Reflections

The process of producing this weblog has been a roller coaster ride of sorts. Plenty of tireless days and sleepless nights were sacrificed in order to publish this “baby” that I am exceptionally proud of. After going through the editing process a couple of times, only did I manage to grasp the gist on how to publish an interesting blog based on the principles and element of web design. I have also discovered the way of writing for online and also able to fully utilize the multimodal text for the blog’s advantage.

Throughout researching for the purpose of “fine-tuning” the content and features of this blog, I developed faith in the belief that design is paramount in making sure you attract your target audience and also keep them coming back. It is also important, I believe, that a blogger maintain his ethics in writing and be sensitive towards other people’s faiths and beliefs in order not to offend anyone, not to mention to avoid the lawsuits from coming your way.

The unbelievable journey has finally come to an end…or has it just begun?

Stereotyping in Media

The last couple of decades have seen the effects of the feminism movement of the 60s and 70s bear fruit as gender equality is finally being acknowledged in stages. Women now are no longer considered weak, powerless or dependent on men to support their living. The moment you switch on the TV, radio or flip a magazine, however, those old chauvinistic ghosts of the past start haunting rapidly without mercy. Men are portrayed as the stronger sex, physically at the very least. Wives keep pestering their husbands desperately for attention and affection as though they cannot go through their day without their husbands compliment them.

These are the kind of stereotypes that are very apparent on the media, especially when it comes to advertising, entertainment and news reporting as suggested by the Media Awareness Network (2007).

An article in a local newspaper ("Dancing in the Streets") chronicles the activities of “shufflers” in the heart of the city during weekends. The article also conveniently defines how “shufflers” are “supposed to look like”. As though they are not content enough with that, the writer goes on to elaborate on how “hardcore metalheads” in that area tend to fashion themselves, complete with mention of “dress sense, piercings, and punkish hairstyles”.

These forms of stereotype is not merely prevalent in Malaysia, in fact it is alive and well even in developed countries. BBC news published a report on 1 August 2008 about Stafford Member of Parliament (MP) requesting the media to publish more favourable and positive reports about the youth since they have always been unfairly victimized ("Youth stereotype unfair, says MP"). The problems with these stereotypical points of view is that it categorizes very different people together, could transform assumptions about other groups into “realities”, be used to justify those in power, and perpetuate social prejudice and equality. All this is while the groups that are being stereotyped are helpless to have a say themselves.

Reference

(2007). Media Stereotyping. Available: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/index.cfm. Last accessed 12 November 2008.

Ian Yee. (2008). Dancing in the streets. Available: http://thestar.com.my/youth2/story.asp?file=/2008/4/23/youth2/21013670&sec=youth2. Last accessed 12 November 2008.

(2007). Youth stereotype 'unfair' says MP. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/staffordshire/6925425.stm. Last accessed 12 November 2008.

Sensationalism

Try looking at the front page of a newspaper or magazine. It greets us with the major headline “It’s Official: THEY HAVE SEPARATED” talking about a celebrity couple breaking up, and followed by another piece of news that reads “PM announces 3% GDP growth in third quarter of 2008”. Which of these two headlines would you read first?

Human beings have long since been attracted to sensational stories, which lead the media into finding more and more of these sorts of “chicken soup for the soul” realizing that it sells like hot cakes. There could also be a psychological and biological reason behind these, as proven by a 2003 research, which shows that stories about death, injury, robberies and murder have always dominated the headlines of the media even since the printing press first debuted in the 18^th century.

The tale of sensationalism is very well encapsulated in an article entitled “Sensational and full of thugs – what Germans think of UK press” that was published on 28 January 2007.

The report reveals a study by leading German weekly newspaper Die Zeit, which slams their British counterpart for writing emotionally with dramatic language accompanied by many first-son accounts of the situation. ). It goes on to say that, on many instances, relatives of the victims of a particular tragedy, take the place of professionals or intellectuals in the field by supposedly making sense and explaining in-depth about what happened.

In America, which most probably echo the thoughts of the rest of the open-minded world, people have started voicing out their concerns about such news reports and want the media to be revamped as sensationalism have gone on far too long, with parents especially worried at the possibility that the extensive coverage of court cases such as those involving O.J. Simpson and Bill Clinton be done discreetly, especially in the interest of the young.

Reference

Why Does Sensationalism Sell?. Available: http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/080918-llm-sensationalism.html. Last accessed 12 November 2008.

(2007). Sensational and full of 'thugs' - what Germans think of UK press. Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/28/pressandpublishing.business2. Last accessed 12 November 2008.

(2008). Freedom from Sensationalism. Available: http://tvsurveys.com/billofrites/sensationalism.htm. Last accessed 12 November 2008.

Internet Censorship

We all live in a world where almost everything is wired right down to the core. And by that I mean connected to the internet, of course. Imagine if you wake up one morning and find out that everything else is in order but you cannot access Facebook. What a dire scenario that would be, now multiply that by a million, websites that is.

What I am trying to picture here is a situation whereby internet censorship become rampant and out of control. In an article released by The Australian entitled “China breaks word, censors world media at Olympics” published on July 31 2008, internet censorship gets pushed to the forefront as media representatives from around the world unite in condemning the Chinese government for partially blocking their internet access, making certain websites like those of Amnesty International and BBC unable to be viewed by their counterparts who are covering the Olympic Games in Beijing.

They would later revert back by complying with the demands of the media (“IOC convinces China to unblock net"); only for Chinese President Hu Jintao to release a statement, on the very same day, warning the media not to make use of the censorship issue as a point to politicize the Olympics (“Stay out of politics, Hu to media”).

The issue of internet censorship is not new by any means, even in our lovely country. Jeff Ooi have already voiced his concerns back in July of last year when the government, under recommendation of Bank Negara, cut down access to four online investment websites for allegedly practicing “questionable” methods of currency trading ("The start of internet censorship?").

The government’s decision was somewhat supported, however, by an article entitled “The Net: To cut or not to cut?” which suggests that the authorities have valid points in “policing” web users from unrestricted access of the internet to prevent them from getting entangled in sensitive issues that revolves around political, moral, religious and the likes.

Reference

Glenda Korporaal and Rowan Callick. (2008). China breaks word, censors world media at Olympics. Available: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24104566-2702,00.html. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

Glenda Korporaal and Louise Evans. (2008). IOC convinces China to unblock net. Available: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24115540-25837,00.htm. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

Rowan Callick. (2008). Stay out of politics, Hu to media. Available: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24115542-25837,00.html. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

Jeff Ooi. (2007). The start of Internet censorship?. Available: http://www.jeffooi.com/2007/06/the_start_of_internet_censorsh.php. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

Rozana Sani. (2008). The Net: To cut or not to cut? . Available: www.nst.com.my/Current_News/techNu/Monday/CoverStory/20080428092847/Article/index_html . Last accessed 11 November 2008.

Indigenous People in the Media

There is sometimes argument on who actually controls the media, with that I mean the force behind the whole set-up of a particular radio station, or the brains behind a print publication. Most likely, you would find people of multiple academic backgrounds and even from different ethnic backgrounds for that matter that are manning the cameras, writing the scripts, servicing the equipment and so on.

However multicultural the commercial media industry might seem to be, it is most likely that you would find difficulty in finding someone from the indigenous population being involved in any facet of the media whatsoever. A radio media report entitles “Indigenous Jobs, Commercial Media” which was presented by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on 13 November 2008 focused on the rationale behind the lacking number of indigenous Australians in the booming industry.

Former ABC broadcaster Wayne Coolwell believes that the indigenous people themselves are partly to blame since a lot of them are still overwhelmed by the broadcast media, which makes them unable to relate and bridge a gap between the media and their community. He added that they are daunted by the commercial media, so much so that many of them do not even bother of applying a job within the industry.

Coolwell, however, is trying to do his part by putting together an employment scheme for indigenous people who are seeking to have a career in the commercial media, and he has so far successfully managed to get two people as faces of the mainstream media!

Moving over from the down under, it is even more apparent that we are facing the same issue here in Malaysia, and it is due to that fact that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized a workshop in e-Inclusion and Media for Indigenous Peoples from 6-8 December 2007 in Bario, Sarawak.

The UNDP hopes to expose the indigenous community in Borneo to excel in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to interest them in being apart of the media, which is why ICT and media-related exhibitors and presenters have been flown in from all over the world to take part in the event.

Even the Centre for Independent Journalism have decided to bring this matter to the forefront, by having a Media Training Workshop in Kuching, Sarawak on 22-25 October 2008. It is feared that our indigenous population might lose out on development and globalization if no initiative is taken, as highlighted by this article.

Reference

Antony Funnell. (2008). Indigenous jobs, commercial media. Available: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2413228.htm. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

(2007). NDP Organizes Workshop on e-Inclusion and Media for Indigenous Peoples at the e-Bario Knowledge Fair, 6-8 December 2007. Available: http://www.apdip.net/news/indigenouspeoples. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

Jesse Fiddler. (2007). Malaysia E-Bario / UNDP workshop report from K-Net rep's perspective. Available: http://media.knet.ca/node/3238. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

Apsara Murale. (2008). Media training for indigenous groups in Sarawak. Available: http://www.cijmalaysia.org/content/view/394/. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

Terrence Gomez. (2008). Why indigenous people of the world are losing out. Available: http://aliran.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=744:why-indigenous-people-of-the-world-are-losing-out-&catid=55:2008&Itemid=40. Last accessed 11 November 2008.

The Blogging Phenomenon (IV)

New forms of media publishing

The closing end of the last century have seen the introduction of the internet and the dawn of the 21^st century have further propelled that medium to the forefront of media publishing; so much so that the popularity of conventional methods of print and broadcast media are slowly being overtaken by this rising phenomenon of digital media.

This is where new terms like mobile blogging (or moblog); vlogs and photoblogs come into the picture. For the uninitiated, moblog is another form of blogging which utilizes mobile phones (hence the ‘mobile’ term) to post materials to their webpages. Vlogs, or video blogs, meanwhile, is blogging but through video entries posted on video sharing websites such as YouTube and Qik, where users could also post spontaneously on the go, again through their mobile phones. Photoblogs, on the other hand, are different from regular blogs as they focus more on photographs instead of text which only serves as caption to the displayed pictures.

Besides blog hosting websites and YouTube, electronic newspapers that have different opinions from the mainstream print newspaper also play an important role in determining and altering the new flow of thinking that is the foundation of new ideologies.

Reference

(2008). Mobile Blogging. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moblog. Last accessed 01 November 2008.

(2008). Video Blogging. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_blogging. Last accessed 10 November 2008.

The Blogging Phenomenon (III)

Print vs online design

In order to decipher the difference between a particular article made for print and postings for blog or webpage, the main criteria should be pointed out i.e. the principles of design must be initially rectified.

According to McClurg-Genevese (2005), there are five main points of discussion at hand when it comes to print publication:

i. balance

ii. rhythm

iii. proportion

iv. dominance

v. unity

On the other hand, webpages should have more white space; information must be displayed according to the inverted pyramid arrangement method and pictures must always be captioned.

The items chosen both for online and print publication here both speak of the same issue, which is British band DragonForce’ live performance in Singapore in 2007.

In terms of balance, the print version of the report is obviously asymmetrical and the rhythm could be categorized as regular rhythm, while the pictures are more the dominant force as compared to the text in the article itself.

DragonForce blog post

Moving on to the blog post report regarding the same event, the blogger obviously did not follow the design principles for web pages since he not merely used dark backgrounds which provides no white space whatsoever, he also posts his information in any way that he desired instead of adhering to the inverted pyramid arrangement method. Last but not least, the blogger also chooses to caption some of his pictures and leave the rest empty which also is against principles of web design.

Reference

Joshua David McClurg-Genevese. (2005). The Principles of Design. Available: http://www.digital-web.com/articles/principles_of_design/. Last accessed 28 October 2008.

deaf_angel. (2007). Dragonforce " live " review - 20th May 2007. Available: http://deaf-angel.blogspot.com/2007/05/dragonforce-live-review-20th-may-2007.html. Last accessed 27 October 2008.

The Blogging Phenomenon (II)

Classification of blogs

There are an unaccountable number of blogs on the internet as exemplified by the previous post. Furthermore, these blogs could be categorized and classified into various types, which defer according to the source of the research.

Wikipedia, on one hand, cites that there are six different categories of blogs, namely:

i. personal blogs

ii. corporate blogs

iii. questions blogs

iv. blogs by different media forms

v. blogs utilizing various devices

vi. blogs according to genre.

At the other end of the spectrum, however, Australian freelance journalist Margaret Simons (2008) believes that there should be nine different types of blogs on the World Wide Web, which are:

1. pamphleteering blogs
2. digest blogs
3. advocacy blogs
4. popular mechanics blogs
5. exhibition blogs
6. gatewatcher blogs
7. diary blogs
8. advertisement blogs
9. news blogs.

Even mentioning the different types could be a mouthful to remember, let alone to pinpoint the various uniqueness of each blog compared to the other. Even within the same type of blogs, there are differences of style, format and topic discussed that will attract different readers.

Personally I would refer to the style of writing and presentation of its entries that would set apart a good blog from an average one. Although the particular topic might not be of much interest to me, I might get hooked by the author’s style of writing that could somehow sway my thoughts into liking and eventually believing what is preached on the blog.

Reference

(2008). Blog. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog. Last accessed 27 October 2008.

(2008). A taxonomy of blogs. Available: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript. Last accessed 27 October 2008.

The Blogging Phenomenon (I)

Blogs as current phenomenon

Analysts agree that in order to find out about the extent of the blogging phenomenon and the impact it has on the virtual world and subsequent effects it would eventually bring to the real world, we would have to discover the size of the blogosphere at the present moment.

One of the most recent research from MediaMetrix conducted as of August 2008 suggests that 77.7 million visitors of blogs in the United States alone, with a total of 188.9 million users on the internet as a whole.

Blogs in Asia and Europe are mostly written by men, both stand at 73% of bloggers to be exact, whereas male bloggers in Malaysia only makes up 36% of the entire blogging world in this country, according to Microsoft.com (2006).

Besides that, the trend in Europe illustrates that half of the people who blog are made up of 18-34 year olds, while Asia stands at 73% which is very close to Malaysia’s headcount of youth bloggers at 74%.

It is also interesting to note that almost one in every four bloggers in Asia are interested in finding new ways of making money through their blogs, which is totally different from Europe especially since 60% of them apparently blog for their own amusement. Our nation’s bloggers, on the other hand, are mostly content on publishing posts that chronicle their daily activities like a journal.

Reference

(2008). State of the Blogosphere. Available: http://www.technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere. Last accessed 25 October 2008.

(2006). Women Rule in Malaysian Blogosphere. Available: http://www.microsoft.com/malaysia/press/archive2006/linkpage4337.mspx. Last accessed 25 October 2008.

Greetings Readers

Welcome to the lair of Shaithorne Nizamaroth, where media and communication collide to form a partnership that is ever so essential today.

The purpose of this blog is to provide the quintessential knowledge to the target audience that are fellow students who require guidelines regarding issues that surround publication, be it the traditional media of print and broadcast, or the relatively new forms of media such as the internet.