Lecture 8 - Ethics

During this week's JOUR1111 Lecture, we had the privilege of having Dr John Harrison talk to us about Ethics and in particular Ethics in advertising. He asked us to fill out a sheet based on our reactions to certain advertisements that were either banned, intensely sexually orientated or just funny. We had to decide whether in our opinion the Ad was 'Tacky or Untacky' or 'Ethical or Unethical'. After that we then looked at how to determine and categorize ads and the codes and regulations in place to ensure community values and expectations are met. These are the notes I took from the lecture.

How do we know what is…

•        Good and bad
•        Ethical and unethical
•       Tacky and untacky
•       And, the difference between the bad, the wrong and the simply tacky

Ethical theories

•        Deontology
•        Consequentialism (aka teleology)
•        Virtue

Deontology

•        Rules
•        Principles
•        Duties
•        You will do the right thing by following these rules
•        All ethics codes are deontological (ethical decisions are usually the lesser of 2 bad outcomes)

      Consequentialism

•        Its getting a ‘good’ or ‘right’ outcome that matters
•        Never mind how we get there
•        The end may justify the means
•        The greatest good for the greatest number (utilitarian view)

   

      Virtue Ethics

•        “Goodness” (aka happiness) comes from good habits (or dispositions) of character
•         These habits are ‘virtues’ such as courage, justice, temperance and prudence
•        These habits of character are the “golden mean” of behaviour 

      The Mean

•        COURAGE is the mean between rashness and cowardice
•        Justice is the mean between the injustice of overzealous and excessive law and the injustice of lawlessness

  

      What codes are there?

•        MEAA code
•        PRIA code
•       AFA code
•        AANA code

ANZAC Day - A Diggers perspective

ANZAC Day for both Australia and New Zealand marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. It marks the day when The Australian and New Zealand forces landed at Gallipoli on the 25th of April. Upon arrival they were confronted by heavy resistance from the Turkish defenders . With the aim to knock Turkey out of the war early, A long bloody stalemate dragged out for months. It was during these long months where the Australian Army gets its three core values, being Courage, Initiative and Teamwork due to the efforts and challenges of the men on the ground during one of the worst battles in Australia's Military history. With both sides sustaining huge casualties, the Allied Forces eventually evacuated. As news came home to Australia of the horrors that were faced by the ANZACS at Gallipoli, the 25th of April soon became a day on which all Australians and New Zealanders remember the sacrifice of those who died in that particular war and the wars that have preceded it. 
 

As an Infantryman and a member of the Australian Defense Force myself, ANZAC day is a day to remember those who have given their lives doing my job, share great war stories of soldiers past, celebrate the achievements and sacrifices of those fighting on the frontline today, Watch or play a bit of sport and of course have a few beers/ANZAC biscuits while playing 'Two Up'. 









I had the honour to march during the 10:30AM ANZAC Day parade through the city and it was certainly a very humbling and eerie experience. In a way I felt I could directly relate to the soldiers who had been sent to Gallipoli (many of whom were my age) all those years ago as they marched through the city to the boats on which many did not return. For my family that has had previous members in the Australian Army, ANZAC Day is not only a very special day for us but also for many other Australians and New Zealanders.


"The shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them."

Factual Story

London Olympics 2012 - 100 days to go

As the countdown to the London Olympics reaches 100 days to go, the world is preparing for the best Olympic spectacle since Sydney 2000. At the unveiling of the slogan for the games, “Inspire the world”, athletes undergo their final preparations as organisers apply the finishing touches to event locations across the country. Australia’s leading International Olympic Committee member believes that “the quality of the preparation, the commitment and the professionalism has been outstanding”. On the same day of the unveiling of the slogan, 20000 flowers were planted in the shape of the Olympic rings that can reportedly seen when flying in and out of Heathrow Airport.

But its not just about the preparation, after all the Olympics is about the athletes battling it out for the pride of their respective countries, and the 2012 London Olympics promises some titanic battles. On the track, Usain Bolt hopes to ‘amaze’ the world by running 9.4 seconds for the 100m event, while Australia’s Sally Pearson hopes to continue her dominance in the women’s hurdles. In the pool, Australia’s James “the missile” Magnussen prepares to face the force that is Michael Phelps while Eric “Eric the Eel” Moussambani returns to the Olympics as the coach of the Equatorial Guinea Swim team after his famous swim at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. And, finally, can the Australian men’s hockey team bring home their 8^th Gold Medal since 1956.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rqI8xwXVac

As London prepares to be host to the world in July, many people are excitedly anticipating the opening ceremony that always promises to be a spectacle. Each host nation adds some flavour from their own culture as they welcome countries from the world. It has been rumoured that the RAF will fly in full battle formation around the UK to herald the game and officially begin the games of 2012.

All I have to say is, Go Australia!

Hoo Roo

Stewy

Lecture 7 - Public Media

After the relaxing mid semester break, it was time to get back into JOUR1111 for week 8. This week we looked at what public media is, the value and aims of a public service broadcaster (in the case of Australian examples: the ABC and the SBS), the functions, commercialization and style of public media, and finally, the challenges for public media in the future. These were the notes that I took from this weeks lecture.

What is public media?

•        Media whose mission s to serve engage a public. Taxpayer supported and may be for profit so long as its ultimate focus is to serve the public
•        In a democratic society media is in place to support public interests and the democratic process

Public Value

•             Embedding a public service ethos
•          Value for license fee money
•          Weighing public value against market impact
•           Public consultation

Public/Community media types

•        BBC, NPR, Channel 4, CBC, PBS, TVNZ; 4ZZZ, American Public Media

Public Service broadcasting

•        Geographical universality
•        University appeal
•        Special provision for minorities
•        Special relationship to the sense of national identity and community
•        Distanced from all vested interests
•        Universality of payment
•        Competition in good programming rather than competition for numbers
•        Liberate rather than restrict broadcasters

 

The ABC

•        The ABC was founded in 1929 as a nation building project
•        ABC, ABC 2/3, ABC news 24, ABC local radio, Radio national, classic FM, Triple J

The SBS

•        Launched as channel 0/28 in 1980 as a multicultural channel to reflect Australia’s multicultural       society 
•        Hybrid network that incorporates to ads and public service

Functions of public media

•        Nation Building
•        National heritage
•        National identity
•        National conversations

Commercialization of Public Media

•        BBC Worldwide, the world game soccer shop online, ABC shop
•        News and News CAFF

New style of public media

•        Serious
•        Broadsheet
•        Importance over interest
•        Considered, not quick and unchecked

 Can be considered...

•        Boring
•        Elitist
•        Limited interest
•       Out of touch

Public media function/ communications style

•        The press
•        Entertainment
•        Utility
•        Social
•        Propaganda

Challenges for public media

•         Produce quality 
•           Make itself relevant
•         Engage with the democratic process
•         Inform the public
•         Be independent – tricky when funded by the government
•      Commercial pressures for one = political pressures for another 

Lecture 6 - Commercial Media

In this weeks JOUR1111 lecture we learnt about the topic of Commercial Media. We delved further into the Australian media landscape and the impact of Commercial media (what is it? why it exists? and who are the major players?). We also analyzed the form and function of commercial media and the future challenges it may face. These were the notes that I took from the lecture.

The Australian media landscape

·      Commercial media

o   Channel 9, 7 and 10

o   Foxtel

o   Gem, 7mate etc

·      Public Media

o   ABC

o   SBS

o   ABC 2/3

Commercial media exists because advertisers can get access to eyes and ears

What is commercial media?

•       Profit driven media production
•         Not government funded (or license funded)
•         It survives or fails on business success
•         Its business is generating audiences
•        Create audiences to generate profit through selling advertising to them

Commercial media major players

•         News limited – newspapers, cable tv, film, magazines, books, sports
•         Fairfax media – newspapers and digital media
•        APN news and media – Regional newspaper, digital media, radio, outdoor advertising
•         Nine-entertainment co. – free to air tv, magazines, digital media, events
•        WIN – free to air tv, radio, sport, tele-comms
•        Southern cross – free to air tv, radio
•        Seven west – free to air tv, newspapers, magazines, digital media
•        TEN – free to air tv
•        Telstra – bigpond
•        Optus – telecomms, re-seller of foxtel
•        Macquarie – 87 radio stations
•        Austar – Re-seller of foxtel

Form and Function of commercial media

•        Form > Commercial

o   Subscription (Foxtel)

o   Sponsored (Channel 9)

o   Subsidised (Government $)

•        Function > Commercial

     > Propaganda

     > Social

What is commercial media’s role in a democratic society and how do we control it?

•         Can commercial media deliver on both commercial (profit) and social (‘public trust’) functions? (or is it really just about the mighty dollar?)

o   Truthful, comprehensive and intelligent account of the day’s events

o   A forum for the exchange of comment and criticism

o   Representative picture of social groups

o   Portray the goals and values of the society

o   Full access to the day’s intelligence

•         Formal state requirements
•         Legal prescription
•        State oversight
•        Statutory
•        Voluntary

News (social?) controls on commercial media

1.        Government agency – regulating content
2.         State press subsidies
3.         Licensed journalism

Results of the style of commercial media

•         Dumbing down
•         Tabloidization
•         The ‘desire to please’
•        “Mickey Mouse” news

Challenges for commercial media

•         Advertising in broadcast media is down and continues to slide
•         Loss of revenue = less investment = less money for quality production = more bought in content (less original) = more repeats of US sitcoms, more reality TV

Good news for commercial media?

•         Increased money that people are spending on digital advertising but this might just be spin

Future of commercial media

•         Quality – better, bigger, greater content
•         Greater competition

Alternative view?

•         Corporate media dominance vs an expanded public sphere

   Stay tuned for next weeks lecture on public media and more news in the media

     Hoo Roo

     Stewy