1. When a journalist has accidently defamed someone, the person can still sue. Defamation is defamation, even if it is innocent or unintentionally done. I would let the lady have a full page ad for free if it ment my newspaper wouldn't be taken to court for defamation.
2. Having chosen a career that relies on media coverage for success, i don't think celebrities or anyone iin the lime light should be allowed to claim defamation as easily as the average person. If celebrities sued for every would which affected their reputation etc they would be constantly in court arguing cases of defamation.
3. If a source gave me false information and my paper was being sued for defamation i would reveal her name in order to defend my paper against allegations.
Points of Interest:
- There are many things you can do to avoid defamation including ensuring your notes are organised and correct in case you end up in court, try to avoid arguments, starting or retaliating, with interviewees, make sure you do your best to cover both sides of your story to make sure balance is achieved or at least attempted, never assume anything, double check spelling of names etc...
- Dead people nor governments can sue for defamation. A person cannot defame themselves. People can sue if statements about people reflect badly on them.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Chapter 16 Week 13
1. If offered a free dinner i would ring my editor and tell them about the conflict of interest because not telling the editor could reult in suspension (p397). As outlined in the AJA Code of Ethics, journalists should do their best to avoid bribes or any forms of conflict of interest and inform their bosses when in the situation.
2. According to the AJA Code of Ethics (p400), journalists are not to 'allow advertising or commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence'. So in this case I woul write about the experiences of the trip as I found them, be it positive or negative.
3. If I made an error in an already published story I would write a follow up article correcting my mistake, because I believe journalism to be a duty to inform above being a duty to get payed more despite incompetance.
4. Journalists should consider public interest above all when deciding whether to print a story (p382). In this case, on an emotional level I would want to withhold printing the story due to the circumstances where the main person would be affected greatly by the story. However, i also think it is in the public's interest to know about the story.
Points of Interest:
- When it comes to journalism, it is extremely important not to be bias, or give any clues as to what your opinion of the story is in your writing. The readers of your article need to be able to make up their own mind about how they feel about the story, without being swayed by a writer's opinion.
- There are three types of facts (as outlined by Henshall & Ingram)
- facts that have been proven to be true
- facts that are probably true although they have not been proved
- facts that could be true, although they appear to be lies
2. According to the AJA Code of Ethics (p400), journalists are not to 'allow advertising or commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence'. So in this case I woul write about the experiences of the trip as I found them, be it positive or negative.
3. If I made an error in an already published story I would write a follow up article correcting my mistake, because I believe journalism to be a duty to inform above being a duty to get payed more despite incompetance.
4. Journalists should consider public interest above all when deciding whether to print a story (p382). In this case, on an emotional level I would want to withhold printing the story due to the circumstances where the main person would be affected greatly by the story. However, i also think it is in the public's interest to know about the story.
Points of Interest:
- When it comes to journalism, it is extremely important not to be bias, or give any clues as to what your opinion of the story is in your writing. The readers of your article need to be able to make up their own mind about how they feel about the story, without being swayed by a writer's opinion.
- There are three types of facts (as outlined by Henshall & Ingram)
- facts that have been proven to be true
- facts that are probably true although they have not been proved
- facts that could be true, although they appear to be lies
Friday, October 19, 2007
Chapter 13 Week 13
1. One of the main problems with cnovergence in relation to journalism is that most journalists are not trained in all the fields that are required for a converged news room.
Media companies need to make sure journalists are properly trained in all areas of mixed media before convergence is a success.
2. An issue with convergence is that some people don't feel comfortable working with certain medium. For example, if a print journalist was told they had to go and report on TV and they were not comfortable with the idea of being on national television, the company may even lose their journalist.
I believe the media would lose alot of journalists and potential journalists to this situation because if the felt really uncomfortable they may not want to continue being journalists, or prevent the potential journalists from actually becoming one.
3. As it says on p313 in the text book, the success of convergence will ultimately depend on journalilsts and news consumers.
So with the seemingly negative atitude of journalists towards convergence, I think the concept will fade away leaving print journalists on paper and TV journalists on screen.
4. If cross-media ownership laws become less strict then media companies will eventually go broke, especially newspapers (p303). If newpapers publish exactly what is in their papers on their websites, they won't be making any profit to support themselves because the public will begin to read their news on the Internet... for free... thus in the long term, sending the paper broke.
5. Despite the invention of the TV, people still use the radio, and despite the invention of the web, people still use TV (p301). So I think that in the future radio and TV will still be used and web will probably be upstaged by a new form of communication technology.
6. I belive it is important to be able to do a few different things in relation to journalism such as being able to write, take photos, operate a video camera, etc because sometimes you may need to use other resources to make a better story.
I think it is a very good idea to have options at uni that allow potential journalists to be multi-skilled.
7. People are definatley becoming increasingly dependent on the Internet, however I doubt the human race would die out of the Internet were to disappear one day.
Points of Interest:
- When writing for the Internet writers must realise that many of the site's readers do not speak english as their first language so it is important to use simple language, without much use of jargon, cliches, Australianisms etc.
- With convergence, journalists will need to know about the Internet and the things that come with it such as website production and the jargon used in the web world.
Media companies need to make sure journalists are properly trained in all areas of mixed media before convergence is a success.
2. An issue with convergence is that some people don't feel comfortable working with certain medium. For example, if a print journalist was told they had to go and report on TV and they were not comfortable with the idea of being on national television, the company may even lose their journalist.
I believe the media would lose alot of journalists and potential journalists to this situation because if the felt really uncomfortable they may not want to continue being journalists, or prevent the potential journalists from actually becoming one.
3. As it says on p313 in the text book, the success of convergence will ultimately depend on journalilsts and news consumers.
So with the seemingly negative atitude of journalists towards convergence, I think the concept will fade away leaving print journalists on paper and TV journalists on screen.
4. If cross-media ownership laws become less strict then media companies will eventually go broke, especially newspapers (p303). If newpapers publish exactly what is in their papers on their websites, they won't be making any profit to support themselves because the public will begin to read their news on the Internet... for free... thus in the long term, sending the paper broke.
5. Despite the invention of the TV, people still use the radio, and despite the invention of the web, people still use TV (p301). So I think that in the future radio and TV will still be used and web will probably be upstaged by a new form of communication technology.
6. I belive it is important to be able to do a few different things in relation to journalism such as being able to write, take photos, operate a video camera, etc because sometimes you may need to use other resources to make a better story.
I think it is a very good idea to have options at uni that allow potential journalists to be multi-skilled.
7. People are definatley becoming increasingly dependent on the Internet, however I doubt the human race would die out of the Internet were to disappear one day.
Points of Interest:
- When writing for the Internet writers must realise that many of the site's readers do not speak english as their first language so it is important to use simple language, without much use of jargon, cliches, Australianisms etc.
- With convergence, journalists will need to know about the Internet and the things that come with it such as website production and the jargon used in the web world.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Chapter 12 Week 12
1. I think ABC should become privatised in order to minimise the amount of pressure from the government in their journalism. If the ABC became privatised it would not be able to be so bias in its journalism s its content would be controlled by commercial media as well as being controlled by politicians.
2. If I had to choose between the man with good looks or the woman with better skills with the given circumstances, I would probably choose the man, mainly because of the female dominance which was already present in the news rooms.
Honestly, his good looks would have an influence because I beliece that the public will prefer to watch and listen to an attractive person. A major part to consider, which was not mentioned in the question in the text book was the applicant's persnality, which would, I think, be the most important characteristic they could possess, everything else can be learnt.
3. I think the best communicator is TV because such a large audience watch TV. Even when watching other programs, they still end up seeing the headlines of the day, during ad breaks etc.
Points of Interest:
- Radio has two aspects which separate it from television and print... speed and portability. While print news has a waiting period of at least one day, and television has a dely as well, radio can have a story on air seconds after the event has occured.
- Because radio journalists only have the ability to appeal to a single sense, hearing, they must ensure they get it right. Radio announcers must have 'the voice' for the job in the hope to appeal to an audience.
2. If I had to choose between the man with good looks or the woman with better skills with the given circumstances, I would probably choose the man, mainly because of the female dominance which was already present in the news rooms.
Honestly, his good looks would have an influence because I beliece that the public will prefer to watch and listen to an attractive person. A major part to consider, which was not mentioned in the question in the text book was the applicant's persnality, which would, I think, be the most important characteristic they could possess, everything else can be learnt.
3. I think the best communicator is TV because such a large audience watch TV. Even when watching other programs, they still end up seeing the headlines of the day, during ad breaks etc.
Points of Interest:
- Radio has two aspects which separate it from television and print... speed and portability. While print news has a waiting period of at least one day, and television has a dely as well, radio can have a story on air seconds after the event has occured.
- Because radio journalists only have the ability to appeal to a single sense, hearing, they must ensure they get it right. Radio announcers must have 'the voice' for the job in the hope to appeal to an audience.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Chapter 11 Week 11
1. I would run the story because of my editor's wishes, but also becuase as a journalist, i feel it is my duty as a reporter to inform the public of any wrong doing by government organisations such as the police.
2. If it was completely guaranteed no one would find out about the article, I would find out about the article, I would not print it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if someone died because of an article I wrote.
3. It is simply not ethical to accept bribes no matter what the case is. I would never accept the celebrity's offers and would probably be more inclined to print the story because of their stupidity.
4. If you could reveal corrupt behavious involving bribes without having to reveal the source of the information i would definately print the story. Bribes are simply not acceptable.
Points of Interest:
- One of the most important tools of a journalist is their contact book. Being on other important people's contact books ensure that they get told important information when it happens.
- The job of a journalist is to inform the public of news and events, to tell people things they don't already know. Therefore it makes sense that a journalist needs to be well informed on a wide variety of subjects in order to be good at their job.
-Journalists also need to be well organised and had good time management skills. A journalist is not going to be successful if they are constantly losing notes and always skimming deadlines.
2. If it was completely guaranteed no one would find out about the article, I would find out about the article, I would not print it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if someone died because of an article I wrote.
3. It is simply not ethical to accept bribes no matter what the case is. I would never accept the celebrity's offers and would probably be more inclined to print the story because of their stupidity.
4. If you could reveal corrupt behavious involving bribes without having to reveal the source of the information i would definately print the story. Bribes are simply not acceptable.
Points of Interest:
- One of the most important tools of a journalist is their contact book. Being on other important people's contact books ensure that they get told important information when it happens.
- The job of a journalist is to inform the public of news and events, to tell people things they don't already know. Therefore it makes sense that a journalist needs to be well informed on a wide variety of subjects in order to be good at their job.
-Journalists also need to be well organised and had good time management skills. A journalist is not going to be successful if they are constantly losing notes and always skimming deadlines.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Chapter 10 Week 10
1. In the situation where I must choose between loyalty to my editor or loyalty to a source, I think I would choose to be loyal to my editor, especially in this case where my job could be on the line. Withholding information from an editor can lead to big problems for a journalist, as discussed on page 223 of the text book.
Even if the story I produce within the time limit wasn't as good as it could be, my paper would still be the first with the story, which I think is more important in a world where people are wanting their information faster.
2. I would tell the editor the information I already had about the phone calls and the potential result if the story is published. As mentioned above from the textbook, it isn't a good idea to keep information about stories from your editor.
3. Sub-editors simply review and edit other journalist's work (text book p226). In this situation I wouldn't rely soley on the 'drunken' source's words, but call an authoritative person to make sure the story wasn't going against any wishes of the judge.
4. If I was in an argument wih my editor and a police reporter about the angle of a story I would try to organise a meeting where we could all discuss the issue at hand.
The police reporter would probably know more about the story than the editor so it would make more sense to take the angle suggeseted by the police reporter, however the editor is my boss, so i would probably end up following my editor's wishes.
Points of Interest:
- Like every other career, newspapers have an order of importance of positions in the news room. The news hierarchy: editor in chief, editor, deputy editor, news editor, chief of staff, journalists.
- A media release should be seen as a story idea only, which will be treated like any other assignment, rather than as a ready-made news story. Media releases are more advertising events more than reporting on them, which is what newspapers and journalism is for.
Even if the story I produce within the time limit wasn't as good as it could be, my paper would still be the first with the story, which I think is more important in a world where people are wanting their information faster.
2. I would tell the editor the information I already had about the phone calls and the potential result if the story is published. As mentioned above from the textbook, it isn't a good idea to keep information about stories from your editor.
3. Sub-editors simply review and edit other journalist's work (text book p226). In this situation I wouldn't rely soley on the 'drunken' source's words, but call an authoritative person to make sure the story wasn't going against any wishes of the judge.
4. If I was in an argument wih my editor and a police reporter about the angle of a story I would try to organise a meeting where we could all discuss the issue at hand.
The police reporter would probably know more about the story than the editor so it would make more sense to take the angle suggeseted by the police reporter, however the editor is my boss, so i would probably end up following my editor's wishes.
Points of Interest:
- Like every other career, newspapers have an order of importance of positions in the news room. The news hierarchy: editor in chief, editor, deputy editor, news editor, chief of staff, journalists.
- A media release should be seen as a story idea only, which will be treated like any other assignment, rather than as a ready-made news story. Media releases are more advertising events more than reporting on them, which is what newspapers and journalism is for.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Chapter 14 Week 9
1.
2. I believe people read newspapers primarily for information. Although newspapers are also a form of entertainment, i think their main purpose is to inform to public of events occuring in their world. My opinion of this issue therefore, makes me think that newspapers should focus more on publishing news stories rather than feature articles, which provide a more entertaining purpose. If the readers of newspapers are getting their information in a clear enough way, i don't think increasing the amount of features will increase sales, especially when in today's society people are wanting communication to be more efficient etc.
3. Ideally it would be better for Australia if newspapers increased the amount of Australian writers and Australian news included in them, however, the current content of newspapers is mainly determined by the demand of the public and it seems the public are interested in foreign stories and writers. So until Australians can demand Australian made news, newspapers will continue to provide them with the news that sells papers.
4. I would like to be a full-time feature writer because I enjoy adding flair to my writing, which newspaper reporting does not really allow.
5. Feature writers write in a literary voice, being descriptive, emotive and appealing to the senses while informing about the subject. Journalists must write in a factual, subjective voice, clear of bias language, emotion and descriptive language.
Points of Interest
- There are a number of introductions writers use for their features such as anecdotal, descriptive, situation, essay, chronological, summary, narrative, shocker, ironic and a teaser.
- There are also a number of 'closers' which journalists use to end their stories including circular, summary, poetic, looking ahead, 'that's that' and 'see what I mean'.
- When I was waiting for one of my first communications classes I started talking to a mature age student whose daughter had done the same degree as me and had become a writer of travel features... after talking to this lady about her daughter's experiences I decided that that was what I wanted to do. In the text book it says that travel features involve a great eye for detail, careful listening and the ability to explain things in an interesting way. The text book also mentioned as part of the AJA Code of Ethics, that a travel writer must tell readers of any freebies or deals which make their trip cheaper etc.
2. I believe people read newspapers primarily for information. Although newspapers are also a form of entertainment, i think their main purpose is to inform to public of events occuring in their world. My opinion of this issue therefore, makes me think that newspapers should focus more on publishing news stories rather than feature articles, which provide a more entertaining purpose. If the readers of newspapers are getting their information in a clear enough way, i don't think increasing the amount of features will increase sales, especially when in today's society people are wanting communication to be more efficient etc.
3. Ideally it would be better for Australia if newspapers increased the amount of Australian writers and Australian news included in them, however, the current content of newspapers is mainly determined by the demand of the public and it seems the public are interested in foreign stories and writers. So until Australians can demand Australian made news, newspapers will continue to provide them with the news that sells papers.
4. I would like to be a full-time feature writer because I enjoy adding flair to my writing, which newspaper reporting does not really allow.
5. Feature writers write in a literary voice, being descriptive, emotive and appealing to the senses while informing about the subject. Journalists must write in a factual, subjective voice, clear of bias language, emotion and descriptive language.
Points of Interest
- There are a number of introductions writers use for their features such as anecdotal, descriptive, situation, essay, chronological, summary, narrative, shocker, ironic and a teaser.
- There are also a number of 'closers' which journalists use to end their stories including circular, summary, poetic, looking ahead, 'that's that' and 'see what I mean'.
- When I was waiting for one of my first communications classes I started talking to a mature age student whose daughter had done the same degree as me and had become a writer of travel features... after talking to this lady about her daughter's experiences I decided that that was what I wanted to do. In the text book it says that travel features involve a great eye for detail, careful listening and the ability to explain things in an interesting way. The text book also mentioned as part of the AJA Code of Ethics, that a travel writer must tell readers of any freebies or deals which make their trip cheaper etc.
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