13: The Final Frontier

So for the final lecture, those of us who came would know we had a guest speaker, Steve Molks, who runs his own blog.

(no I’m not putting the link here because he gets enough views anyway, while I get too few)

Anyway, he gave us some helpful tips about starting up, being true to yourself, following your dream, all the usual junk.

Fortunately, he managed to wake me up before I fell asleep, with some original advice, taken from his experience running a blog.

Dot Points:

·      Form your own opinions, and don’t be afraid to state them

·      Related, be confident, about yourself, your work, your potential and your opinions

·      You need to create a brand for yourself

o   Start developing your style now

o   Work out what/who you’re targeting

·      Start publishing now – there’s nothing more impressive than a young go-getter with an extensive portfolio

All these points are common sense, but sometimes we need people to point sense out to us because we can’t quite see it yet.

Normalisation Thesis - duci novo, similis duci seneci

Based off the lectures given by Ian Ward in POLS2111:Politics and the Media at UQ.

On the basis of what kind of evidence do proponents of the 'normalisation thesis' believe that new media come to closely resemble the old?

Proponents of the ‘normalisation thesis’ hold that new media will always come to closely resemble the old media. Currently, new media is described as the latest forms of mass communication, encompassing digital or electronic information carriers such as blogs, social networking sites and smart phones. Old media then, includes television, radio and newspapers.

Normalisation supporters have several arguments to support their thesis, chiefly regarding the channels of communication and information barriers. A pertinent example in light of the increasing relevance of the internet as a means to spread news to an increasing audience is the ‘long tail’ of the internet. For example, there are as many blogs available for viewing as there are opinions to be expressed. Theoretically this allows a many-to-many system of information sharing, as opposed to the traditional top-down spread of information from elites to the masses. However, due in part to the role search-engines play in directing the flow of information, a relatively small number of blogs have a large following, promoting a top-down flow of information and news such as employed by the old media.

The other facet affecting the egalitarian spread of information is the availability of the new media to those of lower socio-economic status. Van Dijk (2005), through a study on American households, surmised that 20-35% of individuals in developed countries do not have sustained access to new media resources. This figure grows even larger in developing nations. This shows that linear information gathering and spreading is not as sustained or wide-spread in online mediums as some researchers would think, as individuals with higher socio-economic status acquire and spread information at a faster rate than those of lower status. This situation has the potential to evolve into a new system of top-down information sharing, creating a new generation of elites (W Severin, J Tankard 1988).

While new media has the potential for greater communication and idea sharing, many fear that it will simply create another one-way flow of information, from the elites to the consuming masses. Supporters of the ‘normalisation theory’ extend this fear, arguing that new media will eventually become nearly indistinguishable from the old, not just in terms of information, but regarding the dispensation of information.

Political Celebrities in Australia

Based off the lectures given by Ian Ward in POLS2111:Politics and the Media at UQ.

Why is it the case that there is not an obvious Australian example of a political celebrity who Street would describe as a  CP1?

In recent years, due partly perhaps to the commodification of personalities and politics, there has been much talk of the ‘celebrity politician’: politicians who gain a celebrity status and thus “…enjoy a greater presence and wider scope of activity and agency than (others)’. (Street). John Street describes two versions of  the celebrity politician, the CPI and CP2. Celebrity Politician 1 is the politician or candidate who uses elements of ‘celebrity hood’ to establish their claim to represent a group or cause. Celebrity Politician 2 is the celebrity who uses their fame for political purposes. It has been argued that there are no clear Australian examples of the CP1 in Australian politics, however it is the author’s view that this notion is incorrect.

Since the early 2000’s especially, there has been an increasing number of political figures who have used their status as a celebrity to catapult them into political positions. The most prominent example of this would be Peter Garrett, and his transformation from singer and environmental protesting to a cabinet member. In Victoria alone in recent years that have been two CP1’s, former aerial skier Kirstie Marshall, who was elected to represent Forest Hill, and former footballer-cum-architect-cum-politician-cum-minister Justin Madden. Another example of a particularly successful public figure-cum-politician is Maxine McKew, a tv journalist who later used her success to win a seat from the then Prime Minister, and gain a portfolio in cabinet.

These many examples of ‘celebrified figures’ with a political agenda – sports stars, journalists, singers, who have later used that popularity to establish their claim to represent a constituency, are all case studies that prove that Australia does in fact have ‘CP1s’, as well as ‘CP2s’.

References:

Haywood, Ben. 2004. Star Turn in Party Politics. Accessed: 19 May 2012. Available at: http://education.theage.com.au/cmspage.php?intid=135&intversion=105

Political Comedy - is it really just a laugh?

Based off the lectures given by  Ian Ward in POLS2111: Politics and the Media at UQ.

Can we properly treat political comedy as news?

Political comedy, irrespective of its birth, is a medium fast gaining relevance in an age of fragmenting audiences and increasingly sensationalised audiences. Political comedy has gained this relevance through its utilisation of humour to portray the events and news of the day.  Shows such as The Daily Show and Colbert Report are reaching far larger audiences, particularly young viewers, than previously thought. This has been corroborated by research carried out in the US by the Pew Research Centre (Ward 2012). But can programs such as The Daily Show by described as news? Yes, if viewers gain their understanding of current events from that show, and the current events are displayed truly and factually.

Harrington (2008) agrees, saying that political comedy “…entertain(s) and genuinely inform(s) citizens about politics…” He goes on to conjecture if this new form of news presenting will help rid audiences of the cynicism felt towards the media industry, through its “reinvigoration of journalistic enquiry”. Atkinson (2010) describes the self-stated role of shows such as The Daily Show as a medium to “expose official propaganda and media complicity” through an intensive, if light-hearted examination of current events, while “engaging individuals in reasoned discussions”. This stimulation of public discussion is one of the oft discussed ‘democratising’ effects of political comedy, and the main reason it is held to be a valid new-output method.

However it should be noted that not all political comedy shows are valid as news presenters or commentators; they must be “genuinely self-reflexive, dialogical, deliberative and critical” (Atkinson 2010) and, as has been stated, inform their viewers by providing a true rendition of events

REFERENCES:

Atkinson J. 2010. Politics as Comedy. Accessed: 12^th May 2012. Available at:http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10666816

Harrington, S. 2008a.  'Popular news in the 21st century Time for a new critical approach?'  Journalism Vol. 9 (3), pp. 266-284.

Ward I. 2012. Comedy and Politics. Accessed 10^th May 2012. Available at:  https://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_132679_1%26url%3D