Coopy - Doo

Family has always been the most important thing to me, not only does my family teach me so many valuable lessons but they bring me so much happiness too. I must say however that I do not have a perfect two parents, two children family; in fact we are really quite dysfunctional and unique. But it is that dysfunction, that diversity that I love so much.

At one and a half years, my nephew Cooper has just started to formulate words we can understand. He's even started calling me Em! Seeing him spot me in a crowd of people, waving his hands franticly and calling out Em as he runs towards me - that is perhaps the greatest feeling.

I know that I have to treasure those kind of memories, before I know it he will be all grown up and too cool to spend time with his Aunty!

Only the Beginning

As I sat through my last ever lecture for Introduction to Journalism and Communication, I realized that this was not just the end of a course or the end of my first semester at University, this was only the beginning, the beginning of my life at University and the beginning of my career in journalism.

Guest speaker Steve Molk gave an engaging and inspiring performance, as an IT professional who only recently ventured into the world of Journalism, after what he describes as a mid-life crisis, Molk managed to put my mind at ease. He enlightened me to the fact that just because I don't know exactly where I want to be in the future or whether or not journalism is even right for me, it doesn't mean that I am a failure! Phew.

He spoke in detail about new media, the power of twitter and the new age source of sharing news and information, that is blogging. I thought this was quite fitting and really did stress the point that whether we like it or not, journalism is well and truly becoming an online and technological medium.

I must admit, that at the end of a long semester, I was feeling quite deflated and unsure of where I was heading with this degree, but Steve Molk has inspired me to continue pursuing journalism and has reassured me that it is okay to not know exactly where this will take me. I guess I need to stop trying to control it, but simply sit back and enjoy the journey. 

 

Investigative Journalism

We live in a world that is often superficial and corrupt; however it is the fundamental part of journalism, Investigative Journalism, which is the fighting force against this. Investigative Journalism is considered a much more honorable area of the media, in which the true meaning of what it is to be a journalist is evident.

While the overarching point to remember is trust, other key aspects of INvestigative Journalism are:

INtelligent          INside         INformed         INtuitive            INvest

Delving further into the concept of Investigative Journalism these conclusions can be made:

Investigative Journalism is… Critical and Thorough Journalism

·         Critical meaning journalist is an active participant (“Active Intervention” is the key idea).

·         Thorough meaning the Journalist makes a substantial effort (time spent, sources consulted and a thorough approach).

Investigative Journalists are… Custodians of Conscience

·         The investigation takes society’s morals and norms and holds breaches up to public scrutiny; ‘civic vice’ is exposed for society to respond (exposure).

Investigative Journalism aims to… Provide a voice for those without one and to hold the   powerful to account

·         Social Justice – power to the powerless, voice to the voiceless (public interest focused).

Investigative Journalism is the… Fourth Estate / Fourth Branch of Government / Watchdog

·         Journalists represent the interests of those without power to balance the power of government.

·         Journalists ensure free flows of information necessary for the functioning of democracy by interrogating the judiciary, executive and legislature.

·         Journalists make public personalities and institutions whose functions impact social and political life accountable.

The world of Investigative Journalism is exciting and rewarding however that reward does not come without a lot of hard work and self-sacrifice. But without such journalists, what kind of place would the world be?

I’d like to finish with these words from Lord Northcliffe…   

“(Investigative Journalism is) what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is just advertising”.

Naming and Shaming Whirlwind of Nothing.

The recent Nick D’Arcy scandal to flood our news is a naming and shaming whirlwind of nothing.  Are he and Kenrick Monk’s actions of taking a photo in which they are both holding guns (taken at a recent Olympic swim team function in the US) and then posting it to a personal facebook page, really worthy of such a reaction? I really don’t think so. I also struggle to see how such a photo could be labeled as offensive; they weren’t campaigning for the right to bear arms in Australia, what I see are two men displaying the typical tendencies of a young male tourist. Although we claim to be a laidback, accepting country, it seems we are ready to condemn others the moment they make a mistake.   

Yes the photo displays a significant lack of maturity and yes I do realize that both swimmers should have known better, as Olympic athletes and public figures. However I really do believe there has been a huge over reaction. If Nick D’Arcy had not been in the photo, if it was just Kenrick Monk, would the photo have even been made public? Would he have been banned from staying in London after his race? I think not.

Journalists, and much of the Australian public were ready and waiting to pounce on any mistake Nick D’Arcy made, Monk was simply collateral damage.