An Indefinite End

The experience during the creation and development of this blog has been invaluable to me in every sense. I have learned to be diligent, patient, disciplined and focused as the creation of this blog proved to be tedious at times. Also, I have learned to acquire the slightly informal writing style of blogging which differs from the often intense and serious mood of other works. Plus, I have also improved in my research process, as much research and background information had to be attained for this site.

One of the theoretical positions I developed during the development of this blog is the complex interplay of words and pictures. As a document designer, one must be able to combine the elements of text and image in a smooth blend in order to create a coherent meaning. This is justified by Schriver (1997, pp.362) as she noted that document designers are expected to integrate the visual and verbal as well as cross the disciplinary gulch between writing and design.

One of the standpoints I have adapted is that a blogger has to conform and adhere to the expectations of readers. For example, if a blog is targeted to students, appropriate language and writing style has to be used. As noted by Putnis and Petelin (1996, pp.254), document designers should always consider the reader’s expectations of a document in a specified genre. Therefore, tactfulness and conformity of style is vital in the blogging arena.

References

Putnis, P, Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney

Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Publications, New York

The Camera Never Lies – A Preconceived Notion?

Just To Look Nicer?

I personally do not approve of visual alterations for manipulation purposes or to achieve a particular impact. However, photojournalism and visual ethics have become prevalent in the journalism community (Winslow, 2006).

An article was published by Tim Leberecht for Cnet News on May 18 2008 entitled ‘…just make something look nicer?’ in which he touches on visual ethics amongst document designers in current times. In the article, the question of drawing the line between company ethics and sales boost is discussed in relation to a few examples of document design companies.

This photograph taken for The Observer caused controversy as the toning of the sky and its color was tampered with and caused the departure of the photographer from the publication.

Photojournalism Ethics

The article brings to attention an issue pertaining to ethical media presentation – photojournalism ethics. Contrary to popular belief that the ‘camera never lies’, the faking of photographs either through stage direction or through picture manipulation has a long tradition (Lester, 1999). It is rumored that several Pulitzer Prize winning images filled with human depictions of joy, sorrow and hardships have been digitally manipulated to achieve a particular impact.

In 2006, two editors were in hot soup when they combined two separate photographs into one fake picture for the el Neuvo Herald (Winslow, 2006). This is just one case of many in which editors and photographers are faced by controversial criticism over an altered image.

This picture was published in Time Magazine featuring a man jumping out of the WTC building during the 9/11 bombings. This picture was deemed unethical as it raised questions of human desperation.

Also, the media has been criticized for publishing gruesome images to the public which has been deemed as ethically wrong. For example, the gruesome images of Nurin Jazlin’s battered body were blatantly portrayed in mainstream media although some parties deem it as unethical and unfair to family members of the victim. According to Webber (2000), the principle of utilitarianism, in which consequences of one are considered in relation to another’s consequence, may be used to justify the publication of gruesome accident photos.

Pictures as this is not ethical as the gruesome factor portrayed is not necessary and may cause fear in readers. Plus, family members of victims in pictures such as this may find them it to be offensive.

A media consumer might view unethical photos differently according to their culture and background. As Shriver (1997, pp.375) suggests, a reader’s knowledge and cultural context plays a role in evaluation of graphics. Therefore, in my opinion, photojournalism should be delved into with respect, dignity and consideration of all parties regardless of culture.
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References

Leberecht, T 2008, …just make something look nicer?, Cnet News, viewed 9 November 2008, http://news.cnet.com/8301-13641_3-9947035-44.html?tag=mncol

Lester, P 1999, Photojournalism an ethical approach, Fullerton Education, viewed 9 November 2008, http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/chapter6.html

Shriver, K 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Pub, New York

Webber, J 2000, The ethics/skills in interface in image manipulation, Australasian Journal of Information Systems, vol.7, no.2, pp.90-94

Winslow, DR 2006, A question of truth: photojournalism and visual ethics, National Press Photographers Association, viewed 9 November 2008, http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2006/08/ethics.html

Is Cyberspace Safe for Children?

A Dangerous Passage

Offensive and inappropriate material on the net has brought about changes to children and young adults in general. For example, children can be accidentally exposed to numerous obscene pop-up banner ads and extensive pornographic content when they type seemingly innocent key words into a search engine, for example, the name of a singer such as Britney Spears (Cheon & Cho, 2005).

An article published in The Guardian entitled ‘Safe passage through a digital world’ dated August 22 2008 highlights the detrimental effects of the Internet on children. The article is written by Julie Nightingale and touches on what parents can do to protect their children from inappropriate online exposure. Plus, it is also explained on how parents can create a balance between protection and mental development pertaining to their child’s internet usage.

Internet safety issues for children are essential for parents to tackle.

Negative Effects on Children

As the dawn of the Internet has contributed in mental development of children, the negative aspects cannot be avoided. As Walsh (2006) noted, a ‘paradigm shift’ to multimodal texts have affected students in terms of literacy education. However, this shift has occurred so rapidly, it is hard to control the information being fed to children.

One of the effects of the Internet on children is encouraged violence. This violence is most usually promoted through online video games. As Anderson (2003) justified, high levels of violent video game exposure have been linked to delinquency, fighting at school and during free play periods, and violent criminal behavior.

Violent video games can prove to be hazardous to children.

Also, sexually explicit materials can desensitize children to deviant sexual stimuli and encourage them to enact antisocial aggressive sexual behaviors (Fisher & Barak, 2001). Furthermore, the Internet is a lure for pedophiles and often target children through online chatting (Cheon & Cho, 2005).

In the long run, children’s exposure to inappropriate material may lead to stunted social and psychological development such as increased aggression, fear, antisocial behavior, poor school performance, low self-esteem, lack of reality and identity confusion (Cheon & Cho, 2005). In my opinion, gate keeping and censorship of the Internet is essential in protecting children and parents should constantly monitor their child’s Internet usage for the goodwill of the child’s development.
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References

Anderson, CA 2003, Violent video games: myths, facts and unanswered questions, Psychological Science Agenda, American Psychological Association, viewed 9 November 2008, http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html

Cheon, HJ, Cho, CH 2005, Children’s exposure to negative internet content: effects of family context, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, vol.49, no.4, pp.488-509

Fisher, W, Barak, A 2001, Internet pornography: A social psychological perspective on internet sexuality, Journal of Sex Research, vol. 38, pp.312-323.

Nightingale, J 2008, Safe passage through a digital world, The Guardian, viewed 9 November 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/aug/22/backtoschool.schools3

Walsh, M 2006, The textual shift: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol.29, no.1, pp. 24-37

Talkback Radio - A Growing Trend

The Media Report – Talkback Radio

Talkback radio – a radio format containing discussions on topical issues - has become an increasingly popular trend in developed countries such as the US and Australia. As I am not too familiar with the concept of talkback radio, the ABC radio transcript on talkback radio in Australia piqued my curiosity.

This radio transcript is in itself a form of talkback radio as the discussion of this issue is broadcasted through a talkback radio station, ABC Radio National. This interview is conducted by Antony Funnell on his show, The Media Report. The guest on the show is Julie Posetti from the University of Canberra.

The transcript highlighted the prevalence of talkback radio in Australia and how it has contributed to society. Posetti mentioned that callers on talkback radio shows sometimes identify themselves as citizen journalists as they contribute information as well as provide alternative voices and debates (Funnell, 2008). The issue of dialogue restriction and censorship is also discussed in this transcript.

Radio has evolved since its first use in 1895.

Prevalence of Talkback Radio

The frequent use of talkback radio by politicians and prominent public figures has been heightened to visibility (Gould, 2007). However, talkback radio has been surprisingly overlooked in the US due to misconception that radio was declining in importance (Turner, 2003). This is justified by the numbers as only 17% of US citizens tune in to radio talk shows (Pew Research Centre, 2004).

Talkback radio gives a chance to politicians and prominent figures to reach segments of the population as well as to heighten public awareness on an issue (Gould, 2007). Plus, talkback gives stories another twist and can keep a story going for a while (Turner, 2003). John Howard himself has appeared on a mix of commercial and local radio stations in Australia.

John Howard has expressed his policies on several talkback radio stations in Australia.

In my opinion, talkback radio is not only a platform for prominent figures, but for listeners as well. This gives public members a voice to express opinions and viewpoints as they are encouraged to call in during the show.

As Kress and Leuween (1998, pp.186) note, we articulate our spoken message not just with words, but through a complex interplay of speech, sound, intonation and rhythm. Therefore, talkback radio is considered a personal medium for guests to connect with listeners. With that, the Malaysian government should discuss the possibilities of talkback radio in Malaysia for media development in our country.
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References

Funnell, A 2008, The audience talks back, The Media Report, ABC Radio National, viewed 9 November 2008, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2410940.htm

Gould, L 2007, Talkback radio: power and perception, Macquarie University, viewed 9 November 2008, http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:7OZ19lf6JkJ:www.humanities.mq.edu.au/humanity/2007/doc/gould_liz.doc+talkback+radio+popular&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=my

Gunther, K, Theo, VL 1998, Approaches to media discourse, Blackwell, Oxford

News audiences increasingly politicized 2004, The Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press, viewed 9 November 2008, http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=834

Turner, G 2003, The power of talkback, The University of Queensland, viewed 9 November 2008, http://www.uq.edu.au/research/index.html?page=13243&pid=0

A Manipulative Agenda?

The Case against Barack Obama

I have been an avid follower of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign since the start of the year. The sources in which I gain news on Obama are trustworthy news sites such as CNN or BBC. Also, Obama’s official website is a regular following.

It came as a surprise to me when I heard that a book was to be published revealing the unexamined agendas of Obama’s campaign. An article entitled “Book to ‘dish dirt’ on Obama” was published in the Herald Sun dated June 24 2008 reporting the publication.

The article was about David Fressodo, a conservative journalist and his penning of a book entitled ‘The Case against Barack Obama’. Fressodo penned a similar book on John Kerry four years ago which was said to be a contribution to Kerry’s downfall. Marjory Ross, president of the publishing company of the book, claimed that the country needed to get a clear and honest view of Obama which is what the book is offering (Herald Sun, 2008).

Do persuasive publications on Barack Obama sway his supporters?

The Issue of Media Manipulation

The publication of this book leads to essential issues of publication and media. How do we avoid being manipulated by the media? To what extent do we believe what we read?

Firstly, one must always remember to view the source of the media material being consumed in order to guarantee its credibility. As Giles and Snyder (1999, pp.9) mentioned, the absence of standards and gatekeepers especially in cyberspace have expanded the use of unnamed sources.

Secondly, one must always be critical and analytical when consuming news as some writers are willing to taint a prominent name for personal glory. As Putnis & Petelin (1996, pp.237) justified, some writers deliberately break or manipulate conventions to achieve a particular impact.

In my opinion, learning to be a literate and critical consumer is vital in order to avoid being sucked into webs of deception. The media industry often claim innocent error due to deadline pressures are reasons for inaccuracies (Parenti, 2001), but we have to delve into the ownership and genuine agendas of the industry in order to sum a reasoning.

As we have no authority or power to control what is being regulated and published by the media, being a mature consumer is key to gaining if not the absolute – almost the absolute truth.
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References

Book to ‘dish dirt’ on Obama 2008, Herald Sun, viewed 8 November 2008, http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,23913043-5005961,00.html

Giles, R, Snyder, R 1999, What’s fair?: the problem of equity on journalism, Transaction Publishers, United States of America

Parenti, M 2001, Monopoly media manipulation, Political Archive, viewed 8 November 2008, http://www.michaelparenti.org/MonopolyMedia.html

Putnis, P, Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: Principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney

What's New?

Mobile Blogging

The mushrooming of advanced technology has astounded, if not baffled, most of us still struggling to keep up with old technology. In the blogging arena, the prevalence of new forms of media publishing such as moblogs, vlogs, photologs and microblogs has been creating talk. However, I will be focusing on moblogs (mobile blogging) in this entry.

Picture this: You’re alone on a beautiful beach and you almost feel the serenity whipping your face like a soft, whispery breeze. You suddenly feel the urge to express yourself in words – poetic words, if necessary. Fret not – just whip out your mobile phone and start writing on your blog!

Do you blog on your phone?

Now, weblogs and mobile phones have come together to form moblogs in which people can post pictures, text and video from their phones (Ward, 2004). The number of camera phones has become inescapable which results in an increased number of moblogs and mobloggers (BBC News, 2007). As today’s environments are filled with visual, electronic and digital texts (Walsh, 2006), the creation of moblogs has elevated multimodality to a higher level.
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References

Hi-tech ways to stay in touch 2007, BBC News, viewed 5 November 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7082566.stm

Walsh, M 2006, The textual shift: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol.29, no.1, pp. 24-37

Ward, M 2004, A life pictured online, BBC News, viewed 5 November 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3658977.stm

Online vs Print Designing

Web Designing

According to Nielsen (2006), our eyes move at amazing speeds across a website’s words in a pattern that's very different from what we have learnt in school. This pattern forms an F shape pattern for reading web content which means that users might not necessarily read the text thoroughly. As justified by Walsh (2006), written texts are only one part of multimodal texts, no longer the dominant part. Therefore, engagement of audience can be captured through not only text, but audio-visual elements as well. With this, online layouts are more compact, bulleted, structured with hypertexts and easy to scan compared to print layouts (Nielsen, 1997).

Web design is compact, easy to scan and navigational.

Print Designing

According to Shriver (1997, pp.372), people engage with prose linearly, one word at a time. Print layouts comprise of three signifying systems; information value, salience and framing in order to achieve a coherent and meaningful whole (Kress & Leuween 2006, pp.188). This leads to print design as being structured, static and more conventional than web design. Less thought to text, design, format and navigation is given to a print layout compared to web layout. However, writing now involves more typeface choices and layout (Kress & Leuween 2006, pp.187) which brings about a change in conventional print layout.

Print design is structured and organized in linear positions.

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References

Gunther, K, Theo, VL 1998, Approaches to media discourse, Blackwell, Oxford

Nielsen, J 2006, F-shaped pattern for reading web content, Alertbox, viewed 5 November 2008, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

Nielsen, J 1997, Be succinct: writing for the web, Alertbox, viewed 5 November 2008, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html

Shriver, K 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Pub, New York

Walsh, M 2006, The textual shift: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol.29, no.1, pp. 24-37

Classification of Blogs

Types of Blogs

As we all know, the types of blogs out there may vary as drastically as one on flower decorations to one on marketing strategies. With this, blogs are classified to six major subject matters (Technorati, 2008):

a) Entertainment
b) Business
c) Lifestyle
d) Politics
e) Sports
f) Technology

Subcategories exist under these main categories to provide readers with more streamlined information pertaining to a specific interest. For instance, under sports, there are tennis, soccer, golf and baseball blogs. Occasionally, these blogs are even more focused on a specific team or player. For example, the Liverpool Fc blog, which offers news and updates on the Liverpool soccer team.

According to media analyst Margaret Simmons, blogs are classified into nine categories, including advocacy, advertisement and digest blogs (Funnell, 2008). However, the classifications offered by her provide a vague picture of the types of blogs and does not delve into a specific topic of interest. Plus, her classifications are difficult to comprehend compared to the classifications offered by Technorati and bloggers might find it confusing to categorize their blog using her classifications as some of the blogs might clash with the criteria provided by her blog types.

Blogging Communities

With all the talk on blog types, blogging communities have arisen as a result of this. A blogging community is a collection of related blogs that are grouped together (Awareness, 2006). An example of a blogging community would be of all the blogs within an organization. Also, members of a blogging community often share a similar interest or passion which will be discussed through blogs. A blogging community can be created through exploration of links between blogs and comment patterns (White, 2006).

An example of a blogging community is those who actively generate feedback on political blogs such as our opposition leader Lim Kit Siang’s weblog. Through the observation of reader comments, a community has been created as a pattern of feedback is apparent on his weblog.

Blog hosts such as Blogger and Wordpress have created blogging communities for fellow bloggers.

With this, the types of blogs bring about many blogging communities in web space. What blogging community are you part of?
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References

Blog Directory 2008, Technorati, viewed 4 November 2008, http://technorati.com/blogs/directory

Definitions 2006, Awareness, viewed 5 November 2008, http://help.awarenessnetworks.com/default.asp?item=609943

Funnell, A 2008, A taxonomy of blogs, The Media Report, ABC Radio National, viewed 3 November 2008,
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript

White, N 2006, Blogs and community – launching a new paradigm for online community?, The Knowledge Tree, viewed 4 November 2008,
http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community

A Phenomenon?

Introduction

133 million. This number could make up almost five times the population of our country. In case you’re wondering, 133 million is also the number of registered blogs in web space since 2002 (Technorati, 2008).

Let us observe the blogging arena through the lens of Asia as a whole. The average monthly unique visitors to Asian blogs are approximately 26,000 a month and nearly half of those actively online in Asia have a blog with over 73% of them being between 18-34 years old (Technorati, 2008). It is also said that 41% of Asian bloggers spend three hours a week blogging (Windows Live Spaces, 2006), which is a considerable amount of time.

Have blogs become an online phenomenon?

Why Blog?

Although blogs are created to suit different purposes, Asian blogs are primarily used as a means to maintain and build social connections and for expression. Most Asian bloggers enjoy sharing their lives with family and friends as 53% of Asian bloggers indicated they chose to start a blog to share a photo album or diary with loved ones (Windows Live Spaces, 2006).

This is especially prevalent in Malaysia, with over 81% of Malaysian bloggers blogging primarily for friends and family (Press Microsoft Malaysia, 2006). With Korea and India being exceptions, blogging as a corporate and business tool still appears to be relatively new in Asia.

How do Blogs Benefit Us?

Blogging brings about many advantages to all sectors of the community. Marketing executives can perform brand building, direct communication and media and public relations through blogs (Suarez, 2006). Communities also benefit through political blogs as it provides research and discussion on political and social issues (Corporate Blogging, 2007). Personal benefits include self-expression, connection, peace of mind and contribution (Perera, 2008).

Weblogging can bring people from different parts of the world together.

With this, it is apparent that the blogging arena has significantly made changes in the lives of many. If this isn’t a phenomenon, I don’t know what is.
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References

Australian political blogging and the benefits 2007, Corporate Blogging, viewed 5 November 2008,
http://www.wiliam.com.au/wiliam-blog/australian-political-blogging-and-the-benefits

Blogging phenomenon sweeps Asia 2006, Windows Live Spaces, viewed 5 November 2008,
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-28-2006/0004480819&EDATE

Perera, G 2008, The personal benefits of blogging, Article Alley, viewed 5 November 2008,
http://www.articlealley.com/article_669123_15.html

State of the blogosphere 2008, Technorati, viewed 5 November 2008,
http://www.technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere

Suarez, L 2006, 10 great strategic benefits of blogging, Knowledge Management Community, viewed 5 November 2008, http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/elsua/10-great-strategic-benefits-of-blogging-9233

Women rule in Malaysian blogosphere 2006, Press Microsoft Malaysia, viewed 5 November 2008, http://www.microsoft.com/malaysia/press/archive2006/linkpage4337.mspx

An Invitation to Hyperspace

Welcome to my site :)

Purpose

This blog is created to promote the emergence of design and publishing issues as well as educate readers on the blogging arena. A variety of publishing issues will be discussed with justifications from experts and other credible resources. Also, readers can present feedback in the comments section, which can cultivate healthy arguments on critical issues.

Audience

This blog is primarily catered to communication and media students as it is critical for them to be aware of and comprehend current issues pertaining to media publishing and design. However, just about anyone willing to learn is welcome to read and comment on this site!

Step aboard this site on hyperspace and happy reading!