All Eyes in One Direction

I must admit that I have never been one to fall in love with bands or celebrities. The only concert I have ever attended was performed by Beyonce back in 2008. I swore, at that moment, that I would never line up again for hours to buy tickets, only to spend a whole concert standing just to get a two inch high glimpse of someone. 

So readers, please forgive me for not quite understanding the hysteria surrounding the latest boy band One Direction. Over the last week, television screens have been bombarded with images of screaming girls all pining to become the next Mrs Zayn Malik or Mrs Liam Payne. And yes, I did have to look those names up!

Sure they are cute, have nice hair, lots of money and can pump out a tune but are they really worth all thy hype? To me, the kind of behaviour their fans, albeit mainly girls, engage in is downright bizarre and fruitless. If I see one more teenage girl cry on TV, I think I might scream.  

Maybe I'm just getting too old! Mind you, I have embarrassingly found myself belting out their single What Makes You Beautiful more than once... But let’s keep that secret on the down-low.

Cue YouTube video... Click here

WEEK 5 – "Sound Lecture"

Did video kill the radio star? Well after this weeks lecture, I think not! If you’re one of the people who believe that the radio is boring or outdated, you probably haven’t done much listening over the past couple of years. Radio has encountered some battles in its war against TV but in recent years it has regained some prestige. The radio offers a variety of stations to suit individual tastes, is constantly changing throughout the day, it’s up to date and the radio is accessible and portable. The radio can enter your bathroom, your car, and you can even listen to it whilst at the gym or walking the dog. How many other media outlets can do this? 

I thought this was a great way to present the week five lecture, not only because it focused on sound journalism but it got us to immerse ourselves in the medium itself. I love the radio and often listen to these two presenters when I’m travelling to and from uni. Thanks must go out to the UQ journalism teaching staff for this week’s lecture. It’s not every day that we get an opportunity to hear about the personal lives and experiences of such prominent radio figures.   

Richard Fidler

I love Conversations with Richard Fidler on 612ABC Brisbane. I’m proud to say that I have actually been on his show for concert promotions and I love getting behind the microphone in a radio studio. During the three times I have been interviewed by Fidler I have found his manner of interviewing quite relaxing and very conversational.   

Apart from having a great ‘radio voice’, Fidler creates a radio show that is both diverse and highly engaging. I found his accidental pathway to radio quite interesting and I find it hard to imagine him in any other stream of media production. I knew that he had been part of a comedy group but I did not know that he had also (accidently) appeared on TV! Maybe there is hope for me...

I thought it was lovely how he feels privileged to be involved with his guests. I think Fidler’s approach when interviewing is humble and caring and I know from experience that he gives the interviewee space and time to think about responses and compose an answer. I thought it was interesting that he even leans back from the microphone at times to demonstrate to his interviewee that he is sincerely interested in what they have to say. I think these pauses also contribute to the relaxed feel of Fidler’s program and give an authentic feel to radio discussion.


Fidler also believes that the radio is more intimate than the television and I tend to agree with him. When you don't have visual stimulation to distract you, I think it is easier to focus. As Fidler says, “It’s like the voice comes from inside your head”. This is how I feel when I'm listening to the radio and I often remember broadcast discussions long after  TV news has left my thoughts.

My favourite quote from his interview was: “Don’t live in an ideological ghetto on the internet. Expose yourselves to different currents of thought.”

Steve Austin

Steven Austin has a completely different on-air manner to Richard Fidler. This has never been particularly obvious to me as Austin airs in the mornings and Fidler’s program is broadcast at lunchtime. He has a much more serious tone and manner of addressing issues. This does not mean that I find his program less enjoyable to listen to, but I find that his style much more issue-driven and lacking slightly in humour.

Austin was clear about the problems of being ‘fake’ on radio both as a presenter and for the people he interviews. As he states, “If you wouldn’t do it in life, don’t think about doing it on radio.” He also emphasised the importance of asking questions that are not too complicated and using prompts that may be as simple as asking “Do you agree?”

Don’t give up! Austin believes that he is not a naturally talented radio personality and that if a person wants a career on radio bad enough, they should persist. I know we have all heard this time and time again, but this wise pearl of wisdom really does hold true to every stream of life. 

Fear not, Australia relatively safe from zombie attacks!!

When it comes to the zombie apocalypse, Australians will find themselves in one of the safest countries on Earth, according to the Map of the Dead.

Creators Doejo have turned Google Maps into a survival guide, showing users the best and worst locations when the world becomes overrun by the brain-munching, foot-dragging undead. The detailed maps show the danger zones in red and also list potential supply and survival locations – including hospitals, gun shops, service stations, military bases and bottleshops.

According to the map, capital cities like Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne should be avoided. I have reason to be extremely concerned as my whole surrounding area is lit up in bright red haze of warning.

If you’re thinking of going to London for the Olympics later this year, I would seriously reconsider. Take a look if you don’t believe me...

LECTURE 4 – “Picture Stories”

A picture paints a thousand words, but with Photoshop it paints a thousand lies! I often look through trashy magazines and tabloids and wonder, "do people actually buy this rubbish?" The amount of concocted photos and misinterpreted images that fills up a 100 page magazine is almost hard to believe. 

The extremity of photo editing never ceases to amaze me and I find it a little concerning the majority of photos that do undergo photo-shop are of women. Dr BR brought a comparison of Beyonce’s extreme photo-shop editing during the lecture. Here is another couple I found of her...

Is it even possible to turn your head this far? Go on, give it a try! 

I bet you've seen this one before...

This brings me to the Dove campaign video that Dr BR played for us (twice!) I had been shown this video in high school. However, I was struck again by its brevity and power to reinforce the idea that the reality that is fed to us through advertising and the media is a often a construction. If you haven’t yet seen this video, take a look. 

The examination of three photos from Jonathon Thurston’s Uncle’s funeral was very interesting. I did choose photograph 2 as the most effective and it was great to see that other’s agreed on its excellent juxtaposition. A late congratulations is in order for Marissa Calligeros for sharing the same name as me and for winning the 2009 QLD News Photo of the Year for her photo below!

I do not fancy myself a particularly good photographer, although I do enjoy taking photos. So what makes a great photo?

• Framing
• Focus
• Angle & Point of View (POV)
• Exposure (or Light)
• Timing (Shutter speed)
• Capturing “The Moment”

I was on a holiday in South Africa last year and my boyfriend and I went on a safari in the Kruger National Park. This has to be one of my favourite photographs taken of an animal whilst we were travelling around. This photo has excellent focus and exposure, the colour contrasts are striking and it obeys the Rule of Thirds (Golden Mean). 

After this lecture, I was inspired to research some original film ('moving pictures') as Dr BR didn't get much of a chance to delve into this area of photography. Perhaps I will focus my Factual Storytelling Exercise around pictures and photography. 

SOPA and PIPA

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) have been making headlines in past months and gaining a lot of negative attention as major websites such as Wikipedia schedule blackouts in protest.

If you haven’t been following this story over the past few months, here are the facts. Media companies are investigating new ways to fight and prevent piracy. We’ve all heard about large torrent and pirate sites forced to shut down. Enter SOPA, in the U.S. House of Representatives, and PIPA in the U.S Senate which aim to fight foreign copyright infringement

As Jared Newman of PCWorld reported, “In one method, the U.S. Department of Justice could seek court orders requiring Internet service providers to block the domain names of infringing sites” (2012).

What I think is most concerning is that these proposed bills will censor what we can see on the Web. For now, this legislation is only proposed in the U.S. but I fear that Australia may follow suit if they are successful. We already complain that we live in a ‘nanny state’ and so imagine the impact of Internet censorship bill, where what we see online is controlled and managed heavily by the government.

Apparently, 41 human rights organisations and 110 prominent law professors in the U.S. have expressed grave concerns about these two bills. How do you feel about Internet censorship in Australia and across the world? Think about what it would mean and how it could impact your online habits. 

For more, click here. 

LECTURE 3 – “What is Text?”

It is always great to have guest lecturers and industry professionals appear and Skye Doherty was no exception. Her manner of lecturing was fast paced and engaging and it was great that she left some time at the end of the lecture to answer questions and promote discussion.

The lecture focused around the question, “what is text?” It’s hard to believe that we are constantly exposed to text each day but we rarely take note of its enormous powers of communication. As Skye pointed out text is:

• fast and flexible
• about complete control
• portable and searchable 
• all over the Internet
• the substance of a story 
• emails, blogs, tweets, Facebook updates and comments
• metadata, excerpts, tags
• etc.

I found the idea of encompassing complete story content in a headline or by-line very interesting as it had never occurred to me how engaging this form of expression could be. Over the course of JOUR1111 I would really like to improve my ability for generating witty headlines as I think this is a valuable tool no matter what course or profession a person wishes to follow. My favourite headline was definitely the extract from The Scottish Sun which read “Super Caley Go Ballistic Celtic Are Atrocious”. As a Mary Poppins fan and a lover of word play, this headline captured my attention and my respect.  

At the conclusion of the lecture, Skye introduced us to the online videogame, “Cutthroat Capitalism” published  in Wired. Although it is essentially a game, “Cutthroat Capitalism” also doubles as an economic analysis of the Somali pirate business model.

The premise of the game is that you’re a pirate commander staked with $50,000 and your job is to guide your pirate crew through raids in and around the Gulf of Aden, attack and capture ships and successfully negotiate a ransom. I played this for over an hour when I arrived home from university and really enjoyed the challenge and negotiation skills involved.

Click here to play "Cutthroat Capitalism: the game"

YouTube Sensation

Well I think this is a bit of an overstatement and as much as I would like, I don't think I'll be appearing on The Ellen Degeneres Show any time soon... But I am pretty excited that one of my YouTube videos is close to reaching 5000 views!!

I uploaded this performance about eight months ago after performing with an orchestra in Western Australia. In case you’re wondering what the little instrument I play is called, it’s a mandolin. The mandolin is a descendent of the lute family. It is tuned the same as the violin (G-D-A-E) but it has doubled strings for projection and is traditionally plucked (or strummed) with a plectrum.

I have been playing this beautiful instrument for ten years now and adore it just as much as the day I first discovered it. Happy listening!

Click here to watch video.

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. - Berthold Auerbach