Entry # 9: News Values

So, for this lecture, we discussed about News Values- which determines how much of prominence a news story is given by a media outlet and attention given by the audience. One thing which was discussed what the different services and cultures will have different news values...but obviously- everyone follows the all famous "Inverted Triangle"!
Recap on the awesome-sauce Inverted Triangle:

Image obtained from here

So, I decided to compare the prominent stories between Australia and Singapore (waddup homeeee!)

Australia- Sky News Australia's Main Headliner:

Hockey says nothing to praise govt about

This article was about Joe Hockey, the Shadow Treasurer, saying that the federal government shouldn't be happy about bringing down a $43.7 billion deficit in the past year. And it goes on describing that if Australia was a company, "you would have sacked the board of directors for their incompetence".
Harsh words there buddy.

Singapore- ChannelNews Asia's Main Headliner:

Vettel wins Singapore Grand Prix

This article describes the events of yesterday's Formula One Grand Prix which took place in Singapore...(yeah I should have been there! :( ) and how Red Bull's Sebestian Vettel clinched the pole position. Ferrari's Massa was deemed the "biggest loser", as he had to return back to the pits due to a punctured tire. And Lewis Hamilton crashed...again. -_-

Obviously, we can see a huge difference in their News Criteria.

ChannelNews Asia placed more importance on the sporting event of the year (in Singapore. Trust me, this is the best it gets when it comes to Sports...unless its Singapore vs Malaysia). I reckon its because it would promote Singapore as a tourism hub and loosen up its "strict" identity. Whereas, Sky News Australia focused on the political side of things. I guess it depends on what would be more well perceived by the audience in different countries.

To me, this news caught my eye:

Prophet film protests continue

by the Sky News Australia.

I guess this caught my interest because, being brought up in Singapore, we were thought to respect each other's religions and believes. Respecting each other's traditions was one of the important lesson which we, Singaporeans learnt from the second World War.
But to realise that this has not been practised in other parts of the world is extremely disappointing.
I MEAN COME GUYS...really?!
The movie wasn't even that...funny. It was just stupid. :/

“I wanna know what you see when you look in the mirror on a day you’re feeling good. I wanna know what you see in the mirror on a day a day you’re feeling bad. I wanna know the first person who ever taught you your beauty could ever be reflected on a lousy piece of glass.”

—	Andrea Gibson, Asking Too Much

Entry #8: Ethics...Say what...

Finally I've decided to do this! Yeap, no more procrastination! :D

Anyway, this lecture was conducted by Donna Meiklejohn- and she is amazing!

I loved her style of delivering the lecture, her inputs of personal stories and real-life events.

So, this lecture was all about Ethics in Communication.

The 3 Main Ethical Theories were discussed.

They are:

1) Deontology- which is where an individual follows the rules, be it established by the government, stated as an ethical codes or principles or/and duty related.

2) Consequentialism - where its all about the outcomes. And it is just focused of achieving the right outcome- ignoring how we got there.

3) Virtue Ethics- where what's wrong and what's right is evaluated.

To me, I always follow my heart- which has led me down the wrong path a lot of times, trust me. But, I think that if we're going to enter a tough and competitive field like Journalism, you've got to become the "Shape shifter". You've got to be a "Ice Queen" for certain occasions, and an expert Sympathiser the next- AND THIS IS HARD! You've got to be someone who is able to think with their head at times, and switch the heart off sometimes.

I have read about a number of Journalist getting injured, jailed or even losing their lives- just because they were trying to tell the truth.
An example would be the death of a Syrian Blogger- who was burned to death by the regime forces. Okay, let's be honest...I was terrified when I read this. Burned to death for exposing the truth?!
This was one of the few stories where Journalists were jailed or killed for exposing the truth. The lengths which these people would go just to make sure that justice is served...it's amazing. Especially at current times, where every-single-thing is being exposed and out of the bag- be it the government, the army, scandals, etc etc.
Wow...I am actually speechless right now. I guess this is the price of (freedom) of speech truth.

Okay, let's go to the less serious side of things now, shall we?...All the worried faces are making me worried as well. :/
So, while I was typing out the definition of " Consequentialism", I got reminded of my favourite fictional Journalist.
And it is none other than Gale Weathers from the Scream Series!
Oh-my-God, this chick is amazing...! She is strong, ruthless and always out to get the story...and of course, get on people's bad side >:)

"Hey! You need to check your conscience at the door sweetie, we're not here to be loved"

AOTB: Birdy

This week on Artist on the Block, is Birdy.

Well, I know she is much more well know now, and I apologise for my lack of updates...but this is a good one.
I am not a big fan of cover songs. I feel like the original song is lost somewhere in the middle of the all the "mash-up" and "bash-ups"- which annoys me so much!
But what Birdy did to Bon Iver's Skinny Love made me thank God...Finally someone who did justice to a beautiful song!
And I realise that most of her songs are covers. And did justice to all of them! What a marvellous talent!
The cover which I loved was "The A- Team", which was originally by Ed Sheeran.

Entry # 7: Public Media

Defining Public Media: "Mass media denotes a section of the media specifically designed to reach a large audience."
According to Wikipedia, Public Broadcasting should be:

1. Universally accessible
2. Universally appealing with general taste and interests
3. Particular attention to minorites - seen in ABC with Indigenous shows
4. Contributing to sense of national identity and community
5. Avoid vested interests

and more..

Okay, so! This lecture...
It focused on the role of Public Media- which was supporting and promoting public and democracy values. And it went on explaining about the functions of Public Media, which includes Nation Building, National Heritage and promoting National Identity. Examples which were given were, ABC and SBS channels.

WAIT WHAT?!
Ok, so before this lecture, I never knew that these channels were classified under public media. (Yeap, living under a rock...more like a coral reef.)
I've always enjoyed watching ABC. I like how they do not just focus on the "dramas", "breakups" and "you slept with my boyfriend/ husband!" blah blah blah (sorry Home and Away!).
It incorporates alot of regional, international and rural programs. And they are extremely informative! So, since I'm staying in College (waddup, Gracies!), we've got the God-sent DC+ -and I practically download every single TV show, movie and music from it. I had no idea that Angry Boys was produced by ABC! Mind= Blown.

Another broadcast cooperation which is recognised as Public Media is SBS.
Okay, I know I've mentioned that "late-night" TV on SBS isn't all kids-friendly at times...but hey! During the day and appropriate timings (ahemmm...), they do televise some informative shows like "Living Black" and oh boy...Soccer.
I can go on about Soccer, but please...STOP ME NOW!

Factual Storytelling: The Angel(ine) who saved me

“Beautiful people never put themselves down nor wish they were someone else, something else, and somewhere else.” 

This was how we ended every other conversation; with her reminding me to never put myself down nor wish I was someone else, something else and somewhere else.

Being a closet bulimic wasn’t easy; keeping up with appearances wasn’t an easy task. It was a vicious cycle and my love/hate relationship with food was getting out of control. By the end of 2010, I was purging at least 5 times a day. On the outside, I looked fine, happy and in control. But deep inside, I knew everything was spiralling out of control.

Until I met Angeline.

Image obtained from here

 “Stumbling” upon Angeline’s Fitness blog (www.fitbunney.tumblr.com) was how I “first met her”. She reminded me of an Asian Barbie doll, except with biceps and deltoids. Her blog was filled with quotes, pictures and random writings/posts about her life as a University Honour Roll student and a Fitness enthusiast. But something else drew my attention away from her amazingly carved arms: her recovery from binge eating.

When asked about her binge eating, she said “I was in a very low place of my life. Food was my only comfort. Sugar was my drug. While I was binging, everything seemed alright. But, right after a binge, I’d feel awful about myself. All the trashing-talking I did to my body…If I did that to my friends, I would have been a very lonely person.”

At that moment, I realised what I’ve been doing to myself. I have been slowly destroying myself, just to make myself feel better for a minute. I’ve never thought of it that way.

“At my heaviest, I found everything hard- Standing, Climbing up a flight of stairs, even walking seemed impossible” she said.

I realised that I was in the same situation after every binge/purge as well- but mentally. All I wanted to do was crawl up in a corner, avoid any social contact and hide in my room. Everything was hard. I was extremely curious about her transformation- from the girl with an eating disorder to Iron Barbie.

Her reply was a 3-page long Word document. At that moment, it finally sank it- I am not alone in this.

“I went to the local mall one day, had 3 Cheeseburgers, hid out in the toilet and bawling my eyes out. I didn’t understand why I was doing this to myself. I deserve better, my body deserve better. At that moment, I walked to the Gym located at the 4^th floor of the mall, signed up and never looked back since.”
“It may be hard and scary to just walk in to the gym and sign up without knowing anything. But trust me; everyone who’s training at the gym didn’t know what they were doing at first. They learn, and they conquer.” 

The word “conquer” hit me hard.

I need to conquer my addiction.
I need to conquer my fear of food.
I need to conquer to stay alive.

So that’s what I did. 

I signed up at the local gym and started learning my way around the gym. All my focus was on getting my postures and lifts right instead of “what am I going to eat next?”
When I emailed Angeline, telling her that I signed up at the local gym, she didn’t reply me with a bunch of workouts to do. Instead, she replied with “Now, it is research time for you!” I had to research about my meal plans, workouts, reps and sets, etc. The more I read into the articles available, the more interested and excited I became. Instead of being spoon-fed with the information, Angeline made sure that I took interest and researched about fitness. This wasn’t going to be a “one-off” thing; I was and am still very much interested in being part of the fitness community and paving a path to recovering from bulimia.

Image obtained from here

And I’ve never looked back since.

The gym has trained me to work hard and play even harder. When I’m in there, I’ve learn to block everything out and focus.

Focus on my next rep.
Focus on my breathing.
Focus on my posture

If Angeline was able to overcome her addiction, sign up for Singapore’s First Women’s Pro- Figure competition, I am certain I’ll be able to do anything.
This is what I call “Fluffy on the outside, Iron on the inside”

Our frequent emails and text messages keeps me motivated and focused on all the good things I have in life- Family, Friends, a home, Health and glad that I am still breathing. I can’t imagine what would have happened to me, if I was still going through that vicious cycle of binging and purging. I can’t imagine what it would have done to my parents, knowing that they couldn’t save their daughter from something that destructive.

Who knew that “stumbling” across a blog would change your life forever?
Angeline Jeunveirre inspired, and will always inspire me.
I can safely say- she saved me.

Image obtained from here

Having trouble with "Mars"?

Having troubles with understanding your man?- if you have a man, that is... :/
Well, then let Superwoman set things straight for you.

Yes yes, I know I am behind by 2 lectures.
Geez, calm downnnnnn...they will be up soon.
And by soon, i mean-not now

Three Cheers to Procrastination!

Just a thought

Nutella-ing my Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter with Nutella Icing

If Uni doesn't work out, I'd move to the mountains and become a baker.
Oh yes, I am a (secret) baker. ;)