Media use over 10 Days

Media Use Diary Analysis and Comparison

Nick Biggs – JOUR1111 (T12)

Evidence suggests that the vast majority of younger students are far more oriented towards online and visual based media. As shown in the JOUR1111 survey. Over 75% of students have an internet-enabled smart phone, of which 95.4% use Facebook on it. This statement is reinforced by the statistics of Question12 – i.e. students predominantly use the internet between 2 and 4 hours a day.

My Media Usage over 10 Days

There is an obvious trend towards online media and social networking. This is to be expected in a course where the majority of students are between 17 and 20 years old.  However this fact has other facets that should be examined, for example the difference in internet usage and the frequency of certain online applications.

As is clearly represented in the survey, Facebook is the primary time waster of students, with a staggering 397 students out of the possible 432 indicating the social media site was one which they frequented. My results are complimentary to this trend. I average 126 minutes on the site, generally for entertainment and leisure purposes (see table).

Visual Representation of media usage per day

Although many online journals, politicians and news outlets have their own Facebook pages, it would be safe to say that students mostly use the site to socialise.  This trend or pattern, I believe stems from a need to simply socialise and have a need for fast information. This notion is generally agreed upon by leading specialists, including a report written by the IRMA (Information Resources Management Association) which says “teens…are trying our different identities, …being impulsive and idealistic.” (http://www.irma-international.org/viewtitle/39722/, 2010) I believe this not only shows that I have a strong attachment to online media, but also defines the path that Journalism should be heading in.

Despite my figures for Facebook and General Browsing, I do also tend to read the newspaper for an average of 30 minutes every day. This is contrary to the preconceived notion of the survey. It is evident that the internet plays a very important part in the lives of many teens; however I believe I am one of a minority that still read a newspaper. However if we look at the statistics from the survey, 43.1% of students still read articles online. This only proves the positive relationship between Journalism and online media. 

This once again shows the positive relationship between online media and journalism.

Another aspect of visual media to examine is the role TV plays in the distribution of information. 29.9% of students indicated that they watched TV (either broadcast or online) for between 1 and 2 hours a day. I can confirm that I watch the 7pm ABC news every night and then some morning news on days I have off. Apart from this I normally watch TV for entertainment purpose (despite the comparably  large amount of time I watch it.). I believe that this is the same case for the rest of the JOUR1111 students.

In conclusion, based on y results and the results from the JOUR1111 survey, it is evident that there is a positive relationship between online and visual based media, and Journalism. As indicated, mediums like Radio and Newspapers drag behind in daily usage. I believe that my relationship with Journalism is, and will continue to be, a highly online and multimedia based one.

It's your choice

Now the cloud of dust has settled from the state election, I thought I would add my two cents worth on our means of voting.

This year was the first I was legally allowed to vote. Having had an interest in politics since middle school, I was very keen to have my say. Which I did....despite this my seat of Yerongpilly is still undecided....fantastic.

One thing that interested me about the state election was the means by which voters could express their support for candidates. Voters could choose one of to options; either place the number "1" in the box adjacent to the preferred candidate, or place their numbered preferences in all the boxes.

I believe voting is a private matter, however I am happy to disclose that I used the preferential system, placing my preferred candidates in my preferred order. The thing that upsets me is that this method is not compulsory for state elections.
I know it is compulsory in federal and local elections so why not state?

There are suggestions that the Full Preferential Voting (FPV) system was to blame for Australia's hung parliament during the 2010 election, however I believe this is best for the integrity and democracy of a nation. At the risk of sounding like a radical lefty, everyone should have a fair go.

There are some who say that, like Britain, we should adopt the system where by first past the post is the winner (FPTP). The ABC's election analyst Antony Green expresses this in his blog, http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2011/04/index.html. 


He writes; 
"The simplest re-interpretation of the Australian result using FPTP rules suggests the election would have produced a majority for the current opposition, the Liberal and National Party Coalition...yet despite evidence the Australian Coalition could have won under FPTP, both parties in the Coalition remain committed to retaining full preferential voting, the National Party even re-confirming its opposition to FPTP and the optional preferential AV system as recently as two weeks ago."

I agree with Green to an extent, some Australians would have much rather seen a clean victory then have to have put up with all the fuss over the Independents. However, I still believe that when voting for a leader who has more influence over your life then any other (i.e. the Premier of your state) the requirement should be given to show what you want from your leader, by showing all your preferences. 

Conversations

Sound in Journalism, to hear it from the mouth of two of ABC Radio's A-class presenters was a fantastic experience and one of the more engaging lectures I have listened to.

One thing I picked up from both Richard Fidler and Steve Austin was to respect and listen to an interviewee. Whether they be a member of the public on talk back or a studio interview, remember to listen, understand and respond respectfully.This way, a subject will feel more relaxed and willing to answer your questions. As Austin said, listening implies respect.

I believe this notion is not only applies whole heartedly to interviews, but could be adopted to day to day life.

Working in customer service, I have developed a subconscious hatred for complaining customers. This idea of simply listening to their problem and attempting to understand could be quite valuable.

After listening to the lecture I went straight to iTunes and subscribed to Fidler's podcasts, his way of extracting a story truly amazes me. The way in which he can say so little, yet still draw a story from a subject is sublime.

This does seem to be the case, less is more. At least when it comes to Radio.

Text

I digress.
A couple of weeks ago, guest lecturer Skye Doherty explained the value of text in today's media.
Apprehensive at first, I began to understand that although we tend to associate online and TV Journalism with images, text really is the corner stone of any story, and will continue to be.

Doherty's explanation of this concept did not only provide incite to, lets be honest, a room of predominately internet focused students, but also provided detail into the set up of online articles. Fantastic.

In the future I maintain that the visual aspects of Journalism (i.e. pictures and video) will flourish in a  rich multimedia environment. There are many article written about the subject. I found one (despite being written in 2009) that suggests that rich media should be embedded in press releases sent to journalists. http://mumbrella.com.au/prs-urged-send-us-your-giant-emails-plain-text-journalism-is-dead-9430

However, after this lecture that image of mine seems a little hazy. Sure, vivid imagery can often provoke a far more intensive emotional response from an audience, yet when included with text can only enhance the experience.

I know this means physically reading it (pfft, reading. Who does that now days...?.) but to be honest, text can still rival images and is still most certainly needed in modern day media.

A Thousand Words

In the most recent installment of JOUR1111, the point was raised about the importance of images in telling a story. Telling a story through words is the oldest and tried and true method, however I believe that a picture can do the same, effectively in one word. Now I don't exactly subscribe to the sentiment that a picture is worth a thousand words. Literally it simply doesn't make sense. However I do believe a picture can tell a story.

Original Photo - Nick Biggs

For example, this pictures is of a young girl looking out over the Brisbane River. Why she is doing it can't be established. Who it is can't be established, neither can the location (the only reason I know it's the Brisbane River is because I took the photo). This is the beauty of a picture. It can be so powerful in evoking emotion that the audience can interpret the image as they want to.

Original Photo - Nick Biggs

There is always underlying emotions due to how the photographer may set up the shot (like this image of the two birds below), however I believe that ambiguity is often very beneficial to a photographer. It brings out different opinions and angles of the picture which others may not have seen.






On the other hand ambiguity could be the enemy of the modern day photo-journalist. An image used for news needs clearly address the 5W's and H,  especially when breaking news.

Courtesy of PressTV

Take this picture of the recent war protests in Syria.
It clearly addresses where it is, who is involved, what is happening and how its happening. This would clearly aid a cover story to any breaking news on the Syrian issue.  Similarly, the image still tells a story, perhaps in a less romantic fashion  and more descriptive than the above two.
All the same the picture still tells a story.



So whether or not one can perceive a story to be a thousand words, one hundred thousand or even one simple word, I believe a picture can be more powerful than any words can be.

Entitlement

It's a matter of opinion, should we pay for something that we believe we are entitled to for free? Some believe that this single word is what may be the death of journalism.

With Web 3.0, (http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-30.htm) the opportunities for localised information or "Hyperlocalisation" are simply endless. As will be explained in the above link, Web3.0 can plan an entire night out for you, simply based around where and when you are going.

This may well be all well and good, but what are the implications for News. As was discussed in the recent lecture, hyperlocalisation allows for news to be centered on your town, suburb or even to the extent of your street. In a new era of personal devices that one may tailor to their own specific needs, the idea of hyperlocalisation or "news my way" is quite appealing. However the point about money needs to be addressed.

Print media (broadsheet and tabloids) have been paid for by the classifieds for as long as they have existed. Subsequently online shopping sites have had a massive impact on this. Now online journals are taking similar steps. This is where this question of entitlement becomes so relevant. Recently, we have seen journals such as the Courier Mail release subscriptions to their site for users of the iPad and other personal, internet enabled devices. Admittedly these subscriptions open up a whole new range of stories and content. However the question must be asked, how long will it be before we will have to pay to visit their site? This inevitability also known as paywall will bring about a massive drop in viewership for what ever journal who decides to take the step.

Newspapers have always been cheap, prolific and serve the purpose of quick and accessible information. So now with the current state of online media, society has become a custom to this information being free. Hence if we were to put a price on this, viewership will drop...substantially.

Yes it is a matter of opinion, but it's my belief that the opinion will be very one sided.

The public perception of Journalists

Studying Journalism allows you to understand many principles of the media that others may not. Journalistic principles and methods are changing, now more then ever. This was addressed in the very first lecture that I attended. With social media exploding in popularity, some would say that the traditional traits of journalism have all but lost to a Twitter and Facebook boom. However this, in my opinion, is not the case.


This "Social Media Revolution" is a benefit to journalists everywhere. A blessing even. Social media now allows for those who wouldn't normally have a voice to express it. This not only opens up new alleys of information but can provide a completely new angle to research and bring to light. 


Citizen journalists now have a far easier task of getting their work published and heard. Through such mediums as blogging, tweeting and even to an extent texting, the stories of those who have a front row seat to massive events/issues can have be broadcast to a massive audience. 


For example, two budding American journalists who started by simply filming an Occupy protest have taken the challenge of filming in the corrupt, war torn state of Syria. 
The article in the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/mar/05/american-citizen-journalists-syria) says that the par have managed to cross the border into the volatile nation three times " totaling approximately 10 to 15 hours in the country near the Turkish border town of Guvecci" and "... have returned with footage of their surreptitious entry, as well as two interviews from inside a Syrian refugee camp in Turkey. " 


Despite the issues of pay walls and the downfall of print media, I believe that this social media boom is beneficial for the field of journalism. As the media evolves, the fields that support it should as well. 

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

In its closing week, Ray Lawler’s timeless Australian classic, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, is powering on at Brisbane’s QPAC. Being performed in the smaller Playhouse, the audience is thrust into the lives of Olive, Roo, Pearl, Cathy “Bubba” Ryan and Barney in an intermit production of this timeless Australian tale. 

The story has become somewhat of a classic amongst the ranks of Australian theatre. Lawler’s work is a representation of domestic issues that plagued the 1950s. In the rural heartlands of Melbourne where a women is either too young to be married, or married, bar- maid Olive Leech plays host to two cane cutters from Queensland every year on their “layoff”. Olive is all too aware of the judgement she faces everywhere with her emotional attachment to Roo, waiting for the five months they spend together every year for the past seventeen. In a climax where a broke, desperate Roo, played by Steve Le Marquand, proposes to Olive all hell breaks loose as Oliverefuses in an emotionally charged display.

The 1950s were a volatile time for most of the world with the the end of the Korean War and the ominous threat of the Kremlin. Lawler chooses not to mention any of this in his play as it was assumed knowledge when the play was written. Instead, Lawler chose to write about the above domestic issues. 

One key aspects made this production the success it has been. The dedicated and precise effort the directors and actors have put into capturing Australia’s icon language. 

Slang terms fly about the stage, recreating the feel of rural Australia. Vintage vocabulary like “having a blue,” “as friendly as prickly pear,” “being full(drunk)” and  “hard yakka” all add to the overall atmosphere that the director of the show, Neil Armfield aimed to achieve. 

The recreation of the rural Australian accent is by no means an easy feat to achieve, however the cast of this production, on the whole, did a very good job. At some stages in the first act, particularly the first five minutes, Balzey Best (Olive) tends to overplay the bush twang, almost over stereotyping. The immaculately designed set does enough to establish that the setting is 1950s rural Australia and sometimes the accents were a little overpowering. On the other hand it was refreshing to see Eloise Winestock (Bubba Ryan) break the mould of the generic young female role in Australian theatre. Winestock managed to restrain the australian twang and used it in an adequate enough dosage to establish a rural demeanor. 

This once contemporary play has now become a historical drams, accurately portraying domestic issues of the early 1950s. As was written by Paul Galloway in the show’s program reproduced by the Queensland Theatre Company.

“The past is a foreign country and we observe, with an historical estrangement, the peculiar customs of the natives.”

The Queensland Theatre Company’s adaptation of the story does justice to Lawler’s original work, taking into every intricacy from the original script. The production runs for another day and it would be a shame to miss such an iconic piece of Australian writing. 

Four and a half stars.

Nick

WOW...what a shame

In the last tutorial the question was asked - What is news to you?
This got me thinking. Weekly, daily, hourly even down to the minute we are bombarded with news. Whether they be updates, follow ups or simply breaking news it is very hard to escape it in this techno-savy society we all abide with. News to me can be many things. I believe if something is relevant to someone it should be news. Dogs on skateboards, cats playing a piano...not exactly what I would classify as news. These internet sensations would probably fall under the banner of entertainment. Now I do understand news can be entertaining but news (to my belief) is also informative. A cat playing a diminished version of "Chopsticks" is not.

Hence I was a little sad to hear that WOW, our own home grown electrics giant has gone into receivership, apparently owing $29 million. After struggling to find a buyer for weeks, if not months, WOW Sight and Sound bit the bullet. It's a real disappointment to see a company which up until a month or two ago was thriving and looking down a long road of endless possibilities. Hell I would have bought it...if not for uni fees, petrol and having a stable job probably wouldn't hurt. I am genuinely disappointed to see this chain go down the drain.

I'm not sure if its my slight gadget obsession or simply morals but I think this episode is news to me because I feel it is relevant.

RIP