Sound Lecture

My basic approach to interviewing is to ask the basic questions that might even sound naive, or not intellectual. Sometimes when you ask the simple questions like 'Who are you?' or 'What do you do?' you learn the most.       Brian Lamb

Finding myself strangely sprawled out on my bed for a lecture today, I tuned into our audio lecture. It was really interesting to hear Carmel and Richard Fidler’s interview, listening to two such successful and innovative people discuss their experiences was very exciting and inspiring. I find that the more I listen and experience different areas of journalism such as today’s lecture on radio journalism, I seem to broaden my mind to more possibilities in my future career.

As Richard described his opportunity to interview former Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam I was very impressed with the way he remained so collected throughout the interview, easily a sign of good journalism and the conversation was both amusing and intelligent. I became excited at the prospect  of at some stage in my journalism career, interviewing someone of such high calibre and discussing contemporary political affairs – seems like the perfect niche for my journalism/law degree.

Steve Austin was then interviewed and I really connected with what he said about the most important aspect of radio journalism is human connectedness – being human and relating to feelings and emotions of others. He spoke about special moments in journalism in which the interviewee transcends from someone who is being questioned to losing themselves in the story and in emotion. Essentially I think this is what each journalist seeks to achieve in an interview.

Having never considered radio journalism before listening to this lecture  yet being an avid listener of Triple J’s Hack program and ABC radio it has opened up a world of opportunity that I am excited to explore throughout the next three years.

Paul Paper is an artist from Lithuania who has recently through the popularity of his online blog, made the transition from recreational to professional photographer. His work centres around capturing the tiny miracles in every day, boring life.

Public Media

'The difference between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference between consumers and citizens" NIGEL MILAN

Entering the realm of public media, we began this weeks lecture by establishing the definition of Public media, which is "media whose mission is to serve or engage a public - it's ultimate purpose must be to serve the public and not to gain a profit in contrast with commercial media. It is a more serious genre of reporting which values importance over interest - Bruce commented that this is why ABC is often the last station to release their news stories. Public media within the Australian media landscape is fronted by organisations such as the ABC and SBS and it's role within a democratic society such as ours is of support of the public and democratic progress.

Personally I found this lecture engaging as I'm all for ABC and SBS related programs and news, being a conscious journalism student, keen to get my fix of the latest, most detailed and unbiased news I often tune in to Triple J or various news programs on the ABC such as Hungry Beast, Catalyst and Compass - the fact that is a form of public media and thus easily accessible makes it even better! Coincidently 41% of Australians join me in my 'tuning-in' to the ABC with 12.6 million Australians viewing ABC TV each week.

Bruce went on to say that public media, essentially should have 'public value,' according to the BBC this includes

• embedding a public service ethos
• value for licence fee money 
• weighing public value against market impact
• public consultation

In accordance with these values the function of public media is to uphold nation building, national heritage, national identity and national conversations.

We then went on to discuss the challenges that public media faces in contemporary society. The predominant hurdle being to retain independence. Whilst the ABC and SBS are not owned by the government, rather held in common by the people they still receive government funding. Thus restricting the degree of independent reporting to avoid 'biting the hand that feeds them.'

 

Artist Leif Podhajsky uses digital manipulation on his photographs to explore the relevance of nature and psychadelic experience. He attempts to alter the surroundings of the viewer to re-align them with their surroundings. His work features on the cover art for bands and musicians such as Tame Impala and Lykke Li.

Mercantile Media

In today's lecture we discussed the role and purpose of Commercial Media within the Australian Media Landscape. Personally, I didn’t find this episode in our journalistic studies as exciting or intriguing as I usually would but it is interesting to see the material nature of advertising and how commercial media really is driven by ‘the mighty dollar.’ Commercial media is essentially license-funded media in which the aim is to sell the eyes and ears to advertisers whom are the real customers. The profit-driven media function is monopolized by major stakeholders such as News Limited, Fairfax Media, APN, Channel Nine, Southern Cross, Channel Ten, Telstra, Optus, Austar and countless others who produce commercial media in the form of regional newspapers, digital media, radio and outdoor advertising. It is delivered in the form of subscription (e.g. Foxtel), sponsored (e.g. Channel Nine) and subsidized (Government funding). We then discussed the role that commercial media plays in our democracy and it’s social responsibility, questioning whether it can deliver both commercial and social functions or if it is essentially just concerned with profit. According to the Hutchins Commission Report in 1947 the modern media has a moral and utilitarian obligation to report ethically and consider the overall needs of society when reporting to achieve the greatest outcome.

We then moved on to discuss contemporary controls on global landscape of commercial media such as the regulating of content by government agencies (e.g. Chinese censorship), which was strongly opposes by the recent Wikileaks organisation and movement against censorship in Australia, State press subsidies and licensed journalism (as seen in Indonesia and East Timor). Bruce outlined how the predominance of commercial media can sometimes lead to the ‘dumbing down’ of news, increased tabloidization and increased ‘desire to please’ which creates a lack in efficient reporting.  

Wire Art

Korean sculptor Seung Mo Park's transient installations of layers of wire mesh. He begins with a photogrpah superimposed over the wire (each sheet it several inches thick) and then cuts away the wire to form the image. The photo is then subtracted and light is installed behind the piece, giving them dimension and texture that a photograph cannot.

No Legal Advice

The Summer I turned sixteen I got a job working in a little fruit and veggie store in bustling beach-side street, squeezed in between the greasy heat of the renowned Fish Monger - and a Real Estate agent, that for reasons I still can't fathom was home to an award winning giant goldfish that sat in the window display, attracting far more attention than the conventional three bedroom, two bathroom-er.

Settling into the eccentric microcosm of staff in the store, I met an aspiring policeman who worked the juice bar by day and volunteered as a chef at a homeless shelter at night, two wide-eyed yet dreamy sisters  whose interest in all varieties of mushrooms never ceased to amaze me, a red-headed earth child with a passion for all things organic, New Zealand's answer to Kath and Kim embodied in one 'beauty school' queen and last but not least a senior who gained my respect the day I spotted a My Little Pony tattoo inked onto her shoulder.

It became a cyclic routine for me, wake up at 6am, ride down on my bike - basket full of beach gear for afterwards and begin cutting, stacking, juicing and selling fruit. First in would always be Grace, pulling up at 6:15 on the dot in her nippy little red car, hair and makeup effortlessly perfect and ready for a walk on the beach - she'll have an orange, pineapple and mango juice, but none of the frozen shit, the mango has to be fresh off the shelf, straight from the Rocklea Markets. Then a little later will be Matt, fresh from the surf and dripping salt water all down the back off his overturned wetsuit onto the floor - he'll have an acai smoothy without the muesli. Occasionally a visiting Brazilian surfer I befriended out past the break at Burleigh one morning will pop in, smiling shyly behind the stacks of pineapples, waiting for me to notice him before he comes in to place his order - a no.8 with extra blueberries please. The day would meander along, I would wander along stacking more fruit and rotating the tomatoes in the humidity. Occasionally Dave would come in with his daughter Tilly, paint splattered down her front from painting and a croissant from the bakery coveted in one hand, a no.2 and a no.7 for them. Just before I clocked off at two, my favourite customer Ray would arrive. Rugged looking and dry as a desert, he would walk on in, mismatching patterned clothes, typical of his perpetual bachelor lifestyle and order his special "no.8 with garlic and parsley," never forgetting to add his signature line "no legal advice" which clearly meant "no ice."

The happy chatter of customers and the fresh smell of fruit became such a routine for me, getting to know this eclectic bunch of locals and realising how so much as a tiny conversation can make someones day really impacted me over the eighteen months I stayed there and I dreaded having to leave my zesty world of not only exotic fruit and vegetables, but personalities.

I went down to the fruit store this weekend to pick my sister up, who now works there and as I pulled up I spotted the back of a a checkered pair of boar dshorts, coupled with a striped shirt heading off towards the Real Estate Agents, vibrant red juice in hand...I sure hope she didn't give him any legal advice.