News media has a variety of challenges to face in this day and age. Many of which include the amount of access to the internet.
The first challenge is that the newspapers provide too much information. It sometimes puts people off reading the newspaper if there is a lot of information in the articles within the newspaper. This is seen mostly among younger people. I find this is true because I am exactly the same. If I am reading the newspaper and there is a huge long article, I will most often than not, decide not to read it because it is too long. This is seen on the online newspapers too as online news sites have a limitless amount of content. They can make their articles as long as they want and have as many of them as they wish.
The second challenge is the topics that the news media write about. They tend to only focus on political controversies and dramatic events and tend not to discuss education, health care and the economy. This makes the newspapers unbalanced because they are only writing about two main things. This will cause a lot of people to choose a different newspaper because they may not be interested in politics and dramatic events. This doesn’t seem to happen in local newspapers but mostly in the very well-known national newspapers.
In the past five years, editorial spending and staffing is down by over 33%. Advertising is also down by 42%. This is a huge change. Many wonder why this is. I believe it is because of the internet. You can access everything online now which may have caused the editorial spending and staffing to decrease. You don’t need someone to spell check your work because Microsoft Word does that for you. You don’t need someone to take your articles to your boss; you can just send them in an email and so on. In regards to advertising, they mostly put their advertisements on the internet and on television these days. There are 4 minutes of breaks every 10 minutes in New Zealand. In the UK you only get 2 minutes of breaks every half hour and you don’t get advertisements during films at all on the television. A lot more people use the internet and television than the newspaper so advertising companies will go toward these two sources.
In conclusion, the news media faces many challenges today but these are just a few of the main ones. The internet being a large challenge.
Amanda Provan
The first challenge is that the newspapers provide too much information. It sometimes puts people off reading the newspaper if there is a lot of information in the articles within the newspaper. This is seen mostly among younger people. I find this is true because I am exactly the same. If I am reading the newspaper and there is a huge long article, I will most often than not, decide not to read it because it is too long. This is seen on the online newspapers too as online news sites have a limitless amount of content. They can make their articles as long as they want and have as many of them as they wish.
The second challenge is the topics that the news media write about. They tend to only focus on political controversies and dramatic events and tend not to discuss education, health care and the economy. This makes the newspapers unbalanced because they are only writing about two main things. This will cause a lot of people to choose a different newspaper because they may not be interested in politics and dramatic events. This doesn’t seem to happen in local newspapers but mostly in the very well-known national newspapers.
In the past five years, editorial spending and staffing is down by over 33%. Advertising is also down by 42%. This is a huge change. Many wonder why this is. I believe it is because of the internet. You can access everything online now which may have caused the editorial spending and staffing to decrease. You don’t need someone to spell check your work because Microsoft Word does that for you. You don’t need someone to take your articles to your boss; you can just send them in an email and so on. In regards to advertising, they mostly put their advertisements on the internet and on television these days. There are 4 minutes of breaks every 10 minutes in New Zealand. In the UK you only get 2 minutes of breaks every half hour and you don’t get advertisements during films at all on the television. A lot more people use the internet and television than the newspaper so advertising companies will go toward these two sources.
In conclusion, the news media faces many challenges today but these are just a few of the main ones. The internet being a large challenge.
Amanda Provan
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There are many laws that you have to take notice of when you are a media journalist. Many of which you may be aware of before you start writing but others you may not know about. Firstly, you are entitled to freedom of speech and are allowed to write what you feel is right, but this comes with some limitations. You are not allowed to include insulting comments about someone, it must be true and honest facts that you are writing, it must not be offensive in any way, it must not include racism or threats to wound or kill. In other words, you cannot create a story off the top of your head and include any of these limitations mentioned before.
Also, there is a protection of intellectual property. This is similar to copyright. You must not use text from sources and claim it as your own. These sources can be things such as books, advertisements, brochures, logos, music works and so on. The reasons for this come down to copyright legislations.
Copyright prevents anyone using your work unless they have permission from you to do so that entitles them to a licence that states they are allowed to use your work. If you have copyright on your work it is protected for 50 years following your death. This means that you have protection of your own work from the moment you have it copyrighted, to 50 years after your death so that no one can claim your work as their own as soon as you die.
There is also a Law of Tort that you need to take into consideration when you are media writing. This refers to when someone writes something about you that causes harm to the person you are writing about. The law of tort protects reputation, financial well-being and privacy. So no one can write anything about you that may cause harm to your reputation or anything that is your private information.
These are only a few of the legislations that you must be aware of when you are media writing but this is a basis of a few that are the most important. Always make sure you know these legislations before you publish a story because if you do not, it may land you in some trouble.
Amanda Provan
Also, there is a protection of intellectual property. This is similar to copyright. You must not use text from sources and claim it as your own. These sources can be things such as books, advertisements, brochures, logos, music works and so on. The reasons for this come down to copyright legislations.
Copyright prevents anyone using your work unless they have permission from you to do so that entitles them to a licence that states they are allowed to use your work. If you have copyright on your work it is protected for 50 years following your death. This means that you have protection of your own work from the moment you have it copyrighted, to 50 years after your death so that no one can claim your work as their own as soon as you die.
There is also a Law of Tort that you need to take into consideration when you are media writing. This refers to when someone writes something about you that causes harm to the person you are writing about. The law of tort protects reputation, financial well-being and privacy. So no one can write anything about you that may cause harm to your reputation or anything that is your private information.
These are only a few of the legislations that you must be aware of when you are media writing but this is a basis of a few that are the most important. Always make sure you know these legislations before you publish a story because if you do not, it may land you in some trouble.
Amanda Provan
There are multiple ways to send out news stories to readers but since the world has become almost technology dependant, using social networking sites is the best and most effective way to do it in this day and age.
Firstly, it is easier for people to read on these sites as they do not have to go on to newspaper websites to do read it. Most people these days go straight on to Facebook or Twitter when they turn on their computer. In a way, they are getting two websites in one. All you have to do is like the newspaper’s official Facebook page and log on to Facebook and see their instant updates.
Also, using Facebook reaches out to a lot more people than using newspaper websites does as there are people of all ages on Facebook. A person of 15 years old most likely does not read the newspaper or goes on to newspaper websites. If you post your stories on to Facebook, there is more of a chance that they will read your stories. It reaches out to a different age group.
Using Facebook and Twitter is a great way to send your local stories worldwide as both these social networking sites are used all over the world. Whereas, if the new stories stuck to their original print or websites it would only be within that area or country. For example, the Eastern Courier is only read by people from around the Auckland region. If they posted their stories on Facebook or Twitter it would reach to a lot of other people around the world who are interested in that sort of thing.
Posting stories on social networking sites allows you to add videos to the article. In a printed newspaper you cannot do this, so that is another advantage of using Facebook and Twitter.
Using social networking sites to post your stories is more than likely cost effective. Instead of developing your own website which can cost a lot of money, all you have to do is create a Facebook page with no cost what so ever.
It is also environmentally friendly because the newspaper companies may not have to use as much paper as they already do. A way to do this is for the newspaper company to send out an application form to everyone asking if they want to have a printed newspaper delivered to their door. Through this the newspaper company would only have to print out a certain amount of newspapers instead of posting newspapers through every single person’s door for them only to get thrown in the rubbish bin straight away.
To sum it all up, I believe that using social networking sites is the most effective way to get your stories across to people who want to read your newspaper because of the reasons mentioned before
Amanda Provan
Firstly, it is easier for people to read on these sites as they do not have to go on to newspaper websites to do read it. Most people these days go straight on to Facebook or Twitter when they turn on their computer. In a way, they are getting two websites in one. All you have to do is like the newspaper’s official Facebook page and log on to Facebook and see their instant updates.
Also, using Facebook reaches out to a lot more people than using newspaper websites does as there are people of all ages on Facebook. A person of 15 years old most likely does not read the newspaper or goes on to newspaper websites. If you post your stories on to Facebook, there is more of a chance that they will read your stories. It reaches out to a different age group.
Using Facebook and Twitter is a great way to send your local stories worldwide as both these social networking sites are used all over the world. Whereas, if the new stories stuck to their original print or websites it would only be within that area or country. For example, the Eastern Courier is only read by people from around the Auckland region. If they posted their stories on Facebook or Twitter it would reach to a lot of other people around the world who are interested in that sort of thing.
Posting stories on social networking sites allows you to add videos to the article. In a printed newspaper you cannot do this, so that is another advantage of using Facebook and Twitter.
Using social networking sites to post your stories is more than likely cost effective. Instead of developing your own website which can cost a lot of money, all you have to do is create a Facebook page with no cost what so ever.
It is also environmentally friendly because the newspaper companies may not have to use as much paper as they already do. A way to do this is for the newspaper company to send out an application form to everyone asking if they want to have a printed newspaper delivered to their door. Through this the newspaper company would only have to print out a certain amount of newspapers instead of posting newspapers through every single person’s door for them only to get thrown in the rubbish bin straight away.
To sum it all up, I believe that using social networking sites is the most effective way to get your stories across to people who want to read your newspaper because of the reasons mentioned before
Amanda Provan
Communications student at Manukau Institute of Technology, Gemma Provan, is putting her writing skills to use. While browsing one of her favourite sites on the internet, Auckland Rugby, she saw an advertisement for students like her that have an interest in rugby to write post match reports for rugby games within the Auckland region.
“When I saw the advertisement I applied for it straight away. I sent an email to Libby, the person who it said to contact, and I waited for a reply,” She said.
Gemma has had a passion for rugby since she moved to Howick from Scotland in 2006 so when she received an email back from Libby three days later, she was ecstatic. However, she claimed it to be “the longest three days of my life”. The excitement when a game goes down to the last minute is what she loves about rugby the most.
Libby asked Gemma to write a post match report on the Auckland Blues game that was coming up that weekend. It was the first match report Gemma had ever written and she was putting everything she had into it.
Two weeks later and Gemma found out that she had got the role of writing for Auckland Rugby. Libby was impressed with her writing and said that she was excited to take her on board. She is now writing a match report for club teams every weekend for the Auckland Rugby website, the first being last weekend for the Pakuranga V College Rifles match.
“Although it’s only work experience and not a permanent position with Auckland Rugby, it’s still great to have on my CV for my future,” said Gemma.
However, writing notes during the game takes the enjoyment out of the game but it is a sacrifice she is willing to take as she has always been interested in journalism. She finds it harder to write for club team games than professional teams because she does not know the players too well. Although, she likes writing for club teams better because she would not get a chance to get into the game because she is continually writing notes every step of the match.
Gemma claims that since she has started writing match reports, she notices parts of the games more easily than she did before she started writing. “I seem to pay more attention than I would normally because if a phase of game is getting boring and lasts too long, I turn off a little but with having to write notes, I notice things more easily.”
Her main goal out of this is for her to write every weekend until the end of the rugby season and achieve a permanent paid job at the end of it. As a student she is living her dream of journalism and rugby at the same time.
Amanda Provan
“When I saw the advertisement I applied for it straight away. I sent an email to Libby, the person who it said to contact, and I waited for a reply,” She said.
Gemma has had a passion for rugby since she moved to Howick from Scotland in 2006 so when she received an email back from Libby three days later, she was ecstatic. However, she claimed it to be “the longest three days of my life”. The excitement when a game goes down to the last minute is what she loves about rugby the most.
Libby asked Gemma to write a post match report on the Auckland Blues game that was coming up that weekend. It was the first match report Gemma had ever written and she was putting everything she had into it.
Two weeks later and Gemma found out that she had got the role of writing for Auckland Rugby. Libby was impressed with her writing and said that she was excited to take her on board. She is now writing a match report for club teams every weekend for the Auckland Rugby website, the first being last weekend for the Pakuranga V College Rifles match.
“Although it’s only work experience and not a permanent position with Auckland Rugby, it’s still great to have on my CV for my future,” said Gemma.
However, writing notes during the game takes the enjoyment out of the game but it is a sacrifice she is willing to take as she has always been interested in journalism. She finds it harder to write for club team games than professional teams because she does not know the players too well. Although, she likes writing for club teams better because she would not get a chance to get into the game because she is continually writing notes every step of the match.
Gemma claims that since she has started writing match reports, she notices parts of the games more easily than she did before she started writing. “I seem to pay more attention than I would normally because if a phase of game is getting boring and lasts too long, I turn off a little but with having to write notes, I notice things more easily.”
Her main goal out of this is for her to write every weekend until the end of the rugby season and achieve a permanent paid job at the end of it. As a student she is living her dream of journalism and rugby at the same time.
Amanda Provan
The two articles I looked at were very different from each other. I used an article about singer Taylor Momsen from Rip It Up Magazine written by Sharyn Wakefield who presents the Night Show on The Edge radio station. The other article I used was from the Eastern Courier written by Marianne Kelly. While comparing these two articles I noticed a lot of differences that I had never really noticed before when reading articles.
The first difference I saw was the formality of both articles. News stories are a lot more formal in terms of the words they use and the information they write about than magazine articles. For example, in the magazine article, the writer used language that most people would deem inappropriate. I personally think the language fitted in well with the article because Taylor Momsen is seen as a bit of a rebel. In the news article the writer used more professional words and had a formal format.
The second difference I noticed was the length of the paragraphs. The magazine article had short paragraphs of about 7 or 8 lines all through the article. It looked very balanced. The news article had paragraphs of all sizes. There were paragraphs of two or three lines and some paragraphs of four or five lines. I think the magazine article looked better because of the balance of paragraphs.
Another difference is the target audience. The magazine article was mostly aimed at people in their late teens (due to the language used and there were also some sexual references) that have an interest in music whereas the news article was mostly aimed at adults that have an interest in their community. I say this because of the topics the articles were written on. The magazine one was about music and the news article was about a local woman in the Manukau area who was encouraging people to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ more often.
The sentences of both articles were different too. The magazine article had some sentences of only a few words whereas the news story had longer sentences throughout the article.
The type of information was different, in magazine articles the stories seem to be less important than those in the newspapers. Saying that, it may differ between your view of importance, for example, people might find music more important than community news. In magazines, the information is a lot broader, for example, the one I looked at talked about rumours about Taylor, how she is going on tour and the interview that she had with the writer. Whereas, the news article just stuck to talking about the woman encouraging politeness.
In magazines, the information is usually written for entertainment purposes whereas news stories are written to inform people of what is happening.
In terms of quotes, magazines seem to have more than news stories. Magazines have longer quotes than news stories. News stories have short, little quotes that back up what the writer is saying and in magazines, it sometimes brings up a new topic.
The structures of both articles are very different. The magazine article sticks to the inverted pyramid structure where you introduce the topic at the beginning, the important information is in the middle and the further down the article you go, the less important the information becomes. The news story follows the structure of information, quote, information, quote and so on.
All in all, the articles are very different from each other and I enjoyed looking at them because I never noticed them before I started looking.
Amanda Provan
The first difference I saw was the formality of both articles. News stories are a lot more formal in terms of the words they use and the information they write about than magazine articles. For example, in the magazine article, the writer used language that most people would deem inappropriate. I personally think the language fitted in well with the article because Taylor Momsen is seen as a bit of a rebel. In the news article the writer used more professional words and had a formal format.
The second difference I noticed was the length of the paragraphs. The magazine article had short paragraphs of about 7 or 8 lines all through the article. It looked very balanced. The news article had paragraphs of all sizes. There were paragraphs of two or three lines and some paragraphs of four or five lines. I think the magazine article looked better because of the balance of paragraphs.
Another difference is the target audience. The magazine article was mostly aimed at people in their late teens (due to the language used and there were also some sexual references) that have an interest in music whereas the news article was mostly aimed at adults that have an interest in their community. I say this because of the topics the articles were written on. The magazine one was about music and the news article was about a local woman in the Manukau area who was encouraging people to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ more often.
The sentences of both articles were different too. The magazine article had some sentences of only a few words whereas the news story had longer sentences throughout the article.
The type of information was different, in magazine articles the stories seem to be less important than those in the newspapers. Saying that, it may differ between your view of importance, for example, people might find music more important than community news. In magazines, the information is a lot broader, for example, the one I looked at talked about rumours about Taylor, how she is going on tour and the interview that she had with the writer. Whereas, the news article just stuck to talking about the woman encouraging politeness.
In magazines, the information is usually written for entertainment purposes whereas news stories are written to inform people of what is happening.
In terms of quotes, magazines seem to have more than news stories. Magazines have longer quotes than news stories. News stories have short, little quotes that back up what the writer is saying and in magazines, it sometimes brings up a new topic.
The structures of both articles are very different. The magazine article sticks to the inverted pyramid structure where you introduce the topic at the beginning, the important information is in the middle and the further down the article you go, the less important the information becomes. The news story follows the structure of information, quote, information, quote and so on.
All in all, the articles are very different from each other and I enjoyed looking at them because I never noticed them before I started looking.
Amanda Provan
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