Power of the Media

The media has great power.

The media has great influence.

The media has the ability to make common citizens believe anything.

 

Who gives the media all of these God like capabilities?

We do.

 

The general public hangs off every word the nightly news leaks out. Lyytimaki puts forward the idea “media publicity is far from perfect; poorly justified assertions, various biases, occasional errors and misunderstandings can be found in many media messages related to climate change and other environmental issues” (2009, p29). This intense reliability upon media develops from the thought we are receiving unbiased and truthful news, preventing the everyday citizen from researching current affairs themselves… and why would you? What an unnecessary effort.

 

This deep confidence directly relates to which sides are taken in public debates, and it is here the idea of false balance becomes relevant. False balance occurs when the media presents a specific issue as being more balanced between opposing views, than both the evidences and experts suggest. Relating to the Climate Change debate, the media presents both sides with equal airtime, however majority of scientist do not believe this represents a fair balance.

 

The media provides equal airtime for both sides of the Climate Change debate, with “the first argument (i.e. ‘we are doomed’) giving the impression that climate change is so serious, and possibly unstoppable in the immediate future” (Huntingford, 2008, p2), being equally represented as the counterargument. This alludes to the idea this debate is being equally debated in the scientific world, however, this is not so.

 

“97% to 98% of climate scientists believe in the manmade global warming hypothesis”

(Milloy, 2011)

 

 

So, you want to find out the truth about climate change? I recommend reading Houghton’s ‘Global Warming’- one of the few books written with the sole intent of creating an unbiased account.

 

 

Reference:

 

Bird, H Boykoff, M Goodman, M & Monbiot, G 2009, ‘The Media and Climate Change: Helen Bird, Max Boykoff, Mike Goodman and George Monbiot discuss media coverage of climate change with Jo Littler’,Soundings, 22^nd September, http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA213251314&v=2.1&u=uow&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w

 

Cottle, S 2011, ‘Taking global crisis in the news seriously: Notes from the dark side of globalisation’, Journal of Global Media and Communication, vol. 7, no.2, pp77-95, 15^th May 2012, http://gmc.sagepub.com/content/7/2/77

 

Huntingford, C & Fowler, D 2008, ‘Climate Change: seeking balance in media reports’ Journal of Environmental Research Letters, vol. 3, no. 2, pp 1-4, 14^th May 2012 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/3282/

 

Lyytimaki, J 2009, ‘The Climate Debate: Media Education on Climate Change’, Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 2, no. 3, pp 29-33, 14^th May 2012, http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jsd/article/view/2601/3681

 

Milloy, S 2011, ‘The Nonsensus’, 17/5/2012, http://junkscience.com/2011/09/08/the-nonsensus-97-to-98-of-climate-scientists-believe-in-global-warming/

 

Haters Gonna Hate

What do you see when looking at this picture?

Image: Child Model Thylane Loubry Blondeau http://intentious.com/2011/08/12/provocative-poses/

Take a look a second time, focusing on the seductive pose of this child.

 

Now what do you see?

Is it possible when viewing the image a second time, you began to think of this child of being posed seductively, without first believing so?

Everyone’s interpretations are different, as they depend on “history, experiences, and encounters” (Turnbull, 2012). Therefore, when skimming over the image the first time, majority of people would have failed to notice how the child was posed, nor considered it seductive. The sexualisation of children has erupted, creating a moral panic. However, “determining what constitutes ‘sexually suggestive’ content is a highly subjective task, and one that is open to wide interpretation” (Lumby & Funnell, 2011, p285). I put forward the idea, how sexualized are these images, and are these images actually of children?

“Sexualisation can be defined into two broad categories. One- direct sexualisation- How children are portrayed or posed in advertising. Two- Indirect sexualisation- What children are exposed to in their environment, including advertising intended for an adult audience”    

– Gale, 2001, p21

Miley Cyrus was a beloved child star, known more commonly as the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana. However, as her singing career developed, so did Miley’s body. In 2010, Miley released a hit, ‘can’t be tamed’. Parents were outraged. The youthful girl their children idolize had grown up, parading around in minimal clothing.

Miley Cyrus was 17 years old.

Image: Miley Cyrus film clip ‘Cant Be Tamed’ (http://www.2snaps.tv/98110113)

In Australia, a person either male or female only has to be 16 years old to give consent to have sexual intercourse. An individuals biological clock would have them believe a girl becomes an adult when she gets her first period, around the age of 13, whereas a boy usually 15, when he has his first ejaculation (Turnball, 2012).

Is it possible we should be more concerned with the baffling issue of biology vs. culture, and first understand this, before we break out in a moral panic about children’s poses in clothing advertisements?

It all seems a bit overdramatic to me.

Reference 

Gale, J 2001, ‘Sexualisation of Children and Young Teens’, Journal of Educating Young Children, vol. 17, no. 2, pp21-23, 7^th May 2012 http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/fullText;dn=329034934872440;res=IELHSS

Griffin, M 2012, “Why teens should read raunchy novels and straight-up smut’, Sydney Morning Herald, 1^st February, accessed 7^th May 2012,  http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/why-teens-should-read-raunchy-novels-and-straightup-smut-20120131-1qr97.html

Lumby, C & Funnell, N 2011,’Between heat and light: The opportunity in moral panics’, Journal of Crime Media Culture, vol. 7, no.3, pp277-291, 7^th May 2012 http://cmc.sagepub.com/content/7/3/277

Rush, E 2011, ‘Response to Taylor: The Full Picture of the Sexualisation of Children Debate’, Australian Journal of Early Childhood, vol. 36, no. 4, pp111-119, 7^th May 2012 http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/fullText;dn=755226885995587;res=IELHSS

Turnbull, S 2012, Emerging Issues in Media and Communication, Lecture, BCM310, Sexualisation of Children, University of Wollongong, delivered 7^th May

We all ride kangaroos to school munching on a vegemite sandwich

As Australian films circle the world, what images appear in the minds of those watching? More often then not it involves a lot of kangaroos, a sheila or two wrestling a croc, and a hell of a lot of slang. Stereotypes are not uncommon in film, and do not solely depict Australians, but attempt to represent a diverse range of nationalities throughout the world.

Bart vs Australia- The Simpsons with Crocodile Dundee (http://foodcourtlunch.com/?p=1808)

“It is our culture that is our backbone of society; it’s our heart, our soul and our values. It brings us together in an acceptance of value and each other that is greater than our consumer driven society.”

(National Cultural Policy 2012)

We, people of Australia, need to continue supporting the Australian film industry to present the true authenticity of Australia to the rest of the world. If the Australian film industry were to dry up, what hope would we have of showing a true representation of ourselves? We need Australian film to continue growing strong not only for economic reasons, but to express our unique culture!

The Australian film industry is unlike other industries, it has the ability to produce and share our unique representations, and thus take our place in the world. Thompson highlights, “our film industry has lost its way. The past 25 years are littered with disappointments and lost opportunities” (2002, p136).

Question: What is the Government doing to support Australian Culture through film?

Answer: The Australian National Cultural Policy.

The creation of this policy calls upon “people and organisations within the Creative and Cultural industry to speak up and provide input” (National Cultural Policy 2012) into what should be included in the Australian National Cultural Policy, evidently giving the people of Australia a say. This policy aims to assist the creative industries of Australia with creating a true expression of our culture, not only through movies, but also dance, theatre, and art.

The Australian film industry is more successful then given credit for, producing masterpieces such as:

• Picnic at Hanging Rock
• Mad Max
• Gallipoli
• Crocodile Dundee
• Strictly Ballroom
• Chopper
• Looking for Alibrandi

With the support of the Australian Government and Australia’s National Cultural Policy, what excuse do we have from continuing to create more films? Have a look here to view an extensive list of Australian films, you’ll be surprised not only at how many there is, but how successful and popular they are!

Below is the movie trailer for Snowtown, a recently produced Australian Movie depicting Australia’s most notorious serial killer- do you believe this movie accurately represents Australian Culture?

Reference:

Australian Government, 2007, Film in Australia, 5^th May 2012 http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/film-in-australia

National Cultural Policy, 2012, A Fresh Approach to Policy Development, 5^th May 2012 http://www.nationalculturalpolicy.com.au/

Parker, R & Parenta, O 2009, ‘Multi-level order, friction and contradiction: the evolution of Australian film industry policy’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, vol. 15, no. 1, pp91-105, 5^th May 2012 http://ey9ff7jb6l.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Multi‐level+order%2C+friction+and+contradiction%3A+the+evolution+of+Australian+film+industry+policy&rft.jtitle=International+Journal+of+Cultural+Policy&rft.au=Parker%2C+Rachel&rft.au=Parenta%2C+Oleg&rft.date=2009-02-01&rft.issn=1028-6632&rft.volume=15&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=91&rft.epage=105&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080%2F10286630802450468&rft.externalDBID=n%2Fa&rft.externalDocID=10_1080_10286630802450468

Thompson, P 2002, ‘Whither the Australia Film Industry’, The Sydney Papers Summer, vol. 14, no. 1, pp132-143, 5^th May 2012 http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/NzQwNzMxNC43NzEwMTk%3D/elibrary//SYDNEY_PAPERS/Vol14_No1_2002/L_TSPV14N1_133.pdf

Trotter, R 2002, ‘Cultural Policy’, The Year’s Work in Critical and Cultural Theory, vol. 10, no. 1, pp202-225, 5^th May 2012 http://ywcct.oxfordjournals.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/content/10/1/202.full.pdf+html

Is Mark Zuckerberg a Modern Day Lord?

As the feudalisation of the Internet becomes an apparent phenomenon, the reality of ‘the walled garden’ continues to rise, possibly giving entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg the power to control our lives. To understand this statement completely, we must first take a step back and revisit the dictionary.

• Feudalisation: A system where a higher power holds a degree of control over those with no power, often requiring payment in numerous forms in return for security and other benefits.

• The Walled Garden: “Refers to a network or service that either restricts or makes it difficult for users to obtain applications or content from external sources.” (PCMAG, 2012)

Picture: The Walled Garden (http://www.watblog.com/2008/05/12/share-myspace-facebook-data-with-other-sites-–-the-death-of-the-walled-garden-imminent-soon/)

When one talks about the ‘feudalisation of the Internet’, they are typically referring to specific characteristics of the Western Europe feudal societies being transferred to the Internet, creating a ‘walled garden,’ such characteristics include:

• Protection and security
• Ownership of the masses by a higher power
• Denial of exposure to the outside

Examples of a ‘walled garden’ often include “app stores and social networks” (Arthur, 2012), such as Facebook, where we exchange our personal information for the chance to network with other users, all while using this secure network. As Facebook doesn’t allow Google to access its content marked ‘private’ by users, the aspect of protection and security from outside dangers becomes apparent.

“Apple’s iPhone is perhaps the ultimate example of the walled garden- where a single entity controls the platform and access to applications” (Fitchard, 2009). Further examples include Amazon’s Kindle, as they have created a place where users cannot access outside information. As Wieland puts forward, app stores and social networks have “created walled gardens by making it difficult for customers to browse beyond ‘official content’ on their portals” (2012, p16).

So now I put it to the users of these walled gardens to decide, is Mark Zuckerberg a modern day lord?

To read further on this topic, I highly recommend reading:

* Fitchard

* Wieland

Both these articles provide a great insight and further clarification on the topic of the walled garden.

Reference:

Arthur, C 2012, Walled Gardens Look Rosy for Facebook, Apple- and Would-Be Censors, 24^th April 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/17/walled-gardens-facebook-apple-censors

Doctorow, C 2011, The Coming War on General-Purpose Computing,’ 24^th April 2012 http://boingboing.net/2012/01/10/lockdown.html

Fitchard, K 2009, ‘The Walled Garden Lives On’, Connected Planet 1, 24^th April 2012 http://ey9ff7jb6l.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=The+walled+garden+lives+on&rft.jtitle=Connected+Planet&rft.au=Kevin+Fitchard&rft.date=2009-10-31&rft.issn=2150-5276&rft.spage=11&rft.externalDBID=NCPT&rft.externalDocID=1992229131

Mitew, T 2012, Emerging Issues in Media and Communication, Lecture, BCM310, Feudalisation of the Internet, University of Wollongong, delivered 23^rd April

PCMAG 2012, Definition of Walled Garden, 24^th April 2012 http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,1233,t=walled+garden&i=54187,00.asp

Wieland, K 2007, ‘Walled Gardens Come Tumbling Down’, Journal of Telecommunications, vol 41, issue 9, pp16, 24^th April 2012 http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/docview/232421935/fulltextPDF?accountid=15112

Zittrain, J 2008, The Future of the Internet and How to Stop it, Yale University Press, Virginia USA

The Obsolete Journalist

Catch title, eh?

Your wondering, what does she mean obsolete journalist? I saw a journalist reporting on the news just this morning.

Yes this is true, but the journalist is under grave threat. But by the end of the decade, give or take a few years, the profession of the common journalist may be extinct. The reason? Citizen journalists.

Citizen journalism is a rapidly evolving phenomenon, brought on by Web 2.0. As user generated content (UGC), interactivity, blogs and social media continues to increase, the common person turns ‘investigating journalist’ with the rise full moon, only to transform back to their usual personality during the daylight. As Tony Rogers highlights, “the internet gave average people the ability to transmit information globally. That was a power once reserved for only the very largest media corporations and news agencies” (About.com, 2012).

Now you’re thinking “citizen journalism sounds interesting”.

You’re wrong. Let me inform you of why citizen journalists present a bigger fear then climate change, in just a few short words.

BIAS INFORMATION.

UNEDUCATED CONTENT.

AMATEUR WRITERS.

True journalists are educated through a university degree on how to communicate news to the public. Teaching them vital skills such as how to write ethically, unbiased and without inserting personal opinions. With this formal training comes credentials, and unlike citizen journalists, true journalists are held responsible for what they say.

The real threat of citizen journalist comes from their popularity. As media organisations charge for their content, such as the cost of newspapers and online subscriptions, many turn to alternative websites being produced by this new bread of journalist.

Of course, some may argue there are benefits to citizen journalism, and yes there are. As Quandt puts forward the idea, “journalism does not serve all parts of society equally. Critics say, it focuses too much on political and economic elites” (2011, p163), and therefore citizen journalism fills these missing gaps.

So, make up your own mind. Do you believe citizen journalism will cause the extinction of journalist? Or can both live peacefully by each others side?

References

Kiss, J 2008, @Future of Journalism, accessed 17^th April 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2008/jun/06/futureofjournalismthesche

O’Donal, M 2012, The Future of Journalism, lecture, BCM310, Social Media, University of Wollongong, delivered 16^th April.

Quandt, T 2011 ‘Understanding a new phenomenon: the significance of participatory journalism’, in JB Singer, A Hermida, D Domingo, A Heinonen, S Paulussen, T Quandt, Z Reich & M Vujnovic (eds.), Participatory Journalism in Online Newspapers: Guarding Open Gates at Online Newspapers, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, West Sussex, pp155-176.

Rodgers, T 2012, What is Citizen Journalism?, accessed 17^th April 2012

http://journalism.about.com/od/citizenjournalism/a/whatiscitizen.htm

Digitally Discriminative

Do you take for granted the ability to jump on Facebook and catch up on life?

Do you take for granted the ability to grab your phone and message a friend?

Do you take for granted the ability to turn on the channel ten news, and find out what is happening around the world?

Do you have the ability to do all these things?

3.96 million Australians don’t. (disabledworld.com)

A disability can be defined as “a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard of an individual or group” (Disabledworld.com).

If disabled individuals are so common in society, how is it that intelligent and innovative individuals that create wonderful new technologies can simply forget about a large percentage of our population? Because society attempts to ‘hide’ these individuals, they are pushed to the side and swept under the mat.

“Some consider that disability reflects a fundamental predisposition to uselessness, incompetence, or inferiority, viewing the disabled as weaklings or lazy” (Price, 1965, p402).

An example of such exclusion would include the use of captions for television shows. Block captions are the pre-prepared form, which appear relevant and with little mistakes, however live captions are those used for live shows, such as sports, where the captions are formed as the footage is aired. Therefore, one would think live captions are used minimally. One would be mistaken. Due to the ease of live captions, they are used for most programs, proving greatly frustrating for disabled individuals who are relying on this information. “The introduction of new technologies sees people with disabilities overlooked, omitted, neglected, or not considered” (Goggin and Newell 2007, p160). Once again, digital technology has proven to be one step forward, and two steps back for disabled individuals.

 

So what will it take for the world to stop discriminating against people with a disability? The answer may possibly involve more knowledge and understanding about people with disabilities, and to assist this, the ‘Don’t Dis My Ability’ campaign was created. This campaign aims to “celebrate the diversity and ability of people with a disability. It is about promoting a positive perception and building an environment that encourages active participation in careers, leisure pursuits as well as social activities” (http://www.dontdismyability.com.au/ ).

Image: Don’t Dis My Ability http://www.dontdismyability.com.au

For more information on ‘Don’t dis my ability,’ I highly recommend checking out their webpage here.

References

 

Australian Human Rights Commission, 2005, 2/04/2012,

http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/employment_inquiry/papers/issues1.htm

 

Don’t dis my ability, 2010, 2/04/2012 http://www.dontdismyability.com.au/

 

Disables World, 2012, 4/04/2012  http://www.disabled-world.com/

 

Goggin, G. Newell, C. 2007 ‘The Business of Digital Disability’ Journal of The Information Society, vol 23, no 3, p159- 168, accessed 2/04/2012

 

Price, L. 1965 ‘Disability Definition’, Journal of Occupational Medicine, vol 7, no 8, p402-409, accessed 4/04/2012

Burning of the Books

“The formation of the university predates the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the emergence of Capitalism” (Whelan, 2012).

If this is so, then what powerfully destructive thing could possibly bring the collapse of this historical social institution?

The Internet.

The Internet is forcing universities and higher education facilities to soon become obsolete. “No other means of human communication has ever had the capability to travel so far so quickly to such a devastating effect” (Miller, p143, 2009). The abundance of information on the World Wide Web means individuals no longer need a piece of paper to show of there knowledge, it is accessible to everyone, anywhere. Courses run online, and some free of charge, such as MOOC- massive online open courses, and others for a small fee- open universities online.

The idea of online collaboration through sharing and interaction is becoming ever so popular in comparison to outdated pedagogies. Why would students want to spend days slaving over an essay to only be read by one individual, when more practical methods such as blogs now exist. After all, “we are becoming a nation of writers in search of an audience” (Miller p146 2009). The idea of edu-facotries, churning out individuals one after the other, is no longer acceptable for generation Y. These digital natives are taking sides with the enemy- the Internet.

Burning of the books- Image from The Guardian 

 

Therefore I put it to the Universities and those in charge- find a way to use the Internet to your advantage or fall behind, further and further until there is simply no want or need. Simple.

References:

Miller, R 2009, ‘The Coming Apocalypse’, Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, vol 10 no 1, pp 143-151, 26^th March 2012 http://pedagogy.dukejournals.org/content/10/1/143.full.pdf+html

Whelan, A 2012, Education in the Digital Age, Lecture, BCM310, Emerging Issues in Media and Communication, University of Wollongong, delivered 26 March

Locative Media results in Stalking, Robbery, Assault, Blackmail…

The newest of the new in digital technology has begun to emerge, exceedingly fast. Putting out of mind those that came before it, as they once did… The cycle of technological innovation continues.

Locative media.

Mediums enabled by particular devices such as GPS, laptops, mobile phones and Google maps, that “address a physical space through digital technology” (Tutors & Varnells, 2006).

To put it more simply, location based networking. Basic forms of locative media take place through social networking, such as Facebook’s ability to ‘tag’ a user at a particular place in real time. However, other forms of locative media such as Foursquare are based around the users ability to travel to locations and ‘check in’ – “digitally confirm their physical presence at a particular place” (Bilandzic & Foth, 2012 p.67). In the hard-core gaming world, locative media has allowed “public knowledge of player positions… to become… central to this kind of gameplay” (Chan, 2008 p.21), highlighting the importance of tracking in these new types of games.

Locative media has promptly crept up on us, resulting in little thought being given before the adaption of this new trend takes place. It is because of this, numerous debates and issues have surfaced, often focusing on privacy, safety, regulation, and accountability of content issues. The issues of privacy and safety are possibly the most significant with users precise locations being made public on the World Wide Web.

As Tutors & Varnells states in Beyond Locative Media, “cell phones become Internet enabled and location aware, everything in the real world gets tracked, tagged, barcoded and mapped” (2006). What is the problem with this? The lack of choice and the lack of awareness of the implications of locative media. Too often it is not the user themselves, but Facebook friends who ‘tag’ others at a location, resulting in the user’s exact location being viewable by anyone on the Internet. To the criminal mind, knowledge of where ‘person x’ is could result in:

• house robbery
• stalking
• assault
• blackmail
• any other threatening situations

To conclude I leave you with this, a YouTube clip which highlights the simplicity of ‘tagging’ other users and ‘checking in’ on Facebook.

 Facebook Status Update Changes- New Tagging Friends, Tag Location, Privacy Settings 

Reference:

Bilandzic, M & Foth, M 2012, A Review of Locative Media, Mobile and Embodied Spatial Interaction. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 70 (1), pp.66-71.

Chan, D 2008, Convergence, Connectivity, and the case of Japanese Mobile Gaming. Journal of Games and Culture, 3 (1), pp. 13-25.

Farrelly, G 2002, Locative Media Definition, 23^rd March 2012,  http://glenfarrelly.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/locative-media-definition.html

 

Tuters, M, Varnells, K 2006, Beyond Locative Media, 23^rdMarch 2012, http://networkedpublics.org/locative_media/beyond_locative_media