Week 1

In the first week of journalism the lecturer outlined the basics of what journalism is essentially about and what it takes to be a professional journalist. I learnt about the 5 code of ethics that journalists have to follow. Overall I think I possess some of the qualities it takes to be a good journalist, such as having a life, being open to new experiences, being curious, and making a lot of contacts.

Week 2

Apparently news writing is about keeping it short and simple. It is about keeping it accurate, brief and clarified in order of the most important details. I might have trouble with this new style of writing as I am used to having an opinion from personal writing in my journal, which also happens to be detailed. I learnt that there is something known as the “fourth estate” which journalists are apart of (Harcup, 2015).

Week 3

This week the lecturer gave us an extensive list on where to find news and researching for our story for the upcoming news article. Something I found interesting were the news values, it made me reflect on the fact that negative stories get more attention while positive things doesn’t really make a good story. It’s sad but true. Furthermore, in tutorial we did an activity that is supposed to help us find think more like a journalist by filtering out the facts in an activity sheet amidst all this information. I think it was pretty helpful.

Week 4 

This week the lecturer gave us tips on how to ask questions to our interviewees which I found useful, especially how to approach contacting them. In tutorial we did an activity where we had to go out and interview real people and write stories on it. I found it quite intimidating at first to walk up to people and ask them but I quickly realised that as long as you are upfront and polite people are happy to help.

Week 5 

This week there was no class as we were given that time to work on our first essay and I have been too preoccupied to think about my second assignment.

Week 6 

This week I started to research possible news story ideas but I am having trouble since there is so many. So far I have narrowed it down to writing about the measles disease (suggested by my tutorial teacher) or the climate change strike coming up on the 27th.

Week 7 

Ultimately I have decided to do the climate Strike idea as my news story because it is close to uni and right down Aotea Square and will be easy to get some photos. Furthermore it fits most of the news values. I think my angle will be focusing on the impacts the strike is having, the negative effects of climate change, and possible solutions.

Week 8 

This week I attended the strike to get some photographs for my essay. It was a really cool and unique experience, though I have never done anything like it. It was weird walking down Queen Street when it was closed and to have people randomly stop and look at us.

Week 9

Although I had difficulty finding sources to interview, I ended up getting some contacts by the end of the week.My classmate has a brother in highschool who was one of the organizers of the school strike 4 climate organisation which I found really useful. My other class mate also agreed to do an interview with me and gave me her flatmates contact who went to the strike and is an applied conservation student. 

Week 10 

This week I went to interview my first interviewee. She was really passionate about what she was talking about and gave me a lot of useful information regarding the consequences climate change has on us and possible solutions. 

Week 11

This week I went to interview my second interviewee. He was also very useful in giving me information for my news angle. In all I found the interviewing process to go easier than I imagined, as most people are happy to have someone listen to what they have to say, especially if it’s something they are passionate about.

Week 12

This week I began writing up my news article using all the research information I had gathered up and the audio recordings of the interviewees. I found it slightly difficult trying to condense my writing to make it short and factual even though I have had practice in class. Overall though, I managed to get it done and it was definitely an experience, different from other writing essays that I have had to do.

References

Burns, L. S. (2013). who is a journalist? In Understanding Journalism (pp. 18-26). Retrieved from https://content.talisaspire.com/aut/bundles/595c4c17540a266c146ea1b4

Harcup, T. (2015). the who what where and how of journalism. In Journalism: Principles and Practice (pp. 6,7). Retrieved from https://content.talisaspire.com/aut/bundles/5963f47e540a267c4d103554

Part B – Final news story

The record for the biggest protest in New Zealand was broken on 27th September, as 170,000 people marched down Queen Street to fight for the effects of climate change.

Edward White, one of the strategy developers for the School Strike for Climate organisation stated that their goal was “urging political parties to back a strong zero carbon bill that would set New Zealand on the track to being carbon neutral by 2040”. 

The protestors made their mark by linking arms to form a human chain from Aotea Square which ended in Quay street with a powerful rendition of Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi (Stuff, 2019).

Photographed are protestors marching in motion with their flags

New Zealanders have been wanting to get the government’s attention for a while, as this is the third climate strike this year. The effects are getting harder to ignore. Gen Timperly, an Applied conservation student at has learnt about its effects in university. She lists the consequences including really hot weather that is causing droughts, wildfires, and storms in America. 

Desertification is spreading into urban areas and agricultural land which affects workers who need it to make a living. In New Zealand, it is messing up the breeding routine of our native lizards the Tuataras, causing an abundant amount of males compared to females.

Photographed is a sign of one of the protestors

Gen thinks one of the biggest steps to battle climate change is to raise awareness by educating the younger generation on it’s effects, as they are the ones who are going to have to live with the consequences. 

One of the biggest solutions to cut out carbon emission would be to cut out red meat and dairy as the dairy industry is unsustainable. “Cows are also very  polluting animals and land is constantly being cleared to make space for them.” Another solution is the zero waste concept. This includes making use of reusable bags, thrift shopping, and buying products with the least amount of packaging such as bulk shopping. The concept is about voting with your dollar so company’s know we don’t want plastic.”There are people who buy , they have big containers full of stuff and you bring your own packaging and scoop your stuff in there.” 

Charlotte, another university student states “a lot of people don’t think as individuals you can make a difference but I think that’s a very harmful mindset to have. If all of us as individuals made a change then it would make an impact. At the very least people should have hope that they are doing something that would benefit the world.”

Edward white

Contact number 0211898702

Gen Timperly

+64 21 259 9309

References

Franks, J. (2019, September 27). Climate change strike: Up to 80,000 protesters form human chain in Auckland. Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/116143489/climate-change-strike-up-to-80000-protesters-form-human-chain-in-auckland

Analysis of 2 guest speakers: Jennifer Ward Leland and Simon Tate

Jennifer Ward Leland and Simon Tate both had notes with them while giving their presentation which shows the audience they were well prepared.  Both started off stating their relevant history and useful personal experience. Jennifer had a loud strong voice, clear pronunciation of words, and strong eye contact with the audience. She was able to easily capture the audience’s interest due to her acting abilities and  amplified the use of her notes by stating many facts, definitions, quotes, and statistics. Furthermore, she got the audience involved in some helpful and practical techniques such as “inspiration of the breath” and the “processing of emotions”. Lastly, she demonstrated her acting performances which entertained as well as encouraged improvisation from the audience. Her humour added on top of everything caused her to come across as a very reliable, captivating and experienced speaker. On the other hand, Simon Tate had a more subdued approach that was less dramatic and humorous. He had a gentle and calm voice with clear pronunciation as he sought to be informative. He formed a quick connection with the audience by establishing common ground, stating that he was a former student not too long ago and delving into his struggles post graduation. He gave realistic, unconventional advice about the steps to take after graduation. This included giving the audience a list of misconceptions and warnings. However, he did not go into as much extensive detail regarding facts and figures as he could have compared to Jennifer. The audience’s involvement was limited until the end when questions were encouraged to fill up the time. In conclusion, Simon came across as a very genuine, realistic, and helpful speaker.

Analysis of professional stage/ screen actor: Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers in Black Swan fight scene

Natalie Portman portrays the character of Nina Sayers in Black Swan. She was easy to understand as her clarity and pronunciation was very clear. In the final fight scene, her acting is very dramatic and diverse. This is to showcase the paranoia that her character is going through, such as switching hallucinations between herself and Lily’s character. Upon finding Lily in her room putting on her costume and makeup, she is very fearful and angry. This is portrayed by her shaky voice, heavy breathing, and glaring eyes and body language, pointing at Lily to “get out” of her room. As the characters conflict deepen, it is still very cohesive and believable. This is due to the constant range of emotions made by Natalie which makes the audience believe that Nina was losing the plot. For example she accidentally shoves Lily’s character into a mirror in a fit of rage when provoked. Upon realising what she did she grows fearful again. However when Lily’s character ends up attempting to choke her to death she turns furious again and stabs Lily with a broken mirror fragment in an accidental rage. This is shown through her eyes turning red and the use of vocal technique as shouts in a deep menacing voice saying “it’s MY turn”. After realising that she had accidentally murdered lily she shakes with fear and panic while Lily’s body inside a closet. Surprisingly in tune with the diegetic music being played as a cue for her to step on stage, she is able to calm herself and starts to embrace being evil. Nina’s dramatic stage makeup helped accentuate this chaotic portrayal. Her costume also added to the illusion of her being paranoid because it was something uncommon seen and out of daily reality.

Analysis of reporter: Kate Nichol Williams Concerns over effect warming seas will have on the paua industry

Kate Nichol Williams covered the concerns over the effect warming seas have on the paua industry. Her body language was clear and confident as she looked straight into the camera, bringing attention to the paua shell as she held it in her hand while introducing the topic. She had a clear voice, good pronunciation, and an easy ascent to understand. These techniques helped the audience take her and the issue represented more seriously. She starts off by stating the statistics of the paua industry which is not just a hobby but a $50 million industry and how people’s long term livelihood depend on this resource. Her intention in this reporting was to raise awareness of how global warming is having a negative effect on the paua industry and other marine life in the future. This was backed up by her interviewee Tom Mcgowan, a professional paua industry council scientist. He educates the viewers on the science between the rising acidity of the oceans and how it is ultimately causing a decrease in the paua growth and reproduction. They also cover possible solutions such as the sustainable seas challenge which is attempting to put waste shell back into the water. And using aeration to drive the carbon dioxide out of the water. The ultimate concern they left the viewers was the only way to help stop this is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions on a global scale. This report covered a serious issue which was backed up by the number of professionals that were being interviewed. Her approach was also competent, which was making people understand the importance of the paua industry, the future dangers if we do not take action, and lastly exploring the possible solutions that are available to us.

References

Franklin, S. (2016, February 26). Black Swan fight scene [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jeq15Jw88M
Williams, K. N. (2019). Covering Climate Now: Concerns over effect warming seas will have on paua industry. Retrieved from https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/concerns-over-effect-warming-seas-have-paua-industry?auto=6087620900001

Xin chao! My name is Amanda Truong. I was born on July 20, 1999 in Middlemore hospital, Auckland. I am Vietnamese in case you could not tell by my greeting, and my Vietnamese name is “Trinh”. My family consists of 5 members including myself, my parents, and my 2 younger brothers- one whom is still in primary and the other who attends Auckland Uni. I have been back there 3 times, once as a child, the second with my high school tour group, and the most recently being at the end of last year where I got to meet a LOT of new relatives.This year I turned 20, which is still hard to believe. I will admit that I am alot more confident at this age than I was when I was younger. Some things that helped were pushing myself to be involved in performance classes such as drama, dance, Polyfest, and Moovit during my high school years. After high school I took a gap year to figure out what I wanted out of life before attending uni. Those chapters of my life helped me with becoming more confident in myself as a person and relating to others, however I must admit that I am still not the best performer or improviser, therefore hopefully this class will help me with that, as I know these skills are always useful and come in handy in nearly all aspects of life.

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