ANNOTATED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reese, S.,
Rutigliano, L., Hyun, K. & Jeong, J. (2005) Mapping the blogosphere: Citizen based media in the global news media. Austin,
TX: University of Texas School of Journalism.
The authors,
researchers at the University of Texas, analyse the link between weblogs and
mainstream media internationally. They investigate this by specifically
analysing the top 6 major news and political blogs that generate the most
traffic, as well as track the sites they lead to. Their findings suggest that
globalisation and the internet have in fact lead to a more complimentary
relationship between weblogs and traditional journalism than previously assumed.
The journal article discusses how weblogs act as an important secondary market
for material to push readers to what they otherwise might not have read as
blogs can be aligned with individuals and/or communities. Conversely, the
commercial journalism traditional role is that of being unable to take readers
off their own web pages. The study found weblogs have also allowed for a
greater encouragement among readers to discover more about an issue as the
location of ‘authority’ has been changed promoting higher citizen interactivity
and a shift in the global news agenda. The opposing view of our reliance on
blogs is also included greatly reducing bias. The significant use of citations
throughout the journal article and access to the findings in comprehensive
tables adds credibility to the view of blogs and citizen journalists improving
media.
The following 3 annotated works are all online articles in
relation to the announcement of the selection of the Australian Wheelchair
Rugby team. Through different means of webpages they have all taken different
approaches in announcing the selection, and subsequently different reactions to
readers.
Margie McDonald, the author,
works as a sports journalist for The Australian, giving her decent credibility
particularly related to sports reporting. The article outlines Ryley Batt’s recently
announced selection in the Australian team emphasising his goal to win a gold
medal in London 2012. The article is mostly direct quotes from Ryley Batt, and
as a result further emphasises credibility as it is straight from the source.
However, the article on the website does not make use of any ‘tags’ and has not
once been ‘shared’ on Facebook social media plug-in. This lack of tags makes
the article inaccessible and unless someone was specifically searching for ‘Ryley
Batt’ or ‘wheelchair rugby’, it is very unlikely they would find this article.
The only other person quoted in the article is Jason Hellwig, APC chief
executive and London chef de mission, from a press release regarding the
completion of Paralympic Stadium days earlier that subsequently add no
additional value to the article regarding Ryley or the Wheelchair Rugby team. The
author concludes with further quotes from Batt, leaving a bias impression as
the article showing no significant indicators of research or fact checking by
the journalist reflecting the tabloid nature of The Australian and the large
amounts of news articles they are required to produce daily.
ABC News is a public news
company, rather than commercial, gaining credibility immediately. The article
outlines the selection of the Australian Wheelchair Rugby team and has
interviews from the team coach, star player Ryley Batt and Jason Hellwig
(Australian Paralympic Committee CEO). The article also contains tournament
results, dates of the Paralympic and concludes with a list of all selected team
members. This article is greatly informational and by providing information on
a whole team instead of singling out one player it balances the weight of the
article. Accessed online, this article makes use of multiple ‘tags’ and has
been ‘shared’ on Facebook social media plug-in once. By also being part of the
24 hour news cycle, the focus is less on feelings, and mostly on facts regarding
the team and their goal for gold at the Paralympics. However, the author has
chosen to include that the Australians can’t afford to be complacent about the
early stages of competition, emphasising that there is still competition and no
victory yet. The article is also accompanied with an on location photo of Ryley
Batt playing Japan (during the tournament the team was announced) further
adding credibility of the article.
Chris Bond has written this blog
post in first person about his own journey and feelings regarding his selection
on the London 2012 Paralympics team for Wheelchair Rugby. This style of writing adds credibility as we
are privy to the stream of conscious style writing including what they feel is
important from one of the players rather than a journalist’s interpretation and
editing. As a new player, rather than returning star Ryley Batt, Chris’s
opinion is different to any currently available in the news as other players
are often overlooked. This works in
favour, as the article is fresh and new, yet the comparison of himself to Batt
gives readers someone to identify with and become interested in the article.
Bond makes use of a light-hearted approach discussing how he never expected to
be in a wheelchair, let alone represent Australia providing again a subject to
relate to and empathise with, rather than just straight facts. This page has
been ‘shared’ on Facebook social media plug-in 79 times. By being on the
Australian Paralympic Website, the article is also directly available to people
most likely to be interested, while adding even further credibility for a story
surrounding the Paralympic games.
Having read these 3 citations, it is clear the use of ‘citizen
journalists’ with aid from globalisation and the internet can in fact influence
journalism in a positive way. The angle of the last story by Chris Bond was so
easy to understand and relate to that it had the most ‘shares’ on Facebook,
which in turn means its audience was much larger, particularly to that of the
first article which did not even use tags for the article to be found online.
However, regardless of platform or author, all articles maintained credibility
and provided audiences with different and appealing approaches to the same
story whilst somewhat proving the “Mapping of the Blogosphere” idea that blogs
and news articles are becoming blurred, true.
