Poke! Closed for today (28th October 2011)

Apologies for anyone who is reading my posts, but I've decided not to post anything today because I couldn't find anything particularly interesting, though there are some royal equality and guards protecting school children on Gold Goast going on, but I haven't got any opinions towards them.


Maybe it's a good excuse to take a break?

D.

Poke! "Explain your heterophobia"; Commonwealth on gays (27 October 2011)

Quite a few news article today about homosexuality and the like, so I decided to have a look at them.

MP challenges gays to explain their "heterophobia" [Brisbane Times]

See how much fury will he cause in a single sentence. Independent MP Rob Messenger has a speech on gay people, saying they are causing him distress, and gay people should stay away from interfering his values and beliefs. Looks like we have a Christian maniac around in the parliament seats. He said:

"One of those beliefs is that that marriage is a divine gift exclusively to a man and a woman. I will feel discriminated against if gay people – a minority group – try to interfere with my traditional cultural values and impose their own. If gay people continue to attack my cultural values, knowing that it will cause myself and many others distress, then I will begin to think that they are in fear of me and people who share my tolerant western Christian democratic values. They would then have to explain their heterophobia"

One thing to mention about gays is they won't change your own beliefs and values just because the law pass the legality of same-sex marriage. Your beliefs are yours, no one can change your view in this society. What he is doing now is just as same as what he said: interfering other people's values. How outrageous.

Urges to call for Commonwealth to decriminalise gay sex [AM | ABC]

It is very hard to imagine some of the countries in the world still see homosexuality as a crime. In the very least gay people would be sent to jail, but some would be beaten to death or be pleaded death penalty. Ajit Prakash Shah, a former Indian High Court judge has come to the Commonwealth summit to call for decriminalisation of homosexually. He is the very judge to overturn a colonial law banning gay sex.

AJIT PRAKASH SHAH: We came to the conclusion, there was another judge sitting with me, and we found that this law is per se unconstitutional. It violates several provisions of the constitution, like it violates the right to privacy. It also violates the dignity of a person. Then the, this was also issue of equality. And we held that the provision is, violates the equality principle because it really targets one group as offenders under the section 377 which has been introduced by the British I think about 150 years back. And there was also issue of the discrimination.

The issue surrounding homosexuality and prevention of HIV and AIDS have become one of the agendas of the summit. The positive outcome in the whole CHOGM would be beneficial for the lawmakers in Commonwealth countries to decide on what laws can be changed in order to be constitutional and preserving human rights.

D.

Poke! Heartfelt escape; Westfield parking fiasco (26th October 2011)

Turkey Earthquake: baby saved from quake rubble along with family members [Brisbane Times]

Ah, what's better than heartwarming news during despairing times? After the shattering earthquake in Turkey, rescuers has located and plucked a two-week old baby girl along with her mother and grandmother. A great joy of hope for the rescue team!

"It is priceless to find someone alive and all my exhaustion is over," said Oytun Gulpinar, the leader of a team of rescuers who had arrived in Ercis after a 32-hour road journey from the western city of Izmir. "I got to hold a 16-day-old baby, which is utterly priceless," he added.

But as the death toll rises every day, things will become desperate as time is running out for the golden timeframe for people surviving under the rubbles. I wish them luck.

Westfield Chermside parking causes local streets congestion [Brisbane Times]

Another reason for not buying a car! Since Westfield has lift up the price sign in their shopping mall Chermside, many people fled to the surrounding streets and dump their cars over there, in order to avoid  unreasonable fees in the mall's car park. Not only that, unions are starting petitions to fight against the change.

Residents and business owners in Kittyhawk Drive, which borders the Westfield centre, yesterday told Brisbane Times there is not a parking space to be found in the street since paid parking was introduced at the shopping centre. Hazel Aye, who has lived in the street for years, said she had wondered why it was so busy this week before she realised it was because people were avoiding paying for parking at the centre.

Although I have posted this a while ago before the fee change started on this Monday, I still can't fathom the reason why Westfield decided to charge their customers parking fees while free parking is fairly common across western countries. Won't that discourage people from shopping in the mall, and altogether brings down the revenues and profits the shops made?

D.

Focus: Assignment - Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Bivins, T. (2009). Meta-issues Across The Media. Mixed Media : Moral Distinctions in Advertising, Public Relations, and Journalism (2nd Edition) (pp. 113-128). Florence, KY, USA: Routledge.

The author of this book, Tom Bivins, has outlined several aspects about ethics of journalism. In these pages, he explains mostly about the importance of truth to the intended audience, whether it is a news piece or a press release by the PR's. He uses several examples to demonstrate the subjectivity of the "truth", as in a legal concept, where journalists reporting defamation claims by celebrities in court cases are considered ethically reasonable, whereas a slight misreporting of a certain event is completely unacceptable. Then, he goes forward to a journalistic view discussing about accuracy, context and balance - some generally spoken elements that contributes to a journalistic truth. The author talked about truth in the fields of advertising and public relations as well, by which truth is as crucial to both of them as it is to journalism. In a given example, a soft drink advertisement uses a subtle ambience to imply happiness when drinking the product, which has basically no stated facts about the product, doesn't necessarily mean they are not telling the truth as they have given a choice for the audience to testify the claim by purchasing the product. Advertising companies understand "image" means everything, so it would have more impact by interpreting them into a form of visual language than simply stating the specifics of the product. For public relations, truthful claims given by PR are equally important, their actual quote speech can be made up, but they still need to stick to the facts, as in PR, credibility is the ultimate goal. The excellent portrayal of examples by the author has given a very straightforward idea of what truth means to journalism, as well as advertising and PR.

Barrett, J. (2007). Ethics on the Web: Is Truthful Journalism Facing a Crisis? Retrieved from http://www.dailytech.com/Ethics+on+the+Web++Is+Truthful+Journalism+Facing+a+Crisis/article9466.htm

The author of this article talks about how some tech review websites are doing harm to the product review journalism, where websites would post their hands-on impressions and critics for tech products like iPhone and gadgets alike. However, the chance for giving too much promotion for the products has pulled down the overall landscape of quality journalism. The never-ending entanglement between tech companies/advertisers and journalists in this branch has caused some technology writers just to win advertising since they would only write reviews for the advertising companies who are holding banners on their sites. The main objective for this kind of journalism is to report and inform readers on how good or bad a certain product is, and provide recommendations. But apparently the money impact from the advertisers has done a great harm by making technology journalists to favour only their products with good coverage, but not the others. Their bias are leaning towards the advertisers and not about informing the truthful message to the intended audience. That contradicts with the "balance" element of journalistic truth as mentioned above, in this case, it is no longer fair that a tech website would report only one group of products which are already advertising on their website, making it as if the readers aren't having enough of the flashy ads. As the annotated book above has said, "Balance is related directly both to accuracy and to context" (Bivins, 2009, p.118). Making such a bigoted stance on a general tech review website has completely distort the reader's trust and their own credibility to the reader.

The Starcom Translator. (2009). Retrieved from http://mumbrella.com.au/the-starcom-translator-4168

This is an example of a PR press release from Starcom MediaVest Group, whose job is a mediator between a brand and the target audience. The writer of this particular article has demonstrated how much blurred and vague terms have thrown into a press release, making it looks seemingly well-written and formal. The article disassembles, or "translates" the actual meaning which a press release want to convey in a short, concise paragraph, and discard any misleading words in a light-hearted and humorous way. However, people normally wouldn't spend time to read on a press release so they might not be able to recognise the flaws and the doublespeak used by PR specialists. PR uses ambiguous terminology and indefinite utterance to deceive the public, giving us an impression of professionalism and comfort towards them. Press release tend to stretch words far beyond their practical and meaningful application (McMillen, 2009) and behind it, there are probably a few people working on it for hours. PR, in my opinion is not about "truth" truth, but a "over-polished" truth, making it look fancy and dandy. Comparing to journalism where truth is told in a straightforward manner, it is a big difference.

Perry, N. (2011). ACCC fines Optus $5 million for misleading broadband services advertising. Retrieved from http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/accc-fines-optus-5-million-for-misleading-broadband-services-advertising/story-e6freqmx-1226090135400

In this news article, the consequences on misleading consumers in Australia has clearly shown by the example from Optus, the telecommunication company who "deserves" a $5 million penalty for advertising dodgy and misleading consumers about the download allowance where they've boasted in their data package. Optus has used a concept to deceive consumers that a certain usage allowance are available in the plan, but has divided during 2 sets of period: the peak and off-peak time during the day, which I have never seen this concept being applied in other places, like Hong Kong for example. That means the allowance only applies if the consumer was careful to ensure that all of his or her off-peak allowance was exhausted before the peak allowance was fully utilised. By not sticking to the facts, Optus has to take the consequence, and in this telcom industry, this is just a tip of iceberg. Consumers may not be smart enough to determine which "plan" and offer will be best suited for them, and by looking at advertisements, their judgement might be distracted by the convincibility of the advertisement and settled it for comfort's sake. Thankfully with The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the dedicated government regulators in Australia, people can get information from them as they are responsible for supervising the market's condition over monopoly and competitions. To conclude, this is a well-written piece on reporting this story in a decent journalistic quality, while the case study of a false marketing and advertising campaign by Optus has proven the public trust and the necessity to be honest, and telling the truth are equally important.

Reference list

Bivins, T. (2009). Meta-issues Across The Media. Mixed Media : Moral Distinctions in Advertising, Public Relations, and Journalism (2nd Edition) (pp. 113-128). Florence, KY, USA: Routledge.

Barrett, J. (2007). Ethics on the Web: Is Truthful Journalism Facing a Crisis? Retrieved from http://www.dailytech.com/Ethics+on+the+Web++Is+Truthful+Journalism+Facing+a+Crisis/article9466.htm

The Starcom Translator. (2009). Retrieved from http://mumbrella.com.au/the-starcom-translator-4168

McMillen, A. (2009, March 30). Public Relations: Unnecessary Distortion. Retrieved from: http://andrewmcmillen.com/2009/03/30/public-relations-unnecessary-distortion/

Perry, N. (2011). ACCC fines Optus $5 million for misleading broadband services advertising. Retrieved from http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/accc-fines-optus-5-million-for-misleading-broadband-services-advertising/story-e6freqmx-1226090135400

D.

Poke! Today Tonight's sensationalism?; Soft drinks and violence (25th October 2011)

Today Tonight reporting false facts about refugee camps [ABC | MediaWatch]

Smug face much?

ABC's MediaWatch has debunked one of the recent Today Tonight episodes shown on Channel 7, where in the show, according to their investigation, they discovered the asylum seekers are having a good life in refugee camp better than those living outside. They claimed they are living in luxury with $400 a week. However, MediaWatch has get into the details and found out actually it's $400 a fortnight. Alongside this, there are multiple claims from Today Tonight and however the information is either misleading or sensationalist in sense. As the recent asylum seeker issue surrounding the parliament and being a controversial topic after the rejection of the Malaysian solution, Today Tonight has taken this golden chance to create biased report about asylum seekers.

Personally I am not in the know on who's right or wrong, but apparently with the evidence given by MediaWatch, Channel 7 has yet again create another sensational nonsense just to get their audience rates higher. Including this one, I'm not a fan of shows like Channel Ten's 7PM Project and Nine's Current Affair as well (poor George Negus' show got axed), where their means of reporting an event is just extraordinary, it's like receiving chain emails in the theme of CAFFs from your parents' friends' friends' friends, but in a form of TV programme. In such a popular programme like Today Tonight, misleading a crowd of people is deemed to be unethical in my opinion.

Study: Soft drinks link to violence [ABC]

Good grief. I'm not sure what to say in this situation. I rarely drink soft drinks, and I don't have any soft drinks in my fridge because I just like milk, tea and water. They serve me well and I don't really think I'd need to drink anything bubbly just to hydrate my body while water can just do as well as Pepsi and Coke.

The study, which analysed the soft drink consumption of 1,878 Boston public school students, showed teens who drank more than five cans of non-diet soft drink a week were 9 to 15 per cent more likely to act aggressively than those who consumed less. The authors surveyed the teens, who came from largely African American and Hispanic backgrounds, asking them how much fizzy soft drink they consumed as well as whether they carried a weapon or showed violence towards those around them.

But in the end of the article, there's something that can let me loose a little. It's more like a "told you" moment for me.

Professor Mike Daube, director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute, said at this stage the only definite conclusion to be drawn from the study was the link between poor diet and economic disadvantage. "A lot of young people do drink soft drinks, and young people that are disadvantaged and more likely to be involved in violence, probably also have a poorer diet," he said.

Well, I believe being violent has nothing to do with soft drinks. Drinking soft drinks or not is just a matter of choice, it has nothing to do with aggression and violent behaviour. Unless... they've put in chemicals or something?

D.

Poke! Turkey in shock; Queen's visit to Brisbane (24th October 2011)

Turkey struck by 7.2 magnitude, over 200 dead [ABC]

Every day there are about 50 earthquakes happening around the world, but this one took place in the populous Turkey where now there are over 200 reported deaths and over 1,000 people were injured. It is the worst earthquake to hit Turkey in decades.

Up to 50 buildings have collapsed in the city and the Turkish military is reportedly on the way to help with the rescue operation. More accounts of dead bodies and destruction emerged from smaller settlements across the remote area near the Iranian border, most of them left without electricity or phone access.Turkey's interior minister Idris Naim Sahin, who is overseeing emergency operations in Ercis, says 117 people are confirmed dead in the town and 100 in Van city.He says a total of 1,090 people are known to have been injured by the quake. Officials say hundreds of people remain unaccounted for.

This is a quite stunning news to be heard waking up in the morning. Some say the only preventable natural disaster is meteoroids. Anything happens on earth cannot be avoided as we live in it.

Queen's in Brisbane, I'm on lecture [Courier Mail]

Not to be anti-monarchic or anything, but I never get the joy over the Queen's arrival to Australia, not to mention the arrival in Brisbane. But indeed it would be a great opportunity for people to crowd up along the riverside and have a glimpse of the Queen. But also I might regret the fact for going to the last lecture class instead of joining the exciting crowd, as this might be her majesty's last visit and probably we'll never see her landing in Australia again.

D.

Poke! Gadhafi's death; RAAF's last addition to the fleet (21st October 2011)

Gadhafi's death signifies the end of tyranny in Libya [ABC]

With the sudden explosion of tweets, Facebook posts, and rumours during the late hours last night, unconfirmed news of Gadhafi's death has became viral and at first, I'm not sure whether I should believe it since there are too many sources has reported the news and that might also mean they haven't confirmed in a journalistic manner. But after awhile after reading the news just an hour later, it is confirmed. Muhammar Gadhafi has been killed during the crossfire while freedom fighters captured his hometown of Sirte.

Libyan TV showed mobile phone footage which showed Gaddafi wounded and bloodied, but still alive. Later it screened pictures showing rebel fighters posing with his bloodied corpse. Other rebels were seen brandishing what they said was Gaddafi's gold-plated pistol.

Leaders from around the world also hail Gadhafi's death as the end of tyranny. The capture of the once ruler of Libya has ended the regime that spanned across 40 years of brutal dictatorship. Now that he's gone, it is interesting to see how the country will progress, whether being handed over to another military group like before, or developed into a democratic country.

RAAF receive final Super Hornets, rare flybys took place in Brisbane [Australian Aviation]

It is a very rare case where the sky of Brisbane was cleared for a formation flight for the latest addition of 4 Boeing F/A-19F Super Hornets into the 24-aircraft fleet, so today I went to Kangaroo Point and have a good look of it.

The four aircraft completed the final leg of their trans-Pacific delivery flight, which originated at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California on October 13. The aircraft were supported by a USAF KC-10 tanker for the journey, and stopped en route at Hickam AFB in Hawaii, Andersen AFB on Guam, and RAAF Base Townsville. For the final leg from Townsville to Amberley, Super Hornet A41-222 was piloted by Chief of Air Force AIRMSHL Geoff Brown, while A41-224 was piloted all the way from the US by the outgoing Officer Commanding 82 Wing, GPCAPT Steve Roberton, who was previously head of the Air Combat Transition office (ACTO) which managed the Super Hornet project from inception.

We don't get to see fighter jets flying by Brisbane and the surrounding area so I'm very glad to be one part of the crowd. Although their flyby to the inner city was only a few second's worth of time, the experience of waiting and anticipating is totally worth the case.

D.