NSW square origin series

In a typically tight and brutal origin battle on Wednesday, New South Wales levelled the series 1 - 1 at Homebush Stadium, Syndey. With 6 years of origin dominance, the Queenslanders were obviously confident going into the game. It was a must win game for the New South Wales Blues and they came out firing in a highly physical defensive showing. 

Origin games, no matter where they are, are always tight on the scoreboard and this was no different. After dominating the majority of the first half New South Wales were leading 4 - 0 until a lucky break saw the Maroons run away and score under the posts to take a 6 - 4 lead at half time.

But the Blues who needed to win the game to stay alive in the series came out firing again in the second half scored two quick tries to lead 16 - 6. The Blues were also helped by Cooper Cronk's sin bining scoring one of their second half tries during his 10 minute rest. 

This current Queensland team, however, are true champions and they have a lot of belief in one another. They slowly grinded their way back into the contest and scored once again to make it 12 - 16. This was the final score but the Blues had a nervous wait trying to hold out a fast finishing Queensland team.

The decider will go to Brisbane later this month, however, New South Wales will have to overcome a fired up Queensland team in front of their adoring home crowd, expected to reach 50000. 

Hoo Roo

Stewy

Wallabies bounce back to defeat Wales

After suffering a humiliating 6 - 9 loss to the 11th ranked Scotland in some of the worst ever conditions that rugby has been played, the Wallabies bounced back last weekend with a win over the 6 nations champions, Wales. The best of three game series between two of the most entertaining rugby teams in the world kicked off at Suncorp Stadium in Queensland on the weekend. 




A fast first half saw the Welsh struggle to keep up with the Wallabies running style of rugby and saw them slip to a 10 - 3 deficit after a try to flanker Scott Higginbotham put the Wallabies ahead at half time. 




Within 1 minute of the second half commencing Will Genia made a scintillating break through some weak Welsh defence and wrong footed the fullback to score a typically Genia-like individual try. A home crowd favourite, Genia put the crowd into raptures. Genia continued his master class of attacking running rugby by continuing to bamboozle the Welsh defence. 




However, the Welsh are not European champions for nothing and they showed their class by keeping in touch with the Wallabies through the boot of Halfpenny who brought them within 8. The Welsh continued to apply pressure as Cuthbert made a break and sprinted 40m to score the first try for the visitors. The conversion was succesful and Welsh were within 1 point with 20 minutes to play.




The Wallabies didn't panic, though, as minutes later Genia put McCabe through massive whole to score under the posts. The final score saw the Wallabies victors 27 - 19, outscoring the Welsh 3 tries to 1, with Will Genia earning a deserved man of the match award. 




Game 2 will be played down in Melbourne and for the Welsh to win it and to keep the series alive, they will have to cut down Genia's running play and put pressure on the breakdown.


Hoo Roo

Stewy

Miami Heat progress to the NBA finals!

In one of the most exciting Eastern Conference Finals series ever played, the Miami Heat have triumphed over the Boston Celtics to move into the NBA Finals. After taking a commanding 2 games to 0 lead over the Celtics earlier in the series, the Boston team showed great character and resolve to bounce back and win not 1, not 2 but 3 games straight. After falling short in the Finals last year, and with a heap of criticism being placed upon the Miami's 'Big Three' they knew they would have to win Game 6 in Boston as well as Game 7. Otherwise they would go home to face both intense scrutiny and criticism as well as potential trading.




Eric Spoelstra before Game 6 stated that champions were made in these sorts of high intensity games and a champion emerged! Lebron James manufactured an amazing performance scoring a game high 45 points, almost half of the Miami score alone. James's dominance from inside the paint as well as his jump shooters were no match for the weary Celtics who were out muscled, out enthused and out played.




Game 7 went to Miami and although close for the first 3 quarters of the game, Miami pushed away in the 4th, with their 'Big Three' scoring big, to take the game, Series (4 - 3) and the Eastern Conference Championship.




The Miami Heat will now face the Oklahoma City Thunder in what will be a tantalizing battle between Durant, Westbrook and Hardin of OKC vs. James, Wade and Bosh of Miami. Can Lebron James and the Miami Heat secure an NBA Championship, or will Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder triumph. The march to the NBA championship is on




Stay tuned for full coverage of the NBA finals!


Hoo Roo 
Stewy

Gerard Baden Clay charged with Allison's murder

Wednesday the 14 of June 2012, the Queensland Police have charged Gerard Baden Clay for his wife's murder and the unlawful interference of a corpse (Refer to my blog regarding Allison Baden Clay's death earlier on my page for the back story). This was a massive breakthrough which has been the second biggest missing persons case in Australia since Daniel Morcombe's disappearance.  Detective Superintendent Brian Wilkins and the top cop at Indooroopilly Police Station Detective Superintendent Mark Ainsworth took Gerard into custody and interviewed him for several hours before charging him with the crime. 



Queensland Police have yet to comment on the crucial piece of evidence that led them link Mr Baden Clay to the murder, however, that news will be revealed after the court case. 


Gerard Baden Clay issued a statement through his lawyer saying he would "defend the charge vigorously" as he was taken in handcuffs into a police car and driven to the Brisbane watch house. He is expected to face court in the following days and will have a nervous wait ahead to see what the Queensland court of law determines.


The couples 3 young children were taken into police care and the grandparents of Allison are expected to claim custody for them in the following days. The family have asked for privacy but thanked Queensland Police, Detectives, SES members and the media's involvement in the case.


Stay tuned for more information on the case!


Hoo Roo
Stewy 

Lecture 11 - Investigative Journalism

In this weeks lecture, the final formal lecture for JOUR1111 Semester 1 2012, Dr Redman introduced us to the finer concepts of Investigative Journalism. Throughout the lecture we covered what Investigative Journalism is all about, the deeper meaning and purpose behind it, historical investigations into the beginnings of Investigative Journalism, what to investigate, threats to Investigative Journalism and what changes will occur to Investigative Journalism in the future. These were the notes that I took from the lecture...

“An investigative journalist is…to discover the truth and to identify lapses from it in whatever media may be available” (Hugo de Burgh)

The ‘Ins’ of Investigative Journalism

•         Investigative
•         Intelligent
•         Informed
•         Intuitive
•         Inside
•         Invest
• 
  

     Deeper purpose

•         Critical and thorough journalism

Ø  Critical = the journalist is an active participant

Ø  Active Intervention

Ø  Thorough = Journalist makes a substantial effort

•         Custodians of conscience

Ø  Exposure

•         To provide a voice for those without one and hold the powerful to account

Ø  Social Justice – Power to the powerless, voice to the voiceless

Ø  Public Interest

•         Fourth estate/fourth branch of Government/ Watchdog

Ø  Journalists represent interests of those without power, enure the flow of necessary information for democracy, make accountable public personalities and institutions

•         'Skeptical not Cynical!'

     Cutting through the Agenda

•         ‘Journalists’ uncritical dependence on their sources, orchestrated government leaks…media units and press secretaries… can lead to [the media] becoming a mouthpiece for vested interests (Fitzgerald Report)

  

      Historical Investigations

1.         Edward Hall Smith in the Sydney Monitor
2.         The Maiden tribute of modern Babylon campaign – W.T. Stead and the Salvos
3.         Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein – 1972-74 Watergate scandal
4.         Masters, Dickie & Hoyt on the ‘The Moonlight State’
5.         Julian Assange and the ‘WikiLEAKS’

      What to investigate?

•         Always check your facts
•         Assume NOTHING!
•         Expect whistleblowers to be and go crazy

Types of Investigation Interaction

•          Interviews
•         Observations
•         Analysing documents
•         Briefings
•         Leaks
•         Trespass
•         Theft

*Triangulation – does everything line up?

Threats to Investigative Journalism

•         Online News – Less money = less journalists +less time = less investigate journalism

Journalism vs PR

•         PR: Propaganda by truth the selective use of ‘facts’ to present a persuasive case to the public
•         Journalism: Verifying the ‘facts’ in the public interest
•         Growth in PR = Shrinkage in Journalism

      Future of Investigative Journalism

•         Social Media
•         Youtube
•         Video Journalism

     

     Hoo Roo

     Stewy

Cooper signs 3 year deal with Reds

Whether you love him or hate him, Quade Cooper this week confirmed a 3 year deal with the Queensland Reds, cementing the 24 year old superstars' future in rugby union. With many question marks surrounding the playmakers future, Cooper knocked back offers from competing Super Rugby franchises and Rugby League to stay with the defending Super Rugby Champions. With much time spent on the side lines this year after tearing his ACL, Cooper had a lot of time to deliberate his future.  Cooper commented that the driving force behind his decision to stay was the exciting future that the Reds had ahead of them. He stated that "I'm enjoying the way the Reds are going as an organisation and as a team", but his decision to re-sign, however, was  undoubtedly effected by many of his team mates.

The majority of the the Reds players, after completing a successful 2011 Super Rugby campaign had their performances rewarded with selection in the national team. Fitting and keeping these national players under the Reds salary cap was always going to be difficult. So far Scott Higginbotham has been the only casualty, leaving for the Melbourne Rebels next year but there could be more to come.






However, many of the current players have agreed to re-sign with the Reds, believing their bright future together will bring more success on the Super Rugby stage. Cooper refused to comment on whether Will Genia's decision to re-sign affected his choice, but it certainly would have had a major impact considering the dynamic duo not only headline the Queensland team but also the National team as well.


For both Queensland and Australian Rugby supporters, Quade Cooper's decision to stay with Genia and develop their partnership as two of the most attacking players in world rugby will bring much success to both parties in the future. It is a positive move that will continue to see the tantalizing duo terrorize opposition teams well into the future.




Hoo Roo
Stewy

Lecture 10 - Agenda Setting

In this weeks lecture, Dr Redman introduced us to the topic of Agenda Setting, how the media 'constructs reality'. We addressed what agenda setting is, Where it came from through a brief history of Agenda Setting, What Agenda Setting does and why it does it, The main players in the Agenda Setting family, Strengths and weaknesses of the theory, Agenda Setting and the effects on the 24 hour news cycle and finally Agenda Setting examples. These were the notes that I took from this weeks lecture...

Agenda Setting: A theory, but like all good, solid theories is all a bit obvious really! (Redman 2012). Put simply, the more coverage an issue receives, the more important it is to people.

Pre Amble – 4 agendas (Interrelated)

•          Public agenda – the set of topics that members of the public perceive as important
•          Policy agenda – issues that decision makers think are salient
•          Corporate agenda – issues that big business and corporations consider important
•          Media agenda – issues discussed in the media

2 Basic assumptions of media agenda setting

•          The mass media do not merely reflect and report reality, they filter and shape it
•          Media concentrates on a few issues and subjects lead the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues

Where did it come form?

•          1920 – Lasswell believed the mass media injected direct influence into the audience
•           1922 Lippman believed the mass media creates images of events in our minds because people rely on images when formulating judgements

2 main types of agenda setting theory

•          First level agenda setting theory: At this level the media suggest what the public should focus on through coverage
•          Second level agenda setting theory: The media suggests how people should think about an issue

     Agenda setting – what it does?

•          Transfer of issue salience from the news media to the public
•          Transfer of issue salience for both issues and other objects such as political figures
•          Elite media often set the agenda for issues in other media

   

     “Why does the media set the agenda? Because they can!” (Redman 2012)

    

      Agenda Setting family

                   1.     Media Gatekeeping

Ø  The exposure of an issue

Ø  What the media chooses to reveal to the public 

                   2.     Media Advocacy

Ø  The purposive promotion of a message through the media

                   3.     Agenda Cutting

Ø  Most of the truth or reality that is going on in the world isn’t represented (E.G.

Bieber’s haircut is represented more than the issue of Aids)

                   4.     Agenda Surfing

Ø  The media follows the crowd and trends

Ø  Media surfs on the wave of topics (Bandwagon effect) 

                   5.     The diffusion of news

Ø  The process through which an important event is communicated to the public

                   6.  Portrayal of an issue

Ø  The way and issue is portrayed will often influence how it is perceived by the public

Ø  Different media outlets with different portrayals cause individual perceptions within the public (especially race portrayals) 

                   7.     Media dependence

Ø  The more dependent a person is on the media for information, the more susceptible that person is to media agenda setting (E.G. Facebook and Twitter)

Strengths of Agenda Setting Theory

•    Explanatory power
•    Predictive power
•    Organizing power
•   Proven false
•    Balanced on the scientific side
•    Groundwork for further research

Weaknesses of Agenda Setting Theory

•            People with made up minds, the effect is weakened
•            News can’t create or conceal problems
•            New media is a whole new ball game for Agenda Setting

24-hour news cycle

•           Old

o   6 or 7pm news bulletin

o   Newspaper

•           New

o   Online news

o   ABC 24

Media agenda and political process

•          “Deciding what is important”
•            Political agenda setting – is it a 2 way street?

     

     Hoo Roo

     Stewy