These Are My Views and Do Not Represent The Views Of My Employer

OJ1 #10

Journalists, big brother is watching you!(Or maybe just your boss.) Everyone whose tweeted a twitter message or perused a twitter bio is familiar with the phrase, “These are my views and do not represent the views of my employer.” It’s a little but very important line on the social networking profiles of those who use twitter to network and advertise their work.

Obviously the idea is that those viewing the professional’s tweets will never be able to hold their work place accountable for them. And fair enough, one person cannot and should not personally represent their company based on their tweets. However, no matter how many disclaimers are added to a page, the world is watching.

Journalists posting online need to think before they tweet. Columnist Catherine Deveny found herself in hot water after tweeting messages many thought inappropriate at the 2010 Logies. “I do so hope Bindi Irwin gets laid” she said of the then 11 year old. She also targeted comedian Rove, saying, “"Rove and Tasma look so cute ... hope she doesn't die, too," in a reference to his first wife dying of cancer. The tweets caused public outrage, with many disgusted by Deveny’s words. The journalist defended herself on the basis of being a comedian, whose messages where taken out of context but her employer, Melbourne newspaper, The Ager, deemed her tweets inappropriate and fired her.

While it may be a simple matter of thinking before you tweet, journalists can be caught out in other ways online. It’s widely accepted that you should not speak badly of your employer or colleagues online, or you risk being sacked. Most workplaces have a social media policy but sometimes a hot headed worker, with a keyboard at his fingertips, is in no state to follow rules.

Foreign Correspondent and freelance journalist, Rob Crilly, last week took to twitter, angry over edits made to his work.

Crilly than tweeted that he will probably be sacked and later deleted all tweets. But it was too late, his comments had reached over 2million viewers and details of his rant made their way into major media reports all over the globe.

Journalists need to be constantly vigilant about the information they tweet. Posts can be deleted but rarely before a screenshot can be taken.

The (Revolutionary) Citizen Journalist

OJ1 #9

*Note this blog focuses exclusively on wartime and revolutionary citizen journalists. The author recognizes many citizen journalists are not in similar situations and there are many citizen journalists from all walks of life.

They come in the form of the disenfranchised. Many have suffered incredible forms of abuse, others have lost loved ones to ruthless military regimes and war. Some emerge from under the helm of aggressive dictators, silenced if their view isn’t government approved. They fight to revolutionize their often troubled nations and contribute to massive changes within government systems. Their lust for freedom can be felt within the words they type and the message they send. They speak for those with no voice and break through fire walls.

These progressive individuals aren’t esteemed journalists, or highly trained reporters. They are everyday people, stuck in restricted sections of their own country. They take on the responsibility of informing the entire world of their people’s struggles and spread what they believe to be the truth. When international journalists are banned from entering or not allowed to cover certain stories and local media are hushed or under government control, it is the citizen journalists who defy authority and let the world in.

After a contentious presidential re-election in 2009, the international public called on social networking site Twitter to cancel scheduled maintenance, to ensure its Iranian users could use the tool to spread news of their opinions, emotions and movements during what many considered a revolutionary period. Although the government censored social media sites, such as twitter, users found ways past and triumphed over authorities. Twitter allowed many suppressed Iranians to contact and communicate like minded citizens and hash tags made it easy for all concerned to understand what major events were happening. It allowed ordinary Iranians the opportunity to share their struggle with the world.

Syrians used the internet in much a similar way. What started as angry protests over the treatment of school aged anti-government protesters, led to a massive revolution and fighting. Many have died standing up for peace and the use of video recording devices has meant the outside world have seen the abuse the Syrian government denies as happening. The Syrian freedom fighters determination to use technology is based around their wish for the revolution to be televised and throughout the bloody conflict videos and messages have been constantly posted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nr56UB6zEI  (Al-Jazeera news report using footage and story filmed by citizen journalists)

While twitter and individual bloggers can’t bring down governments alone, joining hands over the globe through awareness via social media CAN. When career journalists are locked out and banned from entering, it is the citizen journalists punching their way out from behind the walls. And they sure do pack a punch.

Gen Y Apprentices Wonder Y They’re Being Criticised

Friday, October 7, 2011.
By Stephanie Kay.

Recent criticism of gen y apprentices has angered Australian tradies, who say there's no problem with their attitude.


The 'Apprenticeships For The 21st Century' final Federal Government report (www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/.../Apprenticeshipsforthe21stCenturyExpertPanel.pdf ), has found only 48 per cent of apprentices completed their apprenticeship, a statistic which has led some analysis' to criticise young Australians, despite the report warning non‐completion statistics can be misleading.



Comments in the media angered youg tradies.

















In a Sunday Telegraph report (http://www.news.com.au/business/worklife/teenagers-pulling-plug-on-trades/story-e6frfm9r-1226155557037 ), KPMG demographer Bernard Salt said the high drop-out rates are a result of Generation Y chasing high starting salaries.


“The rewards of an apprenticeship are medium- to long-term and that doesn't fit with the thinking of Generation Y, which has a reputation for seeking immediate gratification, particularly in terms of remuneration," he said.


"The pay rates need to be looked at and the benefits, such as no HECS debt, need to be better promoted."


Fourth year hairdressing apprentice, Jeri-Lee Ludwig said most first years need to live at home to afford to begin their education and says she wouldn't have survived her first year of training without her families support.


"It wasn't good, you work so hard for so little money, it was terrible."


Ms Ludwig, now in the final stage of her apprenticeship, said she earned more per hour while working part time in retail during high school .


She said although her workplace provided in salon training and at work TAFE assessment, she still payed all of her own educational fees which amounts to thousands of dollars.


"I was lucky because my mum said she'd pay for any of that stuff,” She said.


“Which was lucky because honestly, if I had to pay for it, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it, with only being paid six dollars an hour."


The 20-year-old Brisbane woman believes a pay later option should be available to apprentices to cover mandatory training costs.


"I know we get tool bonuses, you may get eight-hundred dollars (from the government) but that's solely to buy (expensive) tools, you can't really use that money to pay for other things."


She said the comments made by Mr Salt were stupid and many apprentices work hard to qualify.


"I think it's more the fact you get paid next to nothing, I don't think it has anything to do with our generation."

Queensland apprentices Trent Langmaid and Jeri-Lee Ludwig.

Garth Thefs, small business owner and qualified plumber of more than 30 years says he employed a 20-year-old apprentice when he struggled to find a qualified plumber to join his team.


He said he doesn't think apprenticeships have changed much from when he joined the workforce but believes more in school education needs to be available for up and coming tradespeople.


“One of the issues that I always think about, is that there’s no sort of aptitude test or something done in schools when kids are going through, for those that lean towards doing a trade,” he said.


“A lot of kids aren’t guided towards where they’d be better suited to.


“They think, oh yeah that’s a good idea ,let’s be a one of these, without actually looking into what it entails.”


The seasoned tradie says throughout his career, he has never experienced any problems with generation Y’s attitude.


"The guys I’ve trained and the other apprentices I know around my area working for other employers, all of them have been excellent because they want to be tradesman.


“They’ve actually gone and got their apprenticeships because that’s what they’ve wanted to do.”

Gen Y’er and adult apprentice, Trent Langmaid is due to finish his electrical apprenticeship in the upcoming months and he too doesn’t think dropout rates are a result of young people’s bad outlook.

“I knew when I started my apprenticeship (what I was getting into), he says

“I knew if you want to get somewhere in life you need something behind you, you need something concrete, that guarantees you a certain pay rate or guarantees you continuous work.

“I knew that I needed something like that to give myself a good start.”

Mr Langmaid says apprentices who left before completion usually do so because they find the educational side too difficult or aren’t suited to the industry, not because of money.

The Brisbane man chose to move back home when he started his apprenticeship to better cope financially and says most tradie’s know what to expect when starting out.

“Most people don’t do an apprenticeship because they think they’re going to get good money to start off with.

“Most people that start an apprenticeship know that they’re not going to get good money but they know once you get through your time that’s when you get the benefits.”

The Private Lives of Public People

OJ1#8

Many of the world’s most famous blog sites are celebrity centred. They are entertainment news, creating stories out of the private lives of public people. Some news junkies argue entertainment doesn’t constitute as ‘real’ news. It’s often dismissed as fluff or spoof yet it makes up a large proportion of the online news cycle.

In Media and Journalism: New Theory and Practice, Jason Bainbridge writes why celebrities are important. Bainbridge says that while they, “may seem incredibly superficial and undeserving of much attention they are culturally significant because: They offer their audiences a wide variety of identities and different ways of being… the celebrity shows an ability to function as a ‘counterfeit person’- to move between different roles, which reflects a perceived need of people to transform… the celebrity indicates a shift in the media sphere as a whole, from the dissemination of information towards the dissemination of identities…”

Eager punters use online updates to follow every move of their favourite star. They follow their twitter accounts, their Facebook pages and gossip sites. It is clear the want for celebrity information exists in online journalism and journalists have a duty to report for their public. Media outlets report on what the stars say on their own pages and even serious publications, such as the Huffington Post, have an entertainment section(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entertainment/  ).

Gossip sites like http://www.perezhilton.com/ have become famous for making attention seeking comments and lewd statements about stars. The site has a massive following and has risen to rule the online celebrity gossip sites since its 2004 beginning.

Gossip site Perez Hilton, is one of the world’s most popular celebrity news sources.

A happy medium must be kept in online journalism. While celebrity news should never dominate over informing the public of key events and hard news, celebrity reporting will continue to hold a worthy, permanent position on multiple news sites.

Many of the most popular blogs are celebrity focused, follow this like to see a list of popular blogs, as reported by The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/blog s

Online Journalism in Times of Disaster

OJ1#7

Online Journalism is never more important than when it is used to inform people all over the world of disasters. Live streaming allows for concerned citizens to be kept updated on crucial and critical information. Floods, tsunamis, cyclones and fires. Terrorist attacks, protests and killings. When tragedies occur, people turn to the internet for the most up-to-date and immediate information.

In Australia, the January floods were a testing time for Queensland and northern New South Wales, with the area inundated and lives lost. Reporters in the region were suddenly overwhelmed by not only the need to deliver up to date information and important facts, but many experienced the flooding first hand.

Melbourne ABC journalist, Will Ockenden , was flown in to help cover the Queensland floods in rural Queensland and was unexpectedly caught up in the middle of the Toowoomba flash flood disaster. His story here: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/01/11/3110327.htm

The ABC radio building in the Brisbane suburb of Toowong, was surrounded by floodwaters and much of the important flood information for the region was broadcast from their Gold coast studio. ABC online In Milton, Brisbane, was also very affected by flooding, with their main building inundated by water and with some reporters being unable to leave their homes.

Read ABC reporters full account here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/newseditors/2011/01/from-newsroom-to-lounge-room.html


Social media updates by government organisations also play a key role in disaster management in Australia. Journalists refer the public to the Bureau of meteorology for precise local weather information, quote the relevant police media social networking updates and add vital emergency information media releases elements to their stories.

The Price of Free Online Journalism

OJ1#6

Mr and Mrs. Newspaper aren’t happy at the moment. They’re being less read by the community, meaning their advertising space is worth less and they’re competing with the 24hour news cycle, meaning their stories can easily become out-dated. Their loyal readers seem to be a minority, with most switching to online. The newspaper family are trying their hardest to capture online readers. They’re giving promotional access to ipad apps and mobile phones, and posting their stories online on their organisations web page. Most news sites are free to view. So why would anyone pay to read the stories they print when they appear at no cost to the reader online? And not to mention, it is impossible for a printed newspaper to be as up to date as its online counterpart….is that really feasible in a reporting environment where breaking stories and reporting first seem crucial?

No, says global media moguls, who want online readers to start paying to view content. They argue good quality journalism must come at a cost. This seems understandable; the journalist needs to eat so therefore needs to be paid. The organisation they work for need money to pay them. Quality journalism and hard work should be financially rewarded but here’s what no one seems to say. Members of the public don’t care about journalists pay cheques, some do care about quality news but to the masses, news is news. And why would you pay for something you can get for free?

Online Journalism can too financially benefit from advertising, which is how many new media outlets have funded their establishment…but according to Rupert Murdoch, this simply isn’t enough.  He believes good journalism must be paid for and by offering exclusive and competitive content, online news consumers will be happy to pay. In this 2009 story, http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/06/rupert-murdoch-website-charges   it was reported the Murdoch would roll out internet news charges, but two years later, his rollout has been minimal.

The Murdoch owned Wall St Journal, is one of the few online news publications to charge for content.

 

Murdoch speaking about paying for journalism content

For now, let’s enjoy what’s free but appreciate quality work provided by dedicated journalists.

Put Up or Shut Up

OJ1#5

Online in 2011 It's a race against time (and other news organisations) and online journalists are out to win. Who can provide the most accurate and ethically sourced news the fastest? If you can't compete... don't play the game. Who dares to win? With freelancers and emerging publications competing against the giants.

Some news organisations have been criticized for their poor online presence, with channel 7 news Australia currently unable to provide an online platform to watch news broadcasts, already shown on television. This error is a source of frustration for 7 news loyalists who want to watch their favourite news program but due to not being able to settle down in front of the TV at the required time, miss out.

News organisations need to better accommodate the busy , modern consumer if they want to remain viable and competitive. News needs to go online as soon as possible and it’s important for people to enjoy their news program at their own convenience. The ABC IView as an example of good online viewing service. The platform allows viewers to catch up on any program they are interested in and ABC news 24 is streamed live. Live streaming ensures people who don’t have access to a tv can watch the news from their computer or mobile phone, regardless of where they are. People at work or overseas, can finally enjoy TV online and the organisations that provide the best and most continue to dominate in online popularity.