“What’s Hidden?” Assignment #3 Proposal

It’s taken me quite some time to not only try to understand the “What’s Hidden” brief to the best of my ability but to also think of a creative, individual idea for my project. I’ve discussed this concept with close family members and friends and each have suggested things that are important to them; art, music, wildlife, culture, travel, politics and much more. However, it dawned on me that why weren’t we focusing on the individual? Us?

Self-esteem is something that we all battle with regularly. However, it tends to be most prominent in younger girls (teens – young adults). Self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves: it’s not just how we look but how we feel about how we look. Eating-disorders, low self-esteem and depression are the most common mental health problems in young girls.

For my project I have decided to film and take photos of a group of young girls, individually removing their makeup. A façade that the majority of us hide behind for several reasons. I will also be interviewing girls who don’t wear makeup at all. I’m not saying either is morally correct – the purpose of my project is to investigate and share the opinions of young girls on this concept.

I’m still undecided on how I will be filming the girls – whether I should film and shoot in black and white or colour and whether I should get them all to wear the same thing. I know I will be using an instrumental backing track – and for my ambient sounds I am also still undecided but I do know I am going to be very selective with them and will be the last things I add to my piece. So far I have a list of about 40 girls from the age of 16-24 who have put their hand up to help me out. Anyone else who is interested don’t hesitate to contact me.

Sally Maan & Timothy Bouldry

This week I have researched the works of Sally Maan and Timothy Bouldry.

You can find my Storify report here.

Reflection – Assessment #1

NPR Producer Aaron Henkin writes: “When people tell you a story, it’s like they’re singing you a song. Every voice has it’s own musicality, it’s own tone and timbre. And even just a little half-sentence fragment can go in through your ear and tell you something profound about a person’s soul.” For my first journalism assignment in second semester I really wanted to try and encompass this to my best ability. Looking back I think I achieved some of the elements I wanted too but there were definitely things I could’ve done better.

Firstly, I was going to use a close friend of mine who studies at Brent Street Theatre School in Sydney and I was going to highlight her connection to stage as her chosen place. I managed to get a few photos of her but we agreed to meet up again to do the interview. Unfortunately, her rehearsals took up most of her time and she cancelled on me.

Plan B is what I have used, Pamela, a new friend from University whose currently struggling with the transition from living at home to living in a share-house with 3 other people she didn’t know previously. Overall I’m happy with the interview and the image I’ve used, however I wish I had been able to record more ambient sounds. I enjoyed the assessment nonetheless.

“Home is where my family is” – Pamela Seckin

Pamela Seckin, 22, feels most at home when her family is close by. Her childhood home in Campbelltown is where her fondest memories have been formed for the past seventeen years. Over time her siblings moved out of home until it was just Pamela and her parents.

Three months ago Pamela and her family moved out of their home and Pamela has now relocated into a share house for University. Looking back, Pamela’s feelings have started to change about her childhood home as “it didn’t feel like a family home anymore because the family wasn’t there.”

*Note – music used is “To Build A Home” – Cinematic Orchestra. This music was obtained through copy-right free methods. I do not own this track.

#Splendour?

Missed out on Splendour in the Grass for 2014? Don’t fret… multi-media convergence has your back! Check out the story here!

Social Media’s Impact – Digital Reporting is the Future

Image Source: http://www.wfsj.org/course/en/L10/L10P00.html

The rapid growth of digital media, especially the use of social media has started to create a change in how news stories are told today. Media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr and other blogging sites enables a much more “connected” community and any individual can self-publish by means of these platforms. Citizen journalism has become the tag for these individuals carrying these networking devices. One of the major problems with citizen journalism is that the facts usually can’t be verified; nor can you be completely sure it is not being used to promote an agenda.

Due to social media rapidly expanding, journalism as a whole has begun to change. Therefore, through this new digital age new types of jobs will be created. In return, traditional media (newspapers) will be outdated and arguably non-existent.

The major for concerns for traditional journalists due to the boom of social media are job losses. For journalism students on the other hand is to find a job once they have completed their degree. Peter Fray, a former editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and now a media lecturer at the University of Sydney, says “although graduates with journalism skills are still in demand, they are more likely to work creating content for health funds or banks. As the media is broken down into smaller organisations over the coming decade, traditional cadetships (already now uncommon) are likely to disappear.” The Herald Sun offered six cadetships last year, whilst Fairfax suspended traineeships altogether in 2008.

In 2012 the Herald Sun appointed their first “social media editor”. This is an example of what sort of jobs are around already and a hint at what jobs may be just around the corner. It is also a recognition by the industry that social media is changing journalism and that the ability to communicate engaging journalism across different mediums is important from a job-seeking perspective.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Glued to his phone, Jake Cupitt is excited about what the future may bring for him.

Although they are four completely different people; journalism students Jake Cupitt, David Atherton, Tiarne Blackwell and Briana Kennedy all agree that traditional media will cease to exist in the near future.

“I think that with the prevalence of digital media and the loss of traditional print media there is a balancing act happening. People are losing their jobs in one area but jobs are being created in other areas that can make up for these losses.” says Jake Cupitt. Jake is aware of what the impact is of the rising dominance of social media in journalism. “A new job I know that’s been created at New York Times is a traffic analyst which is a person that monitors and controls the flow of traffic on the New York Times website. Something like that never would have even been thought of 20 years ago and now its a crucial part of the continued success of certain areas of the industry. Imagine what will happen in the next 20 years!!” Cupitt states. However, in Jake’s “perfect world” he would “love to work for Rolling Stone Magazine.” Jake recognises that it’ll take quite a few years and lots of experience to get there, but he has “patience”. Initially he would like to work in a lot of different areas to get a “deep understanding of the industry so that [his] skills will improve.”

Music journalism may be the path for Jake but for David sport journalism is where he is hoping his degree will take him. “My ideal job would be a sports writer or commentator for football (soccer) – hopefully in Spain, Germany or England as that’s where the best leagues are.” declares David. “My casual creative writing has aided my writing development and I rate my puns and vocabulary humour somewhat, additionally, my extensive knowledge of all sports in general – but mostly football (soccer) – allows me to provide reasonable analysis of content rather than vague descriptions.” David also agrees with Jake on the idea that the rise of social media will dominate over traditional journalism and is already happening globally. “I think that traditional print media will be on its knees and online forms of the traditional mediums will be booming – such as the online Sydney Morning Herald as opposed to the hard copy. This will raise the competitiveness for journalists as globalisation has made reporting easier to do from remote locations not nearby the event – making exclusive stories hard to come by.”

Tiarne Blackwell is another journalism student who’s thinking about what the future may hold for her and is keen on the more creative side of things. “I would love to write for a magazine or anything that I find interesting. I want to do something different and not have just a boring, normal job. I want to be able to have fun and be proud of what I do. I realise this may take a while, but that is fine.” Tiarne reveals. Tiarne’s career aspiration compares to Briana Kennedy’s as she would also like to work for a print magazine. However, Briana states that she is “not exactly career driven at this point.” and doesn’t just have one goal/job in mind.”

Both Tiarne and Briana agree with Jake and David about the increasing nature of social media in journalism. “Technology only keeps evolving as new generations are born and older ones die out, so in a few years’ time, everyone should be technologically efficient. This will only mean that companies will increase their social media aspects. Therefore, I believe that a lot of new journalism jobs will be available” Tiarne admits.

If you’re interested in finding out more about these students you can follow their journalism journey at:

There’s plagiarism and fabrication in journalism?! Ahoy Captain Obvious!

Photo Source: http://www.brainstuck.com/2008/10/18/citizen-journalism/

In recent years plagiarism in journalism has become a significant issue due to the rise of social media and the number of citizens who use it on a day-to-day basis. Self tagged journalists are becoming a lot more common nowadays with the rise of different media platforms (Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) and because of this the notion of “copying and pasting” has become more frequent. I found this an interesting article on plagiarism and fabrication being unacceptable in journalism.

In 2011 Paige Wiser was let go from her job of 17 years at Chicago Sun-Times after stating she was at a concert for its entirety when she clearly wasn’t. Her “Glee Live!” concert review awkwardly described one song that she didn’t see and another one that wasn’t performed at all on the night. When Wisner admitted her fault she said “I do understand what a big deal this was. I am ashamed, and it’s just a matter of making bad decisions when you’re exhausted.”

According to Wisner she was told that her kids “cutesy reactions” would be welcome, so she brought a long her 6 year-old daughter and 7 year-old son. However, “Jack nearly decapitated himself falling off his seat, and Audrey started murmuring “I’m going to throw up” 10 songs into the set.” Wisner admits she would’ve written that she left early but she didn’t want to let the paper down. Instead Paige included the encore song “Friday” as she was familiar with it. “Big mistake. I didn’t see it there, so it was a lie.” Wisner states

Editor in chief at the time Don Hayner published Wisner’s dismissal stating that “accuracy and honesty in reporting are essential parts of the promise we make to our readers. We regret the incident and apologize.”

Fabrication and plagiarism are major issues that we are currently facing as a society in journalism. The expanding world of social media is only going to make situations like Wisner’s more frequent.

“Youtube is the main reason I chose to study Journalism”

“Making youtube videos is the main factor why I chose my degree. Without Youtube, I think I would’ve been stuck on what to study. Youtube has really given me confidence as it puts me out of my comfort zone.” – Veronica Cremen (18, Bachelor of Media and Communications, Bachelor of Journalism).

At only 15, Veronica uploaded a video of her accidentally being hit by her bestfriend with a waterbottle. “We were laughing about it so much and we thought it would honestly get no views and it would just be for laughs and between us.” However, overnight it had reached 1000 views and had several comments from viewers asking Veronica and her friend to upload more. This led to Miss Cremen exploring Youtube in a whole new way. Stumbling upon the fashion and beauty side of Youtube was how Veronica decided what videos she would upload next. “I realised that this was an avenue I’d really like to explore. It was the best thing I ever did.” Cremen states.

Although your hobbies tend to not co-exist with your academic pursuits, this is not the case for Veronica. Studying Journalism and Media and Communications there are many skills that you either need to learn, or already have. And, Veronica feels she already has those fundamental skills that she can hopefully work on during her studies. “Making Youtube videos has given me skills on camera placement, speaking in front of crowds, and knowledge about media platforms, advertising, digital media and the ever-growing world of social media. Which, has also made me aware of the possible jobs that may exist at the end of my degree.”

Making Youtube videos has also created many opportunities for Veronica and she is very enthusiastic of what the future holds for her. She has become friends with a few different bands (Elephant Laundry) and has a video uploaded of her doing Dylan Cartwright’s makeup (the lead singer). This has led to her doing their makeup for photoshoots, music videos and shows. Veronica has also been introduced to Mary Kay and is now a senior consultant for them. “Having contacts is really important, and I am close with the owner of Boom video who I’m going to sign with soon, which will hopefully create more opportunities for me in the future.”

Veronica is looking forward to what the future holds and can already see how things have started to change. “Starting my channel in 2010, there wasn’t many Australian YouTubers out there, but now there is so many! It’s great to see Australians out there on the platform and showcasing their best efforts.”

However, Miss Cremen states that becoming a full-time Youtuber isn’t a priority right now. “Being 18 years old I’m balancing my life between University, jobs, friends and traveling. Who knows that the future holds though!”

Link to Veronica’s Youtube Account: https://www.youtube.com/user/girlbeyoutee/featured

A list of other Youtube accounts that Veronica shared as her inspirations:

Bethany Mota (Macbarbie07)

Your world turned upside down?

Writing an essay an hour before its due? Forgetting an assignment? Stressing? We’ve all been there. Trying to find a computer at the UOW library is an adventure in itself. As we eagerly await someone to look like they are leaving (sort of like trying to find a park) we are quickly disappointed as they scoot off to print something, get a coffee or have a chat to their friend on the other side of the room. We’re all in the same boat at uni.. we all want to go well and we all want to walk out with a degree and once you put all of us in one building together things can get pretty intense.