From the very first lecture, the JOUR1111 course gave me a brilliant insight into the contemporary world of journalism. It clearly identified aspects of journalism that I did not know existed, and gave excellent pointers on how to communicate effectively.
Much of the course's analysis of new media platforms such as Web 2.0, 3.0, twitter, blogging and so many more, taught me that journalism is an ever evolving field, catering for a broad range of interests.
The lectures focussing on photo and audio journalism made me realise what kind of skills are needed to become a journalist. As our world is evolving, and technology is mush easier to access, journalists must become skilled in many areas in order to lead a successful career.
When it came to defining public media and commercial media, I found that I came to respect the ABC and SBS much more as media outlets. Their aims in providing quality content for their audience seemed much more sincere to me, than those outlets which are commercially funded such as Ten and Seven.
The Ethics and Agenda setting lectures made me realise how powerful the media can be in influencing the way people think, and how content can have certain affects on particular audiences. Ethic's was a hard idea to wrap my head around, however, it is clear that as journalists, we have to assess everything we write, photograph or film in order to present the right message.
News values was practical in defining what the contemporary audience expect in their everyday newspaper, and Investigative Journalism took that idea one step further, explaining that sometimes journalists must look further than just the plain story to find a deeper truth.
I particularly liked the guest speakers Skye Doherty and Steve Molk, who introduced fresh perspectives of the world of media, and defined what they thought was most important in modern journalism.
Finally, the assessments. I felt all the assessments gave me a hands on introduction to journalism. The media use diary was interesting in assessing how young adults utilise technology and access current news, which further reinforced the need to familiarise myself with new technologies and media platforms. The factual storytelling exercise was fun, and even though I didn't get the marks I wanted, it was interesting analysing what stories people find interesting or unusual in Australian society today. I also enjoyed writing the annotated bibliography, which further taught me how to critically analyse contemporary news.
This blog was a learning experience I definitely won't take for granted. I fully understand the need for budding journalists to try differing media types in order to sharpen their skills and get a head-start for their career. Although sometimes unmotivated, the constant requirement to blog allowed my to re-asses what I have learned in this course, and appreciate journalism much more as a powerful and necessary part of our society.
