>> Aussie24/7 >> The Daily Miracle

The Story of the Year

Since the chief-staff makes the decision, I would tell him that I might have the story of the year. Plus, that there is the issue that another media could have the story as well. Even though, it is a slow news day today I would explain him that I need at least two days on the story. This way I could do more investigation and create a better hook for the story. At the same, I could beat the other media which has the same story. If the other media is broadcast, the society might already know the news. However, if the chief-of-staff disagrees, I will give my best to write a strong story in one day.

The Loss of 120 Jobs

As a journalist it is my duty to report on the filth in the kitchen. On the one hand, I really do not want that 120 people lose their jobs and on the other hand I do not want that more guests and staff become sick. However, my responsibility is to inquire into the story, to warn the public and to consult the public health department in order to protect the people. Otherwise, I would be a bad journalist. Besides that I would keep my sources confidential because I would not like to put their lives at risk; people who lose their jobs can become very unpredictable and aggressive. Additionally, if the resort’s manager refuses to comment, I would state it in my article.

The Production Process Has To Be On Time

If I was the late sub-editor for a daily newspaper, and a solicitor prohibits to publish the defendant’s name because of a judge’s order, and there is no time to call anyone without delaying the production process, I would delete the name of the defendant; even though the solicitor sounds drunk. Additionally, if there is enough room on the front page, I would state that circumstances require to keep the defandant’s name confidential. If I publish the defendant’s name, I might get into trouble if the judge had prohibited to publish the name. Additionally, I would not have had enough time to find another front page story. My job is to ensure that the editorial department meets its deadline to satisfy the production and distribution processes. To ensure that the solicitor was not lying, I would consult the solicitor or judge the next day to clarify the issue.

Police vs. Editor Angle

The editior is my gatekeeper and not the the police officer. As junior journalist, I would listen to my editor because he or she decides what is being published. I do not think if I write from the police’s angle that my editor would publish the story. Besides that I really do not wan to lose my story because I have not listen to my editor. I think he knows the best because it is his job.

Police Media

The NSW Police Media releases information to the media to let them know what is going on, to warn the public and to ask for assistance. They decide what is relevant to know about a case. According to Mr. Tamplin who is a police officer in Hunter Valley, journalists think differently. Journalists think that they should receive the same information in order to decide themselves which information is relevant. The NSW Police Media, however, disagrees and tries to restrict information. Especially, if evidence is lacking or if a subject needs to be protected. Police needs to keep their information for investigation as Mr. Tamplin explained. Thus a lot of information is generalised. For instance, the police would not release details of a particular gun used in a crime because it could hinder investigations. Furthermore, the police always try to find evidence before a case is being published. If a car accident happens and a man dies, they take a blood test in order to find out whether the dead man was driving the car or not.
All in all, I think it was really interesting to hear a police officer’s view on media releases. However, I do not really agree the way the police operate. In my opinion, the police should release more information that is useful or helpful to the public, especially if a crime happens.

Direct Quotation

I would choose the direct quotation because it is accurate. Yet, it is unclear and embarrassing to the speaker, I am reporting the truth and representing the speaker honestly.
If I chose an inexact quotation to present the speaker more eloquent than he really he/she is, I would lie. Indeed, I do not want to manipulate a person’s image. Besides an interviewee knows that a journalist will use his/her quotations, so the interviewee should know what he/she wants to say.
However, if it always depends on the person I interview. If I interview a citizen who has been unexpectedly interviewed and he/she would be embarrassed I would not publish the quote. If the quotation comes from a prominent like George W Bush, I would not hesitate to publish it.
All in all, a journalist is always able to paraphrase a statement, if the interviewee feels uncomfortable, and clarifies that he/she is unhappy with the quotation. In the end, the journalist knows how important the quotation for his/her story is to decide whether it is important to include it or not.

A Treaht of Public Exposure

To be honest, I do not think that a journalist is justified to intimidate a source by threatening him/her.
No matter if the journalist likes or dislikes the source, it is more professional if a journalist threats a source with respect. However, there is nothing wrong to be pushy or insistently to get information.
All in all, an journalist has the advantage to be in the position to get information and if he/she is clever enough he/she will be able to get information without threatening a source.

Personal chemistry

I disagree that using one’s personal chemistry is professional. However, if a journalist is in need to get information, it is an easy strategy; yet not reasonable. In my view, a journalist should use his/her knowledge and skills in order to get information.
Katie Holmes in “Thank you for Smoking” is a negative example for a journalist. She shows how easy it is to get information if a journalist uses personal chemistry. Alias Heather Holloway, Katie Holmes investigates against a smoking industry. To receive information for her big story, she sleeps with the lobbyist of the smoking industry. The lobbyist trusts her and gives her all the information she needs. When reading the newspaper, he learns that Heather has tricked him by using her personal chemistry. Even though, I do not think that it is reasonable to use personal chemistry I think it is almost unavoidable. Everyone uses his/her personal chemistry in some way to get information, whether it is consciously or unconsciously. This does not mean that one has to sleep with an interviewee or the source. Using personal chemistry can also mean flirting, flattering or charming someone.

Potential dangers

If a journalist does not keep distance to a source he/she could endanger the source’s life. Sometimes a source needs to be confidential to ensure his/her private life. Otherwise, the source could lose his/her family, job, health and so on. Of course, it always depends on the information and how ‘hot’ the story really is. For instance, if a journalist interviews a subject who knows about a murder or corruption, or is involved in such a case, the journalist can put the subject’s life at risk. The police, for instance, could put the subject in court or jail the subject. The police could even in court or jail the journalist if the journalist protects his/her source. Another danger could be that the source endangers the journalist’s life if the source feels threatened or afraid.
All in all, a journalist takes duty of his/her source, meaning that the journalist has to protect the source’s job, health or welfare. If the journalist comes to close to the source, his/her own life is jeopardised and the source’s.

George W Bush

I think George W Bush is the most inarticulate, word-mangling public figure in the news at the present. As the president of the United States of America, George W Bush has a big impact on people’s life world wide so I do not think that one should feel sorry of him if he uses poor language. As a prominent figure who takes the duty of our lives, he should watch his language.
Due to the fact that language characterise a person and contributes to tone and theme, I disagree with changing George W Bush’s direct quotes. If one would change his quotes, he/she will manipulate George W Bush true character and represent a wrong image of him. George W Bush could, for instance, appear to smart or funny than he really is. It is always important that a journalist asks the interviewee what he really means, if he/she does not understand what the subject is trying to say.
See http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm to learn on political humour “Bushism.”

Two Jobs, One Decision

If I graduate with a degree in journalism, I need to be flexible; meaning that I have to take risks. Hence, I would choose the job which is based in my capital city. My decision is easy to explain. I am single. I prefer this job because the mobility is easier and I save money on fuel. Then, I earn almost twice the pay. Moreover, I would be able to use my university skills, practise and improve my skills. Furthermore, I would see, whether I really like to work for an online publication project or not. It is also possible that my editor will be content with my work so he/she will renew my contract. On the other hand, I would gain work experience in a different field. After six months, I would see which job is more challenging and exciting in order to write new applications. However, if I would be a mother I would take the other job that offers small but financially stable. As mother I have to take responsibilty and be flexible. I would be flexible in terms of moving away so I do not have to drive several hours to work.

What do I do if I need an Spontaneous Interview

First of all, I would not rely on the information of the local politician. It does not mean that he/she is right about my subject. This means, I would test whether he/she is right. In other words, I would try to get interview face-to-face. If this does not work I would suggest an interview on the phone. Then, if my subject does not agree, I would write her an email with my questions so she could prepare her answers for the interview. However, I would notice that I need to meet her personally. This way I would have the chance to ask other question than the ones I had emailed her before.
Even thought, my interview would not be spontaneously, I would not have to be wary on the nonexistent email policy.

Confront The Colleague

If a colleague has copied information from a website, I would confront him. In other words, I would ask him to admit that he has made mistake; meaning that he has to go to the editor to tell him what he has done. I think my colleague should write an official excuse to our readership and clarify what and why he has committed that crime of plagiarism. If he/she disagrees with me, I would tell that I will go to the boss to report on his/her case. It is possible that my colleague has plagiarised several times. This would mean that he endangers the newspapers’ reputation and existence, and therefore my own job.

The Hotmail Address

If a foreign source that is on the run from the police sends me an email to bring down the government and they do not reply on my request, I would call the police and inform them on the email. Bring down the government could mean that the foreigner plans an assault.
In general, as woman I would not go by myself to an unpopulated area to put my life at risk. The foreigner could also be someone on whom I wrote a report in the past. He/she might plan to take revenge on me.

Find the Right Quotation

If I am unsure about the quotation, would try to contact the sources and ask them about the quotation. This way I could find out which source is the right one and to ensure that I use the right quotation. Another possibility is that I do some research in newspaper archives or libraries that might have articles in which this particular attribution on Daniel Defoe’s book “Robinson Crusoe” was made.

My Radio Interview

During my studies at the University of Bremen I had the opportunity to produce a story for the on campus radio. My fellow student and I decided to report on the Master program issue of our university. We thought the story is newsworthy because the myth was that our university would not offer a master program for students who study German. Consequently, many students were concerned. Especially those who wanted to become teachers because they depended on the master program. As radio journalists we wanted to clarify the issue and to report on it.

To get information on that topic, we decided to have an interview with the deputy of the German faculty. At first, we emailed him in order to schedule a date for an interview and to inform him who we are and what we want. The deputy of the faculty was happy to give us an interview. It was an interview for the radio so we recorded it. However, we did not have enough material to make a story out of it because we had forgotten to recharge the battery; the recorder did not record the complete interview. Consequently, we had to email the deputy to ask for another interview. He agreed. However, this time we emailed the interview questions to him; so he could get prepared and answer the question straight to the point during the recording. We decided to do that because the first record of his interview showed that he had very long thoughts and many “hms” or other disturbing sounds. Hence, this way we saved time. Of course, it was really embarrassing that we were not prepared at first interview and that we had to admit that we had made a mistake. Moreover, it was embarrassing to bother the deputy for another interview. I do not think that the deputy was really happy about it. However, we learnt that it was time-saving to email him the interview questions. It was helpful because we did not have to filter the information that much. We just needed to cut out his “hms” and other strange sounds, and to edit his voice a bit to keep the rhythm.

To make our story round, we had to create balance. Hence, we recorded more original sounds. This time we interviewed female and male students in order to display their thoughts and concerns on the master program. Then, near the end of the production, we added all information and edited the material to a five-minute-story. Finally, we created a balance of sound so that the story could be broadcasted.

All in all, I learnt that this job really requires a good sense of hearing and a sense of balance. Balance plays an important role in order to produce a good radio story because radio stories not only need balance of at least two parties, but also balance of female and male voices. Otherwise the radio story would sound too flat or too subjective. Apart from that; I learnt that I not only have to be prepared but also to be multi-skilled; because radio journalists work with technologies such as recorders and cutters.

Paper Chase Story

I do not want to spend too much time in my office; therefore I would visit the government offices and interview some politicians. Further, I would like to visit people from the government. This way I could analyse the politician’s body language during the interview; a politician could act nervously during the interview. I could include that information somewhat in my story. Finally, I do not mind to work under deadline pressure.

Corruption Story

However, the organised crime story sounds very interesting I prefer to write on the corruption story as I would not like to put my life at risk.

I am an Ego

No, I would not share my ideas or best questions with other journalists at a media conference. I prefer to interview the subject personally. This way I can ensure that it will be my story. Further, I can avoid that other journalists, like radio journalists, steal my ideas and broadcast them right away.

The Government

The government owns the information. It can control the media. The government provides journalists with information under the Freedom of Information Acts. However, if the information can be used negatively against the government, the government is not free to provide journalists with information; journalists could use the information to criticise the government.

Newsworthy

I would visit the conference that has more impact and public interest. Furthermore, the conference story has to be equivalent, relevant and interesting to the society; and create a hook.
If both conferences provide the same interest or quality of information, I would visit the conference which interests me most.

Journalistic Instinct and Work

To be a journalist means hard work as a journalist needs something to write about. A good journalist makes his or her own decision and creates his or her own angles of a story. So if you are a journalist, you need to find a story and to work at it. It is important that a journalist knows how to get information. A journalist needs to know how to access databases, to use a library, court records and so on. That includes research, investigation, developing questions for an interview, usage of technology such as cameras and recorders. To make it short, a journalist should be study the topic he or she reports on. Further, a journalist should treat his or her contacts well and to respect their confidence.

Additionally, a journalist must be communicative as it is his or her job to interview people. That includes leaving the office to interview people face-to-face. It is important that a journalist should not accept every answer he or she gets, he or she needs to question answers to get more information and to criticise the information. Another aspect is that a journalist should ensure fair and balanced coverage of different point of view.

In short, intuition plays an important role for getting a good story as there are too many journalists in the world who compete with one. However, intuition does not exclude hard work. A journalist needs the ability to get and to filter information; and to know what information is different from other. His or her job is not only to communicate and to reveal new issues.

Reporting on Crime with Pictures

I think it is a good reason to use pictures in a story because pictures call attention. Readers are attracted to pictures because they display a scene or a person clearly, thus reader can get a simple idea what the story is about. However, if a terrible crime such as a double murder happens, a journalist should be careful how he or she publishes the picture. Otherwise, he or she might harm bereaved people.

I do not mind if a picture of a murder is depicted, yet it should not be displayed in colour if the scene involves too much blood or other brutal scenes like in a splatter movie. However, more important is that all involved people like family members or friends should be informed about the crime before the story appears in the newspaper. I would not be happy to learn from the newspaper that a crime has happened to my friend or family member.

There are also people who disagree to publish pictures of crime scenes like murder, especially, those who are related to the victim. I understand that is difficult to deal with a situation like that, yet if everybody would think like that, a journalist could stop taking pictures. There is always someone who is related to someone, like family members, friends, people from work and neighbours.

All in all, crime or murder is a serious issue which should be treated with respect, so if a journalist reports on issues like that he or she should be careful with pictures. Further, he or she should only report the facts and avoid the usage of adjectives to dramatise the story. A journalist’s job is to report what has happened and not to write a thriller.

Journalism means studying

The job of a journalist is varied and exciting. A journalist can work for a newspaper, a radio station, a television station or an internet platform. However, a journalist must have very good language skills as he or she works under pressure. A journalist must be able to act fast, and at the same time remain accurate. A journalist decides what and in which way the information is communicated to the readership, thereby he or she is not allowed to falsify the information or to make any mistakes; otherwise he or she has to deal with the consequences. A journalist takes the responsibility to educate himself or herself with the latest grammar, and further with the writing style of the newspaper he or she is working for. An editor does not want to spend to much time to assist the journalist and to revise a journalist’s report for grammar mistakes and writing style. Moreover, studying a topic intensively is very important, too. At the same time a journalist should have the ability to study new topics accurate and fast; therefore it is essential to have advanced language skills, otherwise one would lose too much time. If a journalist wants to sound reliable he or she should have a news voice. Further, he or she should be able to comment the news critically which requires advanced knowledge of the topic he or she reports on. All in all, if one wants to be a journalist you need to be aware that one has to study your whole life and practise, practise, practise.

Sophisticated Language Is Important

Newspapers should expect a high standard of education. A university degree is therefore important as it improves students’ skills such as language, research, critical thinking, and so on. Sophisticated language as well as accuracy is essential if one serves the public. The reason is that newspapers influence the reader’s writing and function somewhat like a grammar or dictionary book.

Newspapers in Germany do expect advanced language skills and a good edcution as their readership is high; therefore they require the best writing skills one can have; otherwise people would stop buying the newspaper. It is the same with books. No one would buy a book with many grammar mistakes in it; it would be unreliable.

Interpretation needs Knowledge

If a reporter has enough knowledge of the topic he or she can intrepret the news events as long as it is necessary; however, his or her research must be well-done in order to comment on an event. The interpretation should be written towards the end of the report. As a reader I want to read the facts at first. If one is interested in further details he or she can continue reading.

Globalisation

Although American English is a worldwide language, it is not the official language in Australia. Therefore, it matters if a reporter writes in American English language and this way misspells the Australian language. It is not accurate in my view, even though Australian might understand the American language, they have their own culture.

Newspapers are accurate

I think newspapers are accurate; it is their job to be accurate. There are enough people who want to do that job. If one is not accurate he or she might be substituted by a new journalist.

Admit the mistake

If the mistake is serious I would admit it. Readers read the newspapers to learn the truth; they do not want to accept mistakes. Hence, a serious mistake would be a lie and could take consequnces in the aftermath. For instance, if a name is misspelled and one needs further information about that person it will be hard to do research with a false name.
I even think, I would open a newspaper section in which I could write on mistakes from other newspapers. I would gather mistakes from different newspapers and publish them in my section.