HAM430 Media Conference Practice

This is a practice article for media conference assessment.

Man shot by Police

A man has died after being shot by police in South Melbourne last night.

The 29 year old was fatally wounded in the head and chest after he was pulled over by police on the corner of Bank Street and Eastern Road at 7:15pm. The man had threatened police and attempted to use his shot gun.

Two passengers, the deceased’s de facto in her 20s and a man in his 40s, were unharmed and were taken to Saint Kilda Police Station on firearm offences.

The incident was part of an ongoing investigation into a gang related murder in which the deceased was a suspect. Superintendent Sandra Neitz of the Police Media Unit said that 20 special armed offices and homicide detectives were part of the operation.

The road had been blocked and neighbors had been warned. No capsicum spray was used and it was unclear how many shots were fired. Local man Joel Price said he saw a woman on the ground being arrested. “Sounded like fire crackers going off, police were running around everywhere” he said.

No identity of the man has been released but he has been revealed to be a night club security agent with prior convictions for firearm and drug offences.

Last night the road remained closed as police continue to speak to witnesses. Police urge anyone who saw the incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The 5 offices directly involved in the shooting continue to work and are receiving counseling.

HAM430 Hard News Exercise (Lead-In)

This is the work I did in class to learn about creating the lead-in for newspaper articles.

Emergency Story

A bus full of school children is missing after two tornadoes hit Townsville at about 2pm yesterday.

Resident Grace Reynolds, whose daughter was on the missing school bus, is appealing for information.

At least 100 emergency vehicles have arrived to provide assistance, bringing water and medical supplies. Over 300 residents have been evacuated.

Phone, electricity and water services have been cut.

Court Story

A 22 year old woman has been sentenced to nine years jail for the murder of her child’s father.

Amanda Jane Felsbourg, of Moe, was found guilty of the murder of Wayne Laffery, who she had an on-off relationship with. Mr Laffery was stabbed more then 30 times in the chest, arms and legs.

Supreme Court Justice Bernard Teague said that he took into consideration that there were no prior convictions and she had shown remorse. She also is believed to have had post natal depression at the time of the stabbing.

Short News Story Assignment Ideas

Idea 1
Dandenong is currently undergoing a revitalisation of its central business district. This includes replacing old shops with tall office blocks and redesigning the main shopping strips. The construction work has caused traffic problems. Possible interviews include council, developer, local business and residents.
Idea 2
Metro was meant to end the troubles plaguing Melbourne’s rail network but passengers are still complaining. Who is really to blame and what is being done to fix the network? Possible interviews include Metro, Transport Minister, Opposition Transport Minister and Passengers.
Idea 3
The shooting of a protester has restarted the debate on wether duck hunting should be legal. Possible interviews include duck hunters, hunting association, animal welfare groups and protesters.

Great Interviews of the 20th Century

The Guardian newspaper has a section on their website called “Great Interviews of the 20^th Century” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/series/greatinterviews ). Here is a discussion of a selection of those interviews. The common thread is the struggle between interviewer and interviewee to gain control of the interview for their own advantage.

The article There’s nothing better in life then diamonds (The Guardian, 21^st September 2007), is a reprint of Charlotte Chandler’s 1979 interview with Mae West, a popular actress in the mid-20^th century known for her flirtatious behaviour. The interview gives the impression that Mae West is a person seeking attention and that appearances are important to her. This has given her the desire to control the interview. She has done many interviews before and knows how to change the direction of the conversation. For example, Mae West was happy to talk about men in general, but when it came to talking about finding the right man to spend the rest of her life with, she gave a brief answer then began to speak about her mother in detail. She also tried to unsettle the interviewer by giving advice and getting the interviewer Charlotte to unbutton her top. Despite her ability to guide the interview, she still was put off guard by Charlotte Chandler’s presence. Mae West was used to being interviewed by men and this created her interview style. This time she was being interviewed by a woman so did not know exactly how to deal with this new situation. This may have allowed a more open interview then was expected.

Another interview to achieve openness was Truman Capote’s interview with Marlon Brando in Japan in 1957. Marlon Brando was considered to be a private person who did not like interviews, not even the director of the film he was making knew much about him, but he was willing to speak to Truman Capote. Truman Capote has the ability to befriend the people he interviews so they will speak openly in ways they may have not done before. His ability is well portrayed in the movie Capote. He is able to make friends with people in order to gain their trust. He reveals a little of himself and then provides a listing hear. Charlotte Chandler also does this with Mae West who comments “Men must like you because you are a brilliant listener”.

While Truman Capote liked to make the interviewee think they were in control, the Sex Pistols seemed to be really in control when Bill Grundy interviewed them on the Today Show in 1976. In fact, he was suspended from his job because of it. The Sex Pistols were swearing throughout the interview, which was not very common on television at the time. The interviewer did not help the situation; he said “Say something outrageous”. He also had one member of the band repeat the swearword when it was not said loud enough. The Sex Pistols took full advantage of the interview. They increased their popularity and brought punk rock to the general public.

Collecting and Presenting Facts

An important component of journalism is the collecting, analysing and presenting of facts.

Over the last 10 years there has been a shift in the way that facts are collected that have begun to change the dynamics of journalism. In the article SuperMedia: the Future as Networked Journalism (http://www.opendemocracy.net/, 10th June 2008), the article writer Charlie Beckett explains that the emergence of technologies, such as the Internet and mobile phones, has allowed the general public to have greater input on what is seen in the media. Beckett suggests that the idea of the media being centralised will change and the focus should now be on creating networks of people who share their stories. I think that this kind of shift will allow news to become both more localised and more global at the same time. News will be localised in the sense that people will write about what is happing in their area. News will be global in the sense that people can access news from around the world.

While the way facts are collected may have changed, the importance of interpretation must not be ignored. In the article Haunted by details missing in the struggle for objectivity (Peter Ellingsen, The Age, 3rd June 2009, http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/haunted-by-details-missing-in-the-struggle-for-objectivity-20090603-bvm4.html ), the writer describes being in Tiananmen Square in 1989 during the time when the soldiers were fighting against the protesters. He reflects on his mindset at the time, he was a journalist who had to present the facts, but now believes that presenting the facts has lessened the human “horror” of the event. This article also brings up the idea of perspective. For example the Chinese claimed that 300 people, mainly soldiers, had died but the Red Cross claims that 3000 people, mainly civilians, died. A journalist has to sort through these conflicting facts and create a report that remains objective. The events at Tiananmen Square at the time were seen to be an example of how the media could spread stories around the world quickly. Despite this, the Chinese government had for many years been controlling what was shown in the media. If today’s technology was available then we might have had a different experience. It would have been more like what we are currently seeing in Libya and Egypt. People showing the fighting from their view as it happened.

Presentation is important because it is what makes people pay attention and allows them to make sense of the facts. For example, there are thousands of government documents available for public viewing but who is going to bother reading them? Journalists look through these documents and piece the clues together to make a story that is easy for the reader to understand. The article Poverty by the Numbers (Paige Williams, Atlanta Magazine, 15th April 2008), describes how the people of Atlanta, the home of Martin Luther King, are still in poverty despite the efforts of King. The article manages to present the facts in an easy to understand format. A number is written in large font and then, in smaller bold font, the meaning of number is written. There is a paragraph matched to the number. There is also photographs and artwork. The benefit of this kind of layout is that the reader can gain easy access to the facts while also reading into greater detail if they wish to. The graphics reinforce the message the article is trying to convey. One picture shows a man pushing against two walls. This is a visualisation of a quote by Martin Luther King about removing the walls that separate society.

The Credibility of Journalists

Journalists like to see themselves as being the watch dogs of society, the government and big business. Unfortunately the actions of some journalists have created a public view which suggests that journalists are unethical. Two articles I recently read highlight some of the more dubious issues surrounding journalism. The articles bring into question the ethics and accuracy of the profession.

Article 1

The article, Ethics: Sticky Issues in Gumshoe Journalism (Time, 8^th August 1988), is about the tools being used by investigative journalists to get evidence to support their next big story. The focus is put on hidden cameras and recording devices. The ethics of such practices is questioned in the article.

Both journalists and private detectives play an important role in uncovering wrongs. They can get into places and gain evidence where police have been reluctant to investigate or don’t have the resources. Examples mentioned in the article, such as illegal gambling, are difficult for police to monitor because, as soon as the perpetrator realises there are police watching, they close up shop. Journalists can attain a deeper level of cover.

There still needs to be a look into privacy issues as well. In the article, Attorney Paul Hannah says that “the bedroom is absolutely inviolate”. While I believe this holds true, in the years past since this article was written, the views might have changed. There are recent examples where the bedroom has been violated but I have not heard of legal action being taken. One example is the television show Cheaters; in which private investigators follow cheating partners and film the evidence. Another example is when reporters filmed Shane Warne in a hotel with two women. I would consider a hotel room to be a bedroom and it has been violated. While his wife would be interested, was it really necessary to carry out surveillance to uncover the “scandal”?

Article 2

The article, Shattered Glass (Vanity Fair, September 1998), is about former journalist Stephen Glass who was revealed to be creating fictional articles and passing them off as real stories. He went to extraordinary lengths to make the stories to appear genuine by creating false documents and evidence. He also managed to hold back criticism and doubts on his work through his likable personality and ability to spin stories.

This article raises the important issue of accuracy and integrity in journalism. It is amazing that amount of effort that went into the works of fiction. It is not just laziness, as would have been expected from a false report. The picture that the article painted of Stephen Glass almost made me feel sorry for him. He seemed to come second to his brother through childhood and was unable to please his parents. He always needed to prove himself and was self critical. The article suggests that he was just trying to make stories more interesting. He was looking for acceptance. While the issue of sensationalising comes up frequently in the media, what Stephen Glass did was beyond sensationalising. Journalists are a group that the public should be able to trust.