The ‘feel-good’ story.

Blaregh. It’s 5am and I’m awake. It’s been a hectic few weeks with a bunch of rehearsals, gigs and recordings with various bands and half started thesis chapters and temp work which is why I’ve been not sleeping and running around in crazy circles instead. But one good thing about this lack of sleep is that I’ve been able to completely pwn my rss reader and catch up on a bunch of awesome articles which I haven’t had the time or energy to read lately.

The Future of Media conference was on in Sydney recently and there has been some great discussion about the difference between bloggers and journalists. One thing which really struck me about the difference between the two was coming across this blog. Olive was the world’s oldest blogger at 109 years old, and although I’ve only just started reading it, it’s an amazing chronicle of a woman’s life, of Australia’s history and a brilliant way to create a memoir. It me thinking that if the MSM wanted to do a story on Olive, she  would have got no more than three minutes at the end of the weather, or if she was lucky, one substantial article or an Australian Story piece. However, instead for a year she was able to tell her own story and connect with people around the world and do so much more through this new medium than was ever possible through old media channels.

Part of the discussion around FOM ‘08 and on this podcast is about the authenticity of blogs compared to trad. journalism. In terms of story telling, i don’t see Olive’s blog as being any less ‘authentic’ for being on a new media platform as opposed to having a half hour doco done on her life on ABC. The Cranky Geek’s podcast above does a wonderful semantic dissection of these words which really highlights the similarities between these two platforms. A journalist and a blogger are simlpy people who journal or write a log of the day. Both stem from that same format of diary writing, where either personally or on behalf of others, we look back at the day gone past and reflect on what’s happened and where we are going. It’s simply the production styles and formats which have distinguished for so long what is essentially the same function.

Media Trends Across the Globe

Cool flash link wouldn’t embed properly but check out www.observatoiredesmedias.com for an analysis of The Guardian and The Australian’s global focus, among others.

 

the australian vs. the netz

“Lastly, while the internet has democratised access to the public arena, it has also coarsened debate. We admit we have not been above the odd ad hominem attack ourselves. It’s time for a little more elegance, a return to the debating conventions of earlier times, to the rules obeyed by men and women of letters.”

This is a recent editorial from the The Australian attempting to dismiss ‘The Internet ’ (notice it’s one big word, because everyone knows everyone else on the netz). Last year The Australian got in a massive war with the blogs and according to at least one esteemed commentator, came off second best. So here it is trying to reclaim a place in the media landscape long since torn away from it.

Public debate has been democratised to a large extent. Instead of debate solely existing on the illustrious opinion/comment pages of The Australian, with a select group of ‘men and women of letters’ presenting pieces to be read by the inactive and mindless public, people are finding their own outlets to argue and discuss. With blogs and websites giving academics, politics desperados and the general public greater freedom than a newspapaper page could ever allow them, it’s no suprise that the blogosphere is booming.

And it’s no suprise that an ageing format has a look in the mirror, witnesses it’s own slow demise and then turns five year old on us all and shouts ‘The internet started it!’.

- Gary Sauer-Thompson discusses The Australian’s editorial.