Bonnie

I found this blog interesting because it does discuss all the hot and controversial media issues and provides some heated debate it also allows the reader (journalist cadet) the chance to follow Jess Jarvis, a successful journalist, on his career path. One post that I found interesting was his trip to Germany where he found himself quoted on a wall at the Frankfurt Book Fair which, would be quite a nice feeling I presume. Also having a look at what he found facinating in Frankfurt the stolpersteins.

Editors weblog has been set up for editors and senior news executives to enable them to “stay abreast of the monumental changes affecting newspapers and journalism.” However, for students and current journalists it a a good source of information you can search for blogs on a particular topic and read what different peoples opinion is. For example when I was trying to find different resources on convergence I found that editors weblog was a useful and credible source of information that helped me to reach my own opinion on the issue. Many other blogs that I have visited I have difficult trying to navigate my way around trying to find what I am looking for editors weblog is one of the sites that I have found user friendly and not to crowded in its design layout.

Big brother eat your heart out! Mojo is a an amazing tool designed so the rapidly changing media market of want it now, can access live crosses online and get up-to-date news stories in less than the time it takes to set up your video camera. Although I am sure it is easier than it looks to actually produce mojo it is a difficult task for the few people who find technology a little bit challenging! Steve Garfield seems to have it mastered though he broadcast live over the internet on hot news topics faster than any television or newspaper could dream of and the best thing about it is people who are in the spotlight are not so aware of this technology that they are not cautious of it as yet.

I do believe my motorola V9 does have the capability to mojo but I have not as yet figured it out.

STOMP is a popular site for user generated “citizen journalism.” If you wanted to post a story on STOMP you can text, email or mms your stories and pictures to them. The takes advantage of new technology and so their users can virtualy post a story from wherever they are in the world as long as they have their mobile phones with them. This is definately seems to be where the future of journalism is heading towards. These sites make the users the “owners” of their own work and give the other chance for other citizen journalists to critique your work and leave a post. It is a great way if you are a journalist starting out in online media to post some of your stories and see what the feedback is and learn from other users work.

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The readings this week brought two current stories to mind that have utilised the different tools now available for the media. A Current Affairs report on the Abercromby’s golf charity day reported that the realter used the facade of a charity fundraising event in order to have a massive ‘corporate shin-dig.’ They reported that only 26% of the funds raised on the day actually went to the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. A Current Affair, used the video captured on a mobile phone by a person who attended the event to give the story more validity. The high quality of video cameras on mobile phones is forever advancing which makes them easy to carry around and shoot video or take pictures, without people taking to much notice.

This also makes more stories available to the media, traditionally only a journalist would investigate and shoot their own footage. But now they journalists are able to use new tools in technology to gather information for stories. Usually a news team will be at the scene of a story extremely fast, however so will every other network team. So there is a huge market for exclusive footage and information of breaking news. With so much information and digital images and videos around though how will we aspiring journo’s ever sift through it all to find the information we require? Jonathon Dube at Poynter Online discusses how RSS (Really Simple Sydnidation) can help to restrict the amount of time journalists use searching on internet by downloading this software that will automatically send feeds to your computer from the links that you have selected.

The story on MP Belinda Neal’s  night out at the Iguana bar,  was also amplified with security footage from the restaurant, showing Ms Neal having a confrontation with staff. Humans most powerful sense is our sight, therefore if a story can combine sound and visual footage it makes the story not only more credible but more interesting and visually engaging.watch?v=zUoRn2CW6qQ&feature=relatedIguana Bar

Citizen Journalism sites, such as OhMyNews.com are popular because they they is an enormous amount of content being added every day that is not specific to any reader demographic, unlike a newspaper which has limited space for articles only deemed as most ’newsworthy’ by editorial teams. If a citizen journalist has an article or broadcast published online that they wrote because they think it’s interesting and newsworthy, chances are someone else around the world thinks the same. Websites such as OhMyNews do not place as much emphasis on filtering stories so what is popular and newsworthy is decided but the number of hits an article gets. If an article receives an exceptional amount of hits it’s placed in the Top Stories section of the site. With hundreds of article submissions a day from citizen journalists, they need not stress about variety and exclusivity in the content. As a professional journalist reporting for a newspaper the ability look for stories and making them newsworthy is one of the most important aspects of the job and usually the one that decides how successful you become in the business. As a citizen reporter the quest for a story is not the most critical point because in many cases such as the London Bombings you have exclusive coverage, being at the scene when the event actually occured. Futhermore, citizen journalists can the upper hand in some matters by being more educated and informed than that of the traditional media. People from other professions who don’t spend their working day in a newsroom may be better equipped to report on some matters. For example Timothy Savage, a featured writer at OhMyNews, has a B.A in History and works at Nautilus Institute for Security & Sustainable Development. Mr Savages’ education has enabled him to report on various issues that may give his articles more of an edge, than perhaps a reporter of a newspaper that may not have the extensive knowledge in a subject. OhMyNews is an example of not only citizen journalism, but where the future is heading in terms of media platforms around the world.

While the article proves there is more commodities in our world today that hold the ‘free’ label, it is mainly the imperative extra that it comes with that will leave you out of pocket. The extra’s which are usually marked in fine print are in many cases marked up to account for the free items a consumer receives. A recent advertising campaign for Harvey Norman indicated that if you bought a brand new LCD T.V Flat Panel you will receive a free Nintendo Wii Mini valued at $199.00, but of course it is no use to you unless you buy the Nintendo Wii games valued at around $80.00 each in store. So while you did get something for free the retailer was hoping you would spend an additional couple of hundred dollars on games so you can play your new Nintendo Wii mini. Usually these specials are not negotiable on the additional purchase price of the television, which if you had not got something for free the consumer may have been able to negotiate a better price. Young people are especially susceptible to buying in on these sorts of marketing gimmicks given how easy it is today for people aged less than 25 years old to get credit from a credit agency or bank. The business marketing plan of getting something for free is proving to be a successful sales technique for the time being. For everyday grocery and clothes shopping, the ‘buy one get one free’ is cost effective for the consumer and usually does influence what products they buy. But for larger expenses such as technology, there are always better deals, it’s just a matter of doing your research and figuring out what you (the consumer) wants in a product, and having a set budget so you don’t get persuaded into buying something that maybe $200.00 dearer than anticipated just to receive the additional ‘freebie’.

Admittedly, I had never heard of a mo-blog or a v-log before I had read this article. However, now I do know what these technical terms really are I do see how they prove to be popular amongst bloggers. The provide instant news coverage.

With the high quality camera and video-recording devices they have developed on mobile phones people viewing blog and news online sites can see high quality pictures and video clips from news as it emerges. In the readings this week what stood out for me was the vast area that citizen journalists were news-gathering. From London, to Thailand, America and Korea, people were recording, writing, shooting, blogging, mo-blogging etc from all parts of the world. The citizen journalism phenomenon is greatly a part of the effects of globalisation. People across the world can communicate instantly through pictures, video and writing about what’s happening in their part of the world because of technology. It is evident that major news events that effect a city or a national can now effect every person in every continent with a click of a button. Terrorist attacks and natural disasters that cause widespread damage and grief are the events that seem to attract the most cross-continental attention. people can view blogs or read foreign news from online news sites and get a detailed story of an event if the local or national news does not cover it. In the case of blogs it provides a much more personalised story you never really know how credible the material is but by being able to read the posts and responses it enables the reader to gain a wider understanding of an event or news story, and peoples opinions and experiences.