20120228-1u14o.html.

Philip Dorling is highly experienced in politics and journalism, having been a part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and now being the National Affairs and Defense Correspondent for the Canberra Times. This makes his piece reliable and credible. The first part of the article cites Fred Burton of US Intelligence and gives Dorling’s word reliability and power. Dorling later reveals the exploits of WikiLeaks concerning the release of five million emails from Stratfor. He explains these emails are examples of how a private intelligence agency can target individuals for their corporate and government clients. By writing this, Dorling makes obvious his value for investigative journalism by verifying the facts for the public interest; in other words, he reveals the truth about intelligence capabilities. By referencing an Australian Advocate for Stratfor, who swears towards Assange, Dorling further reveals the potentially biased and/or unfair nature of the agency. Dorling finishes by stating that neither Stratfor nor the US embassy will comment on the emails acquired by WikiLeaks, sparking tension between the public interested in the situation and the US embassy/Stratfor, providing more attention to the WikiLeaks case and setting a media agenda.

Peck, M. (2012, March 13). WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange ‘is being framed’ says his mother. Digital Journal. http://digitaljournal.com/article/321121.

Matthew Peck, a freelance journalist from the United Kingdom, makes this report with a point of view from Julian Assange’s mother. The inclusion of the mother gives the entire scenario with Assange and WikiLeaks a softer touch. The public is more inclined to empathise with Julian by including citations from Christine Assange, stating how adamant she is of her son’s innocence. Peck first quotes Mrs. Assange in a manner which echoes Julian’s statements of how the allegations of sexual assault are false and politically motivated, generating more support for Assange. The second Christine Assange quote is used more to emotionally effect the reader, using the connection of mother and son to inspire sympathy for the Assange family. Peck finishes the article with a quote from Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, describing the US government’s inhumane treatment of Bradley Manning – a WikiLeaks contributor. Overall, Peck’s piece is investigative by providing facts and quotes and provides an interesting view behind Julian Assange’s ordeal for the public to identify with and possibly take sides with or against Assange.

Investigative Journalism

I thought all journalism required a bit of investigation? Apparently some more than others. Investigative journalism is the intelligent and informed factual reporting of something that is in the public interest. In other words, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. This is where PR takes a 90 degree turn in the reporting side of things. PR will take facts and use it to suggest something that may not be the truth in order to persuade the public.

This may seem ludicrous, but PR is growing in strength due to the increasing popularity in online reporting and 'citizen journalism'. And with PR growing, investigative journalism is shrinking due to the cheapness of the internet and the effort it takes to make an investigative report in comparison to PR.

Although the future for investigative journalism is looking dim, Youtube may hold the answer in its revival. The video website has launched a channel in which investigative journalism is the main focus. It includes videos such as this discussion with The Washington Post's Bob Woodward:

The Setting of Agenda

Just as we thought the media corporations couldn't get any more one-sided! Agenda Setting, as we learned in our most recent instalment of Jour1111, is the ability of the news media to to manipulate and influence what we think is important in the public agenda. In other words, they choose the media that we watch, ergo, we watch what they want. Bernard Cohen was on the money when he said:

"The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think,

but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about."

An example of this "Agenda Setting" is the constant news footage and writings about the Alison Baden Clay (scroll down to read more). Her name and picture is peppered everywhere across Australian tabloids and yet, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters are murdered everyday around the world, let alone Queensland; sometimes under more gruesome circumstances...

The 2004 tsunami in Thailand, which killed thousands, plagued the headlines for months - deservingly; it was a terrible tragedy - however, thousands of people die every year in India from floods and nobody ever hears about that.

Fair? No. Probably not. But that is just how Agenda Setting works - the media tells us what to think and talk about. As Richard Nixon so honestly put it (albeit referring to Americans):

"The American people don't believe anything

until they see it on television."

Brisbane Mum Murdered

Mother of three, Alison Baden Clay, was found decaying in a creek bed on the west side of Brisbane after being reported missing by her husband roughly three weeks ago. Gerard Baden Clay, husband of Alison, is un-officially the main suspect in this ongoing investigation. Although little has been publicised by the police, much of the public have taken the opinion that Mr. Baden Clay is guilty without a doubt.

Many incriminating rumours have been spread about Gerard. Such as him being in an affair for the last three years, his car GPS being set to the location of Alison's body location, him crashing his car deliberately to excuse the scratches on his face. Not to mention the overall suspiciousness of the situation, with Alison having no real enemies.


Mr. Baden Clay's acting skills were put to the test two weeks ago when the media finally got some words from him on the ordeal:

If I were marking this performance, the only mark conceivable would have to be an F.


Now that the funeral has passed, the public eagerly await to see justice served, whether Gerard Baden Clay is convicted or not.

News Values

Not to be confused with 'the value of news'. We all know news is priceless...

The most interesting thing about wednesday's lecture was the obvious competition between PR and journalism. Public relations, to me, seems far less valuable than journalism. Sure, reading up about the latest gossip regarding Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's marriage is all well and good whilst waiting for the dentist, but nobody really believes in half of the story anyway. The seven o'clock news, on the other hand, is watched and mostly believed by the majority of viewers.

News values are quite self explanatory. The values themselves are basically factors that journalists and editors look for in stories to see if they are good enough to make the news. These factors include significance, interest, impact (local/national/international), size, drama, proximity and the list goes on.

These factors could mean the difference between front page news and not in the news at all.

Recently, a few threats have been made against newsworthiness. Public relations being one. Also the commercialisation of media and social life and the overall reality of journalism - do we really understand that this is happening in the world?

What this means is that journalism could soon turn to mush and become the very thing it swore to protect us from - PR (*dum dum DUUM!*) - resulting in less facts and more opinions from people like you and I... a horrible world.