My blogs 2009

WHAT’S NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN NEWSPAPERS
BY JUAN ANTONIO GINER, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF INNOVATION INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CONSULTING GROUP

This week I decided to monitor the What’s Next webpage. While I looked at all of the blogs, I found this one more to my liking.  I liked the idea of it looking like a newspaper, and I like the links down the side.  The images where small and and there were several columns like recent posts, recent comments, as well as an archive section.

Since begining this subject earlier in the year I have realised that their is a whole new world of blogging out there that I had no access too.  Not because it wasn’t available, but simply because I had no idea how big this industry had become.

For many Americans, blogs seem to be a way of being democratic.  Of being allowed free speech.  But to many in the outside world, America has long been a democratic society.  So its with interest that I read What’s Next, because its not all about America.

While America might have started the worldwide revolution of blogging, it would be interesting to see how many Australian’s have embraced blogging.  I love the world of blogging, when I finish for this semester I plan to blog when I can, I have created my own blog, but I want to be able to monitor other blogs to that are specifically to my interest.

Final Word?  I love blogging, as a multimedia tool, as a way for everyone to be involved in Media, not just professionals, but for students as a way of emerging into media, and as a way to have our specific stories published.

http://www.innovationsinnewspapers.com/

I found the podcast really very interesting because I haven’t decided which medium of media I will go into when I have finished my studies.  Listening to the the guest speakers, its easy to agree with comment by Eric Beecher (Crikey.com) that public trust, scrutiny, analysis and investigative reporting has replaced the current models of news along with quality of content, which was previously funded by classified advertising.

Campbell Reid’s (News Limited) comment that structural revolution has changed the way that news and information is consumed also creates discussion about the relationship between reader and the newspaper.  I also believe that public funding, and public relations, along with corporate sponsorship, influences the type of news and information that we consume.

But as a journalism student, who is interested in investigative journalism, and who likes to read newspapers, and magazines, I have found that I prefer to use the internet these days to read news than to read a newspaper.  I also agree with some of the guest speakers that interest newspapers will start to decline, especially with the cost of printing and for environmental reasons.

But I hope also that this wont impact on the quality of investigative reporting, and that objective comment will keep readers focusing on the important issues, by using the latest technology to tell stories.

With the new technology obviously some costs will be different. In a sense it could be similar to the way photographers work, only the stories that generate money will make money.  The stories that people really wanna read about.  But I also think that news should be archived after a certain time, and that people should pay for it. Otherwise what kind of world are we as new journalists have with regards to earning top dollar if we work for companies that dont have the big bucks to pay us?

The article that we read for week nine by Stephen Quinn was very interesting for me to read because I thought about my own community, and how people here in the remote and far northern regions of Australia, over the 3 states, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, have embraced mobile technology.  For Indigenous people living in these remote communities that have limited television coverage, its interesting to see how many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are now accessing the mobile network.

On a typical day in any city you can walk down the street and find many young people using mobile phones, the youth of today would never have considered a world 20 years ago when mobile phones where basically just that, a portable phone you could take anywhere.

But go into any far nor’thern remote Aboriginal community and you will be surprised at the amount of people in that community have mobile phones.  Even in Central Australia, according to the Ingerrekenhe Antirrkweme Report, ‘Aboriginal people in central Australia with limited access to fixed telecommunication services are turning to mobile phones as a way of accessing basic telecommunications services’. The mobile network can only benefit users, as old age technologies and traditional styles of reporting become more and more outdated.

And with new technology constantly being advanced, even these remote areas are able to access the internet, through Telstra’s Next G network, and fibre optics and satellite, with the latest iphones, and PDA’s and smartphones.  All though most people in the remote regions wouldnt be using their phones for work related prospects, its easy to see how new technology can be made available and will continue to become the future for mobile journalists anywhere in the world.  And its easy to see how the advancement of mobile technologies including the mobile network can only continue to be better.

Sources:

www.youtube.com

Iphone image

Ingerrekenhe Antirrkweme Report

I could totally relate to the week 8 reading ‘Straits Times online, multimedia and print’ by Stephen Quinn.  A similar story came my way via my Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Grapevine on Facebook.

The ATSI Grapevine was my creation as a group to get Australian Indigenous people networking,using new technology.  The group has nearly 3000 members in since it was born last year during the first week of NAIDOC.

The group is not a traditional or online newspaper like STOMP, but a network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who are interested in news and community events that are happening in Australia, that is specifically of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander content.

One of the groups members saw how Aboriginal and Islander people were connecting and asked me to put out a call for members to donate unwanted riding boots and gear to young Indigenous children on Palm Island in Queensland, who were riding bareback, with no shoes, or saddle, and who were competing in an upcoming local rodeo.  After a few weeks, I got an email from one of the teachers at the local school, James Ward, who told me he was overwhelmed by the support from the ATSI Grapevine members.

I was able to do a telephone interview with Mr Ward, and he also sent me photographs and I was able to put together the story, using Microsoft Photostory 3 and podcast for my personal blog also called the ATSI Grapevine.  See video below.

Sources:

http://www.stomp.com.sg/index.html

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Grapevine

www.youtube.com

PhotoStory

According to week 7 reading “More Tools for Reporting”, ‘reporters will embrace new technology if it is relevant and are easy to use’.  But changing media demographics, and changing societies, and relevance of material, will all impact on newsgathering, so which tools are relevant for journalists in todays multi-media landscape?

Polls conducted by Zogby International suggests the majority of Americans use the internet as a major source of news, so traditional styles of reporting news stories are becoming outdated.  No longer are readers relying on TV, Newspaper and Radio, for their news.

So what does this mean for today’s journalist?  It means that we have to be aware of how are readers are consuming news, the style of reporting they prefer, and what kind of news is relevant to different demographics.

So what are these tools?  What do we as upcoming journalists have to be aware of?  We have to be aware of wikis, RSS feeds, Google Tools, online video and multimedia, Skype, Twitter and microblogging, social networking sites like Facebook, and various other online tools that can help us to search for stories and contacts.

I find these new tools exciting and exhausting at the same time.  I guess it all depends on what kind of news we as future journalists intend to cover? Who we work for? And the reporting and style of news we feel will take us into the future!

Sources

relevance photo

www.youtube.com

www.demographicsonline.com.au/

http://www.zogby.com/

Indigenous mothers in communities in Far North Queensland, are set to benefit from a new family education program designed to assist in the first  9 months of pregnancy and until the baby is 2 years old. The Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program (ANFPP) which was developed by Professor David Olds in America, was launched in Cairns in August.

Baby in Coolamon painting by Cheryl Creed

The launch of the program coincided with the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s visit to Cairns as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum.  His wife, Therese Rein visited Wu Chopperen with female delegates from the Forum as well as UNICEF representatives to talk with Wu Chopperen staff about the program.  Click here to read my blog on the ATSI Grapevine.

Leanne Knowles, Acting CEO at Wu Chopperen Health Service, said the Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program is the federal governments first step in ‘closing the gap‘ in life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.

The ANFPP Program Manager, Claire Runciman said the program was adapted from the Nurse Family Partnership program developed by Professor Olds, and has been designed specifically for Indigenous women, and will be delivered by nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers trained to assist first time pregnant mothers.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon, who spoke at the official launch at Wu Chopperen said the government has set aside $2million dollars for the program which she says will improve life expectancy in Aboriginal communities.

Click here to see my webpage

The article ‘New tools for reporting’ talks about RSS feeds, blogs and their authenticity, niche publishing,  Moblogs, Podcasting,  Video blogs, twitter, social bookmarking, and assessing information quality.

The article also discussed caution, verifying authenticity, and ownership, as well as being aware of marketing strategies.  It seems some people will use publicity for publicity sake, hence the articles reference to Jesse Macbeth, and Australian Terry Lane who fell for Macbeth’s hoax. Macbeth, according to Wikipedia, falsely claimed to be an Army Ranger and veteren of the Iraq War, lied in alternative media interviews that he and his unit routinely committed war crimes. Lane’s credibility was questioned after a column published on 30 July, 2006 in The Sunday Age wherein Lane fell for the Jesse Macbeth hoax. Lane admitted to his mistake in a later article.

Electronic Newsgathering or ENG, and the power of blogging by moblogs, vblogs, and podcasting gives readers access to particular content, and allows readers to access news via RSS feeds.

The more I read about blogging, the more interested I am.  And I realise how important this type of information sharing and newsgathering is for people who really want to know what is happening around the world.

Convenience seems to be a major part of everyone’s lives these days, and searching for information the old way by using telephone books, and watching tv, or listening to radio news bulletins or reading a newspaper will soon be and outdated way of staying in touch.

Click here to listen to my podcast

I found the OhmyNews article by Stephen Quinn to be really exciting.  I had no idea that Korea was so technologically advanced.  It reminded me of Paul Kelly‘s song, ‘From Little Things, Big Things Grow‘, especially when I compare it with Australia’s Indigenous media. Its amazing how something so small can become something really big.

In today’s advanced world of technology, the Aboriginal community now have their own media organisations, which delivers Indigenous content, and these organisations are also online and use new digital technology, but most of them are training organisations and/or media agencies.

I will talk briefly on the 3 major Indigenous media organisations that the Australian Indigenous community have come to rely on for Indigenous news, CAAMA Radio, the Koori Mail newspaper, and IMPARJA television.

The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is almost 30 years old.  In 2005 they celebrated 25 years in the media industry.  CAAMA is the largest Indigenous media organisation in Australia with its own radio station that delivers some programs in traditional language, a record label, and film and TV production studios.  CAAMA radio is online and have daily podcasts which include specifically Indigenous content.

The Koori Mail is a fortnightly broadsheet newspaper that is distributed Australia wide, and covers all Indigenous issues, and news from the general, and community based stories through to politics.   The newspaper is 100% Aboriginal owned have more than 90,000 readers. The Koori Mail is also available online.

Imparja TV, who delivers information and communication services while promoting indigenous culture and values, broadcasts satellite transmissions throughout regional SA, western QLD and NSW, and all of NT except Darwin, they also broadcast to the central highlands in VIC and parts of TAS.

Aboriginal people have come a long way since the bullroarer an ancient message stick used to create a whirring sound that was able to be heard long distances.  They have been able to maintain a link to traditional ways while advancing new technology.

Sources:

Margaret McGee’s Media Guide (Deakin Library Online)

CAAMA Radio

Koori Mail

Imparja TV

Youtube

Wikipedia

www.giftlog.com

The concept of free business is a major theme in this paper by Chris Anderson, and is indicative of the power of the internet to provide freebies to consumers by giving away products in conjunction with another product.  So people have an opportunity to try something without buying.

Inventor Gillette, probably had no idea when he first started out that his disposable razors would become such a popular commodity for consumers.  When he first started out he tried every avenue he could think of to find a way for people to try his product.

Eventually after many years of giving away a free product, the demand for Gillette’s disposable blade became high, and as Anderson says in his article, ‘this business model is now the foundation of entire industries’, to give away this or that.

And so it is with online news.  Before when you had to pay for the newspaper, or sit down and watch the nightly news, or listen to a radio program that was scheduled for a specific time, now you can access online news for free, but there is always that little catch on the side, advertising.  Its free for us to look at the advertising but there is always a catch to buy something.  Eventually we all will have to pay for news, but for the moment its free.

So for the moment online news is free but according to media magnate Rupert Murdoch, ‘ the digital revolution has not made content free‘, eventually consumers will be asked to pay for the news.  Will consumers accept this?  Who knows, but while its free we are taking full advantage.

Sources:

www.school-for-champions.com/biographies/gillette.htm

www.onlinenewspapers.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX-xMEyhy7M

www.kokasexton.com

www.answers.com

www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free

www.mediaman.com.au/profiles/murdoch.html

www.theage.com.au/national/news-corp-flags-return-to-profit-20090806-eahh.html