News ?

news ? what is news ? what is consider as news worthiness ?

what i had in my mind when i heard the word news would be something that people would be interested in knowing. Be it topics related to the country, the politics , happening around the surroundings, and now what not news related to celebrities too . what do you actually consider as news ? A piece of article that got onto the newspapers ? something that people around talks about ? gossips related to a celebrity ?

http://www.brickbodies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/NewsPaper.jpg

There are 4 news features that is transient, Pseudo-events, narrativasation and visual imperatives . all this features are important that is being included in a piece of news. There are 8 news values which is cultural proximity, relevance, rarity, continuity, elite references, negativity, composition and personalisation.  all of this news values existed in news to show their news worthiness.

The irony is what we used to consider as news used to be everything that is written on the traditional media itself which is the newspaper but now news can be gotten from so many social platforms where people start to share pieces of news with friends in family using the social media which is expanding throughout time. At this technological era, everyone seems to be sharing news on twitter and Facebook which is so convenient until the point where every time i refresh my twitter or Facebook i get updates about what is happening in my surrounding and it seems that everyone is neglecting the existence of the newspaper because everything can be get online so easily now.

peace journalism- Al Jazeera

 

Is everything that is reported by the press can be trusted ? Which news channels that were being watched actually reported the truth ? mainstream media nowadays seems to been hiding the truth behind news reported to the audiences. Today’s topic cover about peace journalism. According to co-author of peace journalism  (Hawthorn Press, 2005), Peace journalism is when editors and reporters make choices – about what to report, and how to report it – that create opportunities for society at large to consider and to value non-violent responses to conflict. 

The main media that i am going to talk about today is Al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera was launched in 2006 and it stands out among its competitors and is considered by many an anomaly when it comes to its journalistic code and identity.

reference

El-Nawawy, M& Powers, S 2010 ‘Al-Jazeera English: A conciliatory medium in a conflict-driven environment? ’, Global Media and Communication Vol 6: 1, pp. 61 – 84

Protest Cultures and Digital Dissent

The Obama campaign poster 2008

In this new technological era, gaining access to the internet is something relatively easy as compared to a few years back. Today’s topic is going to be about how the new media helps in promoting campaigns and how election candidates used this as a way to reach out to supporters and voters. The main example that i’m going to use today would be one of the most acclaimed e-campaign by the democratic nominee Barack Obama’s in his bid for the US Presidency in 2008.

Can these new forms of web-enabled activism really offer a way to engage and re-engage voters behaviorally in politics ? It seems to me that using media platforms to promote a political campaign works in the sense that reaching out to a wide audience is easier compared to old conventional ways. Social media platforms and websites is a very strong tool. 

As being observed, the 2008 presidential campaign was the first Internet election, in which campaigns and citizens would make extensive use of the Web for organizing, fund-raising, networking, and announcing news. Obama’s Web site, ‘www.barackobama.com’ makes it much easier for supporters to accesses to news regarding the election . They can receive up-to-the-minute campaign news, pick up talking points, download campaign posters and flyers, make computer-assisted phone calls to undecided voters in swing states, and map out door-to-door canvassing operations in their area.

Other than the Obama website, other social platforms like Facebook and YouTube were also utilized in aid to the winning of the election. According to Gibson(2009), Outside these campaign-sponsored initiatives, citizen and candidates’ use of third party- provided platforms expanded dramatically in the 2008 election cycle. YouTube in particular proved to be a highly popular tool for the distribution of official and also non official political advertising to a worldwide audience.

As seen that how powerful social media plays the role in winning the presidential chair. As above is the map of the seats won by Obama and McCain. 

reference

Rachel K. Gibson,2009, NEW MEDIA AND THE REVITALISATION OF POLITICS, Representation, 45:3, 289-299, DOI: 10.1080/00344890903129566

global crisis? global news?

what comes in mind when you hear or see the world global crisis ? Is human consider as the only living thing on earth ? who is responsible when it comes to global crisis ? and who should we call the culprit that causes this to happen ? This is one of the crisis that involves every living thing on earth. The main concern when it comes to global crisis is how it caused climate change. This issue leads to the endanger of living species on earth. Are you aware of what is actually happening to mother earth ? or are the journalists not doing their job but to cover up stories regarding this issue ?

According to US-based Society of Professional Journalists, there is a journalism code of ethnic which is to “seek truth and report it”. It is stated that  ‘Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.’ But is this ethnic code being followed by journalists out there ? besides, it is also stated that  ‘Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know’ and they should be ‘accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers, and each other’. Clarifying their coverage and inviting dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct. In my opinion, it is seems that some news regarding global crisis is being covered by reporters out there.

climate change is one of the most serious environmental risks of the twenty-first century. what have you done so far to save mother earth ? who is paying for this ? From polar bears in the Arctic to marine turtles off the coast of Africa, our planet’s diversity of life is at risk from the changing climate. one of the organization that is doing something to save mother earth is the world wildlife foundation (WWF). WWF main motto is to advance policies to fight climate change, engage with businesses to reduce carbon admissions and help people and nature adapt to a climate change. It is a known fact that humans are one of the reason that causes climate change which is caused by burning fossil fuels for energy which produces carbon dioxide. The increase in global temperature is significantly altering our planet’s climate, resulting in more extreme and unpredictable weather. For instance, heat waves are becoming more frequent and many places are experiencing record droughts followed by intense rainfalls.

people should start to care more about our mother earth, sometimes the media did not cover the whole story regarding global crisis which is where we should take our move in finding out the crisis that mother earth is actually facing and also a way of solutions and prevention for tings to get worse. Do your part now, save mother earth before it;s too late.

reference

Ward, B 2009, Journalism ethics and climate change reporting in a period of intense media uncertainty , Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics, vol. 9, pp. 13-15.

GALBRAITH, K. 2013, wildfires and climate change. accessed 1st November 2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/business/energy-environment/wildfires-and-climate-change.html?_r=1&

television in translation. Kath and Kim

There is so many TV shows and also movies that is being remade for a different market. For example today, i am going to talk about Kath&Kim which the original version is from Australia and it is being remake in the US. The first series of Kath and Kim is being premiered by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) on 16 May 2002. There is a total of four seasons and also a TV movie that is being produced and written by the main actor of the show itself, Jane Turner and Gina Riley. Kath & Kim gained much critical claims since its debut debut by winning two awards which is the “outstanding comedy program” and also the “best television drama series” at the Australian Film Industry award show. The American version is created and broadcast in late 2008 by NBC. The original stars Jane turner and Gina Riley take up the executive producers and consultant role. unfortunately, the series is being cancelled due to bad reviews.

The Australia version Kath&Kim

US version Kath&Kim

Why did the Australian Kath and Kim gain good reviews but for the US version it didn’t make it to the top ? it is actually due to a few factor. firstly, the comparison reveals that he first episode of Kath&Kim largely mirrors the Australian version in terms of plot and also structure. It is being condemn that the copy is just a pale imitation of the original which doesn’t impress the audiences. The actors were also being complain as not monstrous enough to be cliches, stereotypes, parodies or even brave enough to be funny.

which elements of a show an be translated and what not ?  As to compare the Australia version and US version of Kath&Kim, the original version attract their audiences by using actors that are approximately the same age to portray different generation as to make the whole show laughable to the audience. each of the actor on the show actually have their own uniqueness in portraying character that is given, the actors go out of their way in exaggerating their worse features in order to appear as gauche as possible.

In the US version, there is some amendments. one of the important character in the show, Sharon was taken out of the series as the creator of the character disapprove it in the remake series. There is also a huge difference as you can see in the US version because Americans often prefer their main character to be attractive and appealing. The remake version is just not as funny as the original one due to the usage of actor and also the cultural factors of two different countries. This clearly showed a lost in translation in the TV Series.

references

Turnbull, S 2008, ‘It’s Like They Threw a Panther in the Air and Caught It in Embroidery’: Television Comedy in Translation’ Metro Magazine Issue 159

Transnational film ? Hybridity ?

As we talked about capital media from the previous chapter ? This chapter is somehow related as it is about transnational film which also talk about the hybridity of films that is being produce now. As the rise of Hong Kong as one of the media capital, movies nowadays seems to infused different elements in making. One of the main reason of is would be globalization. It is predicted that one day the Asian film industry will take charge of the film industry. Cultural hybridity is central to glocalization, where human agents self consciously and creatively combine local with global cultural formation which also associate with cultural imperialism.

East Asian film makers have successfully mixed unique cultural content in terms of usage of unique cultural content like martial arts sequences and wuxia narratives that appeal to non- Asian international audiences hrough films of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Ang Lee, and Yimou hang and etc. One of the successful example would be Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (released in 2000) which earned an amouhnt of $128 million.

While east Asian and south Asian movies are on the list of the foreign language films in the US, India has lagged far behind its Eastern counterparts in generating broad cinematic appeal in the North American market.

References

Schaefer, D.J & Karan, K 2010, ‘Hybridity and Bollywoodization of popular Indian cinema in global film flows’, Global Media and Communication, vol. 6, no. 3, pp 309-316.

media capitals ?

In this week’s lecture , it is all about media capitals.  What is a media capital ? Media capitals are places where things come together and, consequently, where the generation and circulation of new mass culture forms become possible. ( Curtin,2003)

When Media capital is mentioned, the place that i first pop out in my mind would be  United State of America . Why is it so ? It is because movies and TV shows that i used to watch when  were young and also now is mainly from US. Due to the influence of the American series like gossip girls, friends, one tree hill and etc , blockbusters movie like Spider man, superman, iron man and the others that you can think of that make it internationally well known.  But well , as i learned in this week’s lecture, seems like this thinking of mine is wrong. Things have changed due to the rising of other countries. Traditionally, television studies have been resolutely national focusing on a medium contained within the regulatory, political, and economic environment of the national-state. I can see that for now countries like Hong kong, Korea and India are slowly catching up as how much they influenced people globally through canto-pop, k-pop and also the Bollywood movies.

The competition to become the acknowledged media capital of North America begins with the early history of radio during the 1920s. Both Chicago and Hollywood undergo high competition as cities with a substantial pool of creative talent in related art forms could develop music, variety, drama and public affairs programs of comparatively high quality which makes them became important centers of program production.

The Hong Kong dominant broadcaster, TVB is seen to be making to the internationals . This is shown by how Hong Kong television is consumed and shown in Taipei, Beijing, Amsterdam, Vancouver, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. Hong Kong is one of the competing media capitals that is rising now and as a consequence its status as nexus for economic and cultural flows between Chinese societies throughout the 20th century. Besides, the country also benefits from a relative lack of censorship and form open trade policies, both of  which encourage transnational alliances of talent and resources. Which explains how Hong Kong rise as a media capital.

Despite the rising of the Hong Kong as one media capital, places like Hollywood and Bollywood will still remain as one of the important capitals as they were but they might be a rise of other media capital as they follow the footstep of Hong kong.

Thanks for reading !! 🙂

Reference

Curtin, M 2003, ‘Media Capital: Towards the Study of Spatial Flows’, International Journal of Cultural Studies, vol.6, no.2, pp202-228, accessed 28/8/2013,http://ics.sagepub.com/content/6/2/202.

Hippie Hop

What’s on your mind when you see the word hip hop ?

People often think of the Blacks when it comes to hip hop.  Hip Hop used to be localize in the U.S but it seems that now it is being globalized worldwide . We have Hip Hop artist all over the globe. It gains exposure through the media and  there are a lot of movies that show what hip hop actually is.My favorite would be all the step up series.

image taken from http://www.stoptime.lv

As for me , I always link hip hop to break dancing, It is just the first ting that came to my mind. it is because of the influence of TV shows that i used to watch back when i was a kid, where i see people wearing baggy clothing and doing all kinds of break dancing stunts.  But I’ve just learned that hip hop actually includes this five elements which is Mc-ing, Dj-ing,Graffiti,Breaking and also Beat boxing.

From my lecture slides, it is said that hip hop is originated from Samoa. It all started because the blacks in U.S were always being stereotype as causing problems to the community. Hence, they take this move to prove everyone wrong. Soon, being featured on TV shows which makes hip hop what it is today. It is widely popularized through the media and become part of the mainstream culture i would say . 

So what do you think about Hip Hop ?

Thank you for reading 🙂

Internationalizing education. Out of expectation.

What is Internationalizing education ? Does it gives advantages or Disadvantages to everyone ?  Well, let me give you a bigger idea what is this all about. Internalization is commonly used when it comes to higher education. It is often define as a relation that universities shares internationally. internationalizing education is not all about a student’s academic life but it also includes the social side.

International education is seen to be a chance for a student to be independent but there is definitely cultural competence that he is going to face. To be in a foreign ground alone, it is not easy for a person to adapt just like that. The scenario that i would like to use is international students studying in Australia. The most common problem that the international students faced is the language barrier. English is known as an international language where people shared and understand, but in Australia, international student faced this problem not because of the bad English proficiency they have. some of them grew up using the language but it is known that Australian have this strong accent and slang where it is hard for international students to understand it.

Other than this, having a different culture also contribute to problems faced by the students. Based on one of the readings that i refer to, it is stated that students are having a problem because of the pub and club culture of the Australians. One of the students explained that there are two groups of International students, those who cannot go to pubs and drink because they cannot afford to and those who cannot drink alcohol for cultural and religious reasons. This is one of the main point due to the low chances of them socializing and bonding with the local students there as they can’t join their activities.

Besides, a research on international education also shown that international students actually would like to have a closer interaction with the local students but it seems that they are not interested. Australians  are often described to be to parochial but i would partly disagree as this could often be applied to almost everyone sadly to say. In a reverse situation, the local student here in Malaysia would’ve been that way too and it is definitely something that need to be changed. Think of this and you would’ve agree to at some point of time we acted that way towards international individuals too.

As what outsiders would see that studying abroad is a very good opportunity but we have also left out that the problems that we are going to encounter. what do you think ? is internationalizing education bringing more advantages or disadvantages? Think of the bigger picture.

Thank you for reading 🙂

References

Kell, P and Vogl, G (2007) ‘International students: negotiating life and study in Australia through Australian Englishes,’ Everyday Multiculturalism Conference Proceedings, Macquarie University, 28-29 September 2006.

Marginson, S (2012) ‘International education as self-formation: Morphing a profit-making business into an intercultural experience’ Lecture delivered at the University of Wollongong, 21 February 2012.

Writer’s introduction

Greetings to my readers.

My name is Michelle and I’m currently doing my Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies, majoring in Marketing and Advertising in Inti College Subang Jaya collaborating with University of Wollongong, Australia. . The last time i wrote a blog is probably during my high school . This time it is for a difference purpose , which is for one of my college’s assignment. I took up the subject BCM111 which basically teach me about the importance of intercultural communication and how we practice this in our life. this subject is compulsory due to me taking up a twinning program with the University of Wollongong.  This subject gives me the overview of how communication across and within cultures in being affected by media practices which is a part of human’s life now. i would be writing about how i feel about each topic that i learned in my class and share my thoughts on the issues. I hope everyone would enjoy reading my blog. Thankyou 🙂

image taken from $showers.com