Domingo,
D. Quandt, T.,Heinonen, Ari., Paulussen, S., Singer,B.J., & Vujnovic.
(2008). PARTICIPATORY
JOURNALISM PRACTICES IN THE MEDIA AND BEYOND Journalism Practice. (pp. 326-342).
The authors of this
journalistic critique bring to light the debate of audience participation in
online media. From the onset they discuss the constant breaking of boundaries
with regards various media forms such as print,
broadcast and online media. Public input into journalism pieces has increased
in recent years, as more ‘reciprocal relationships’ between the journalist and
audience members are being encouraged. This means that the journalists are
becoming emasculated in the sense that their dominating role as ‘gate-keeper’
to guarantee quality, neutrality and information output, is being taken over by
public audiences. Two main objectives are evident, as they attempt to
conceptualize the ideology of audience participation. The first making use of
journalism research, in order to draw conclusions from audience participation and
the later determining what assortment of structures, this participatory
journalism is making in European countries as well as the U.S.A. The article
concludes by questioning whether citizen participation actually improves the
overall quality of news products and suggests further research into the
professional, market and social contexts of consumer involvement. The frequent
use of citations made evident throughout the article, amplifies its credibility
as an information source. The content of this article strongly identifies
itself in the field of journalism and communication and the fact that it is a
peer reviewed article, further more supports its credibility.
Seven
News, Queensland. (2012, May 22) 6 pm News (Television Broadcast) Brisbane,
Australia: Public Broadcasting Service.
7
News’ Queensland television News presenter, Kay Mc Grath announced that
Schapelle Colby could be release by August this year after her appeal for
clemency was approved. After a brief mention that Minister Bob Carr, welcomed
the Indonesian Presidents decision to grant the reduction, the report moved
into the emotion behind the highly publicized imprisonment of the 34 year old
that was caught in 2004 attempting to smuggle 4.1kg’s of marijuana into Bali in
a body board bag. While 7 News is a readily available media resource, they are
not considered to be as reputable as other hard hitting journalism forms,
tending to meet the desires of a broad population who are not particularly
politically driven and depend more on human interest topics and emotive news.
The report publicized Schapelles treatment with anti psychotic medication for
her declining mental state and the fact that 7 News had the exclusive on
Colby’s attempted overdose. Footage which cut to her mother declaring the families
commitment to prove her daughters innocence, failed to inform viewers of the rational
behind the significant five-year reduction in the sentence. The absence of
supporting factual information positioning audiences to consider that either
this information was not yet known or the report may well have been speculative
as it has been on several occasions over the last seven years of Colby’s
imprisonment.
Sky
News. (2012, May23). Carr rejects Colby ‘deal’ with Indonesia. Retrieved from http://www.skynews.com.au/political/article.aspx?id=753198&vid=
Sky
News personnel reported in an online news site that Foreign Minister Bob Carr
is adamant that there is no deal going down between Canberra and Jakarta for
the early release of Schapelle Colby. Considered to be a reliable source, Sky
News is the undisputed leader in 24hr news on demand in Australia, providing
television, internet, mobile and pod casts to the nation. As such the organization
holds credibility and public confidence as is obvious by the 2.5 million homes
in Australia who subscribe to its service. The
release focuses on the denial of speculations that the Indonesian government is
cutting Colby’s sentence as part of a reciprocal deal which includes the
release of Indonesian minors charged with people smuggling in Australia. The author of the report states that an
Indonesian minister confirmed the matter was raised during recent talks between
the two nations when the foreign Ministers met in March and goes on to say in a
stand alone sentence ; ‘BUT Senator Carr says the two issues are not linked’.
The connotations in the statement suggest that the Sky News reporter is not
convinced and interprets it as political spin by the politicians in order to
achieve objectives on both sides. Carr and the Indonesian Minister for the
State Secretariat say that their ‘unrelated’ decisions were both based on
humanitarian grounds. By creating some doubt, the Sky News writer leaves it up
to the readers to decide if all this is coincidence or part of a political game
of leverage. In Comparison to earlier television reports which focused on the
emotion of the case, the Sky News report identified possible motivating factors
to the clemency.
Alford, P. (2012, May 24).Corby to learn of
parole today, The Australian, p.3
Peter Alford, the author of this article has been
reporting on Asian political, business and society events for the last decade
as a foreign correspondent for ‘The Australian’ newspaper. Alford begins by
identifying that the Colby family will learn of Schapelles eligibility for
release today, but moves assertively towards the Indonesian political
viewpoint, stating that local politicians view the five-year clemency by
President Susilo Bamnang Yudhoyono as being excessive. The article links to the
suggestions in reports published the previous day implying that the reduction
may be part of an agreement between the two countries. Alford achieves this by
highlighting Indonesian parliamentary opinion that suggests the President
should have used greater pressure on Canberra to facilitate the release of all
Indonesian minors detained in Australia for people smuggling prior to
committing to reductions for Colby. Reporting that the clemency was viewed as
nothing more that a sign of diplomatic weakness by Bali MP, Ahmad Basarah, the
author raises the question as to whether the sentence reduction will include a
parole period as historically parole is denied to foreigners for obvious flight
risks. Given that clemency in Indonesia is also unheard of in cases where guilt
and responsibility have not been acknowledged, Alford concludes that anything
is possible. As an experienced professional correspondent Peter Alford steered
the article away from the emotive perspective usually embraced by the media as
regards Colby’s incarceration, choosing instead to meet the needs of his
readers and the target audience of ‘The Australian’.
