Factual Story Telling

The World is a Book -

Those who do not travel read only one page

I consider myself an extremely lucky person.  I have had an idealistic upbringing and childhood, one that many people would only dream of.  I believe that the two main reasons for this is because I have been given every opportunity I could possibly ask for by my parents, and they have taken me travelling all around the world.  These two factors have really influenced my life and the values I hold today.  Unfortunately, with the rush of life I often forget how lucky I am and take my experiences for granted.  But in the moments that take my breath away, those moments of pure bliss I am able to stop and reflect on how truly blessed my life has been and only pray that it will continue like this in the future.

Mum and Dads’ willingness to support my dreams was completely obvious when they not only allowed but encouraged me to move to Sydney in January 2010 to study ballet full time.  At this point dancing was the biggest part of my life, and being a professional ballerina was my lifelong dream.  It was something that I had always wanted for as long as I could remember but had not thought about seriously until I was offered a scholarship to Allegria Ballet Studios.  Unfortunately, dancing in Sydney did not work out like I originally thought it would.  I found it very hard to completely dedicate myself to ballet, and my passion for ballet began to fade.  I soon realised that I did not love ballet enough to make it my career.  My dream of becoming a professional ballerina, which I had dreamt for as long as I could remember came to an end.  Although it had to happen, realising this was completely heart breaking and very hard to come to terms with.  When you have a particular vision in your head for such a long time it is incredibly difficult to let it go.

Times in Sydney were sometimes very hard; I often felt home sick, I missed my friends so much and hated knowing they were finishing school without me.  Despite this, it is not the hard times that dominate my memory of Sydney, I look back on my time in Sydney with such fond memories.  I believe that living and dancing in Sydney is something that really shaped who I am today and what I hope for the future.  Discovering that I was not entirely passionate about ballet made me realise how incredibly important it is to find a career that you love and can see yourself doing every day of your life, one that is both challenging and rewarding.  I hope my university degree will help me discover this, and I hope that now I am at university I am one step closer to finding something that I am really passionate about.

As I stated earlier an aspect of my life that has made a huge impact on me is the fact that I have been lucky enough to travel quite a lot throughout the world.  Although I could write about every country I have visited, there are a certain few that I feel particularly passionate and have taught me something special.  In 2010 we took a family holiday to New York City, before we went I was incredibly excited.  I had watched so many films set in New York and had wanted to go there for a very long time.  I had developed the highest expectations for the city and was not let down the slightest bit when we finally arrived!  New York was everything I thought it would be and so much more!  It has specific vibe and atmosphere that made me believe that no matter what my dreams were, they could come true!  Although it is materialistic of me, New York made me want a life of excitement, glamour and success, one where I never feel bored and am always able to indulge in the things I love! 

It is always nice to come back home after holidaying overseas but I do strongly believe that Australia cannot offer you all the lessons that need to be taught and learnt.  I have seen quite a lot of the world and each country I have visited has taught me something completely different about life; I have loved them all for totally different reasons and have learnt to appreciate their uniqueness.  They have all made me grateful for different things in my life and made me admire the way other people live in their country, which made me realise that we do not necessarily have it right here in Australia.  We are such an advantaged and lucky country yet there is so much sadness here that is not in places like Bali and Thailand. 

I was fortunate enough to visit Bali at the beginning of 2011 for the second time, and I love it for being the total opposite to New York.  Bali is so slow paced and relaxed, it is extremely humble; the people are so friendly and believe smiling is very important.  Unlike many of us, people in Bali actually have a reason to be sad and depressed.  It is a country where many people live in poverty on the streets, where disease is incurable, terrorism and threats are constantly feared, the government and police force is incredibly corrupt, there are minimal opportunities for education, housing is extremely basic and many people still live without running water and electricity.  Despite all of the setbacks and challenges the Balinese are faced with on a daily basis they are such happy and kind people.  They are all spiritual in such a beautiful way and have so much respect for their culture and for each other, which is often hard to find in Australia.  The Balinese are able to be so content and have such a thrill for life in extremely hard circumstances, which makes me feel silly for ever thinking that my life is difficult when in fact my problems are so insignificant compared to theirs.  I hope that one day I will have the strength and positive spirituality of the Balinese, and be able to realise that my problems, whatever may be, are infinitesimal compare to many other people around the world. 

The valuable and unforgettable lessons about culture and life are learnt through adventure and travel.  It is when you enter a world that is so different from your own that you truly learn about life. You are able to discover yourself, and realise what is really important.  These meaningful lessons cannot be taught in a classroom or lecture theatre, only through firsthand experience.  Every different country I have visited has taught me something special about culture and life, they are all so unique and offer something that may not necessarily be able to be taught or learnt in the previous country or city.  I am so thankful that I have had a head start in my life to travel the world and experience what I have; my past has only made me want to travel more in the future!  It has been since I have come back from Sydney, matured and reflected on my upbringing that I have been able to appreciate how lucky I have been so far in life.  I hope that this luck will continue into the future. 

Lecture 7 Reflection - Public Media

In this afternoon’s lecture Dr Redman explained everything about public media: what it stands for, and what it tries to achieve. 

“Public media should have public value and embed a public service ethos.”

Public media news style is:

·         Serious

·         Broadsheet style

·         Importance over interest

·         Considered, not quick and unchecked

When I have watched programs on ABC and SBS I have certainly noticed that they reiterate the public media style that is mentioned above.  I think it is because of this media style that public media outlets have a reputation for being ‘boring’.  I don’t think boring is the right word, I see their programs as more simple and professional compared to commercial media programs.

 

Functions of public media:

·         Nation building

·         National heritage

·         National identity

·         National conversations

Prior to this lecture I did not realise that public media has so many guidelines.  One of the guidelines is: public media should have a special relationship to the sense of national identity and community.  When Dr Redman read this guideline to us I reflected on my experiences with public media and the public media I have watched.  I do feel like the public media outlets I watch (ABC and SBS) do uphold and reinforce this.  There is something about ABC’s style that always does seem rather ‘Australian’, they are also always supporting Australian television series and short movies.   

 

It is unfortunate that the public media outlets receive minimal funding compared to commercial media, because it is always the programs that public media produce that do make a huge difference in the world.  For example, Four Corners documentary on cattle exports to Indonesia sparked international debates that went on for months.  In comparison to commercial media, public media is certainly more about delivering important news and documentaries to Australians, rather than caring purely about profits.

Lecture 6 Reflection - Commercial Media

Today’s lecture was all about commercial media, and the reasons why it exists and continues to grow.  Prior to this lecture I honestly did not have a clear understanding on what commercial media exactly is, but now I do!  It is very interesting how much money goes into commercial media, compared to public media.  It is a shame that there is such a different amount of support for the different media outlets. 

Commercial media is definitely a world of its own, it is basically all about money and power.  I did not realise how much the commercial media outlets own, they have money is all different types of businesses, and when they own so much they are able to exercise even more control.  From what Dr Redman was saying in today’s lecture commercial media does seem rather corrupt, with more of a concentration on profits then social responsibility.  The big question is if commercial media will be able to deliver both commercially (profits) and socially (public trust), or is it just all about the money? 

We also discussed government content control, this scares me.  I know compared to a lot of other countries Australia has great freedom, but at the same time we are very regulated and controlled.  If content was to be controlled in Australia we would miss out on a lot of important information.  Government content control always makes me wonder what the government is trying to hide from us.

Story Pitches

For my JOUR1112 assignment I had to pitch three different stories: a human interest story, a information story, and a news story.  I thought I would share them on my blog.

HUMAN INTEREST STORY

For my human interest story I am doing a feature article on The Queensland Ballet.  At the end of 2012 Artist Director François Klaus is leaving The Queensland Ballet.  On the 24^th of February, The Queensland Ballet announced that Li Cunxin will be the new Artist Director.  In my article I will be focusing on the uncertainty surrounding what changes will be made to the company with Li Cunxin stepping in as Artist Director.  My targeted audience is Brisbane residents, and other Queensland Ballet followers who have an interest in the Company. 

 

WHO: The Queensland Ballet

WHAT: Li Cunxin as new Artist Director

WHERE: Brisbane

WHEN: The end of 2012

WHY: François Klaus is leaving The Queensland Ballet and Li Cunxin is taking his place.

HOW: The Board at The Queensland Ballet decided that it was time for a new Artist Director.

INFORMATION STORY

With winter soon approaching, I feel like it is appropriate to do my information story on Influenza.  I am going to provide statistics and data about the illness, and information on ways to avoid the flu this winter, including facts about the vaccination.  This story is relevant for all readers, as many people are affected by the flu throughout the year.

 

WHO: Residents throughout Australia

WHAT: Information people need to know about Influenza and ways to avoid it.

WHERE: Throughout Australia

WHEN: Winter

WHY: The flu is a virus which spreads easily from person to person; therefore many people are affected every year.

HOW: People are affected through infected droplets in the air and by hands carrying the virus.

NEWS STORY

For my news story I am doing an article about young voters who voted in the recent State election.  I will find out who influenced their decisions, if they made informed votes, or if they simply voted for ‘whomever’.  I am going to speak to an expert in politics and ask if they believe there should be more emphasis placed on the importance of young voters making more informed votes.  This story is will be relevant for all readers as it is a very common topic that is currently receiving a lot of media attention.

WHO: Voters aged 18-21

WHAT: Are they making informed votes?

WHERE: Brisbane

WHEN: During all elections

WHY: To raise the importance of voting, and making informed choices.

HOW: By having more understandable and simple information about politics and political parties. 

Lecture 5 Reflection - Sound Lecture

Today’s lecture was in the form of a sound lecture, which was very different.  It was an interview on ABC about telling stories on the radio.  This is the first time in my life that I have ever sat down and listened to a radio podcast or any time of radio online.  I used to listen to the radio a lot at home, but since I have lived on college I have hardly listened to the radio, this is evident in my media use diary.

 

The interviewee in this podcast talks about how different being on radio is compared to being on television, he explains how radio is much more intimate then television.  I do agree with this, when I am by myself in the car listening to the radio it always feels personal, like the radio host is directly talking to me.  I also agree with what the radio host is saying about always making the people he is interviewing feel comfortable and safe, this is when the interesting information will come out.

 

This radio host highlights some really important points about interviewing that I have never really thought about before.  For example, the interviewer must not dominate the interview and must allow the interviewee to talk and explain themselves.  Interviewers must guide the interviewee along but must not step on them.  He talks about how silence can be powerful on radio and lead to more intimate information – this is something that I also have not thought about before.  

 

We have also been discussing interviewing in JOUR1112, interviewing is definitely a skill will improve with practice.  A good interviewer is able to make the interviewee comfortable and get emotional responses out of the questions asked.  

Lecture 4 Reflection - Picture Stories

In this afternoons lecture we discussed the importance of pictures and how we have lost interest in text and now always want our stories to be told with PICTURES.  As they always say, ‘A picture can tell a thousand words!’  Dr Redman took us through a short, but very interesting history of picture stories, no matter when or where in the world we are we could never avoid a picture story, we are surrounded by them. 

 

In January I travelled to Africa for a month, these are some of my favourite photos that I took.  These photos, like many others are a perfect examples of ‘A picture can tell a thousand words’.  I don’t think that I could ever use words to explain the environment in Africa like these photos do. 

There are so many different factors that contribute to taking an amazing photo, sometimes it is just being in the right place at the right time, but when you are not, you need to make the most of the surroundings you have.

Sins of a Father

I have recently finished reading Sins of a Father by Herald Sun journalist Eamonn Duff, for those who have not read this book yet I HIGHLY recommend it.  It is such an amazing piece of investigative journalism; it is incredible how much time and comprehensive research has gone into this book.  Eamonn Duff is such a brilliant journalist who has put an untold angle on Schapelle Corby’s drug smuggling story.  Before I read this book I was unsure if I thought Corby was guilty or not, but after reading this I know that she definitely is guilty.  Eamonn Duff has included evidence in this book that was never told to the courts or media.  It is an amazing piece of work, everyone must read this, it is a perfectly illustrates how valuable and important investigative journalism is!  This book got be so excited about investigative journalism.

Journalist Eamonn Duff, at the launch of his book Sins of a Father

 

This is a great interview with the author that explains what the book is all about, you should all check it out!

http://media.smh.com.au/system/ipad/sins-of-the-father-2761669.html

Lecture 3 Reflection – What is text?

Today we were lucky enough to have guest lecturer Skye Doherty talk to us about TEXT.  She talked about the inverted pyramid, which we are also covering in JOUR1112 at the moment.  The inverted pyramid and ‘WWWWW&H’ are both very simple yet helpful guides for how to structure a news story.  I found this example of the inverted pyramid and thought it very relevant to what Skye was talking about. 

Skye went on to discuss news values, which works in conjunction with the inverted pyramid.  I think I will be using these two concepts throughout my entire journalism career.  Skye brought to our attention to how different online news can be formatted, and how hyper text can allow readers to explore more easily and to do things they cannot do with basic print.  She went through the basic structure of a print newspaper and compared it to how different the same newspaper can appear online.  I found Skyes advice on headlines the most helpful advice out of todays lecture; make sure headlines contain a verb, that they are true and correct.  It is important is keep headlines simple so they are easy to search online.

Lecture 2 Reflection - NEW NEWS

In our second lecture for JOUR1111 Dr Redman talked about how news has evolved and changed under the category of web iterations 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.  For these web iterations to make sense he clarified exactly what was old media and new media.  Old media is known as heritage/ legacy media, which is newspapers, magazines, radio and television.  New media is categorised into three different web iterations: web 1.0, web 2.0, and web 3.0.  I found it very interesting how these three web iterations have evolved over time to become more specifically targeted to the individual.  For example, web 1.0 is all about the COMPANIES, web 2.0 is about SOCIAL GROUPS, and web 3.0 is about INDIVIDUALS. 

Although I am a daily, maybe even hourly user of Web 2.0, I found Web 3.0 to be the most interesting out of them all, as I notice semantic web every day when I am using the internet.  Dr Redman talked all about meta tags and the internet personalising your every search so certain ads will appear on the web page that are specific to you, based on your previous searches.  On certain websites that I am a constant user of I always notice this specific content delivery.  For example, I have always done ballet, so I am sometimes making ballet related searches on Google, after I have made these searches ballet ads will always appear in the advertising on facebook. 

I think that hyper localisation is a scary thing; it has the potential to be very limiting.  If people are only getting what they want in regards to the news they will become ethnocentric, and will miss out on general knowledge and other important things that are going on throughout the world.  Hyper localisation does not allow the potential for people to broaden their knowledge or interests. 

Dr Redman very cleverly illustrated to us the idea of ENTITLEMENT through the jelly bean exercise.   Will people continue to pay for something they believe they are entitled to have for free?  This is what some online newspapers are currently trying to find out.  Several newspapers are beginning to put their stories behind pay walls.  As a potential future journalist, I really hope that people will decide to pay the subscription, as without these payments journalism is going to suffer dramatically.    

Lecture 1 Reflection

Today was my first day of university, such a scary but exciting day!  Finally I feel like I am studying something that I really want to, I now feel as though I have more of a purpose in life – which is a satisfying feeling.   I felt very privileged and lucky to be sitting in my first ever Journalism lecture this afternoon, as I know that so many people throughout the world would never get this opportunity. 

In this afternoons lecture Dr Redman gave an overall introduction to JOUR1111, explaining upcoming assessment, the course context and profile, and what we should expect in Introduction to Journalism and Communication.  Dr Redman also took us through some inspiring quotes about journalists and by journalists.  I found this one particularly inspiring:

 

'Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.'  

- Henry Anatole Grunwald

After the lecture today I felt a little bit less lost in this huge world of the University of Queensland, Dr Redman seems very helpful.  I am scared but more importantly excited for what is to come throughout the semester!

Welcome to Blogging.....

My name is Lauren Cooney, I just began studying a dual degree of Business and Journalism.  This assignment for JOUR1111 is my first attempt at blogging.  I am not very technologically advanced, so I will see how I go with regards to getting creative in formatting etc.

I decided to study Journalism because I really want to break into TV journalism.  I would love to be reporting on camera, it is something that I have always found so interesting and exciting!  Whether it was being news reporter, foreign correspondent, talk show host, I think I would love it.  My ultimate, dream job is to be a reporter on Getaway (typical, I know).   I have been very lucky to have travelled overseas quite a lot, but the more I travel the more addicted I become to travelling, so I know that any of these jobs would fulfil this addiction!

I will see how I go blogging over the next few weeks, wish me luck, and stay POSTED.