In this weeks lecture we basically discussed how evil Commercial Media is and how we should all be striving to work in Public Media, as it is designed to 'serve the Public,' which should essentially be the sole motivating ethic behind any great journalist.
On this note I would like to point out that no matter how 'socially responsibly' you intend to be, that does not give Public Media the right to assume that everything they write and say is in anyway useful to the community at large. As invigorating as a mono-tone voice is at 10:30 at night, ABC's radio segment on 'various types of stains and how to get rid of them,' is hardly useful to anyone unless you're a retired sixty-year-old with too much time on your hands. Not to say that everything the ABC presents is useless to everyone but those who wear adult diapers, but the high and mighty believers of Public Media (see here- Pretentious Hipster Wankers), often assume that just because something is profits based, that all social responsibility goes out the window.
The average Hipster Wanker- basically someone who can afford a $2000 Mac Laptop but chooses to dress and smell like a homeless person
There is no way that any one person can deem a single written or spoken article to be without bias or motivation- take this blog for example. I'm going to come right out and say it: Commercial Media is great! Whether I'm reading Cosmopolitan, listening to Hot FM or watching Masterchef judge Matt Preston's overly dramatic pause before announcing the nights dish to contestant, commercial media is the primary provider of communication, and without it would create a dangerous void in society.
However, for the purpose of this blog, I spent some time paying attention to what Public Media had to say this week.
-The Brisbane Roar are pursuing Italian player Francesco Totti to their team
-There were some security breaches found in Sydney Taxis
-Schapelle Corby is reported as 'unstable' and apparently people care or something
-WA is still trying to cull sharks (Fun fact: there are ten times more cases in the world of New Yorkers biting people then sharks biting people)
-The New Zealand Prime Minister is planning on visiting Australia about Kiwi's apparently being treated unfairly here (babies)
Crying behind bars because I'm a drug smuggler who got caught- A photo series by Schapelle Corby
So overall the intent to 'serve the Public' is barely more insightful than any reports by Commercial Media. In the case of advertisers within Commercial Media, I feel that personal responsibility by the general public is expected here. As independent adults in the 21st century, I personally feel maybe we shouldn't be inclined to read absolutely everything we believe (Another fun fact: Did you know that there is a league of nuns who monitor the internet to ensure that everything posted online is 100% true!)
In the media there is no escaping bias; it is very rare for someone with the power to determine what its audience will read to ever be totally impartial considering every single person has different political, religious and ethical views, and this applies to both commercial and public forums. One of my personal favourite examples of impartialness was the Courier Mail's wonderful headline "Tony Abbott: Australia's Worst Prime Minister." Considering this article was issued the day after the election, I doubt poor old Prime Minister-Elect Tony could really have done a significant amount of damage in such a small time-frame.
This doesn't mean Public media is out of the woods, considering they are yet to produce a single article not dripping in negativity concerning the Liberal government. Its almost as if some of the Producers of ABC voted Labour or something?
Despite the many problems within the media, both structures are invaluable to our operation as a society. The loss of either Public or Commercial media would create a media blackout that we can all agree can lead to economic and emotional stress. We live in a world where communication is our strongest asset, and to not know what is going on at anytime in the world only ever causes panic. (Remember when Telstra lost all function last year and everyone thought it was the end of the world because they couldn't text or go on Facebook?)
Essentially in the world of media diversity, we need to accept personal responsibility and general common sense when we read or listen to any form of information. And if you think you're superior to everyone else because your life revolves around listening to the latest songs on Triple J, get over yourself, its just a bunch of drugged up weirdos who think banging saucepans together classifies as music. Admittedly there are some wonderful alternative artists, but they will never be Beyoncé and I think that is an argument all on its own.
Sorry Lorde, I love your music but you will never be Queen B.
(All Hail the Queen)
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