8^th August, 2018.

Today was the first tutorial for Journalism (CMNS3420).

I am somewhat apprehensive about this course because of how long it has been since I performed the journalistic tasks like in Intro to Journalism two years ago. The thought of approaching people in search of interview subjects, and doing them justice with what I produce while remembering to always report the truth without breaking any laws, is still quite daunting to me. My biggest hope for this course is that it will get me over that hurdle.

This week, Felicity suggested we watch a Showtime documentary called The Fourth Estate. Directed by Liz Garbus, the viewer is shown the coverage of the White House by The New York Times during the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency of the United States. Using running footage of journalists at The New York Times, interviews and press conference footage of Trump, the documentary serves as a rebuttal for one of the first things Trump said as president about the media, that they were “…the enemy of the people”.

This documentary was not only fascinating to see, but also a real eye opener into the way journalists are seen by much of the public, and what their daily lives are like. One particular scene saw a woman in the office talking to her children on Skype, promising that she would be home soon, but knowing that she probably wouldn’t be. Check out the trailer below!

I began to wonder if this is what my life could be like, and whether the fact publications are slowly dying because people do not wish to pay for news anymore means that I am getting into the wrong profession.

What I keep holding onto is the hope that my skills and what I love doing will combine to see me in a career doing something I truly love and can be appreciated for. At this stage however, only time will tell.

15th August, 2018.

During class today, Felicity conducted a mock seminar titled ‘The Literary Conference at University House, UON’. The idea was that the class were journalists writing a news story on the conference in time for their deadline.

After writing this story, I feel somewhat deflated and disappointed. I feel that in Feature Writing and Intro to Journalism I learnt the skills and techniques to produce a quality news story. However, after having not written a news story in over a year, I feel that I have neglected what I learnt early on and have become a little rusty.

I know that I can improve with practise. I think what I have to remember is to focus on the news values, and keeping my pars clear and to the point. Check out what I produced from the seminar below.

 

Biggins Talks House of Hancock at University House.

House of Hancock is once again in the limelight. Felicity Biggins, renowned journalist and academic at the University of Newcastle this morning gave a seminar on Channel Nine’s failed two-part mini-series titled ‘The Literary Conference at University House, UON. Earlier this year, after a prolonged legal battle, the defamation suit against Channel Nine by Gina Rinehart was settled out of court. Channel Nine issued an apology. According to Biggins, ‘…they said they’ll never broadcast it again. I don’t think you can even access a trailer. If you had a DVD copy it would be worth a lot of money.’

Biggins hopes to bring more awareness to journalists and media producers from this.

Biggins spoke of the creative freedom writers and media producers have when it comes to the projects they undertake. She described the idea of historical fiction, and how easily one can embellish characters, events and timelines.

However, Biggins expressed her concern over non-fiction, and used House of Hancock as a prime example of what not to do. In her seminar, Biggins quotes Watroba,

“It is based on scenes which either did not occur…unfair portrayals.”

House of Hancock first aired in 2015. The mini-series depicts the life of Australian mining magnate and chairman of Hancock Prospecting, Gina Rhinehart.

According to writer Katherine Thompson, the mini-series was difficult, “…let’s face it, I had to make an awful lot up, because she hasn’t written an autobiography.”

Biggins maintains that this was a mistake. While there is a need for public interest in stories like these, there are guidelines which must be followed.

According to Biggins, “I found the comments from the producers afterwards quite arrogant”, and she felt that after the prolonged legal proceedings they had not learned from their mistakes.

Biggins finished by asking whether this situation is really serious, or, “Is it just a storm in a teacup?”

She maintains that guidelines should be followed by journalists and media producers to avoid this in the future.

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