Chapter 2.

Hello! Welcome to my exciting blog! It is here where i will list my answers to the discussion questions on chapter two.

Question 1. Which media function do you think is most important and why?
According to Conley and Lamble (2006), the media has many functions such as serving commercial roles and setting the agenda for public debates. They also state however, that the media's central function is to seek truths and pass them on to communites in ways which educate, inform and entertain.
I agree with this, however I believe the most important function of the media is it's duty to inform readers, particularly about issues involving the government within their community. This is because it allows them to be up to date on what laws have been passed or defeated and how their tax dollars have been spent. I also believe that the media's informative function is its most important role because it is linked to its traditional watchdog role. ie) ensuring that unjust practices are not occuring and if they are, informing the public.

Question 2.
To what degree should journalists be concerned about their employer's profitability and readership/viewership figures?
Journalists should be extremely concerned about their employers profitability because according to Conley and Lamble(2006), there is concern that there is disharmony between the media's informative function and responsibility to provide a democracy, and a proprietor's commercial interests.
Also, a survey of Australian journalists found 41 % had experienced improper interference from their managers, thus reflecting that editors have conflicting loyalties with commercial personel in comparison to those with their staff and readers. (Conley and Lamble, 2006). This suggests that journalists should be very concerned about their employer's profitability, as they may insist on compromising their fourth estate function in order to keep their advertising investors which they receive profit from happy.
Readership/viewership figures are also important to journalists as it is essential to have a considerable mass audience for their work to be successful.

Question 3. Is it reasonable for the owner of a media outlet to direct editorial policy and to make editorial decisions on political and other issues?
To a certain extent yes, as they are the owner and therefore they have the right to exercise authority in regards to what is included and excluded in their form of media. However, it is not reasonable for stories to be manipulated to the point where they are false for financial gain.
It is also not acceptable for the owner of a media outlet to publish stories that are one-sided to influence audiences opinions.
It must be ensured that the decisions made by the outlet owner are ethical and are guided my the responsibilities of journalists, to accurately inform and educate the public (Conley and Lamble, 2006).


Question 4. Does investigative journalism really matter? Does it sell newspapers or increase ratings?
Yes investigatve journalism does really matter because it is aimed at uncovering stories that are hidden, illegal or involve injustice. Therefore, this is journalism at its best, because it is truely fufilling its role of being the fourth estate, that is, informing the public of injustices within society.
Also, investigative journalism does sell newspapers and increase ratings, because stories created through investigative journalism tend to provide more in depth coverage and excite readers/viewers as they feel they are gaining exclusive news.
There are many examples of investigative journalism on television news. Take for example A Current Affair. The images you see of reporters chasing the accused within society is a key example of investigative journalism, and the suspense and excitement it creates definately does increase ratings. I have to say, it's alot better than watching a simple report being read out.

Question 5.
Discussion points.
For:
Your role as a journalist is to seek truths and make them available to communities in order to inform, educate and entertain (Conley & Lamble, 2006). This means you should list the advertiser.
According to the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (2005), journalists "inform citizens and animate democracy" (AJA code cited in Conely and Lamble, 2005).
This means that it would be not fair to not list the advertiser, as all other convictions, including your son's have been listed.

Against:
As a form of gatekeeping, you could disclose the advertiser's name.
The newspaper is already loosing money and your general manager has told you that if you publish the report, the advertiser will no longer advertise with the newspaper. This means the paper may be forced to close or you may have to retrench staff.

Decision: I would begin looking for new advertisers and publish the current advertiser's conviction. It is the just thing to do and journalists should uphold their commitment to inform the public of news and ensure democracy is maintained.

Journalism Issue.
After reading this chapter I became very interested in Journalism's entertainment function. I came to realise that I was not the only soul who enjoyed reading the newspaper for an insight into the world of glamour, as there were many other people who only read the world wide news section out of a sense of 'duty'.
This is discussed by Conley and Lamble (2006), as they state that editors know many readers examine 'hard' news, such as tragedies and political issues out of a sense of duty and a commitment to being well informed on a broad range of issues. This is primarily because the subject of these stories may impact on their lives in some way.
Conley and Lamble (2006), also claim that journalism's entertainment function is to ensure that the public is offered a mix of 'soft' stories to complement the 'hard' news content of stories such as tragedies and political issues.
Just imagine if all our news stories in both print and visual media were about the hard hitting issues around the world. The result would be a great sense of doom and gloom don't you think?
Eccentric stories, for example the cat who can predict death, lighten to mood within news reports and assure us that there is more happening than just drama and tragedy throughout the world.
Therefore, I am trying to tell myself that magazines which focus on celebrity gossip are not 'trashy' as people claim, but are serving an ESSENTIAL purpose within society, to brighten up people's lives. Am I dreaming? I hope not.
Reference: Conley, D., & Lamble, S. (2006). Agents of power. In Conley, D., & Lamble, S. (Eds.), The Daily Miracle: An introduction to journalism. (3rd ed).(pp. 25-39). Victoria: Oxford.