Week 12.

1. This question required some research of the reasons for and effects of the privatisation of the ABC, as I believe the textbook was a bit vague regarding arguments about this issue.
Firstly, it is important to understand that privatisation is “the process of moving from a government controlled system to a privately run, for-profit system” (Blenheim Capital Partners).
Editor of the Australian Institute of Public Affairs publication IPA Review, Michael Warby has argued that the ABC should be “privatised, dismantled or radically reformed” (Conley & Lamble, 2006, p.269).
I agree with this however, the powerful statement that swayed my decision for the privatisation of the ABC was written by Rudi Michelson on October 16, 2006 in The Australian. He wrote: “The Government has a clear role to regulate media, but there is no compelling reason why it should own and operate an entertainment business.”
I totally agree with this, as the Government does have a role to ensure ethical practice within the media, however why would it want to control and fund an entertainment business? The only reason I can think of is for political propaganda. This fear is reinforced by Conley and Lamble, (2006) as they state that “concerns about government manipulation of the ABC reached new levels during 2000 following the appointment of Jonathan Shier as the corporation’s managing director. Shier had Liberal Party connections” (p.268).
I therefore have lost a substantial amount of trust in the ABC and thus believe it should be privatised.

The privatisation of the ABC would have a big impact on broadcast journalism, as Michelson provides a number of benefits the ABC and broadcast journalism as a whole would receive.
Firstly, a new-look ABC would eliminate the bureaucracy within this form of broadcast journalism (Michelson, 2006).
Michelson suggests that the first preference of the ABC after privatisation may be “management buy-outs especially in regional Australia where the people who operate the radio station could own it” (2006).
He also notes that talented and hard-working ABC staff would benefit from the privatisation of the ABC by recieving greater rewards in the form of more autonomy and professional workplaces(Michelson, 2006).
Finally, as for broadcast journalism in general, he states that the privatisation of the ABC might allow for several smaller media groups of TV and radio stations similar in size to the public company Southern Cross Broadcasting to develop, thus providing us with more diversity in the form of broadcasting(Michelson, 2006).
Therefore, for the above reasons I believe that the ABC should be privatised.

2. As a television news director, I would hire the 38 year old female for a number of valid reasons.
Firstly, the question states that the female is “of ‘average’ appearance but has considerable skill and experience” (Conley & Lamble, 2006, p.294), while the male is “telegenic,” with “reasonable skill and experience” (Conley & Lamble, 2006, p. 294).
Conley and Lamble (2006) state that “Most news directors would prefer to hire a competent reporter who is ‘average’ but well groomed in appearance than a semi-competent reporter who is destined for a Who magazine photo spread” (p.288).
I believe this is a fair, sensible approach to broadcast journalism because although an attractive reporter is pleasant to look at, people primarily watch the news to be informed, not mesmerized by the reader. Consequently, I would hire the female.
Also, even though the staff consists of only one male, this does not influence my decision because during the 1960’s all newsreaders were male(Bertrand, 1996). This means that females may find it uplifting to see that women are now beginning to feature more often on television.
Also, the woman’s age of 38 does not present to be a problem in my eyes, because I saw 38 year old JLo on 60 Minutes recently and she is definitely not a sight for sore eyes.
Finally, Dagan (2004, as cited in Conley & Lamble) states that the key quality a journalist must possess is passion. I agree as I believe that competency and passion overrule appearance, gender and age, thus causing me to hire the female.

3. Given the strengths and weaknesses of each medium, I believe television is the best communicator of any given story for a number of reasons.
The first is that it is easily accessible. Unlike information on the web which you have to locate and wait for to load, television news is reliable as it is on at 6pm every night on the same channel.
Conley and Lamble (2006) note that TV presenters and journalists can become so familiar, that we become comfortable with them, and don’t even think of them as visitors to our homes, but friends.
I believe this allows TV to be the best communicator as audiences build a sense of trust with these reporters and thus believe the news they are presented with. For these reasons, Conley and Lamble (2006) note that compared to print, television is “warm, entertaining and human. It brings people into lounge rooms in ways no newspaper can” (p.261).
Television can also be regarded as the best communicator because it is entertaining, as it combines digital sound, video footage and personalities to attract the attention of audiences. This causes them to be more likely to listen to the story being told.
Hilliard (1981) supports this statement, as he notes that “Television can combine the sound and the audience-orientation of radio, the live continuous performance of theatre and the electronic techniques of film. It is capable of fusing the best of all previous communications media” (pp. 15-16).
Consequently, it’s clear I believe that television is the best communicator.

4. It is extremely helpful that at present, a federal election is looming. As a result, there is enormous coverage of federal election campaigns within broadcast media to assist me in answering this question.
My personal opinion is that at present, there is much more focus on political personalities by broadcast media than issues.
Take for example Kevin Rudd. As opposition leader, the broadcast media tends to focus more on him as a person than on his campaign.
A media frenzy occurred when Kevin Rudd’s wife, Therese Reign’s business YES was discovered to be underpaying workers. Rudd also featured on broadcast media when he was reported to have visited a New York strip club during a drunken night out in 2003 along with having heart surgery 14 years ago. The latest news on Rudd presented on NBN News was that the Rudds were interested in purchasing a beach house worth $5 million at Tingiara Crescent at Sunrise Beach just south of Noosa. This fact was actually false.
It is thus clear that broadcast media focuses more on personalities rather than issues because how do any of these ‘news’ items affect Rudd’s political stance and issues he is passionate about?
Also, I raise the question, why isn’t broadcast media focusing on political issues rather than Kevin Rudd’s desire to buy a new holiday home?
Personally, I thought that coverage of these personal details by broadcast journalists was petty and ridiculous. I also find it terrible that I can list more personal details about Rudd than issues he is campaigning. This reinforces the fact that broadcast media stresses personality rather than issues.
I think that coverage about political issues should receive equal coverage to personalities within broadcast media and be emphasised more through news headlines on television and radio.

Journalism issue: Microphone voices: How are these defined and are they essential for radio?
Within this week’s reading I found the issue of what constitutes a good voice for radio presenting very interesting.
Boyd notes that advertising for radio jobs usually seek someone with “a good microphone voice” (1997, p.143).
This is described by Boyd as one which is “reasonably rich, crisp and resonant and free from obvious impediments, such as harelip, stammer or lisp” (p.143).
Conley and Lamble (2006) state that because person’s who listen to the radio are usually undertaking everyday tasks as well as listening to the radio, a reporter’s voice must have “the intonation, energy and authority to cut through traffic roar, snoring, and flushing toilets and say ‘Hey you, this is important!’”(p. 282).
In week 12 however, a tutorial presentation discussing the future of radio mentioned that Scott Levi, a radio reporter noted that although a good radio voice is needed, an exceptional microphone voice is not necessary because voice training can improve the sound of a person’s voice to an acceptable standard.
Conley and Lamble (2006) agree, however, they state that “If their voice makes dogs howl and babies cry, they probable won’t excel in radio” (282).
Thus, this week I learnt that overall, a voice that sounds pleasant, clear and concise on radio is essential, however, if your voice doesn’t sound outstanding to begin with, training can help to improve it.

References:

Blenheim capital partners. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2007, from http://www.blenheimcapitalpartners.com/definitions.htm

Boyd, A. (1997). Broadcast journalism: Techniques of radio and TV news. Focal Press: Oxford.

Conley, D. & Lamble, S. (2006). Broadcast journalism: The world’s town crier. In Conley, D & Lamble, S. (Eds.), The daily miracle: An introduction to journalism. (3rd ed). (pp261-296). Victoria: Oxford.

Hillard, R. (1981). Writing for television and radio. New York: Hastings House.

Michelson, R. (2006, October 16). Privatrise the ABC. The Australian. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20586352-7583,00.html