What’s in it for me?

The final ever lecture of journalism 1111 was definitely a good one! Steve Molks a recently established entertainment blogger who has rapidly built up success within the world of journalism came to talk to us about his experiences in the field, which were certainly inspiring and really encouraging to all of us students who are just starting out. He particularly focused on how much opportunity social networking and blogging technology allows us, in that we are able to establish ourselves as journalists from day one. He expanded by saying how no longer is it just one way news or opinions which newspapers and television news stations used to provide us with. The technologies of this generation allow for regular people’s input and encourage everyone to share their opinions. His story is a prime example of how a journalism career can stem from blogging and social networking technologies. After listening to him speak all I wanted to do at that moment was just to share my opinion on anything and everything happening in the world, taking advantage of the new technologies at my disposal and establishing myself as a journalist now.

Investigative Journalism

Lecture 12 focused on the topic of investigative journalism, which certainly held my attention as investigative journalism is an area which I’m interested in working in. This area of journalism really appeals to me and I think this stems from my love of gossip and scandal. The idea of chasing a story and seeking out information which the public is unaware of and then being the one responsible to reveal it to them excites me. The lecture really outlined how in the area of investigative journalism, journalists have to invest so much more of themselves then they have to in other areas. This is because they have to be prepared to take a stand, be intrusive and take risks. If they want to be a successful investigative journalism they can’t always hold on to what people will think of them if they publish a scandalous story. However throughout the lecture it was also revealed that there is a respectable way to go about investigating and that it is important that investigative journalists gain the trust of the people they are conversing with.

The Media; Broadcasts or Brainwashes?

 Agenda setting.  A topic which very clearly links to the previous lectures topic of news values. Agenda setting can at its most basic be defined as the social construction of reality. Everyone is aware that the media manipulates the public’s perception of reality, only providing the public with news they want them to see. Prior to this lecture I was unaware as to the extent to which the media is able to control and in effect brainwash the public, without them being fully aware of it.  The exposure or lack of exposure on a story manipulates the public into what they believe to be the most important or least important news. I particularly loved the hypodermic needle model, which I have shown below, as I believe it truly captures the true power and control the media can at times have over the public.

News Values

The lecture in week 9 focused on news values and newsworthiness, essentially outlining what news values are and how the different news institutions or services come to decide on what they believe to be the most newsworthy to the least newsworthy. Many quotes were shown throughout the lecture, tho one which particularly interested me was the quote reading “if it bleeds it leads.” When hearing this quote I immediately reflected upon my own experiences when watching the news and this quote while quite horrifying is certainly true. Especially on ABC or Sky News stations, where nearly every lead story is on the topic of war, murder, car accidents, deaths etc. However on channel 7, channel 9 and channel 10 the phrase “if its local it leads” is a more accurate insight into what they believe to be most newsworthy. This is evident in their in depth coverage of local issues such as the Queensland floods, local politics, currently the lady missing in Brookfield etc. Numerous different lists were shown in the lecture outlining the factors which make news valuable. Something which particularly caught my interest is the idea that the news value of a story can be determined by the class of people involved and how elite the country they live in. Bruce brought up the example of how thousands of people may have died from starvation in Africa however these tragic deaths will receive no coverage while the case of the woman missing in Brookfield will receive weeks of coverage. Prior to this lecture this hadn’t crossed my mind and it was a point made that certainly gave my mind something to feed on subsequent to the lecture.

Good Taste or Bad Taste? Ethical or Unethical?

I found this lecture to be a great start to the second half of semester as ethics is a topic which really interests and intrigues me and prior to this lecture I had never understood how intricately ethics is woven into the field of journalism. I enjoyed the activity in which we were asked to look at several pictures and video clips and rate them on a grid marked, Good taste, bad taste, ethical or unethical. I must admit prior to this lecture I think I often confused tacky advertisements or advertisements created in bad taste to be unethical and that it would be a contradiction to say that an advertisement was created in bad taste though it is very ethical. However subsequent to this lecture I became aware that the terms are in not in contradiction to one another and that there are many advertisements which are in fact very ethical but were just poorly created. This lecture also opened my eyes to the extent in which advertising stereotypes groups of people. Women in particular are so often objectified in advertising and because it is so often done advertisers appear to be able to get away with it fairly unscathed.  

Annotated Bibliography

Ojwang, O. O. & Ogutu, A. E. & Matu, M. P. (2010). Nurse impoliteness as an impediment to patients’ rights in selected Kenyan hospitals. An International Journal, 12, 8.  

This article titled Nurse impoliteness as an impediment to patients’ rights in selected Kenyan hospitals by Bensen Oduor Ojwang, Emily Atieno Ogutu and Peter Maina Matu delves into the unsatisfactory treatment of patients by Nurses in particular hospitals in Kenya stemming for the unsatisfactory communication strategies being used by the nurses. The article reveals many of the patients concerns were due to the fact that the nurses engaged in acts of exclusion, sometimes withheld information and failed to explain requirements to patients. The article aims to make people more conscious of their responsibilities when seeking and receiving or providing health care and how lack of communication between nurses and patients can act as a catalyst in nurses and patients forming a bad relationship. The article concluded that the nurses certainly showed the greater blame in the lack of communication between themselves and their patients and that this stemmed from the fact that they perceive their role as “the all knowing benefactor and are still not receptive to patients input.” However patients expected to experience interaction strategies that promoted dignity and reduced the professional gap. The conflicting views of a nurse’s role within Kenya has forced the authors of the article to make the conclusion that the relationship between nurses and patients will continue to pose as a challenge.

AAP. (2012). Shapelle Corby’s mother Roseleigh Rose dreaming of the  day she will return to Australia. Retrieved May 22, 2012 from

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/schapelle-corbys-mother-rosleigh-rose-dreaming-of-the-day-she-will-return-to-australia/story-e6frg6nf-1226364145797

An article titled Shapelle Corby’s mother Rosleigh Rose dreaming of the day she will return to Australia in the Australian newspaper online reveals the perspective of Schapelle Corbys mother on the prospect of her daughter potentially being released as early as August this year. The Australian is the biggest selling national newspaper in the country and is a form of commercial media and therefore provides news that feeds the public’s demand. Writing a story from the perspective of Shapelle Corby’s mother is an effective way of revealing the news of her clemency approval as the majority of Australians are sympathetic towards this fellow Australian’s situation and would respond well to an article in support of an early release date. Aside from revealing that Shapelle Corby was convicted in 2005 of trying to smuggle 4.2 kilograms of cannabis into Bali in a body board bag, and that she has served eight years of her former 20 year sentence, the article reveals very little unquoted factual information. The unknown Author has nearly entirely written this article using the words of Shapelle Corby’s mother whose words so explicitly convey her emotions of happiness, relief, hope and still a lot of anxiety. It appears as tho this has very intentionally been done to tug on the heart strings of the Australian public.

Unkown. (2012). In clemency decision, Corby jail term cut by five years. Retrieved May 23, 2012 from http://www.thebalitimes.com/?s=corby

The Bali Times, Indonesia’s leading English news website, published an article on the 22^nd of May 2012 titled In clemency decision, Corby jail term cut by five years. The Barli Times, like the Australian is a form of commercial media and therefore also aims to provide news that feeds the public’s demand. It is very evident in this article that this has been done and that the author of this story is aware that as it is an English news website it attracts readers not only from Bali but people from all around the globe. Therefore the article largely delves into the factual side of the story and possesses little if any bias on the matter, nor does it get caught up in the emotional side of the story as they are aware it will most likely attract the attention of people who hold a variety of different opinions. The article is short and to the point, essentially listing the facts and would certainly be effective in educating readers of the recent happenings with regards to the Shapelle Corby case with little, if any hint of prejudice or bias. It is interesting to note how the two different sources convey this news in such opposite ways however they both remain effective as they are both able to feed their public’s demand.

Murdoch, R. (2012, May 23), Sky News Now. British Sky Broadcasting

Sky News reported on the claim that the Australian and Indonesian governments made a deal to have five years taken off Australian drug trafficker Shapelle Corby’s sentence in exchange for the release of Indonesian people smugglers. Three Indonesian youths convicted of trafficking asylum seeker to Australia were freed last week by the Australian government after being given the “benefit of the doubt” that they were minors at the time of their arrest. Coincidently following their release Corby was granted clemency by the Indonesia government. This collision of events sparked much controversy however Sky News report reveals that Bob Carr, Australian’s Foreign Minister denied these claims providing a snippet of what Mr Carr said to the media. This report is a prime example of how politicians are able to use the media to their advantage to influence the public’s perception of the truth. Sky News like the two previous sources is a form of commercial media and this is news which would certainly interest the Australian public as the news is so close to home and has the power to have an impact on their view of the Australian government and particular politicians.

An ordinary man with no ordinary story

In South Africa 1948 the National Party came in to power and as a result the policy of apartheid was officially adopted by the South African government. Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and involved political, legal and economic discrimination against nonwhites as whites were viewed as the superior race. The majority of white South Africans succumbed to the belief that people of non white decent were in fact inferior to them and believed the system of apartheid to be fair. White South African, Brian Morrow did not share this belief and from a young age questioned the fairness of this system. His story is one that has gone unheard by many and the courage he showed in fighting for racial equality in South Africa has often not been condoned. This is his story.

Brian was born in East London in the Eastern Cape in 1962, but moved to Durban at a young age. He was the youngest of three, and lived his childhood in luxury with his parents running, what ended up being an extremely successful drapery business. His pessimistic view on racial inequality originated from his close relationship with both of his black servants Idah and Adrina as well as his close relationship with his father who like Brian was liberal in his views. His parent’s wealth lead to regular trips to the UK where his father’s family lived. Exposure to the news and racial equality within the UK also played a vital part in his growing sense of unease at the racial structure of South African society. As he grew older he found his rare liberal views causing much conflict with his friends and even his family, particularly his brother and sister. However this did not cause Brian to conform to the majority of his friends and families’ racist thinking and he continued to preach the view of racial equality at any opportunity given.

By the time Brian had finished school conscription had been introduced in South Africa whereby any white male over the age of 17 had to spend either two years in the military, four years in the police force, or six years in jail. Brian applied for deferment as he wished to attend university; however this excuse did work out nicely for him as he wanted to avoid conscription for as long as possible, aware that the South African army and police force were both extremely racist. However the time did come when he could no longer avoid it and in 1986 he made the decision to enter into the police force as he believed it to be the lesser of two evils. Initially he was part of the railway police where he was exposed to more racism and poverty than ever before. He learnt quickly that central to being a railway policeman was to be racist, so therefore his liberal views stuck out like a saw thumb. He created quite a reputation for himself, often intervening in attacks made on black, coloured or Indian people by white policeman, who often found it amusing and entertaining to beat non whites prior to arresting them.

Brian’s skill and high level of education lead to him receiving a promotion into the Durban Security branch. However he did not view this as a promotion, as a part of being in the Durban Security branch required him to enforce the government’s law of apartheid, working in black townships, attending rallies, essentially keeping blacks in line and forcing them to cooperate with the system. Working in the Durban Security Branch exposed him to an even extremer level of racism, where he would often have to witness the torture of innocent non white South Africans who were simply fighting for justice and equality. It was the exposure to such extreme forms of racism that caused Brian to feel as though he needed to act. He needed to stop the injustice happening in his own backyard.

Being in such a high profile area of the South African police did have its benefits as it allowed Brian access to many of the governments top secret files. One day when working in the filing room Brian stumbled across a number of official documents that provided sufficient evidence that the South African government was secretly funding the brutal, ongoing black on black violence between Inkatha and the African National Congress (ANC) in an attempt to portray blacks as scum and prove to the world that apartheid was in fact a fair system. Finding these documents was a massive break through for Brian as he now had concrete evidence that he could use to expose the duplicity of the South African government. Over the next two years he made it his focus to both photocopy and steal as many of the documents he could. In order to not arise any suspicions amongst his co-workers he had to keep a low profile and for the first time in his life not voice his liberal views. He knew for certain that if he was caught he would be killed. He would have been viewed upon more contemptuously than outspoken white liberals or black activists as what he was doing was “betraying” both the force and his race.

In the year 1991 Brian had served out his time in the South African Police force and he and his wife, Michelle Morrow decided to set sail for England with the intent to expose the government’s conspiracy of funding the brutal ongoing black on black violence between Inkatha and the ANC.Once they had established a life in England Brian set about finding newspapers who would publish this story. He wanted to remain anonymous in the story as it had never crossed his mind to look for personal profit or gain. His sole purpose of stealing the documents was to have the truth published and allow the public the luxury of making up their own minds. Any profit made out of it he viewed as “blood money.”

Friday the 19^th of July 1991 is a day Brian will never forget. On his way to work he bought the Guardian newspaper and the headline on the front page read “South African Police Cash Went To Inkatha.”The scandal then took on a momentum of its own, being the lead item on both the ITV and BBC television news. The far reaching coverage of the story came as a massive shock to both Brian and Michelle. The excitement and satisfaction Brian felt at the success of the story came to a shuddering end, when less than a week later he happened to glance over an article concerning the Inkathagate scandal in the Times newspaper, with the article revealing “the suspect is said to be a policeman based in Durban, who has disappeared with secret files. It is understood the documents, with copies of bank accounts and receipts were released in London last week.” He had been

exposed!

Shortly after viewing this article, he and his family received many threatening letters and phone calls, with the South African government demanding that the British government send him back to South Africa so he could be punished for his “crimes” accordingly. Fortunately Brian was granted protection by the British government who had no intention fulfilling the South African government’s demands. However Brian and Michelle still lived their lives in constant fear over the next year haunted by numerous threatening letters, phone calls and even visitors. As time went by life began to return to normality and in 1994 the couple were blessed with a beautiful baby girl who in 2012 proudly wrote this story.

Brian Morrow risked everything in his fight for racial equality in South Africa, with no intention of receiving any personal gain. The repercussions of his actions are still seen today, as he is still unable to return to South Africa (where all his family currently live) without putting his life in masses amounts of danger. In 1998 he was able to briefly return to South Africa for his father’s funeral with the help of the British government who provided him with a fake identity, where he was known as “Stuart Harris.” His actions have however sealed an aspect of his future; he is to always be in exile from his homeland.