"part of out heart lost in a pen stroke"

^ this was the title of Frances Whiting's column in the Courier Mail about two weeks ago now. 

I love her. I find her witty and just down-right amusing. 

Frances Whiting - the original, and the best. 

Anyway, her article (that I tore out, hence cannot remember the Sunday it was published) was written around the cancellation of the Premier's Literary Awards. 

Frances, completely unbiased as a previous host of the event, is very upset that they have been cancelled. To be honest, as am I. $230,000, really? Oh that'll save the state budget.

Personal opinions aside, I love how she characterises writers.  

"Oh I know, I know, there will be many of you who think writers are just a bunch of hopeless procrastinates, sitting around in cafes sipping lattes and whining about how hard writing is, how no one understands the process and how difficult can it be to get a decent cup of coffee in this town."

This honestly just sounds like me. Sitting in coffee shops is my life - although I believe I do know where the good Brisbane coffee is. 

Brew - Down some lane, Brisbane City. 

Flamingo - Winn Lane, Fortitude Valley.

Campos - James Street, New Farm. 

Mugged - Oxford Street, Bulimba.

Our Haus - Riding Road, Hawthorne. 

Puk - Main Street, Kangaroo Point. 

Merlo - James Street, New Farm. 

...I could go on for hours. But anyway. Frances is most upset about the awards being cancelled for one particular reason:

"It's because writing matters. 

It does.

For anyone who has ever soothed a child with words from a storybook, or laid beneath a tree and opened up the first pages of Escape, or sat on a train or a plane or a bus and taken an altogether different journey, or switched on their bedside lamp and reached for the words that will take away the day, writing matters."

   

I find that description beautiful. People can say that writing doesn't matter, but where would we be without it? Even completely disregarding journalism, nothing beats the feeling of curling up with a new book and a cup of tea. Well, coffee maybe, but that's it. 

So when you get your U Magazine with this Sunday's Courier Mail, read Frances. That's what I'll be doing. 

how a journalism student spends her friday night

Today's lecture was prefaced with: 

"Warning. 

Some of the following material may offend some viewers." 

Intrigue? Yes. 

The answer? Ethics. 

How far is too far to go when advertising a product? It's interesting to see which advertisements revived complaints compared to those that don't. 

This advertisement received none. But I think quite rightly so. To be honest, I find this ad just simply a clever play on a well known saying, nothing super offensive. 

 This advertisement received none either (thank goodness!). I remember when this ad was by the Brisbane airport and I used to laugh relentlessly whenever we drove by. I don't find anything offensive about this ad either - it's just an incredibly clever ploy used by Air Asia. How witty. 

This 'Voodoo' advertisement apparently received many complaints, apparently due to its 'gender stereotyping'. I actually quite like the ad - it's saying 'if you wear these tights, you will become strong and empowered and have the ability to walk all over men.' The rest of the public obviously didn't interpret it that way.

This advertisement is just odd. It doesn't even showcase the supposed 'shoes' that it's advertising. Saying that however, it did attract a lot of media attention. Subtle and reasonably cheap campaign by Windsor Smith? Very well played. This one was the recipient of MANY complaints, so many that it earned itself a prime position as a story on A Current Affair. This campaign received over $43 MILLION in FREE advertising, and Windsor Smith still refused to take down the ad. Maybe not the most accepted advertising campaign, but it was undeniably a successful one! 

The iconic 'Where the Bloody Hell Are You' video advertisement was banned in the United Kingdom. I don't find it horribly offensive/necessary/enlightening. I'm so half hearted about this it's not even funny. I think banning the ad all together may have been going a little far.. 

This Australia Day Ad, however, I find disgusting. It generalises Australian population, doesn't at all concede with Australian's 'multicultural and diverse' stigma. It also makes Australian's seem uneducated and condescending. Fortunately, many people seemed to agree with me, and this campaign received numerous complaints. I wouldn't normally have anything against advertising campaigns, I try to find the humour in everything. I found nothing funny about this, though. I just thought it was a very poor and counteractive advertisement. 

The MEAA CODE is the journalism code of ethics. It maintains principles of honesty, fairness, integrity and respect for the rights of others. Pretty standard, human-righty-esque principles in my opinion.   

I do think, in some instances, these principles may need to bend a little. Saying that, though, they should never be completely breached. That's not with journalism, however, that's just with life. 

Ethics should be taken seriously but people should also learn to appreciate the humour in every day life. And if you're someone in the public eye, you should expect to read about yourself in public media. 

If people learn to see a little joy in every situation they're faced with, their lives soon become a much happier forum. 

Take it from me, I'm not only happy from the obscene amounts of caffeine I consume. 

It's ranging outside, it's midnight and I worked a ten hour shift today. 

I'm in a jumper, happy that winter's finally here(ish) and going to make a hot chocolate (ho-cho!) before crawling into bed. Happy days!

goodnight and sweetdreams, 

xoxo

factual story telling assignment two!

Factual Story Telling: My life, based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

happy watching, may all your dreams come true! 

x

the hilarity of journalism

I love when people find ways to make journalism hilarious. 

I have to say, one of my ultimate favourite blogs is 'Scanwiches', a group of people who scan actual sandwiches for the purposes of 'education and delight'. It is definitely in a league of its own.

Hilarious? Yes.

Clever? Extraordinarily so. 

Some are basic - Marshmallow Fluff and Nutella, on White Bread. 

Others are fascinating complexities - The Stalwart Goatherd: Montchevre Goat Cheese, Honey, Roasted Beets, Roasted Red Pepper, Roasted Garlic Spread and Arugula, on Raisin and Nut Whole Wheat Bread.

For more general amusement and obscene hunger pangs, visit: http://scanwiches.com/

Aside from people who write/create amusing blogs, sometimes even the serious news networks have slip ups which can be just as funny as intentional wit. 

CNN - my absolute favourite news network, is guilty of this. 

Well done, CNN, because that couldn't have been helped at all... 

Still, it makes you laugh, doesn't it?! 

xoxo

public media

I have to say, public media doesn't interest me nearly as much as commercial media. It's tragic, I know, but I actually love advertisements and everything else that comes with commercial media. Even the potentially terrible journalism; it is a little bit of a guilty pleasure.

And no I do not mean Tracy Grimshaw and the team at ACA. I'm sure they're all lovely people, I just can't watch stories about 'neighbours plotting to poison one another's plants' and 'which jeans will accentuate my thighs in the way they need to be.' The list goes on. 

I do love programs such as Breakfast and The Project. That's the kind of thing that I would never bring up in an interview (unless it was for Channel 10) but what I do secretly (or not really so secretly anymore) love to watch. 

SPRUNG. 

ANYWAY. PUBLIC MEDIA. Most prominently in Australia is the ABC. Now, I'm not a huge ABC fan (I'm sorry, I know that I should be, I just find it a little too news-y). If I want to know the facts of a particularly serious story, I will turn to the ABC for enlightenment, I just find that it's not something I'd generally choose to watch/listen to (I can just feel my grades dropping...).

Although, 41% of Australians get their news from the ABC, so I guess I'm the anomaly here.

I cannot stand watching Australian Story either, possibly because my grandparents watch it and I just associated it with an older age group bracket. It's funny how a certain stigma to a program can mould your perceptions and interests. 

The only other thing I can think of prominent (for my age group) on the ABC is the Chaser's War on Everything. Now I was never really a Chaser's fan either! All of my friends were, but it was never really something that I got in to.. 

In terms of Radio, Triple J is the renewed 'indie' and 'hipster' radio station among teenagers. I can't listen to it in the car, I just find it way too alternative 90% of the time. I do love Triple J's hottest 100 though, and have listened to it in its entirety for the past three years. 

I wasn't super happy that Goitre won, not being a huge fan of the most repetitive song in pop music history, but I was elated that The Black Keys came in second. I'll also confess that Architecture In Helsinki's 'Contact High' (which came in at number twelve) is one of my ultimate favourite driving songs. Yay Triple J! Also, Triple J Unearthed is one of my favourite ways to find out about local/Australian artists. 

SBS is another example of public media, although no longer in its truest form. SBS was intended to be a 'multicultural channel to reflect changing nature of australia', Dr Redman's words, not mine. But I must say, if you turn on SBS at any point of the morning it's Russian News, followed by Spanish News, followed by Hebrew News and Japanese News and Korean News and Jewish News and about a hundred others. SBS is undeniably diverse. But now it's a 'hybrid' in terms of funding, 80% public funded and 20% through advertising. Sometimes the ABC has jealously issues, because of its sole public funding.

Anyway, I've had enough. I rarely watch/listen to public media, let alone write for about half an hour on it. 

And I have the worst headache. I guess 6 coffees before 3pm is probably not a brilliant idea. Especially with no water. This place is actually going to be the death of me, and the end of my healthy bank account. Oh wait, it already is: 

Actually, statement retracted. Maybe a skinny cappuccino before law and society is a good idea. 

I retract that statement - a skinny cappuccino is ALWAYS a brilliant idea. A wonderful excuse to visit Will, Spencer, Ryder and Libby at Merlo. It's sad that I'm on first name terms, isn't it? 

ciao! xoxo

commercial media and the like

Commercial and public media: what is the difference and what are their functions? 

Commercial media: for example, channel nine, channel seven, channel ten (and their affiliates).

Public media: for example, abc, sbs (and their branch programs)

Commercial media exists for the sole purpose of advertisers. It's business' generating audience. Typical profit driven media production. It does go a little against the function of media...

Some major commercial media players include news limited (classic), fairfax media, APN news and media, nine entertainment co, win corporation, southern cross broadcasting, ten, seven west media.

Thinking about News Limited made me laugh, actually. Not for the usual, conventional reasons of Murdoch-related hilarity, but because it made me think of this: 

So what exactly is Mr Murdoch in control of? Newspapers, cable TV, film, magazines, books and sports, The Courier Mail, The Australian, Quest, Sky News, Foxtel and 20th Century Fox. 

So basically my (few) Quest Newspaper appearances have been thanks to the Murdoch Monopoly. Not that I really have an issue with that though! 

http://south-east-advertiser.whereilive.com.au/news/story/politics-in-frame-for-teen/

I also was interested in The Innisfail Advocate, thinking that would be owned by one of the more regional corporations, but no. It's News Limited. I really should be more surprised than I am. My grandparents live in Innisfail and I guess I do quite like the idea of living there for a year when I'm out of university, working in a small town newspaper environment and spending time with my family.  I love the city, but small town charm is just the most adorable. I've always dreamed of living in one for a little while, which is why I think that would be such a great experience!

Fairfax, another major player, 'owns' The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Financial Review, brisbanetimes.com.au, domain.com.au and my career.com.au. 

Skipping a few to Nine Entertainment Co., unsurprisingly in charge of Channel 9, Go!, Gem, Ninemsn, Women's Weekly, Cosmo Cleo and Ticketek. I don't have a whole lot of personal anecdotes to share on this one except for...ohmygoodnessiamsoexcited. 

Finally, the brilliance that is 'Ten'. Channels 10, 1 and 11. When Bruce Redman was a 'little kid' (his words, not mine) he says that Ten was known as "the third network", after Channels 9 and 7. 

Margaret Simons (freelance journalist) wrote a fascinating article on Sunrise, an initiative of Channel 7, which kicked Channel 9 out of first place. A bid by the Ten Network to end competition with Channel 9 and 7 actually turned out for the best. Ten introduced shows like Big Brother and Australian Idol so that it could appeal to a younger market, using this as a clever marketing ploy to advertisers. 

Dr Redman commented on 'what a clever bunch of people they are at 10'.

I have to agree, really. When I interned at Mt Coo-Tha with Ten, it was brilliant. 

View from Ten's Mt Coo-Tha Canteen
Brisbane Daily Photo, 2010.

Being in the newsroom was absolutely incredible. Seeing reporters like Georgina Lewis and Bella Robinson wandering around was surreal. I'm slightly in love with Bella Robinson. I think she's so beautiful and such an amazing reporter. We also have the whole 'name' bond going on, which I have to admit, is pretty cute. 

I was lucky enough to be taken around by Travis McNamara. Seeing him sitting in the newsroom and then all of a sudden on the TV screens around me was mind boggling. 

Anyway, that is probably enough for today. 

All I can say is, I do love news. 

Merlo skinny cappuccino in hand, I'm off to pick up the Australian before my reporting lecture. 

Adios! xoxo