Speaking of today's election...

I woke up this morning to yet another ad campaign for Ray Smith that I hadn't seen before. Now this one happened to include images of damaged roads and an explanation about how the previous council failed in basics.
Yes, I can vouch for this to an extent.
On Brisbane north side our roads are still full of road damages that only get worse every time it rains.
For JOUR1112, I reported on a story that I started before anyone had made a single mention of road damages. After pestering the politicians in my ward, in the last week they changed policies leaving a lot of very confused residents. Rhys joked around that I started it, but I like to think I had some influence ;)


Here is my article:

NORTHSIDE STREETS STILL STURGGLING

The Brisbane flood aftermath has left streets on the north side still suffering and they won’t stop any time soon.

One of many inadequate drains on busy Zillmere Road

Many main and busy streets including Zillmere Road, Handford Road, Beams Road and Robinson Road East faced constant flash flooding this wet season and remain littered with pot holes, inadequate drainage systems and dangerous quick fixes in attempted repairs.

The Summers of 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 have seen 484.8mm, 952.6mm and 638.0mm of rain respectively, all classified as ‘high’ recorded rainfall according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

While the ‘la nina’ weather pattern over Brisbane that caused the severe rainfall for this wet season has now broken, the damage remains the same, and is likely to worsen next Summer time.

The streets became a danger to both pedestrians and motorists as sink holes were opening up damaging vehicles while pedestrians were made to wade through rising flood waters on busy roads with no alternative routes. One sink hole opened in Geebung to measure over a 1 metre diameter before anything was done about it.

The loss of Labour in the March election meant Leanne Linard (ALP), who was planning on addressing these road problems has now stepped down. The newly elected NLP Member Jason Woodforth’s focus is instead centred on “cutting costs”.

In the upcoming Brisbane City Council election the focus for the Deagon and Bracken Ridge Wards roads are familiar. The representative responses of Victoria Newton (ALP), Gordana Blazevic (LNP), Georgia Farrell (Greens) and John Harbison  (Independent) all believed that the focus regarding transport was on the much needed Geebung overpass and nothing at this stage was on the table for road repairs.

Yet in local letterbox leaflets distributed through the week, Ray Smith announced an $800 Million Local Roads Package to be used on road maintenance for flood aftermath if elected, but north side suburbs have again missed out. The package does not include resurfacing or maintenance.

“In the last 4 years, the current Council Administration has failed to deliver more than half of their promised Road Action Plans and our roads have been left in a deteriorating state,” Ray Smith explained in a press conference this week.

The elections this year have meant a backlog of promises from politicians without any clear indicators they will honour them. The added confusion of last minute changed minds and policies regarding budgets have left residents fed up.

“It really is an important issue. It’s becoming quite dangerous when it rains,” said north-side resident Paul Hoffman, “It’s definitely going to affect how I vote.”

Trevor Newton - Highly Sensitive Person.

JOUR1111 at University of Queensland Assessment 3
Factual Story Telling

Cailey, Ben, Myself and Trevor. 

Trevor has had many huge challenges in his life time. He married young, was the father of a disabled child, divorced and has suffered with being put into labels of 'depressed' and 'anxious' through his adult life.

In 2010 Trevor became aware of 'HSP' and since then has come to terms with accepting himself.

Trevor is my father, and having seen him struggle for many years accepting himself I could not think of a better story to tell than his. In an intimate interview with him, we recorded over an hour of what now defines his way of life, and how he has finally found happiness.

For more information on HSP, visit www.hsperson.com


If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or anxiety, help is always available.
Visit: www.beyondblue.org.au 
Phone: 1300 22 4636
Email: infoline@beyondblue.org.au

Winter woes!

As the winter season is now well underway, I'm finding myself exhausted, sniffy and migraine full. The past few years however, this has been common and the combination of University and work is not treating me too kindly.


Today was the 3rd day this week I found myself in bed unable to journey in to UQ for my tutes, and even my eyes so sensitive that it hurt to do much study at home. I'm currently squinting as I write this, tucked underneath a warm blanket on the lounge.


For me though, it's not just your regular head cold, it's something a little more intense that my Mother has had to deal with for a long time, but especially the past 4 years. Just this weekend I was in Coffs to visit her, and as we said our goodbyes and she could see the exhaustion in my face she said "take it easy". Now, while I assured her I was fine, 4 days later all I can think is my mother knows me better than I know myself.


My whole life I have had allergies, the biggest of all being dust. Yup, dust would set my hay-fever off like nothing else, having sneezing straight after one another reaching double digits, and occasionally hives would break out on my arms and chest. Then,when I was about 9 we found out I was allergic to bees, as my hand swelled up to the absolutely blistering size that my skin could physically stretch to, and continued along my arm until we raced to the 24hour clinic. Now the dust always triggered small skin irritations that a slob of Sorbolene could fix, but when I was about 10 years old, I began to get severe eczema that I suffered through until I was about 16 years old we finally figured out what things to avoid. I was always so embarrassed, wearing long socks to hide the rashes, wearing gloves in winter time to cover the flaky skin and when the eczema spread to my entire face when I was 13, leaving my skin scale-like and painful, I even refused to go to school for about a fortnight.


Now I have had my fair share of allergic reactions, and now at 19 going on 20, my skin loves me for the expensive shower creams, body lotions and even washing detergents I need to use (and my boyfriend doesn't mind their nice smells either) to keep it under control, but I am still struggling with me internally. This one is a bit more of a long story...and it isn't something I generally talk about.


In October 2008 when I was just turned 16 and about 2 weeks away from my School Certificate, I woke up at about 3AM choking. Once I sat up I felt pain in my chest, but my natural reaction was I must have swallowed air the wrong way. I went to get out of bed I stood on my feet, only to have them give way underneath me. I was in complete darkness as I had no lamp in my room and the light switch was a good 3 metres away. My feet felt like I had just stepped on needles and I went to touch them to see if I had mistakenly left a hair brush on the floor and the same sensation ran through my fingertips as they made contact with anything. Eventually after some strenuous effort, I stood up and walked on the sides of my feet to the bathroom to check what was wrong with my feet. But I was mortified.

An example of lip swelling in anaphylaxis from
http://www.science4u.info/ 

The hives I mentioned earlier were all over my body. I was entirely covered by a rash, and the skin was splintering where the pressure from clothes touched: my waistline, around my back where my bra sat and my whole feet from falling asleep with socks on. But that wasn't the scariest part. The reaction to the bee sting I described earlier - imagine that everywhere. My lips were literally 5 times bigger than normal, my ears were purple because the skin was stretched so far and I realised that I could hardly hear anything, and the little I could hear was muffled. I was in too much pain to panic, and slowly walked to my mother's bedroom to wake her up in order to get to the hospital.




Now, waking up at 3AM isn't the easiest thing to do and initially my mother's reaction was like my own, it took some time until she was fully awake to realise the extent of what has happened. I was in the middle of anaphylaxis, and judging by the fact we could physically see the size difference after about 5 minutes of the swelling particularly on my legs and my throat, we knew we had to move fast. We got to the hospital emergency room and luckily I got a bed straight away, they gave me the shot of adrenaline, put me on a drip and then induced sleep and I can't remember anything else until about 6 hours later when I woke up in the hospital emergency room to some breakfast and being told my Mum will be back soon.


While our family has a history of hospitals, this was the first time I was ever the patient in one, other than my birth. Let me tell you, waking up in an emergency ward, with a hazy memory of how you got there (of course this came back as the day progressed and I wasn't so groggy) in a lot of pain, a drip in your arm and being alone - it's not a good feeling. But Mum did come back and with orders to stay in bed until all swelling was down, to rest, to see my GP immediately and to get in touch with an allerginist, we were off home where I slept for almost a full 2 days.


Now the reaction alone is one of the scariest things I have ever experienced, and I couldn't help but think to myself for the next few weeks - what if I didn't wake up from myself choking? Or, what if something had happened so we couldn't get to the hospital right away? Answers which I should be thankful that I will never need to know the answer. But anaphylaxis is a lot more than the initial reaction.

An example of a skin allergy test I had to under go for
weeks on each arm after the incident.

A few weeks later, and many blood tests down the line I was told from my body being in such shock, I now had glandular fever. Not only that, but it did take some time before my allerginist could figure out what caused this reaction. Around the same time I had my reaction, a new study was being made with the connection to ticks and red-meat. Basically, the venom in a particular type of tick has very similar enzymes to that which is found in types of red meat - particularly beef. But the reactions are not immediate like other anaphylaxis. My Doctor described it to me as we digest food and some of it passes our system, but some days we may have more of that one thing in one day, and our body has more than usual to digest. It is these days that our body recognises it as a threat, and does not think it will simply pass. That is when the reaction happens. You can read more about it here and here.


As the weeks progressed, my Doctor explained to my mother and I that my immune system was not recovering well, and I was at a huge risk of my glandular fever becoming chronic fatigue. Our family had a member who suffered chronic fatigue for most of his adult life, and honestly, the whole time I can remember having known him. So this was not something we wanted to hear. My diet changed dramatically and conditions did improve, but even today, 4 years later, whenever I get the tiniest bug or virus my body slowly begins to shut down. A common cold that my partner might get over in 3 days can have lingering affects on me up to 1 month later. 


Thankfully, I am able to eat red meat again as just like my doctor predicted, the venom from the tick phased out, but even still I prefer eating chicken if I can get it!


Today I am sitting at home, just reminding everyone to be mindful this cold and flu season. While it may not matter to you, there are a lot of us (any many worse than me) that having a greater difficulty getting better. 

• Wash your hands when you can! You'd be amazed at how much bacteria can be spread just from the things you touch.
• Cough and sneeze into something, whether it is your elbow or a hanky.
• If it gets to a week and you're still feeling ill, visit your GP! Over the counter medications aren't good enough and you could be spreading a nasty virus.
• Rug up this winter and stay at of the rain when you can.
• Rest as much as you can!

If you can avoid getting sick at all this winter, consider yourself my new best friend!
Hopefully this time next week I'll be up and running again...

'Battleship' sinking

What do a chicken burrito and a soccer game have in common?
They both had absolutely no purpose in the film.


Hasbro, You really did sink it.
You managed to turn a much loved children's board game into a multi-million dollar colossal waste of my time. While I was accompanied by some who enjoyed the film, I found it 2 hours of plot holes, unnecessary scenes an ridiculous sound effects. Yes, Transformers earned Michael Bay a lot of money - but how about for next films, Peter Berg (that use almost the identical story premise), you use actually some different sound tracks and special effects. Even the cinematography and computerized graphics I should have been impressed with only left me thinking "seen that, what's new?".
As for the direct and memorable movie quotes that were stolen - only Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher can get away with saying "I've got a bad feeling about this".

Scenes in Battleship (above) bore striking resemblence to special effects used in Transformers films (below)

And where did Rihanna come from by the way? Her acting is almost as brilliant as her voice without auto-tune. If you missed the sarcasm, she was terrible. The few actors that could have potentially saved the film from a complete dud to something semi-entertaining (Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgård) were in it nowhere near enough and Taylor Kitsch only showed us what we already learnt from John Carter: he has worse acting skills than my brother's old cat.

The only think Rihanna made me believe, was that she
was in fact terrible at being believable.

And if you are still interested in watching the train wreck of a film (you will regret it), do not see it with the tiniest inkling of a headache. The constant screeches of robotic (for some reason when it was supposed to be alien...just one of many flaws) sounds and more flashing lights than a Skrillex concert will leave you physically covering your eyes and ears on the verge of walking out of the cinemas. I wouldn't even take my younger male cousins to see this as a typical fast-paced explosion type movie - it honestly was that bad.

The Sour Side of Online Marketing

Why just the other day I bought some lemons. They were just your average, typical lemons.
Except for one big difference...

Yes, my lemons now are a part of social networking.
And here I thought social media couldn't get any more niche...

Of course, me being the inquisitive being that I am, I had to save the sticker and investigate.
Finding the page took a little bit longer than I first anticipated - better get your online marketing consultant onto that, Abbotsleigh!
But, alas,  the result was dismal...I bought my lemon at Woolworths. Now, I think of the hundreds of thousands of lemons in Australia that are sold to thousands of customers each week, and how many hundreds of those people like myself, notice the sticker.

Your eyes are not mistaken, only a mere 219 people including myself have actually liked Abbotsleigh Citrus's Facebook Page. Considering they joined Facebook on March 3 2011, and I could get 219 people to read my blog in 1 day if I wanted to buy using social media - I'm calling this an Online Marketing FAIL.

This only reinforces how IMPORTANT online marketing can be in making or breaking a company's success. For one, the used of not including "citrus" on their sticker has lost potentially hundreds of page likes,  and all that could have been avoided with adding a single word. Considering their stickers have been this way for over a year, it's more than a simple mistake...

Businesses need to constantly be cautious of the marketing they pursue, make sure you utilise a company or individuals that are trained in online marketing strategies to avoid simple mistakes as these, and even more importantly, make sure social media is actually RIGHT for your business. I am still stumped as to why these guys need a page.

By all means, if you love your citrus and you're a Facebook user, you can always help them out like I did by liking their page: https://www.facebook.com/AbbotsleighCitrus

Public Media

Lecture Week 8 - 16/4/12


"The difference between commercial broadcasting and public media is the difference between consumers and citizens." - Nigel Milan (former Managing Directer of SBS)


What a great little quote. A quote that very much sums up my own opinion in a, lets be honest, much nicer way. Now, we all remember commercial media is profit driven. The definition of public media is:

"In general, a media whose mission is to serve or engage a public...it may be for profit as long as it's ultimate goal is to serve the public and not to turn a profit." 

- WGBH Educational Foundation Conference Open Content and Public Broadcasting (19-21 September 2006)

The main reason's why we need Public Media are

1. Public Value - embedding a public service ethos
   - Value for licensing fee
   - Weighting public value against market impact
   - Public consultation
2. Geographic universality - access to the whole of the country
3. Universality of appeal - cater for all interests
4. Special provision for minorities - eg, SBS in Australia
5. Relationship to the sense of national identity and community - National building, heritage, identity and conversations
6. Distanced from all vested interests
7. Liberate rather than restrict broadcasters

Public media has a huge role on impacting a country, and ensuring those companies which are purely commercial and ensuring the public has access to many different avenues of not only news but of light entertainment. A huge area of this though is the news where Public Media really is in place to ensure we are able to have a less bias account of the news, as we trust public media news more than we would trust news programs such as 'Today Tonight' and 'A Current Affair'. 

41% of Australian;s get their news from ABC, however, there is the argument that public media news can be elitist, of limited interest and possibly out of touch as some people would prefer to watch news casts such as 'The Project' rather than ABC 7pm News. Public media is getting less prominence, and investigative journalist is slowly decreasing as we as a world have less resources in Journalism. The problem with this is that investigative journalism is the journalism that changes the world, and acts as a reality check to many companies, individuals and even nations.

While Public and Commercial media outlets are very different, they do have the same challenges. They both need audiences. To sum it up: Without an audience, there is no ratings, without ratings no profit, without profit no journalists.

Basically, like any media outlet, public media must follow the Journalist Code of Ethics to remain honest, independent and relevant. The Australian code is found here.

It is safe to say it is a hard road ahead for Journalists in yet another area. It seems the more I study this course, the more I'm being persuaded to take a different career path... But what is rewarding if it's not a challenge?

3 Cheers for QPS...

If you've managed to find yourself under a rock, and missed what happened this Easter long weekend in Brisbane, let me fill you in.

• Sunday night in Zillmere 4 men fled in a stolen vehicle and were followed by police
• The driver charged through a police road block and towards an officer causing shots to be fired with 1 man injured with a shot to the leg
• All 4 were arrested
• Monday morning a Brisbane task force named "Taskforce Kilo Perpetual" was launched as the 4 men were part of a wanted 30 for over 190 offenses in the past 4 months
• Approx 2 hours later, 2 stolen cars became part of an over 2 hour long car chase across Brisbane City, tracked by Seven, Nine and Ten news helicopters to assist police
• After successful use of road spikes, the cars came to a stop at a Shopping center, leading 7 young men ages 13 to 19 to be arrested.
• The man who drove towards the police on Sunday night has since been charged with attempted murder and the other men face a variety of punishable offences ranging from 14 years to life if found guilty in the coming days.

Police arresting a suspect at Mt Ommaney shopping center Monday afternoon.
Picture: Glen Barnes. Source: Courier Mail

I have had a few thoughts racing through my head since this has unfolded and I sat in front of my television, while constantly refreshing twitter to learn the news as it happen. The first, of course, is how absolutely AMAZING it is that we have the news literally as it happens. If you have read any of my other blog posts, you're probably aware by now that I have a love-hate relationship with the media...

Well, today my friend, is one of love. And for many reasons...

For one, QLD Police only recently received their first helicopter, based on the Gold Coast. In moments like these (no matter how rare they are) this does seem like a minor oversight. Without the commercial media's use of helicopters tracking the separate cars and relaying the information to the police, catching the cars would have been, lets just say - much more tedious
MEDIA - 1
EMILY - 0

The news was literally instantaneous. I was able to receive a tweet from someone at ABC, and next thing I know, the information is being relayed over my television set with images to match. The power of social media, web 3.0 and the media making use of such powerful tools created a huge awareness of what was going on, to further assist in bringing justice.
MEDIA - 2
EMILY - 0

As for Zillmere, I did notice over the past few nights odd police behavior along Zillmere Road (which happens to be where I live, with lovely windows looking right over onto the street). My partner and I had had conversations about 'what are they up to?' and 'who are they going to catch?' only to be out maneuvered by clever police tactics and precautions. Heck, I felt safe in my own suburb when literally meters away road blocks were being set up, of which we knew nothing about until reported on the media. The Queensland Police have again reinforced why I feel safe somewhere where others might be quick to judge for a suburb that is currently in the news for some very serious crimes. Not a single person was injured, other than those committing crimes and resisting arrest, and in the end, the bad guys got caught. Not one alarm bell in my head went off...but I still like to think I am savvy and noticing their odd driving behaviors makes me in the loop ;) who knows, I could be a crime reporter yet!
MEDIA - 1
EMILY - 0
QUEENSLAND POLICE - 9999999999999999999....

Well done, QPS! For now I know I am safe, and my faith in Australian Media (at the very least) has been restored.
Plus, I like to imagine some 'The Raid'-esk moves going down in some apartment building near by....you never know!

Ten Reasons I Love Leo

This April I jumped on to the Titanic bandwagon. After watching the movie again for the first time in years (and having a great big sob afterwards like every time I have watched it), I am left enchanted by the then 22 year old Leonardo DiCaprio. Lets take a moment to reflect on the transformation that is Leo, and my Top Ten reasons I can't get those eyes out of my dreams at night...

1. Of course, I am a fool if I do not list, first and foremost Leo's beautiful acting in Titanic. What heterosexual female does not leave that cinema crying over the death of Jack for Rose's life, and the true, honest love those young star-crossed lovers found. While not his first claim to fame, you'd be surprised to learn DiCaprio initially turned down the role, doubting his own acting ability. So a big double thumbs up to you, James Cameron, at coercing this young Leo into my heart, and the roles of many more amazing future films. Oh please, Leo...Paint me like one of your French girls!

2. Keeping on the theme of Leo-mania, his portrayal of Romeo in Baz Luhrmann's modern adaption of Shakespeare's classic, Romeo + Juliet. I can never read the play again without picturing Leo's face as my sweet Romeo - although, that's in no way a bad thing! 

3. DiCaprio's portrayal of Johnny Depp's mentally handicapped brother in What's Eating Gilbert Grape is hands down one of my favourite performances by anyone. Ever. If you have never watched the film, do it. Right now. Why are you still reading this sentence? Seriously. As a then 18 year old actor, Leo in my opinion easily deserved the Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. I'm yet to see another film tackle issues of mental handicaps so tastefully, let alone find an actor skillful enough to portray them.

4. Catch Me If You Can, inspired by the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr always gets my heart racing, and it's no wonder why. The film was shot in 147 different locations, in only 52 days, making for one skillful actor who can perform under pressure ;) . For the first time, we see Leo not as a charming romantic, but a conniving, womanizing playboy...who we still can't help to swoon for like the girls in the film. 

5. One of the most haunting and original films I have ever seen is of course Shutter Island. The ability for Leo to portray a character that had me questioning his sanity alongside him, left me feeling terrified as piece by piece I put it together only seconds before DiCaprio's character does. I believe every muscle on DiCaprio's face, and watched that movie for the first time with a burning intensity, like  U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels to get to the bottom of it all. How many movies can you say you watched with full intensity before?

6. Inception. How many conversations have you had since that movie came out debating what the ending meant. For me, it's countless. I loved every second of that movie, and DiCaprio's outstanding acting ability to only show what we need to know, that we saw in Shutter Island came in to play again with us. Was it going to stop spinning? Did he know it was a dream and just accept it? Or even worse, was the whole movie just a dream? Damn, you Leo! Damn you and your wonderful ways!

7. Let's step away from his acting and into his personal life. Not only is his house entirely eco-friendly, but Leo has purchased an island in Belize which he plans to build an eco-friendly resort. 

8. He is a human rights activist - During the filming of Blood Diamond, Leo worked with orphaned children, he donated $1,000,000 US in relief after Haiti and supported the Obama campaign, donating $2,300 the maximum amount you can donate as an individual.

9. He campaigns for animal rights too. In 2010, DiCaprio donated $1,000,000 to Wildlife Conservation Society in Russia and in 2011 joined Animal Legal Defense Fund's campaign to free Tony, a tiger who has spent the last decade at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana.

10. He is ridiculously good looking. I mean, c'mon! All cycles of his life, he has remained a stunning specimen of human nature.

Chocolate Day!

Happy Easter to my fellow bloggers!


Of course, for some that means more than others. As a self confessed atheist, this long weekend is about eating crap, catching up on rest and spending time around those I love. Which I have to say, is a good weekend to look forward to each year (sorry about the death, Jesus - I'm in it for the candy!).

How could you honestly say no?! $11.99

Now I've always had the trouble of what to get people as a token of appreciation on Easter time. I stuck to the traditional Darrell Lea Turkish Delight Half Egg for the boyfriend, but this year for the lucky ladies I went for something sweeter on the nose and better on the hips. The Body Shop released an absolutely to die for range this year - Chocomania.

The decadent tin with small sizes of most of the range costs only $45.95

The range, like most Body Shop products uses Community Fair Trade ingredients, sourcing cocoa butter from Ghana harvested from hand by the women of the Kuapa Kokoo social fund, which invests in clean drinking water, medical and educational facilities. Now, that's some chocolate good for the heart and the body!


However, if you were lucky enough to receive mountains of chocolate like myself, and happen to not be on a never ending diet...here are some fun facts I pulled from the charming site Cacao Web, as well as a few things some wise women once told me...

• Cocoa beans contain polyphenols with antioxidant properties which are health beneficial.
• The antioxidant flavinoids also reduce the blood's ability to clot and thus reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks.
• Chocolate contains Phenylethylamine which is a is a slight antidepressant
• Cocoa and chocolate can increase the level of serotonine in the brain. PMS symptoms be gone!
• IT TASTES DELICIOUS!!!

So, I say for this weekend, enjoy the treats you've been given! Bask in the love of those who surround you, and the  Phenylethylamine that enters your body. Think about the calories and cavities later!

If you still want more reasons to eat it, watch the 2000 romance film 'Chocolat' featuring the tasty Johnny Depp. You'll never say no to chocolate again!

Commercial Media

Lecture Week 6 - 2/4/12

In $$$ We Trust

Week 6 lecture delved into everything I hate about mass media. Yes, commercial media is necessary, but to what extent? When does it go too far, and how aware is the general public when it comes to what information they receive?

Commercial Media is a hugely important part of Australia's economy, as it is estimated that 99% of households have a television.The use of privately owned broadcasting (Ten, Nine, Seven, Foxtel, Austar, News Limited...the list goes on) completely shadows the publicly funded broadcasts (ABC, SBS) in Australia.

Yes, we need to make money to produce these Television broadcasts. We need to sell advertisements and promotional shows, but how do we ensure the 2 things do not mix? In my opinion, as far as Television journalism goes - we don't...

My concern is, the difference of advertising and endorsements and true journalism becomes a very blurred line in certain programs such as 'Today Tonight' and to a lesser extent, simplifying the news on shows like 'The Project' makes me wonder how many consumers are aware of who is financing the "news".

Last week, McDonald's advertised what they called a "documentary" that was aired on channel 7 after the popular prime time program 'Revenge'. What the program failed to make clear to it's viewers was the documentary was entirely self funded. Channel 7 executives have defended the program, saying "There is plenty of negative as well as positive information in the program ... We have no reason to think the information in the program is other than accurate" (Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/producer-defends-mcdonalds-documentary-20120401-1w67r.html#ixzz1rMTxcUbu) and denied the program had anything to do with the heavily advertised new season of 'My Kitchen Rules', of which McDonald's is a major sponsor.


My beef with commercial media is that our integrity as Journalists is at risk. If our audience is being fed advertisements as news, how do we expect people to ask WHY, or HOW about things going on in the world?


I know that one day, somewhere somehow I will most likely end up working in commercial media, but I must say, I will NEVER push something like what channel 7 did as investigative factual journalism. The day I do sell out as a journalist, is the day I willingly invite you to kick me in the stomach.
Seriously.

Factual Story Telling - Sound

Lecture Week 5 - 26/3/12

Now, listen here!

"Radio is a much more intimate medium" 

I never thought much of radio. I was never one to listen to much radio. I tried pod-casts on my iPod, but never had the time to focus on the conversation, and conversation is what sets is apart from other means of reporting. 

I must admit upfront, while listening to our sound lecture I did have troubles being "genuinely interested" in the whole thing that was reiterated as being a hugely important thing in radio journalism. I often found myself wandering on to other web pages, or checking my twitter to see what was happening in the world instantly. Basically, I have been brought up in a world of instant social networking where when I think of something I can Google it.

However what I did learn was the often calm and relaxed mood of a radio interview in comparison to print or television (in most cases) via the use of humour and trying to make them act like a "normal human being". This is possibly why radio is able to withstand the changing technology and the power of downloading a pod-cast, because it is so informal and casual in comparison. For all I know, you could be sitting in your underpants drinking coffee talking into the microphone...But maybe that is just my imagination running away with me.

My favourite part was the closure of the interviews - "if you really want it, don't give up."

I managed to get to the end of the interview, and while my mind has been opened, I'm still not sure I am one to listen to radio...

Factual Story Telling - Vision

Lecture Week 4 - 19/3/12

Power of the Picture

It is only fitting to follow a week of text journalism with developments in photojournalism. As we've heard many times before, a picture is worth a thousand words, but I believe it is worth so much more. Images are what we remember, images are what stays in our minds when we've finished reading an article.


Most of the things in the Lecture I had seen it all before (as the images have burned into the back of my retina's from previous years) so I instead spent my time contemplating the power of images in the media, and the detrimental effect it can have.

Yes, I point the finger to certain Media outlets using Photoshop negatively when we are seeing what seems like more younger generations coping with depression and  anxiety issues, struggling to accept themselves. But how do we encourage them to accept themselves when even the most 'beautiful' celebrities are edited and made to be look like 'Gods'. It's creating an unattainable beauty, and the continual concept of 'thinness'.

The video we were shown by Dove only cemented my own opinion.

The power of images are somewhat underestimated. Images of young women sell everything - from cars to scarves. We are constantly bombarded with images of 'perfect' women in the Media, be it advertising or celebrity news. It's been revealed in studies that women who are self conscious about their bodies are those more likely to spend more money on cosmetics and on celebrity magazines. It is a vicious cycle that could easily continue to be detrimental to impressionable young women's minds.

But lets focus on the other end of the spectrum.

What makes a great photo?

"A picture has no meaning at all if it can't tell a story." - Eetu Silanpaa

Sums it up perfectly.

 December 8, 1980 John Lennon Rolling Stone Magazine Cover shoot

Annie Leibovitz - American Portrait Photographer
Perhaps best known for the famous last photograph of John-Lennon. Working for Rolling Stone Magazine, she had an understanding of what makes a good photograph.


Leibovitz utilized a then-new use of new colours, lighting and continues to astound audiences time and time again with images that tell amazing stories.

I think what is most  brilliant about her work is not only her ability to make use of regular techniques of framing, rule of thirds, leading lines (the list goes on...), but rather her ability for us to see within the people she photographs
.
Her images do not need editing on Photoshop to remove what society has labelled as 'imperfect' and in the cases she does use Photoshop, it is to portray a greater beauty and emotion than before, rather then hinder it (such as in her Disney themed photo set).

Leibovitz's Disney "Dream" photo set

I think, we need to be careful about what we put out there. We are aware of how powerful images can be in 'making or breaking' a story, but we need to realise it goes both ways - they are vital to making or breaking self esteem too.

'The Raid' Rampage

The story is exactly as the name suggests: about a raid. A raid on one of the biggest drug lords of Jakarta. Like any good action story, there is always more to it then meets the eye. I will avoid spoilers, as I strongly urge everyone to see this film. 

Deep in Jakarta slums, an apartment building stands as a safe house for some of the cities worst murders, criminals and gangsters. The notorious crime lord who runs the building, Tama Riyandi, is considered untouchable - even by the police. The story focuses on the perspective of rookie officer Rama (Iko Uwais) and the 20 man SWAT team sent in with 1 mission - to take Riyandi down. Of course, Ruyandi is aware of their presence and announces anyone who helps to kill the SWAT team will become a "Permanent resident. Rent free". And so it begins...


While you may have the ability to guess some of what is coming around the corner, you’ll get flanked by what creeps behind you around another. Let’s just say, it’s not a classic “good guys vs. bad guys” film. Add in some commentary on corruption in Jakarta, and and you've got a well constructed bloody massacre of extremely talented martial artists.

Iko Uwais (left) in action

As foreign films go, you don’t even realise this is one. The fast paced story makes for one with little dialogue and incredibly acting portraying a story through incredibly emotional expressions. The choreography is almost like ballet, each punch and kick completely mastered and you can only think that you do NOT want to get on the bad side of either team. You become enchanted with the movements and the creation of truly unique deaths on screen that the whole cinema is cringing in their seats.


You'll go home enchanted and terrified at the same time, and a part of you will always want to keep an axe handy, just in case. 

A wonderful simple yet highly visual story well deserving of 4/5 stars.

Media in War

For university I am currently enrolled in a double degree – Journalism/Arts.  I took a year off between High School and university to work to afford to study, as well as take a look at what it was in Arts I actually wanted to major in. And 6 weeks in to my courses, I’ve already decided on 2 majors.

Let’s just say so far, the Peace and Conflict Studies introductory course has absolutely blown my mind, and reminded me what I am doing with my life. Last week’s lecture was on “The Role of Media in war and Peace” and I have had an inspiring and eye opening 6 days between then and my tutorial that finished exactly 23 minutes ago as I write this.

Example of WWI Propaganda

The roll of media, as we’re already aware, is ever changing, and constantly being remade as technology advances. As consumers, we are taught from an early age to be up to date with current affairs, and the importance of watching the news of an evening.

However, what I am sure many of my peers are unaware of is the power of governments to turn the media against its audience. A classic example is the conscription campaigns of WWI and WWII of both allies and enemies.  We were shown soldiers as heroes, portrayed as national icons, and while I admit, Australia is not as bad as the United States in this aspect, (for one, WWI was not forced conscription) this propaganda was then used against those who didn’t go to war either, being made to wear white feathers to show their cowardice if they had not fought in the war.

Fast forward to the Vietnam War, and you have the opposite. The complete shift in technology meant people were reporting on every aspect of the war, to the point where it was violence that caught our attention. At first we were shocked as we learnt the true aspects of what fighting the war was costing. As we came to terms with civilian deaths and how our own soldiers were dying, the Government lost support. But soon this changed and the same trends we have in Hollywood movies, we moved on to real life. I like to believe there are many journalists that worked with the best intensions, but the shift to a capitalist economy made the newspaper saying: If it bleeds, it leads. It was now the extreme opposite, the media become almost emotionally involved with the war, and we lost the independent 3^rd perspective we needed the media to be. While definitely better than false information feed by the government beforehand, this was in no way 100% accurate either. We were privy to the absolute worst of the war, and as America’s Pentagon so graciously believes the war was lost “because of the media”.

Consequences of the Vietnam War have lasted much longer than the actual blood shed on the battlefield. After that, the United States Government sent out to make a point. Their next war against Grenada, was a complete media blackout until the war was over, which the United States easily took victory. Of course, Journalists everywhere were outraged! What about human rights?! What about the Right to Information, or the Right to Free Speech! The United States responded by basically saying “there will be x amount of journalists at any one time, to report in x area on x days and whatever you write, must be submitted for review before it is published”. And, again we were outraged!!

Or, were we?

The Pentagon did an excellent job distracting us. And, I mean excellent! Currently this system is still being used for War-zone reporting. The Army will decide who will report, what place they will report, and what days they will report – with the excuse that it is for “their own safety”. To me, embedded journalism just isn’t good enough.

Since I was about 13 years old after reading Aldous Huxley’s Nineteen-Eighty Four and once I first understood how Governments have the ability to censor media, I promised myself one day, I will be reporting the truth from a war zone. Regardless of the risk or dangers, as journalists it is our duty to report not only the truth (as we did in Vietnam) but the WHOLE truth. I look up to Kevin Sites, who utilised new technology and published on his blog what others were afraid to do, only to be kicked out of the war, and lose his job. He was not afraid. He was honest, and to me, that is the very best quality any journalist can attain.

In class, we are always hearing that we need to “get outraged!” as a journalist.

Well, today, I am extremely outraged.

Please, if you have not already, watch this Documentary. You will be outraged too.