Week 8, Ch 8...GREAT! Take the Power Back!

This week's reading was filled with an abundance of journalistic tips and tricks, which I found to be very interesting and helpful, and armed with these, I should be able to take the world upon my shoulders! (Or is that being a little too ambitious?)

J. Jonah Jameson Quote of the Week:


"I don't pay you to be a sensitive artist; I pay you because for some reason that psycho Spiderman will pose for you!"

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Which type of story would you rather do and why:

a. A 'paper chase' conducted entirely by computer and telephone that takes half the time it would have taken if you had left the office?
b. A 'paper chase' involving visits to half a dozen government offices and in-person interviews that put you under extreme deadline pressure?

I'd choose to take option b as many times as I could, as most of the time, traditional journalism 'field work' makes for better, more authentic and personal stories for the reader, not to mention an improved accuracy rate. I think it also gives the journalist a sense of personal satisfaction and ownership and pride over their work as they have actually gone out of their way and gathered their own information and compiled a story, all for the sake of their readers. However, whilst this would be my preferred option in most cases, I recognise that deadlines are usually very demanding on journalists, and they simply just don't have the time to undertake personal, investigative journalism. So, stuck in the office and glued to technological communication appears to be the cheaper, less time consuming alternative!

2. Would you be willing to pursue a corruption investigation or an investigation into organised crime if it included many unpaid hours of extra work and personal risk?

These 'ethical' questions always require a discussion of the many circumstances, which could be argued 'for' and 'against' the posed situation. For example, it would certainly be a rewarding process for the journalist to have exposed any major illegal activity, which may be occurring in a community, as it could prove to be a solid reputation builder, and earn the respect of many other journalists and media organisations. On the contrary, if the journalist had a family and was trying to make money to put food on the table it wouldn't be an ideal situation in working for many unpaid hours whilst putting his or herself at risk, plus any family members and/or relatives which may be connected. These are just two hypothetical scenarios, which have many problems and solutions. There is so much potential for further 'discussion'.

3. Would you be willing to act together as a unit with competing reporters at a media conference in an effort to get maximum information if it meant giving up your best question, which you had intended to ask privately after the conference?

No. I this case I would rather work independently as I am employed with one particular news organisation/media outlet, and whatever information I get on my own will be what sells the papers. If I worked with other reporters to try and get more info, what inclination would a reader have to buy one publication over another? It comes down to exclusives, the depth of information gathering and sources, as well as reporting style, and in this case I believe I have a duty to be true to my employer to avoid uniformity, and create a story, which will maximise profits!

4. Who really owns government-held information: the government or the people? Why?
Supposedly we the people own it, however the government goes to great lengths to ensure it is increasingly difficult for the general public, journalists and other media to access it, especially if it is critical of any particular political governing body or party. An example in The Daily Miracle details how The Courier Mail sought elusive 1994 ministerial briefing papers from the State Government under FoI. Ministers were so desperate to keep the information away from the media, and hence electors, that the documents were bundled up and flown from Brisbane to Mt. Isa so they could be 'presented' at a Cabinet meeting being held in that remote city (p. 179)
Seems like the old censorship days of a totalitarian government in WW2. But, Australia compares to other countries such as Sweden, the US and Canada as having much tougher rules and regulations when it comes to FoI. But I don't know why!

5. If you were assigned to report on the proceedings of a conference and you had to choose between attending different sessions being conducted at the same time, how would you decide which to attend?

I would use my journalistic instincts and determine which session would be more newsworthy for my particular publication's target audience. Because in the end, it is them who you are writing for!!!

THIS WEEK'S JOURNALISM ISSUE ENTRY:

It is obvious to me, from engaging with these readings, that the nature of journalism is rapidly changing in the 21st century. One would think that technology has helped in most cases, especially with communication, with its high speed sophisticated set-ups. But even with the most high tech-equipment and up to date systems, the technological revolution can be its own worst enemy. Now, this was one theme, which ran through my Extension English course in high school, all of the texts seemed to have a common theme of dissatisfaction and reluctance to the industrial revolution. Mary Shelley predicted it in her acclaimed novel "Frankenstein" and Fritz Lang's famous German Expressionist film "Metropolis" depicted the working class man falling victim to the capitalist machine! Now these are all pro-communist/union ideals, but with this 'quick fix' news mentality filtering into the media's psyche, are we, the audience of the paper for whom the journalist writes, destined for uniformity and mediocre standards from the printers, just because journalists are too 'flat out' to go out investigating and write a real, polished story based on facts which they have themselves gathered? I should certainly hope not!

Rage Against the Machine, one of the greatest musical advocates of justice and human rights of our time, hits the nail on the head when it comes to the society we live in, and the information we are fed by the media and government organisations...and they are right, we've got to "Take the Power Back!"



The present curriculum
I put my fist in 'em
Eurocentric every last one of 'em
See right through the red, white and blue disguise
With lecture I puncture the structure of lies
Installed in our minds and attempting
To hold us back
We've got to take it back
Holes in our spirit causin' tears and fears
One-sided stories for years and years and years
I'm inferior? Who's inferior?
Yeah, we need to check the interior
Of the system that cares about only one culture
And that is why
We gotta take the power back

A word's worth of Week 7: Chapter 7!

J. Jonah Jameson Quote of the Week:

"Put it out on the front page: Cash money for pictures of Spiderman! If he doesn't want to be famous...then I'll make him infamous!"

Some discussion questions:

1. At what educational level of readers should newspapers be aiming? Do you think your main metropolitan newspaper is hitting the mark? Why or why not?

This is not a simple straightforward question, as there are myriad papers that write for a number of different audiences, all of which have different agendas in mind. Broadsheets tend to appeal more to those who wish to read a more in depth, analytical perspective of a particular news story, whereas tabloid readers' audiences like to receive their news in a small, 'bite sized' format, which allows them to skim the newspapers in order to get a good idea of the essential facts. Our main metropolitan newspaper is The Sydney Morning Herald, and it is a broadsheet aimed at the so called 'elite educated' population. It's style and structure certainly reaches this desired educational level.

2. To what extent do you think reporters should be able to interpret news events and inject their thoughts into news stories?

As much as news writing strives to be objectified in its approach, there will always be a personal element from the reporter incorporated into the story, whether it is consciously or subconsciously. As Chapter 7 indicates, in terms of the search for accuracy, "a two-pronged approach can be taken" (The Daily Miracle, p. 159). First, facts are obtained. Then opinions, or interpretations of those facts, are sought. Those quick with opinions should be asked for facts on which the opinions are based. This will strengthen a story and provide the reader with more information on which to judge the validity of opinions espoused (p. 159). The Daily Miracle also states that in this process, journalists will have to make their own judgements and interpretations of the facts and opinions they have gathered. Due to legal reasons, there are cases where reporters are entitled to provide interpretation for the readers to defend defamation action. They must ensure the interpretation is based on clearly stated facts so that the readers can assess the basis for the interpretation. The best advice in these ethical situations comes in the form of an old adage in journalism:
'If in doubt, leave it out'.
However, in my humble opinion, reporters should aim to tell their readers what to think about, not what to think!

3. English is a growing and ever-changing language as new words evolve and old ones fall into disuse. What then of the idea of a global language? Does it really matter that our language is being tainted with Americanisms and US spellings?

Not particularly. Given the dynamic nature of the English language, which borrows words and phrases from multiple languages such as French, Italian, German and Spanish, words that have a few letters difference in spelling isn't going to have a huge impact. Anyway, most of the time the US spelling of words are phonetically correct, so if anything, it could be a good thing for their infiltration. To give a simple analogy, the English language can be compared to the religious belief system of Christianity. There are many denominations/variations of it, however it is essentially communicating the same common message. In terms of a global language? There is way too much territory to cover with that, but I don't think that it is necessary to push for the globalisation process any more than is already occurring - do we really want uniformity to be here sooner than expected?

4. Based on your own experience and your reading of newspapers, do you think newspapers have a serious commitment to accuracy?

Given the time pressures that newspapers are under to get the news out to the public as quickly as possible, I commend the overall accuracy in which they strive towards, and most of the time achieves. Of course there are times when papers make errors, however my experience with them has been that they are mostly spelling mistakes; factual errors have a lot more impact, and I have encountered a few, mostly in tabloid newspapers. On the whole, their commitment to accuracy is significantly upheld with integrity.

5. What would you do if you made a serious mistake in a story you wrote but no one contacted the paper to complain?

I'd feel obligated to correct my error, just in case it was later discovered and legal and ethical ramifications ensued. More importantly than this, my reader loyalty would be in jeopardy if I didn't admit to making a mistake, which could have long term ethical and economical effects for me the reporter, the newspaper and even the whole news organisation. Admitting is the first step to fixing, and profit isn't always the central motive for news corporations. Without the readers, the whole newspaper process is redundant. It is an important two-way communicative relationship!

JOURNALISM ISSUE ENTRY OF THE WEEK:

From the textbook chapter reading this week, I have learnt several key points about the importance of style, structure and accuracy in journalism.
According to The Daily Miracle, there is a common misconception amongst news writing that stories that are easy to read may appear to have been easy to write. Some may think this means that the more complex the writing, the deeper the thought required. In each case, the opposite is true (p. 142).
It is often harder to omit detail and make a story simpler than it is to add more words. News must be written in a clear and concise manner, no matter what the publication. Another assumption is that the story must be short and simple, with few ideas conveyed in each paragraph. However, it is important as a reporter to establish a specific style in which to write, and stick to that.
Balance in a story's length and structure needs to be maintained, and it doesn't always have to be consistent. A good solid intro always reels a reader in!
Always understand the content of your own work, and don't try and simplify something that doesn't make sense to you first. If it is instrumental to the story, always be assertive and ask questions until you have the required information, clear and to the point.
An important point which also needs to be stressed is the fact that journalists need to 'know their audience'; i.e. having a sense of the 'invisible masses' and what appeals to them, as well as the newspapers market and demographics.
Writing mechanics and expressive skills are pivotal, and all of this links back to the three fundamental rules for reporters as advised by Joseph Pulitzer (after whom the Pulitzer Prize for excellence in journalism in the U.S was named):

ACCURACY, ACCURACY, ACCURACY!!!