Print - my long term love

There’s been a lot talk going around lately about New Media vs Traditional Media, and when I say “lately” I mean the past 10 years or so. Everyone knows that online is the way of the future; print journalism is a dying art and online journalism continues to get better with age.

No doubt it’s because I’m studying Online Journalism this semester but I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and to be perfectly honest, I feel blue. Of course I’ll admit that online journalism is a great medium; it’s where I get the majority of my news and information and to be honest I’d be at a loss without it. That being said though, it’s time to make a confession... I love print. Print is my first love, the one constant that has carried me through from childhood to adulthood.

It started with books. My mum would tuck me in every night and read me one of my favourite stories until I fell asleep. I would make her read them over and over until I had memorised every word so that I didn’t ever really “learn” how to read, I just matched the words on the page with the ones in my head until I recognise letters and sounds and understand the phonetics.

As I got older I buried my head in books and magazines for hours at a time, wasting whole afternoons with Jem and Scout and lazy weekends with Elizabeth and Mr Darcy. Now that I’m at uni juggling a full-time degree and a part-time job I don’t read books as much as I used to because I simply don’t have the time. I’m still an avid reader of magazines though and buy at least one a week. Like books, I love everything about them. I like the smell and the feel of the different papers; the clean gloss of a magazine and the aged musty smell of an old book. I like folding down the pages to mark my place and underlining words and sentences that I want to remember.

I know there’s nothing I can do about the decline of print but I truly hope it never completely fades. Real books and magazines offer a kind of comfort you can’t get from iBooks or other similar apps and curling up with your iPad just doesn’t have the same feel to it.

Magazines like Vogue and Harpers Bazaar already have amazing online counterparts that generate user traffic numbers far higher than their monthly print circulation. However, it’s just not the same. Photo shoots, fonts, and layout all look better in print then they do online and I can’t bring myself to commit to their online equivalents while I can still get the real thing.

Maybe it was a bad idea to sing the praises of print and mourn my descent into the online world in my last blog post for Online Journalism ... On the other hand, this post could be considered as my final surrender. I’ve been so resistant when it comes to online anything. I had no desire to learn, seek, or explore the online world and this subject has actually opened my eyes to a lot of new possibilities when it comes to the web.  So this is the deal for now: I’ll concede to the fact that online is where we are headed and that print will continue to decline. I’ll engage more with online options like vogue.com and iBooks; I might even try reading a book online (that was hard to type, I don’t know if I can really do it). I will do all that but I will also continue to buy my newspaper from the newsagent every morning and pay for my monthly subscription to all my favourite magazines. I will fold pages, breath in the smell of ink and fall asleep with a book in my hand until there are no books left in the world. I’ll change from a life dedicated to print, to a life split between the two and when print finally does die I promise I’ll give my full commitment to the online world.

Ps. I do recognise the irony in giving you links to the online version of all my favourite books and magazine.

Technology Rules

Today was my last day of Radio and TV prac for QUT News and as my fellow prac goers and I sat around the news room chatting about our journalism degrees, the conversation turned to all things technology and the amazing things it has done for journalism. Okay, I know it seems kind of obvious to point this out but the internet has completely changed the way we source, deliver, and receive the news. Amazing fact right! More specifically though it has made my life, and the lives of all journalism students, a whole lot easier.

On Tuesday I did a story out at Chermside about paid parking being introduced at the Westfield Shopping Centre (riveting stuff). On our way there the cameraman ask me if I could call ahead and ask Chermside for permission to film in the car park to avoid getting onto trouble for filming on private property. Before iPhone’s and Smart Phone’s i.e. in the old days, we would have had to call directory to get the number for the shopping centre, wait on hold, hang up, call the shopping centre, wait on hold again, and then finally get through to the person we were looking for. As it happened, I simply whipped out my iPhone, did a five second google search to find the number, rang the number, and then got through to the person I was looking for. My iPhone just took a six step process down to a three step process. Massive win!

Similarly, when it comes to finding legitimate sources technology, and in particular the internet, has made journalists lives a whole lot easier. Websites like expertguide.com.au and mywot.com mean there really is no excuse to be publishing material from dodgy and unreliable sources. The first gives a comprehensive list of experts in whatever field you are searching, complete with contact numbers for the persons office and media contact (if they have one). The second website gives you access to everything you need to know about a site before contacting them or using them as a source. You can find the name and details of the person who owns the site, when it was created, who created it, and how often they use, check and update it.

Finally ... social media. Cue collective groan. I think we’re all sick of hearing about how great social media is but there’s no denying it has completely changed the way we do journalism. The most useful form of social media for journalism would have to be Twitter.  This little baby has turned the concept of “breaking news” into a whole new ball game. Not even an online news site could get the information out as quickly as Twitter does. Stories take time to write; information must be sourced, copy must be edited and content uploaded. Twitter gives you 140 characters to say what you want and move on. The story might not be comprehensive and beautifully written, but it gets the information out there and when it comes down to it that’s what journalism is all about.

New York Times vs. Sydney Morning Herald

Today I’ve decided to take a good hard look at The New York Times online affiliate, nytimes.com, and The Sydney Morning Herald’s, smh.com.au, to see how they compare/give an opinionated judgment on them. Now I’ll be honest: I love The New York Times. There’s something about that newspaper that gets me every time. From the history and prestige to the font and layout, I can’t get enough of its American attitude and biased view on world issues (this may sound like sarcasm but it’s really not). To tell you the truth I’m not an avid reader of The Sydney Morning Herald, living in Brisbane I don’t go out of my way to pick up a copy, so I can’t say too much about it in terms of font, layout and overall interest but I certainly don’t have any major complaints about it (tacky Sunday edition The Sun Herald excluded).

But this post isn’t about the hard copy of each paper; it’s about their online presence. As previously mention, NYT (hard copy) is a great and easy read in terms of layout and design. The paper flows seamlessly and is easy for the reader to follow. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for its online counterpart. The home page is cluttered and the font and colours just don’t work well together. The font itself is bulky and to “fancy” to work in an online environment. Online news should be easy to read and skim through; nytimes.com has crammed everything together and used tiny barley readable font in some sections just so they can fit everything in. 

 

 The smh.com.au on the other hand has things set out in a way that is much easier and enjoyable to read. There is a good amount of white space used and the font is simple and less compact then the nytimes.com. There is a series of tabs running across the top of the page which give easy access to other pages on the site. This is opposed to the nytimes.com which has their tabs squashed on the side

 

As you can see below, the format is clean and no fuss. There is enough white space between each section to be able to actually register without squinting that a new category is starting.

Maybe it’s just my bias towards white space and minimalism, but I really think the smh.com.au wins this round. They have created a site which is easy to navigate, quick to read, and pretty to look at.   

Palestinians wary of UN bid for statehood

Some members of Australian Palestinian community say they are doubtful their nations bid for statehood at the UN will be a success.

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, received a standing ovation after his speech at the UN in September where he called on all members to vote for an official Palestinian state.

However, Australians for Palestine member, Mohamed Mashni, says it is unlikely a resolution to the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel will be reached any time soon.

Mr Mashni says it is time for world leaders to take action and recognise the responsibility they have towards the thousands of displaced Palestinian people.

“It’s critical for people to understand that the Palestinians have given up far more then the Israelis ever have,” he said.

“What it comes down to is that the Palestinian people have a fundamental right to live as equals with their Israeli neighbours.”

Mr Mashni says the US, who has the power to veto the application, must decide where they stand on the issue.

“Only 12 months ago President Obama made his speech at the UN and said he supports a Palestinian state being created; now 12 months later he hasn’t follow up on his actions.”

While Palestine has garnered an increased amount of support from the international community in the past year, it is still at loggerheads with the US who are expected to veto the application.

University of Queensland lecturer in Peace and Conflict studies, Phil Orchard, says the power balance within the UN Security Council will make it difficult for the Palestinian bid to gain approval.

“There have been suggestions certainly that the US is going to veto it,” he said.

“There are also suggestions that given the current composition of the Security Council it’s uncertain whether or not they could even get the nine vote majority they [Palestine] need to even pass it.”


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Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is adamant a solution can only be reached by negotiations and has warned Palestine must be willing to compromise.

Addressing the UN assembly shortly after President Abbas, Mr Netanyahu said he extends his hand to the Palestinian people.

“[Palestinians] should live in a free state of their own but they should be willing to make compromises,” he said.

President for the Zionist Council of Victoria, Sam Tatarka, has echoed Mr Netanyahu’s sentiments.

He says Palestine must recognise Israel’s equal rights to the disputed land and accept the final boundary lines once a solution is reached.

“It is a very densely populated place but I believe it is possible for the two nations to live side by side,” he said.

“This is provided the Palestinian state that would be established completely relinquishes any claims over Israel and fundamentally reconciles itself to the settlement that is ultimately reached.”

While the official bid for statehood has launched the conflict between the two nations back onto the international stage, critics say it is unlikely a resolution will be found any time soon.

Director of the Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation, Fethi Mansouri, says it is likely to be an ongoing issue as both nations try to gain control of land they believe is rightfully theirs.

He says the Palestinian people are seeking the kind of legitimate recognition the international community has given to Israel.

“What the Palestinian people want is the notion of an independent state which recognises their own legitimate aspirations for legitimate statehood,” he says.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on the issue by January.   

Related Stories
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13701636

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/201192615542764330.html

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3331190.htm

Digital Genius

I was a bit of a latecomer when it came to getting on board with all things digital and technological. My high school was ... alternative to say the least. We didn’t use computers or have fancy chemistry labs; instead we hand-wrote all of our assignments and were required to study book binding as a year 12 subject. That‘s right ladies and gentleman: book binding. As in I hand bound a book in my final year of study and was assessed on it as part of my OP grade.

Understandably, because of my lack of technological education I didn’t get a mobile phone until the year after I finished school and I only just acquired an iPhone three months ago. In the spirit of online journalism though I’ve been trying to use my new phone and all the resources it gives me in the best way possible. One of the most effective ways I’ve found is through the use of apps. There are a number of handy apps that every journalist should have on the go to make their lives a whole lot easier.

Here are my top five

Description – This handy little dictionary has close to 2,000,000 words and phrases. It will also give you synonyms, antonyms, sounds-like suggestions, audio pronunciation and it works offline.

Photogene – This app allows you to edit, crop, filter, add text and change the exposure and lighting of a photo. Great for when you’re out doing a story and want a good pic but only have your phone with you.

Google – An obvious one maybe, but Google has pretty much become the answer to everything. Where’s the press conference? Google it. What’s that politicians official title? Google it. The great thing about the Google app is that it uses your current location; so whatever you’re searching for, Google will show you your nearest option.

AP Mobile – This is one of the best ways to really stay on top of the news. The app uses push notifications to alert you of breaking stories and developments. You can customise your notifications so you only receive alerts on certain events, meaning you’re not bombarded with notifications every time a story is filed, and you can ensure you’re getting the most up-to-date information.

Twitter – Another great way to stay on top of the news, plus it gives you the chance to interact with other users and create a dialogue (if 140 character counts as dialogue).  The “trending” function is also interesting as it gives you a feel for what people are interesting in talking about for the day and what they might want to hear on the news that night.

Journalism: don't take it too seriously

Firstly, let’s get one thing straight: journalism is a great and noble profession (in my biased opinion). That being said, there are times when some journalists simply take themselves way too seriously. Yes, we are often reporting on issues and events which require a high level of knowledge, skill and sensitivity but there are times when that can all become a little too much. Though I would never wish any kind of misfortune on my journalistic friends (or myself for that matter) I have no problem with having a laugh at those journalists who just didn’t get it right. Whether it’s a misquote, a mishap, or a moment of pure stupidity, sometimes it’s good to step back and have a laugh at the idiot journalist who just didn’t get it right. That being said here is a few videos that showcase bad/funny journalism at its best.

Language warning

The Joys of Dropbox

Just a quick post today to blatantly promote Dropbox.com. I discovered this site earlier in the year; it lets you upload word documents, images, videos and just about anything else you can think of to the World Wide Web. The site has pretty much replaced my USB as I never have to worry about all the things that can go wrong when using one i.e. losing it, forgetting it, or everything magically being wiped from it with no explanation (it’s happened before). Dropbox lets you organise your files into different folders, much like a USB, but it also goes one step further and allows you to share folders with other Dropbox users. This is particularly handy when trying to coordinate group assignments for uni or any documents that need to be available 24/7 to everyone at work. And finally, since I always have to comment on the aesthetic and “feel” of a site, Dropbox is just the way I like it. Clean lines, lots of white space, and a neutral colour palette.

Is The News Too Depressing?

Yesterday I was talking to a friend who was complaining about the amount of “depressing news” that is reported every day. In her words; “it’s enough to make you want to top yourself”. A little dramatic perhaps but it got me thinking. It’s true traditional media does report a lot on issues that generally fall into the negative, depressing and unsettling category; however, online journalism has found a way to balance the news scale much better than its more traditional counterparts. The half-hour TV or radio news bulletin doesn’t have time to run anything other than the major stories of the day. They give a quick break-down of national and global events, plus address any local issues, finance, weather and sport and it’s all over. Online journalism has room to breathe; it has an infinite amount of resources, space and time and can give the reader a wide range of stories because of this. The deadline for online journalism may be “now” but the opportunity for updates and expansion are there 24/7 meaning a more consistent form of coverage is available. Along with this, a much wider range of coverage is possible and this is where my friend has got it wrong. Many of the most popular news sites, such as news.com, ninemsn, and yahoo!7, offer an abundance of entertainment and “soft” news. All you have to do is follow on the link and you can enjoy hours of entertaining, funny, and often downright weird stories the news has to offer. While the “real” news may take up the majority of space in most publications, programmes, and websites it’s nice to know that with online news a happy story is only a click away.

Reporting victims names: ninemsn at its worst

Yesterday morning the body of a teenage girl was found in her Paddington house in Brisbane; around the same time her mother jumped to her death from the Story Bridge, leaving her 12 year-old son sitting in the car only metres away. It is not known how the young girl died but early reports indicate she was stabbed.

This is a terrible crime and tragedy and the family involved must be distraught. Mounting interest from the media cannot be helping their situation but surely, given the fact that an underage girl has been killed and a young boy has watched is mother purposely fall to her death, the media would show some respect and honour the families right to privacy.

Some news organisations, like the ABC, have shown a high level of respect, reporting on the incident while excluding the names of those involved. Others, like ninemsn, seem to have forgotten their journalistic ethics and morals and have splashed the victims names all over their news site. While there is legally nothing wrong with reporting the names, it is highly unlikely that the family involved is comfortable with this.

Journalists are often privy to sensitive information, whether it be the name of a victim, the details of a crime, or off the record comments and it is their duty to respect this information and display empathy and kindness to those it relates to.  

Publishing the names of the young girl and her mother was not only a gross invasion of privacy; it was a deplorable act of insensitivity and thoughtlessness. Who in their right mind would think that publishing those names would not put more pressure and stress on that family? Publishing those names makes it so much easier for other news organisations to contact them and hound them with questions; it identifies them to everyone who opens up the ninemsn home page, even relatives or friends who may not have been notified yet; it turns something so incredibly hurtful and private into a public forum for the whole nation to comment on.

In my last post, I praised ninemsn for publishing a photo of a man who had just been stabbed because it was an incredible display of photo journalism in action; now I can’t help thinking this was simply another case of ninemsn revealing all the gory details of a crime in a bid to suck in more readers.    

 Here is a link to the ABC story, sans victims names.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-08/police-continue-probe-into-brisbane-murder-suicide/2876022

Photo Journalism

                                              Image from ninemsn

This morning when I logged onto the ninemsn home page I was confronted with the most extraordinary piece of photo journalism I have seen in a long time. The picture was taken at the Notting Hill carnival in London only hours before and shows a young man standing in the middle of the street, arms outstretched as blood pours from the fresh stab wound on the side of his torso. His attacker is running away from him while police look on with obvious shock and confusion. In the foreground of the picture is a middle-aged man sticking out his leg in a bid to trip-up the running man.  Despite its graphic nature and intolerable violence, I could not stop looking at it.

Of course we have all seen violent and graphic action shots like this before. Photo Journalists in war zones or at the scene of major disasters often capture pictures that tell the story much better than the accompanying copy; however, something about this particular photo had a particularly strong effect on me. Nothing about it was predetermined. If a photographer arrives at the scene of an accident or is working in a war zone, they are somewhat prepared. They know a little about the kinds of things they will be photographing and the angles and lighting they need to deliver the goods; they are looking for the hero shot to make it to the front page. The photo taken in Notting Hill was the complete opposite of this. It is clear that someone has picked up their camera and clicked the button just in time and at the perfect moment. A second later and the attacker would have run past them and been out of the shot; the man with his leg out would have backed away and the police would have surrounded the victim, hiding him from vision.

For some unknown reason, no other news website was running this picture (ok maybe ninemsn had the rights to it) or a story about the stabbing. I spent about 20 minutes flicking between abc.net.au, news.com and channel 7 news but to no avail. I don’t usually praise ninemsn or talk up their reporting capabilities (considering most of the stuff on their site is gossip and hype) but I will give credit where credit is due: good job ninemsn. 

Here is the link to the story

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/glanceview/186223/stabbing-mars-london-carnival.glance

Reporting on the London Riots

Last week we were all shocked by the images coming out of London. Teenagers, young men and women and even children poured onto the streets to wreak havoc throughout the city. Pictures of smashed in shop windows, burning cars and buildings and police desperately trying to gain some sense of control of the rioting youth were streamed over the internet and our television screens.

I lived in London for almost three years, between 2006 and 2008, and was horrified when I heard my old neighborhood, Notting Hill, had been trashed by hundreds of rioters last Monday night. I was desperate for some news on exactly which streets and shops had been targeted but my search for information on all the major news sites gave me little to go on. As is typical for a news website, they simply gave me the basic headlines and information: Notting Hill trashed by rioters. No description of how much damage was done, which shops had been destroyed and how the people who lived and worked there were reacting.

Then, by chance, I came across this post by the Portobelloblogger who lives in Notting Hill and was walking through the suburb when the rioters attacked. The post is close to 2000 words long and gives a detailed description of everything that happened that night. The blogger traces their footsteps through the night, recounting the anxious mood that fell over the usually peaceful streets in anticipation of the rioters approach and the sad reality of the damage done once they had left.

I gained more information and insight into what happened that night from this one post then I did from the six other stories I read on official news sites. Online media does an excellent job at keeping us up to date with breaking stories and developments but when it comes to filling in the details there is often a severe lack of information. I have never followed a blog before or even viewed them as a legitimate source of information but this particular experience has forced me to consider the fact that bloggers are often writing about what they see and experience and nothing, not even a report on a major news site, can trump a primary source.

New Blog

The first post on my blog for Online Journalism.  Sorry if yor reading this, was forced to post it.

My twitter handle is @meaganl86