Multi-media Journalism

There are now more smartphones than PCs in use in the world (Burum & Quinn, 2015). Mobile adaptations have taken over the technology sphere and therefore all media organisations have been forced to either embrace this change or be shown up by those who do. Studies show that in 2015, “Sixty-four percent of Americans use Facebook, and thirty percent go there for news” (Burum & Quinn, 2015, p.51). These numbers are always increasing and it is important for journalists to change too, and use multi-media platforms.

As an eighteen-year-old Journalism student, I feel I should have a grasp on the multi-media element of news more than anyone. While I am very comfortable with using all four corners of the internet and social media as a consumer, it will be interesting to experience being a producer of contemporary formal news content.

I’ve had a few ideas about how I can make my story multimedia. I want photos of students from both Halls of residence, I want clickable links to go to various websites and social media pages, and I want video clips of interactions between students on Mount Street. These are just a few ideas of how I can make my story accessible to an audience as varied and wide as possible.

I’ll also make use of my smartphone for the production of all practical elements of my news story. Already, I’ve used it to research my topic and explore a few different angles. I have taken photos of the two halls of residence, and I plan to take more, along with a few videos to add context to the story. I am starting to record snippets of students on video,  capturing their opinions on the rivalry. If I get good clips I’ll compile them into a VOX POP.

My iPhone will also be very useful when I get to the stage of interviewing my subjects because it is an easy way of recording the interview, to save taking too many notes, and for accuracy when I quote them.

And while I’m unlikely to write the text of my story on my phone, I will definitely use it to try out drafts when I’m considering the layout of all of my features.

 

References:

Burum, I. & Quinn, S. (2015). MOJO: the Mobile Journalism Handbook. Retrieved from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/aut/reader.action?ppg=1&docID=3569875&tm=1536297467930

Breaking News

The last week before mid-semester break was all about breaking news. In the age of the latest technology, journalism has drastically adapted to releasing breaking news in many forms, to improve their coverage of a story and reach different audiences (TMW Media, 2018).

Breaking news is often released in a series of forms, as more and more information becomes available. Starting off with an online release, that could be a ‘breaking news strap’ or a ‘signpost Tweet’; journalists and media companies can get the word out about the story almost as soon as it happens. As they talk to more witnesses and officials, they can then update in the form of a news story.  Burum and Quinn talk about the importance of having updated skills and tools to keep up, including a smart device and appropriate apps (2015).

The image is taken from AUT Student Apartments, of UoA’s O’Rorke Hall. Just last night I was sitting in my lounge with my flatmates and we spotted a laser pointer’s beam on the wall, from out the window of someone’s room in O’Rorke. Recognising this as a potential news story, I observed its effect on AUT students carefully. My flatmate figured out which floor it was coming from and wanted to find out who it was. She’s very faithful to her halls, a trait that seems to be common within WSA residents.

In terms of my story, I want to talk to students from both halls, but also possibly someone who is not necessarily affiliated with either institution, but still experiences the rivalry. I’m considering going to talk to a worker at Sensational Chicken, the fast food shop on Mount Street. They might have a new perspective on the topic.

References:

(2014). Journalism Secrets to Social Media Storytelling & News Reporting [Video file]. TMW Media. Retrieved September 2, 2018, from Kanopy.

Burum, I., & Quinn, S. (2015). Mojo: the mobile journalism handbook. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

‘Colleagues but never friends’

I’m currently trying to design the next two years of my Communications degree, so this week’s lecture on the relationship between Journalism and Public Relations came at a great time. I’m considering taking both or either next year, so it was definitely interesting to get a new perspective on how they work in the industry. Journalists are often very wary of Public Relations practitioners, they’re commonly perceived as being deceptive because they’re not allowed to reveal negative news about their client (Comrie, 2002). Never-the-less, the public relations industry seems to be taking over the media world, with over three times as many practitioners as there are journalists.

A standout point for me in this week’s tutorial was when Helen Scissons warned that journo’s and PR people “can be colleagues but never friends”, I think this comment helps to understand the delicate symbiotic relationship they have. It’s easy as a Journalism student to exaggerate the negative power that PR has on the media, Comrie says that they’re often called ‘”spin doctors”, “media manipulators”, “corporate flunkies”, “flak catchers” and, above all, “paid liars”.’ (2002, p.158). This week has helped me to understand more depth to the PR role than just writing media releases from a certain perspective.

I’ve spent the week talking to a few friends about my news story idea; the dynamics between O’Rorke and WSA Halls of residence. The open day for both universities has just been, helping me to gain the perspective of a potential student for next year. Maybe this could be an interesting angle to take, seeing the motivation for which halls (and which university) future students pick, and how this adds to the tradition of inter-university rivalry.

 

References:

Comrie, M. (2002). What’s news?; Reclaiming journalism in New Zealand. Auckland, NZ: Dunmore Press.

The changing structure of a news story

Once again, we are reminded of the importance of the heroic upside down news pyramid. The absolutely necessary information all carefully crafted into the one-sentence-long first paragraph, and then “other elements fall below, in descending order of importance” (Conley & Lamble, 2006, p124.). However, Conley and Lamble stray from this tradition slightly, pointing out that with the technology change in recent years, the news pyramid may not be the be-all-end-all that it was once hyped to be, in every situation (2006). Current media is merging with entertainment, and while good journalists will always do their best to avoid ‘yellow’ journalism, fake news and too much tabloid-type media, we must evolve with audience demand. With so many news platforms, what will set one apart from the others? This is why Conley and Lamble do not rule out a more narrative format for a news story (2006). While I’m all for embracing a new era of news and like to enjoy and be entertained by what I’m reading or watching; I do value the simplicity and trustworthiness of traditional media. It’s definitely a point of discussion.

After another week’s thought about my news story; I’ve decided that the students’ take on the Auckland housing crisis is not news. While it is possible that I could find a new angle, the topic itself is not new, nor unusual, nor exciting, therefore likely not very ‘newsworthy’.

Regardless, I know that the life of Mount Street lives in the student accommodation; and I am certain there is a story worth telling. Two Halls of Residence, especially from different universities, Wellesley Student Apartments and O’Rorke Halls are constantly treading on each other’s toes. Maybe I will delve into this and see how deep the rivalry goes. I will give it some more thought.

 

Reference:

Conley, D. & Lamble, S. (2006). The daily miracle: an introduction to journalism (3rd ed.). Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.

 

The Dreaded Interview

I’ve interviewed several sources before; making documentaries, radio programmes and writing feature articles. And I’ve never felt quite comfortable with the process. It’s easy to make the interview too formal, I ask you the questions, you answer them, I use them for my story. But the best information doesn’t come out of a rigid question and answer session, it comes from building a relationship and encouraging your source to trust you have their best interests in mind. Throughout this course one of my goals is to become a more confident interviewer – I don’t mean to be able to interview without any preparation, this will always be needed, (Scanlan, 2013) – I want to be able to connect with my source on a human level, and engage as a journalist with the most important purpose; to give a voice to the voiceless.

Scanlan says that the simple questions will often get the best answers (2013). I think that in the past I’ve gotten caught up in my interview by trying to ask complex questions, looking for complex answers, and in this search for complexity, I’ve likely forgotten the purpose of the interview in the first place (Montague & Sackur). From this week’s lecture and readings, I feel like I have picked up on a lot of mistakes I’ve made, perfect timing for when I go into my interview for the story I will write this semester.

My story idea is still hazy… I’m considering finding out the student perspective on the Auckland housing crisis. It’s certainly relevant, however, it has been done before and I would need to find a new angle. I will keep thinking, and updates will come next week.

 

References:

Scanlan, C., (2013). How journalists can become better interviewers. Retrieved from https://www.poynter.org/news/how-journalists-can-become-better-interviewers

Montague, S. & Sackur, S. Focusing an interview: Sarah Montague and Stephen Sackur. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/journalism/skills/interviewing/article/art20130702112133417

 

The Power of Language and Gossip in Journalism

“News journalism is just glorified gossip” (NZ Journalists Training Organisation, 2014).

One of the stand-out points from this week’s lecture, tutorial and readings is that a news story should take the same structure as a juicy piece of gossip; the crux of the story comes first. Only after the receiver’s mouth is wide open with surprise, would the story be filled in with all of the details, how it happened, who it effects, and what happens now.

Also derived from the common gossip, Galtung and Ruge’s ‘news values’ explain that not all stories can claim to be news. Their (1965) list are specific characteristics that can be used to describe what generally makes a successful news story. Their nine ‘news values’ have since been updated and simplified, most famously by two other sociologists, Harcup and O’Neill in 2001. The power of the elite, entertainment, bad news, magnitude, news agenda, celebrity, surprise, good news, follow up, and relevance are all features of gossip worth hearing, so it makes sense that sociologists recognise them as characteristics of a good news story.

“The success of news as a form of communication over time has been linked to its ability to integrate itself within the social aspects of language.” (Conboy, 2007).

Language is another defining aspect of journalism. Being the only species on the planet that uses it to communicate, humans have been gifted with the ability to use language for so many purposes. in 1985, Ogden and Richards came up with nine uses of language, proving how much it infiltrates our whole lives (Conboy, 2007).

Journalism capitalizes on the beauty of language, as the main purposes of journalism overlap with several of Ogden and Richard’s ‘Uses of language’, such as the journalist’s main function to inform, educate and entertain.

Uses of language (Ogden and Richards, 1985: 46)

1. To dissipate superfluous and obstructive nerve-force
2. For the direction of motion in others, both men and animals
3. For the communication of ideas
4. As a means of expression
5. For purposes of record
6. To set matter in motion (magic)
7. As an instrument of thinking
8. To give delight merely as sound
9. To provide an occupation for philologists

References:

Conboy, M. (2007). The language of the news. Abingdon, NY: Routledge.

NZ Journalists Training Organisation. (2014). Into; a beginner’s guide to journalism in 21st Century Aotearoa/NewZealand. (New ed.). Lower Hutt: New Zealand Journalists Training Organisation.

Harcup, T. & O’Niell, D. (2001). What is news? Galtung and Ruge revisited. Journalism Studies, 2(2). p261-280.

 

My welcome to #POJ18

Two weeks into Principles of Journalism. All that can really be done is soak up as much love for the subject as the lecturers have.

What is ‘news’? The technological and societal changes of the present could be interpreted as a threat to the art of Journalism itself or could more positively be seen as the most exciting turn that the profession (or trade) has ever experienced. What makes someone a journalist is hotly debated, “with the widespread emergence of self-publishing on the internet, a working definition of ‘journalist’ has never been more complex” (Burns, p17). Journalism has taken many forms, changing from a system of transmission to a platform for conversation (2013).

As a Journalism student, I am thrilled to be starting off my journey at such a significant time. Within the next four months, I will have written the first news article of my university career. One that I hope will embody all of my newfound knowledge I pick up along the way and create a piece that connects people together, with accuracy, brevity and clarity.

The project we have been given for this final news article is definitely an interesting one. The street that someone chooses to live on often gives so much information about who they are as a person. The place that we call home gives insight into our identities, whether it’s the place we grew up, or a place to spend a few hours sleeping, at the end of every long day. In many neighbourhoods, the proximity of a group of people’s own homes is the only thing that links them together. An amalgamation of mismatched individuals is often a great place for a newsworthy story to take place. While there are several addresses I like to call my home, at the moment I plan to explore Mount Street, the home of two of the biggest University Halls of Residence in Auckland, and therefore some very interesting night time dynamics.

 

References:

Burns, L. S. (2013). Understanding Journalism, (2nd ed.). London: SAGE.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton