Storify and Science Journalism

For university this semester we were required to write and publish an article on a science topic of our choosing. Below is the story I created.

This link takes you to an analysis of the program Storify that I used to create the story.
Happy blogging!

Long time, no type...

Now before you say anything, I know it's been a long time. I'm sorry I didn't call - I just got caught up in life, the universe and everything. Please, let me explain...

I'm going into my second year of university at UQ in Brisbane this Monday and I am very excited to be going back to studying! Since I left you last, I finished semester 1, began and completed semester 2, I moved house, my sister became engaged, my uncle got married, my brother won a Gold Medal and I completed several things from my bucket list travelling to London in September (...yeah, there is more to that story), I worked full time for a while during these Summer holidays, and then upon returning to casual work with nothing else driving me I can safely say...I CAN'T WAIT FOR MONDAY! 

Now, having experienced a boredom and lust for knowledge like never before, I will write some back posts about my adventures while keeping you up to date with how things this year is going now that we've survived the 2012 Apocalypse together. I promise to keep my mind a wit fresh (although they both need some sharpening at the moment).

Thanks Daemion, for nagging me to get back into the habit. Just like an artist will draw, I have to write every day to get better.
Oh, did I mention Daemion's art is amazing? you really should check it out...

Keep your eyes and ears open for a Paramore review sometime this weekend!

Yours,

Emily.

News Values

Week 10 - 30/04/12

Pick Me! Pick Me!

News Values (sometimes also referred to as news criteria) are the elements that determine what prominence a media outlet gives to a story, and the audience reaction to it as a result. In simplest terms, news values are determined by the following"

IMPACT- Makes you say "Gee, whiz!"

AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION - relating to viewers.

PRAGMATICS - the 24/7 news cycle needs all news to be current!

SOURCE INFLUENCE - regarding public relations

These change depending on the news outlet, the news values will be different, for example a local newspaper will focus on local stories leading, where a nightly news broadcast on a commercial network will most likely adopt the "if it bleeds it leads" policy.

But why are they important?

News values determine what gets reported on with prominence, and journalism is often called "the rough draft of history".

Need I say more?

Ethics

Lecture Week 9 - 23/04/12

Right or Wrong?

In the media we are often faced with a moral decision we must make in regards to what stories we persue, how we persue them and how we portray them to the public. However, the increase in technological advances has meant laws struggle to keep up to protect individual rights and the question what is right, and what is wrong is increasingly hard to answer.

There are 3 main types of ethic models in regards to Journalism in use today:

1. Deontology - the normative ethical position that judges the morality of any action by following the rules, pricipals and duties of a Journalist.
2. Consequentialism - idea that it doesn't matter how you get there, the end justifies the means. The idea of the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
3. Virtue Ethics - the intrinsic values of courage, justice, temperance, prudence and "golden mean" of behaviour through habits of character.

While there are many codes available outlining Ethics and Morals in journalists, often they are not followed. Advertising has led the greater public to confuse what is considered ethical, with that of bad taste, mixing there own perceptions and projections with the reality.

Although this one has got to be an advertising campaign I can't believe got approved:

A Fitness First advertisement that lights up how much you weigh as you sit on the seat waiting. Not only for yourself to see, but the whole public. If anything, it makes me defintely not want to join Fitness First! What if someone is dealing with body weight issues?

What do you think?

Exam exhaustion!

It's been a while since I have had my last exam in REAL exam conditions, since I sat my HSC in the gymnasium of rival High School back home in Coffs Harbour. Today was my first university exam and while the test conditions were more or less the same, the exhaustion afterwards was so different.


Now, while I'm sure this vary's person to person, or course to course, finishing my exam right on the clock today had nothing like the relief of walking out of the HSC never having to look back. Instead, I sat exhausted, overwhelmed to have finished a course, but completely terrified at thinking that the follow on courses I am enrolled in for next semester are not only going to draw on what I've just learnt, but the course material is going to get harder.


Today is just the start of a whole lot more of something!


I think it's about time I look into some more exercise and diet plans to keep myself a little bit more fit, so exhaustion doesn't get the better of me.
Tomorrow night, I will celebrate with one glass of wine!


But for now, time to catch up on JOUR1111 blog post reports...

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

In the beginning...

So, let's start at the top.

I am Emily Newton, a 19 year old small town girl living in a big city.

It has been a very whirlwind adventure thus far. 

Raised in Coffs Harbour from ages 5 to 18, I moved to Brisbane for one thing only. To get out of the black whole that small town's become. I escaped the gossip and the drama (to put in to perspective, when I moved we had 1 bar that you could go to on the weekends. Literally) and switched it for the bright lights and big opportunities.

Getting in to my dream school, the University of Queensland, I worked my bum off in my gap year to afford to study, and I am loving every minute of it! Other than the occasional drama involving my Twitter account constantly un-following my JOUR1111 cohort, this course is seeming to be exactly what I wanted.

Lover of Hunter S Thompson, my mind was set that Journalism was to be my career path when my older brother Ben gave me "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" to read, one rainy afternoon when I was 12. Now, as a buddy journalist is aware, we can't all live the Rock'n'Roll lifestyle Mr Thompson had to offer the avid readers of Rolling Stone Magazine. There is a lot of hard work to get to the top...

But who says I can't make it that way up..?

All I can say is, watch this space.

One day you will be reading about my crazy awesome adventures on the road and thinking to yourself, "I wish that was me".
I guarantee you.

If you're hungry for more, google "emmerleener" and you'll find me.