Many would say that the Mass Effect series of games are one of the, if not the, greatest sci-fi games in history. But does the trilogy really need online multiplayer? The game already has the unnecessary addition of kinect integration through voice recognition...
After Australian magazine PC PowerPlay revealed through a preview of their next issue that the game will have multiplayer, BioWare announced the feature on their forums. It's going to come in the form of 4 player co-op missions. Although playing Mass Effect with your friends will probably be a lot of fun, my main concern is if the development of it has affected the development of single player as that is what people will be buying the game for.
The FAQ on the forums says that the scope or quality of the single-player experience has not been not affected by the development of multiplayer and that the single-player experience has always been BioWare's priority. However, it also states that "your progress in multiplayer will also have a direct impact upon the outcome of the single-player campaign" but later contradicts itself by saying: "And here's the final word on why multiplayer won't affect the single-player campaign in Mass Effect 3." I don't think that multiplayer is a necessary addition to every game, and I hope that BioWare know what they're doing and the single-player is still the absolute best that it should be.
I hope this isn't just BioWare's way of including an online pass with Mass Effect 3 like a lot of other games are doing at the moment to put people off buying their product pre-owned. Other shooters use multiplayer to offer players something more after (normally) a relatively short single player campaign but Mass Effect games have such a comprehensive single-player experience and will no doubt release DLC to extend that experience and I think that this alone will keep people playing and not trading it in. You can explore the whole universe for crying out loud! What more do people want? The universe is a big place though, so maybe you do need to explore it with your friends!
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Work experience at The Daily Echo
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to take part in work experience at The Daily Echo's Newspaper House in Nursling, stationed on their news desk.
Tuesday 4th
After a tour of the building and being given a desk, I was told to look for some NIBs (news in brief). I found an interesting story about recycling Christmas trees locally and wrote that up.
I then decided to follow up a story that WINOL ran last year, the story about the lack of street lighting in the alleyway connecting St James Lane and Airlie Road. When I was in the area around the new year I noticed that street lighting had been put up so I decided to research why the lighting had been put up considering that the coucil said that "the project was on hold due to complexities" to WINOL in October.
I got the number for a press officer at Winchester City Council from a reporter, Jon, and after phoning them I was told it was a matter that Hampshire County Council take care of. After getting hold of the appropriate person there, she said she would call me back.
Wednesday 5th
For the rest of the week a majority of the Daily Echo's staff were on strike over a pay dispute. This worked in my favour, as I was given more responsibilty and there was a lot more work to do. The news editor, Gordon, gave me some pictures of a toddlers event in Swanwick and a number to ring to get the story and write it up to go in Thursday's Echo. I phoned up and asked a few questions to get the information I needed to write the story as it only needed to be a short one. I wrote it and submitted it to the news desk and it can be seen below.
In the afternoon I went to Town Quay with a repoter, Martyn, to meet some police men who were searching underwater for a missing man that lived on a boat there. It was very interesting and I even got to do some filming myself on a mini flip camera. The story containing the video can be seen below.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8774674.Underwater__search_for__missing__grandad/
When I returned to the newsroom I finally got a call back from the lady regarding the street lights in Winchester. I got all the facts and figures that I needed for the story, for example how much it cost, who paid for it, when it was put up and why. I found out that the main reason for this was because the University wanted students to feel safe when using the alleyway so I phoned up the University and they subsequently emailed me a quote the following morning.
Thursday 6th
First thing in the morning I recorded the 60 second headlines for the Echo's wesite. This is something that they do to promote the stories that are in the paper and hopefully make people buy it. Unfortunately I do not have a copy of it but I did the 60 second bulletin again the following day (Friday) and the recording of that can be seen below.
I then went to court with a reporter, Matt, who had been assigned to do the court reporting that day. We went to Southampton Crown Court and the first case we saw was a first appearance of a soldier who is accused of glassing someone, he pleaded not guilty and date for his trial was set. Next we went into a case where three men were accused of breaking into a chip shop owner's house and stealing money and a lot of electronic goods, including a TV. On this particular day, the wife of the victim was giving evidence. After she had finished giving evidence a forensic scientist gave evidence about a foot mark made on the door of the house that was broken into. This evidence was interesting even though it wasn't very conclusive.
Friday 7th
The Assistant News editor, Jenny, had a look at my story about the street lights in Winchester and said it was great and sent it to be subbed to be in Saturday's Echo and it did indeed appear in the paper and can be seen below.
I spent the rest of the morning phoning round various chemists and pharmacies to see if they had the flu vaccine in stock for a report in to the shortage of flu vaccines in the south. I took part in a bit of undercover reporting and drove to one pharmacy who we suspected was charging over the odds for the flu vaccine but when I asked for it, they had run out. The investigation was a big double page spread in Saturday's Echo and the reporter, Tara, put my name at the end of the report which can be seen below.
My task Friday afternoon was a report that would be making the front page of Saturday's Echo. After being emailed a list of addresses that had recently been burgled, I had to locate them in a street atlas. I then had to photocopy the pages that the burglaries were on, highlight the roads that they were on, and then give this to 'map man' Andy, who made it into a digital map. He came back to me with the map and all the locations had been numbered, I then had to create a key that listed the road names of each numbered location. The map appeared on page 2 of Saturday's Daily Echo and can be seen below.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Media Law - Codes of Practice
The main reasons for having codes of practice is that they provide a benchmark for behaviour and maintain professional standards in journalism. Codes of practice are important for guiding journalists through ethical issues like how far can a journalist go to get a story and what practices are legitimate to use. An example of this would be breaking the law to exploit a criminal, is this a legitimate practice? If the journalist could demonstrate that the story is in the public interest then it quite possibly is!
The key areas are covered in all codes of practice are ethical behaviour, fair treatment, the respect for privacy and the requirement for accuracy and impartiality. Most codes of practice will also include a code to protect vulnerable groups in society like children; for example identifying a child through jigsaw identification might be a breach of a code even though the child wasn't explicitly identified.
The three main regulatory bodies for codes are as follows -
PCC (Press Complaints Commission)
The PCC regulates newspapers and magazines. It is a self regulatory body and is seen as a toothless tiger i.e. not very fierce. Their code doesn't really mention impartiality and that is why newspapers do not have to be balanced. This can be showed by the sun for example who have a clear political allegiance towards the Conservatives and never include real balance in politics stories. Most of the PCC's polices can be breached if it is demonstrated to be in the public interest.
Ofcom
Ofcom regulates broadcasters so TV and radio. In comparison to the PCC Ofcom are very fierce and have a lot of power. They can order a programme not to be repeated, they can impose fines and even have the power to revoke broadcast liscences. Also if a broadcaster does breach one of Ofcom's policies then it must stated in another public broadcast normally with an apology.
The most famous Ofcom breach or recent times is the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross scandal where they phoned up Andrew Sachs and left obscene messages on his answer pone referring to his granddaughter. Ofcom fined the BBC £150,000 for this. Other large fines have been imposed by Ofcom for competitions fixes and fake phone-ins. ITV were fined a record £5.675million because viewers were phoning in on premium rate numbers when the competitions were already fixed.
Ofcom enforces impartiality as a requirement for broadcasters but not for newspapers (as mentioned above). They also insist on an absence of bias or preconception all broadcasters must consider the 'axis of debate'.
BBC Code
The BBC code is a guide for BBC employees. It protects the BBC and like the PCC is self regulating and so not as harsh as an independent body such as Ofcom.
The key areas are covered in all codes of practice are ethical behaviour, fair treatment, the respect for privacy and the requirement for accuracy and impartiality. Most codes of practice will also include a code to protect vulnerable groups in society like children; for example identifying a child through jigsaw identification might be a breach of a code even though the child wasn't explicitly identified.
The three main regulatory bodies for codes are as follows -
PCC (Press Complaints Commission)
The PCC regulates newspapers and magazines. It is a self regulatory body and is seen as a toothless tiger i.e. not very fierce. Their code doesn't really mention impartiality and that is why newspapers do not have to be balanced. This can be showed by the sun for example who have a clear political allegiance towards the Conservatives and never include real balance in politics stories. Most of the PCC's polices can be breached if it is demonstrated to be in the public interest.
Ofcom
Ofcom regulates broadcasters so TV and radio. In comparison to the PCC Ofcom are very fierce and have a lot of power. They can order a programme not to be repeated, they can impose fines and even have the power to revoke broadcast liscences. Also if a broadcaster does breach one of Ofcom's policies then it must stated in another public broadcast normally with an apology.
The most famous Ofcom breach or recent times is the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross scandal where they phoned up Andrew Sachs and left obscene messages on his answer pone referring to his granddaughter. Ofcom fined the BBC £150,000 for this. Other large fines have been imposed by Ofcom for competitions fixes and fake phone-ins. ITV were fined a record £5.675million because viewers were phoning in on premium rate numbers when the competitions were already fixed.
Ofcom enforces impartiality as a requirement for broadcasters but not for newspapers (as mentioned above). They also insist on an absence of bias or preconception all broadcasters must consider the 'axis of debate'.
BBC Code
The BBC code is a guide for BBC employees. It protects the BBC and like the PCC is self regulating and so not as harsh as an independent body such as Ofcom.
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Media Law - More on the Freedom of Information Act
The basic principle of the Freedom of Information Act is that "any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled... to have that information communicated to him" The idea behind it was that taxpayers pay (through tax) for the information to be produced therefore they own the information and should have access to it.
Over 130,000 public bodies are covered by the act and over 100,000 FOI requests are made a year at an estimated cost of £34million. Official figures state that of these 100,000 FOI requests only 12% of them come from journalists. However since you do not need to state that you are a journalist when requesting information critics would that journalists just lie as you would probably get a different answer if you say you are a journalist. Therefore the actual figure of journalists requesting information may be a lot higher.
Tony Blair introduced the Freedom of Information Act in 2005 and when reflecting back on it he said: "You idiot. You naive, foolish, irresponsible nincompoop. There is really no description of stupidity, no matter how vivid, that is adequate. I quake at the imbecility of it." He later explained why he thought it was such a bad idea; "If you are trying to take a difficult decision and you're weighing up the pros and cons, you have frank conversations... And if those conversations then are put out in a published form that afterwards are liable to be highlighted in particular ways, you are going to be very cautious. That's why it's not a sensible thing."
Right now, we are in the golden age of freedom of information. Anything that is written down can be requested and everything before 2005 was written down so all those years of information are highly accessible. However now everything is spoken so there is no access to it.
Freedom of information requests have to be in writing but email is fine. FOI requests can be refused if obtaining the information would exceed £600 or the information is exempt. There are two types of exemptions:
After putting in an FOI request, the relevant authority has 60 days in total to provide the information but they must contact you within 20 days, for example they may just say, "We have received your request." If after 60 days they have not provided the information then you can go to internal review, if that fails as well then you can go to an information commisioner, if you still have no luck you can go to an information tribunal and your last resort is the high court. This would take a lot of money and determination though. Funnily enough this is how the MP's expenses scandal story made it's way into the headlines, as the Daily Mail did not give up and eventually obtained the information and published it.
Over 130,000 public bodies are covered by the act and over 100,000 FOI requests are made a year at an estimated cost of £34million. Official figures state that of these 100,000 FOI requests only 12% of them come from journalists. However since you do not need to state that you are a journalist when requesting information critics would that journalists just lie as you would probably get a different answer if you say you are a journalist. Therefore the actual figure of journalists requesting information may be a lot higher.
Tony Blair introduced the Freedom of Information Act in 2005 and when reflecting back on it he said: "You idiot. You naive, foolish, irresponsible nincompoop. There is really no description of stupidity, no matter how vivid, that is adequate. I quake at the imbecility of it." He later explained why he thought it was such a bad idea; "If you are trying to take a difficult decision and you're weighing up the pros and cons, you have frank conversations... And if those conversations then are put out in a published form that afterwards are liable to be highlighted in particular ways, you are going to be very cautious. That's why it's not a sensible thing."
Right now, we are in the golden age of freedom of information. Anything that is written down can be requested and everything before 2005 was written down so all those years of information are highly accessible. However now everything is spoken so there is no access to it.
Freedom of information requests have to be in writing but email is fine. FOI requests can be refused if obtaining the information would exceed £600 or the information is exempt. There are two types of exemptions:
- Absolute exemptions - For example, national security and military opertions information and court records.
- Qualified exemptions - For example, ministerial communications and commercial confidentiality.
After putting in an FOI request, the relevant authority has 60 days in total to provide the information but they must contact you within 20 days, for example they may just say, "We have received your request." If after 60 days they have not provided the information then you can go to internal review, if that fails as well then you can go to an information commisioner, if you still have no luck you can go to an information tribunal and your last resort is the high court. This would take a lot of money and determination though. Funnily enough this is how the MP's expenses scandal story made it's way into the headlines, as the Daily Mail did not give up and eventually obtained the information and published it.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Media Law - More on Copyright
Without copyright protection journalism never would have flourished. Copyright maintains exclusivity which gives our product value. Respect other people's copyright in the hope they respect yours.
Getting it wrong will cost you money, embarrassment and stress and reputation for competence. Newspapers have been 'lifting' each other's storys for years, they are able to do this but only under strict criteria. The concept of fair dealing is used in newspapers for the purpose of reporting current events. This allows newspapers to lift stories from rival newspapers and even quotes; but they would have to attribute the original newspaper and display them in a way similar to "Ian said to The Sun..." Under the concept of fair dealing the story must also be in the public interest, which it probably is anyway if another newspaper has already reported it. The usage obviously must also be 'fair' hence the term 'fair dealing'.
Not only does fair dealing allow wider reporting of stories in public interest, but I mentioned in my previous blog regarding copyright, it allows criticism and review of copyright material and allows the broadcast of news orbits of film stars so you can also use famous movie clips for free.
Photographs are never subject to fair dealing unless they have a creative commons license, see my other blog about that here. The danger area is the internet, for example YouTube. In the past many people used to make videos with copyrighted songs as the soundtrack however record labels soon put a stop by this by claiming breach of copyright and forcing youtube to remove the audio from the video. YouTube has now found it's own way to get round this too by adding links to download the song from the video. See the screen shot below for an example of this.
The key points to remember about copyright are as follows -
Getting it wrong will cost you money, embarrassment and stress and reputation for competence. Newspapers have been 'lifting' each other's storys for years, they are able to do this but only under strict criteria. The concept of fair dealing is used in newspapers for the purpose of reporting current events. This allows newspapers to lift stories from rival newspapers and even quotes; but they would have to attribute the original newspaper and display them in a way similar to "Ian said to The Sun..." Under the concept of fair dealing the story must also be in the public interest, which it probably is anyway if another newspaper has already reported it. The usage obviously must also be 'fair' hence the term 'fair dealing'.
Not only does fair dealing allow wider reporting of stories in public interest, but I mentioned in my previous blog regarding copyright, it allows criticism and review of copyright material and allows the broadcast of news orbits of film stars so you can also use famous movie clips for free.
Photographs are never subject to fair dealing unless they have a creative commons license, see my other blog about that here. The danger area is the internet, for example YouTube. In the past many people used to make videos with copyrighted songs as the soundtrack however record labels soon put a stop by this by claiming breach of copyright and forcing youtube to remove the audio from the video. YouTube has now found it's own way to get round this too by adding links to download the song from the video. See the screen shot below for an example of this.
The key points to remember about copyright are as follows -
- Recognise copyright issues early
- Contacting rights holders takes time
- Tell others if you have copyright cleared
- Don't lift material without referencing it up
Friday, 5 November 2010
Media Law - Copyright and Freedom of Information
Copyright
Copyright protects intellectual property. This means something you have done or made yourself. You can't copyright an idea until you have actually started work on it and you can show that someone has copied you. If you work for someone else then generally the copyright belongs to your employer unless there is some sort of special agreement. Also any work that I do for my university course is considered property of the university. The general rule is do it yourself and you own it and it will be protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
There is a concept called 'fair dealing' in which you can use certain parts of copyrighted material for reviewing purposes or similar uses. Fair dealing is used in the news all the time when they show football highlights, which in most cases is just the goals. In the corner of the screen you will often see something like 'Pictures from Sky Sports'. This comes under fair dealing and in most cases you will have to credit the person that the copyrighted material belongs to, not doing so will give you less protection under the law. If you wanted to show a film you would have more fair dealing protection if you showed someone watching the film in an over the shoulder shot. For reviewing a film or a video game you would be able to show clips of it as long as you were talking over it and you were only showing the clip for critical or reviewing purposes.
During the production of the WINOL news bulletin this week we encountered a copyright problem which we used fair dealing to get around. To introduce our guest Chesney Hawkes on to the show we wanted to show a clip of his only hit, 'The One and Only' so people would know who he was. We used a 5 second clip of the music video and had a caption saying 'Property of EMI records' over the video which I think is enough to be considered as fair dealing.
For copyright free images there a method of licensing called 'Creative Commons' where you can use images that belong to someone else as long as you credit them and link to their website. There may also be other restrictions like no cropping/editing of the image etc. For more information about Creative Commons see this video interview with Esther Wojcicki, chairperson of the board of Creative Commons.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act (2000) is a statute which requires all public authorities to publish all their internal documentation on demand and publish a schedule of all the information that they have. If you put in a FOI request then the authority must provide you with the information in a reasonable time with the absolute maximum amount of time being 60 days at which point you can take your request to an information enforcer. The only excuse for not providing information is that it would be too expensive to do so. All national security and military operations information is exempt.
The website whatdotheyknow.com is a massive online database of Freedom of Information requests and you can also make requests from the website. The great MP's expenses story all started with a Freedom of Information request so this proves that FOI requests can be very useful in providing great public interest news stories.
Copyright protects intellectual property. This means something you have done or made yourself. You can't copyright an idea until you have actually started work on it and you can show that someone has copied you. If you work for someone else then generally the copyright belongs to your employer unless there is some sort of special agreement. Also any work that I do for my university course is considered property of the university. The general rule is do it yourself and you own it and it will be protected under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
There is a concept called 'fair dealing' in which you can use certain parts of copyrighted material for reviewing purposes or similar uses. Fair dealing is used in the news all the time when they show football highlights, which in most cases is just the goals. In the corner of the screen you will often see something like 'Pictures from Sky Sports'. This comes under fair dealing and in most cases you will have to credit the person that the copyrighted material belongs to, not doing so will give you less protection under the law. If you wanted to show a film you would have more fair dealing protection if you showed someone watching the film in an over the shoulder shot. For reviewing a film or a video game you would be able to show clips of it as long as you were talking over it and you were only showing the clip for critical or reviewing purposes.
During the production of the WINOL news bulletin this week we encountered a copyright problem which we used fair dealing to get around. To introduce our guest Chesney Hawkes on to the show we wanted to show a clip of his only hit, 'The One and Only' so people would know who he was. We used a 5 second clip of the music video and had a caption saying 'Property of EMI records' over the video which I think is enough to be considered as fair dealing.
For copyright free images there a method of licensing called 'Creative Commons' where you can use images that belong to someone else as long as you credit them and link to their website. There may also be other restrictions like no cropping/editing of the image etc. For more information about Creative Commons see this video interview with Esther Wojcicki, chairperson of the board of Creative Commons.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act (2000) is a statute which requires all public authorities to publish all their internal documentation on demand and publish a schedule of all the information that they have. If you put in a FOI request then the authority must provide you with the information in a reasonable time with the absolute maximum amount of time being 60 days at which point you can take your request to an information enforcer. The only excuse for not providing information is that it would be too expensive to do so. All national security and military operations information is exempt.
The website whatdotheyknow.com is a massive online database of Freedom of Information requests and you can also make requests from the website. The great MP's expenses story all started with a Freedom of Information request so this proves that FOI requests can be very useful in providing great public interest news stories.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Directing WINOL for the first time
This week I directed the WINOL news bulletin for the first time ever. I wasn't expecting it to be easy but it was a lot more stressful that I thought it would be. The main problem was the lack of time for rehearsals. This was no one in particular's fault as the news reporters had to keep adjusting the lengths of their pieces due to other stories falling through and I appreciate that but having no news packages at 3 o' clock for a bulletin that's supposed to be recorded at 3 left me just a little bit panicky to say the least!
When we eventually had time for a rehearsal the main things that I wanted to practice were the handovers so both the camera operators and the presenters were happy with them. Chris Ship (ITV's Senior Political Corespondent) was the guest editor for this weeks bulletin and was really helpful in the rehearsal stage of the bulletin. In an ideal world we would have prerecorded the headline because then they would be 100% correct and as Chris said, if the top of your programme is wrong then why would the viewer want to watch the rest? We got the headlines spot on in the last rehearsal and they looked really slick however in the live bulletin I cued the news anchor, Jake too early and he spoke over the soundbite in the headline. I did think when I got the headline with a soundbite in it was a bit adventurous. When there are soundbites in the headlines there needs to be a lot of attention to detail because they have to be spot on, unfortunately due to time constraints we didn't give the soundbite the necessary attention that it needed.
As far as the rest of the bulletin went, I think it went really well. Because of the lack of stories we were quite ambitious and had a live link to Joey in the newsroom during the bulletin which I think worked well and looked really professional. We also had a live studio guest, Guy Butters, the manager Winchester FC which also went well but as Chris Ship said it did look a bit like a game of musical chairs!
The handovers went really smoothly and the presenters knew exactly what camera they were looking in to at all times. There was only one bit where I forgot to get camera 1 to get a close up of the sport anchor, Karen, and then when she introduced the Totton highlights the camera was still on a two shot and the guest was still in shot and this looked very silly.
I don't think I gave the vision mixer, Jon, enough direction during the bulletin as it was his first time doing that job and I was more concerned with VT's and the presenters and making sure they knew what was going on and Jon just had to follow me and this is why there were a few black holes in the bulletin. Luckily we were able to remove them in post production though. However the main problem that caused the black holes was yet again the timings. My role for the last two weeks had been PA and I had a massive problem with the timings then and this week it seemed a lot worse. None of them were correct and this is why I had to keep a close eye on the VT's so I knew roughly when to cue the presenters. This is something that could have been addressed had we had more time to rehearse.
Next week I hope for a much more technically better bulletin with no black holes and rehearsed so well that it looks highly polished and professional. The main thing that I want to get right next week are the timings because if the presenters are given an accurate count down from 10 then they will be less likely to panic and feel a lot more comfortable about when they are to start talking.
Finally, I would like to thank my team in gallery and on the studio floor and the presenters who all did a brilliant job of bringing the bulletin together in a very short space of time. WELL DONE TEAM!
Here is the WINOL news bulletin for 27th October 2010:
When we eventually had time for a rehearsal the main things that I wanted to practice were the handovers so both the camera operators and the presenters were happy with them. Chris Ship (ITV's Senior Political Corespondent) was the guest editor for this weeks bulletin and was really helpful in the rehearsal stage of the bulletin. In an ideal world we would have prerecorded the headline because then they would be 100% correct and as Chris said, if the top of your programme is wrong then why would the viewer want to watch the rest? We got the headlines spot on in the last rehearsal and they looked really slick however in the live bulletin I cued the news anchor, Jake too early and he spoke over the soundbite in the headline. I did think when I got the headline with a soundbite in it was a bit adventurous. When there are soundbites in the headlines there needs to be a lot of attention to detail because they have to be spot on, unfortunately due to time constraints we didn't give the soundbite the necessary attention that it needed.
As far as the rest of the bulletin went, I think it went really well. Because of the lack of stories we were quite ambitious and had a live link to Joey in the newsroom during the bulletin which I think worked well and looked really professional. We also had a live studio guest, Guy Butters, the manager Winchester FC which also went well but as Chris Ship said it did look a bit like a game of musical chairs!
The handovers went really smoothly and the presenters knew exactly what camera they were looking in to at all times. There was only one bit where I forgot to get camera 1 to get a close up of the sport anchor, Karen, and then when she introduced the Totton highlights the camera was still on a two shot and the guest was still in shot and this looked very silly.
I don't think I gave the vision mixer, Jon, enough direction during the bulletin as it was his first time doing that job and I was more concerned with VT's and the presenters and making sure they knew what was going on and Jon just had to follow me and this is why there were a few black holes in the bulletin. Luckily we were able to remove them in post production though. However the main problem that caused the black holes was yet again the timings. My role for the last two weeks had been PA and I had a massive problem with the timings then and this week it seemed a lot worse. None of them were correct and this is why I had to keep a close eye on the VT's so I knew roughly when to cue the presenters. This is something that could have been addressed had we had more time to rehearse.
Next week I hope for a much more technically better bulletin with no black holes and rehearsed so well that it looks highly polished and professional. The main thing that I want to get right next week are the timings because if the presenters are given an accurate count down from 10 then they will be less likely to panic and feel a lot more comfortable about when they are to start talking.
Finally, I would like to thank my team in gallery and on the studio floor and the presenters who all did a brilliant job of bringing the bulletin together in a very short space of time. WELL DONE TEAM!
Here is the WINOL news bulletin for 27th October 2010:
Media Law - Privacy and Confidentialty
Privacy
Under Section 8 of the Human Rights Act (1998) "Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." This basically means that everyone is entitled to private enjoyment of family life. This affects taking photographs too because unless the person you are photographing is engaging in a pure public duty then now because of section 8 of the Human Rights act there has to be consent!
There are two types of consent, explicit consent and implied consent. Explicit consent is where a contract has been signed to agree consent. Implied consent is where for example there are posing in front of a camera and it is obvious that they know they are being photographed.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the right to tell somebody something and they won't disclose it to anyone else. It depends on the importance of the secret and the relationship with the person. To sue on breach of confidentiality the information must have a quaility of confidence, it must have been said in confidential circumstances, there must be no permission to reveal the secret and it has to cause actual damages when told.
The Official Secrets Act is used by the government to protect secrets to do with military operations or intelligence that might help enemies.
Under Section 8 of the Human Rights Act (1998) "Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." This basically means that everyone is entitled to private enjoyment of family life. This affects taking photographs too because unless the person you are photographing is engaging in a pure public duty then now because of section 8 of the Human Rights act there has to be consent!
There are two types of consent, explicit consent and implied consent. Explicit consent is where a contract has been signed to agree consent. Implied consent is where for example there are posing in front of a camera and it is obvious that they know they are being photographed.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the right to tell somebody something and they won't disclose it to anyone else. It depends on the importance of the secret and the relationship with the person. To sue on breach of confidentiality the information must have a quaility of confidence, it must have been said in confidential circumstances, there must be no permission to reveal the secret and it has to cause actual damages when told.
The Official Secrets Act is used by the government to protect secrets to do with military operations or intelligence that might help enemies.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Media Law - Qualified Privilege
Privilege allows us as journalists to write or broadcast material which may be defamtory, untrue, or even both at the same time. It gives us protection from being sued. There are two types of privilege, absolute privilege and qualified privilege.
You have qualified privilege as long as your report is fair, accurate and contemporaneous. Fair would mean that in a court report you would report everything that was said that said in court that day and if for example the prosecution were giving evidence, then you would report all the evidence giving a fair account and then as long as you write/say "the trial continues",then that gives balance and makes the report fair. Accurate would mean that you have to accurately report what was said in court not just roughly what was said- this is where the skill of shorthand comes in very handy. Contemporaneous means that the report must go out in the first available bulletin after the events in court. For a newspaper this might be the following day. However for a news broadcast programme this might be that evening. The report must also be without malice and on a matter of public concern.
There are two levels of qualified privilege -
1.Without explanation or contradiction such as -
2. With or 'subject to' explanation or contradiction such as -
In summary your report must be fair, accurate, contemporaneous, without malice and on a matter of public interest. It is also worth noting that you have NO privilege outisde main proceedings, so no protecion for speeches outside the court/meeting or phone calls etc.
You have qualified privilege as long as your report is fair, accurate and contemporaneous. Fair would mean that in a court report you would report everything that was said that said in court that day and if for example the prosecution were giving evidence, then you would report all the evidence giving a fair account and then as long as you write/say "the trial continues",then that gives balance and makes the report fair. Accurate would mean that you have to accurately report what was said in court not just roughly what was said- this is where the skill of shorthand comes in very handy. Contemporaneous means that the report must go out in the first available bulletin after the events in court. For a newspaper this might be the following day. However for a news broadcast programme this might be that evening. The report must also be without malice and on a matter of public concern.
There are two levels of qualified privilege -
1.Without explanation or contradiction such as -
- Public proceedings in a legislature anywhere in the world (For example Russia)
- Public proceedings in a court anywhere in the world
- Public proceedings of a public inquiry anywhere in the world
- Public proceedings of an international organisation or conference
- Public meetings - Findings or decisions are also covered
- Local councils and committees - Findings or decisions are also covered
In summary your report must be fair, accurate, contemporaneous, without malice and on a matter of public interest. It is also worth noting that you have NO privilege outisde main proceedings, so no protecion for speeches outside the court/meeting or phone calls etc.
Friday, 15 October 2010
Media Law - Defamation and Libel
Defamation is all about the meaning of words in the eyes of a 'reasonable man'. The criteria for defamation is that you what write about the person you are defaming 'tends to' -
- Lower them in the estimation of right thinking people.
- Causes them to be shunned or avoided.
- Disparages them in their business, trade or profession.
- Exposes them to hatred, ridicule or contempt.
Defamation is also possible via pictures and is common danger in TV. Careless use of background shots with a voice over can be defamatory- for example a voice over could be talking about paedophiles and there could be a clearly identifiable man in a background that is then libeled as a paedophile. People or companies must not be identifiable in certain contexts for example child abuse or fraud. Care must be taken when using 'imprecise' shots.
If you defame someone you are more likely to be sued by them if they have a reputation at stake. Reputation is precious, especially if you are in the public eye, have money or both. If there is a possibly of defaming someone by inferring something or through an innuendo then don't do it. You need to assess the whole context of the story before publishing. When you publish something is when you libel someone.
Publication + Defamation + Identification = Libel
However there are defences against libel -
- "It's true and I can prove it" (in court)
- Fair comment - This is an honestly held opinion based upon facts, or privileged material in the public interest.
- Absolute privilege - Court reporting
- Qualified privilege - Police quotes, Council meetings etc
There are the main defences but there are others -
- Bone and antidote - Where defamation is removed by context
- Apologies and clarification - Rarely accepted
- Reynolds defence - Journalists have the right to publish an allegation even if it turns out be wrong
- Public interest
- Product of 'responsible journalism'
You will have no defence -
- When you have not checked your facts
- When you have not 'referred up'
- When you have not put yourself in the shoes of the person or company you are writing about
- If you get carried away with a 'spicy' story
- If you have not bothered to wait for a lawyers opinion
Again it all comes to recognising the risks and asking yourself questions -
- Who am I writing about and could they sue?
- Is what I'm writing potentially defamatory?
- Do I have a defence?
- Don't forget that lawyers never mind being asked!
Friday, 8 October 2010
Media Law - Reporting the Courts
If there is a risk of prejudice then this could lead to contempt of court. Under the 'Contempt of Court Act 1981' journalists are not allowed to report an material that might prejudice a trial. By the time a case is in court there are very few things that you can report. When the case is 'active' no details of the case may be reported but the following -
- Name
- Age
- Address
- Occupation
- Charge(s)
- Date/Place of Crown Court hearing
- Bail
- Legal aid conditions
- Names of counsel
Police normally have a maximum of 24 hours to question but this can be extended by 12 hours by a senior officer and then a further 36 hours questioning time can be granted by a magistrate but the overall questioning time cannot exceed 96 hours. The only exception to this are terror suspects, where the limit is 28 days.
There are three different categories of offense -
- Summary - These offences stay in the magistrates court and are things like driving offences.
- Either way - These types of offences can go to crown court or magistrates court
- Indictable - These types of offences are for the crown court only and carry a sentence of 5 years and above.
Magistrates have limited sentencing powers and they are as follows -
- 6 month prison sentence and/or fines up to £5,000
- Suspended sentences
- Conditional discharges
- Community orders
- Binding orders
- ASBOs
The key stages that take place in a trial i.e. important things to report during a case -
- Prosecution opening
- Key prosecution witnesses
- Defense opening
- Key defense witnesses
- Judge's summing up
- Jury sent out, deliberation and verdict
- Sentencing
The main points to consider when reporting about children and young people are that children are legally juvenile until they are 18 and most under 18s enjoy anonymity, this means that you must be extra careful about accident identifying them.
The following court report shows examples of how a court case can be reported when a case is over and also has an example of juvenile's that are under 18 and therefore cannot be named and how to report that - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11564234
Media Law - Overview of the court system
The key skill for journalists when it comes to law is to learn to recognise the risk. For example recognising when something could libel someone as they could then sue you. People with reputations are more likely to sue.
I have made a diagram to illustrate the hierarchy of criminal and civil courts -
Court reporting used to be a big part of journalism but is becoming less and less popular. I found the following article about how court reporting is a dying trend, which makes for a very interesting read - http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/oct/19/court-reporting-dying-art-lawyers
I have made a diagram to illustrate the hierarchy of criminal and civil courts -
There are many sources of law but the main ones are as follows -
- Common law tradition - This comes from ancient law.
- Statute law - This is when the government actions new laws.
- EU law adding to British law.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Video - How to submit an article on Joomla to the WINOL website
(Watch it in full screen so you can actually see what's going on!)
Monday, 4 October 2010
Production Meeting Notes - Introduction to Joomla
Flash/PHP - Part of the WINOL website is produced in flash and the whole magazine will be created in flash. Flash is a very powerful program that mixes visual images and text. Chanin Lloyd will be in charge of flash. As far as the magazine goes, the picture editor Jason Curtis will take thousands of fantastic images to go in it and make it look brilliant. Most of the site is made in PHP, which is a modern version of HTML. The HTML program Dreamweaver is also sometimes used, with this program you can hand make websites. Not many people really use it anymore because there are so many templates, for example there are loads right here on Blogger, etc.
Joomla - This is a content management system (CMS), most organistations have their own CMS that is customised to them, for example and at the BBC their CMS is called CPS. Joomla is fairly robust at enabling people to submit articles and then the sub editors can they receive, check and put them on the website very quickly. The pages do look a bit boring and its quite hard to put pictures on and make them looks nice therefore it is quite hard to create designed pages on Joomla.
Live bulletin - We mainly used LiveStream last year as it gives us the capability to stream the bulletin as live. The only thing that can stream the bulletin as actual live is UStream, which we need to set the Tricaster up for, we did this for out General Election Coverage. We have four LiveStream channels for news, sport, community and entertainment. This enables us to loop a verity of content across these channels.
The website - www.winol.co.uk is a forwarding address domain name and the actual resident URL of the site is www.winchesterjournalism.co.uk/joomla_1.5_winol/. If you are not an administrator then you will need to log in from the WINOL homepage. However if you are an administrator when you log in this the screen you will be greeted with - the control panel.
Add New Article - Does exactly what it says on the tin, allows you to add a new article.
Article Manager - Displays all the articles on the site at any one time. Allows for quick publishing to the site and/or front page and the ability to change the order that the articles appear on any page. You can also control who has permission to view certain articles. It also displays the section of the site that the article comes under (news, sport, etc) and then categories within that (football, cricket, etc). It then displays who wrote it, making you personally liable for suing purposes - however you hopefully won't get sued. You need to know when there might be problems, you don't really need to know the law, just recognise the risk. The date the article was last edited, the amount of hits it has had, and it's unique id is also displayed.
Front Page Manager - The front page is the first page people will see when coming to the site and in most cases the only page they will visit and so it's absolutely crucial and you need to have lots of hooks to draw the reader in. Good sub editing will help with this. We also need barkers that display content on the site. The whole magazine business works on churns and uses barkers to sell the magazine content using the front page. Three vital words for the front page are WIN, FREE, SEX for tabloids. We should operate under a similar scheme. Maybe not sex though, the law on pornography is that the material has been produced with intend to create sexual arousal. So legally we could have our own Page 3 WINOL girls. Essentially all we really need is WIN and FREE. So we need a good competition like 'Date with Fate' last year when anyone has the chance of winning something for free.
Section manager/Category Manager - Already set up. The separate section and catorigories of the site.
Media Manger - This is where you will upload any type of media (pictures, music, video, etc) to include with your article and to put on the site.
User Manager - Keep your password safe and don't tell anyone else so you someone else can't make you appear liable and frame you as it were. The permission or articles that you have access to are also displayed on this page. When you log in to the user manager it will show you everyone's status. Chris can control what access that you will have to the site. Here you can also change your password. When you're logged in you can see who else in online and when they were last on, etc. You won't be able to log in to the administrator page if you are not an administrator and will only be able to log in on the homepage.
Joomla - This is a content management system (CMS), most organistations have their own CMS that is customised to them, for example and at the BBC their CMS is called CPS. Joomla is fairly robust at enabling people to submit articles and then the sub editors can they receive, check and put them on the website very quickly. The pages do look a bit boring and its quite hard to put pictures on and make them looks nice therefore it is quite hard to create designed pages on Joomla.
Live bulletin - We mainly used LiveStream last year as it gives us the capability to stream the bulletin as live. The only thing that can stream the bulletin as actual live is UStream, which we need to set the Tricaster up for, we did this for out General Election Coverage. We have four LiveStream channels for news, sport, community and entertainment. This enables us to loop a verity of content across these channels.
The website - www.winol.co.uk is a forwarding address domain name and the actual resident URL of the site is www.winchesterjournalism.co.uk/joomla_1.5_winol/. If you are not an administrator then you will need to log in from the WINOL homepage. However if you are an administrator when you log in this the screen you will be greeted with - the control panel.
Add New Article - Does exactly what it says on the tin, allows you to add a new article.
Article Manager - Displays all the articles on the site at any one time. Allows for quick publishing to the site and/or front page and the ability to change the order that the articles appear on any page. You can also control who has permission to view certain articles. It also displays the section of the site that the article comes under (news, sport, etc) and then categories within that (football, cricket, etc). It then displays who wrote it, making you personally liable for suing purposes - however you hopefully won't get sued. You need to know when there might be problems, you don't really need to know the law, just recognise the risk. The date the article was last edited, the amount of hits it has had, and it's unique id is also displayed.
Front Page Manager - The front page is the first page people will see when coming to the site and in most cases the only page they will visit and so it's absolutely crucial and you need to have lots of hooks to draw the reader in. Good sub editing will help with this. We also need barkers that display content on the site. The whole magazine business works on churns and uses barkers to sell the magazine content using the front page. Three vital words for the front page are WIN, FREE, SEX for tabloids. We should operate under a similar scheme. Maybe not sex though, the law on pornography is that the material has been produced with intend to create sexual arousal. So legally we could have our own Page 3 WINOL girls. Essentially all we really need is WIN and FREE. So we need a good competition like 'Date with Fate' last year when anyone has the chance of winning something for free.
Section manager/Category Manager - Already set up. The separate section and catorigories of the site.
Media Manger - This is where you will upload any type of media (pictures, music, video, etc) to include with your article and to put on the site.
User Manager - Keep your password safe and don't tell anyone else so you someone else can't make you appear liable and frame you as it were. The permission or articles that you have access to are also displayed on this page. When you log in to the user manager it will show you everyone's status. Chris can control what access that you will have to the site. Here you can also change your password. When you're logged in you can see who else in online and when they were last on, etc. You won't be able to log in to the administrator page if you are not an administrator and will only be able to log in on the homepage.
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Barking Mad?!
I have seen some pretty ridiculous things before but I think this beats them all. Many video games have been blamed by the media for making people act violent or engage in some other form or illicit behaviour because they saw it in a video game, but this is something else. Now, the fun innocent virtual pet game 'Nintendogs' has been blamed for making a dog turn violent and attack a nine year old girl!
The incident allegedly occurred when the dog heard a virtual dog barking on the video game and then proceeded to drag the girl by her foot and then bite her face tearing part of her lip off! The lip has now been reattached but the victim's grandmother has seriously said that she wants the game banned. The dog has also now been put down. The owner of the dog has told police that the girl may have kicked the dog and that is why he attacked her.
Is there anything video games can't be blamed for?
Terrified schoolgirl, 9, has top lip ripped off by dog after it heard barking on her Nintendo DS (Daily Mail)
The incident allegedly occurred when the dog heard a virtual dog barking on the video game and then proceeded to drag the girl by her foot and then bite her face tearing part of her lip off! The lip has now been reattached but the victim's grandmother has seriously said that she wants the game banned. The dog has also now been put down. The owner of the dog has told police that the girl may have kicked the dog and that is why he attacked her.
Is there anything video games can't be blamed for?
 |
| Nintendogs: Butter wouldn't melt? |
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Gonzo Journalism - The General Election Night
Fear, excitement, surrealism. The elated interest of the general election had brought us all together. The six-hour live broadcast encompassed our minds. Preparation the previous night was definitely essential for this mammoth task and my night wasn’t without a calming hot drink and hours of sleep. As for the day itself, I was welcomed by a punch in the face from the sheer amount of notes I had to process and learn. This obviously overwhelmed me. Although like most, I couldn’t wait to tackle the election from a journalistic perspective. My role was a political editor. What exactly does that mean? I don’t know. But I needed to know a lot about politics
The newsroom felt extremely professional. There was no mucking around today. A Facebook page wasn’t in sight. It was clear everyone was particularly conscientious about this broadcast, as it needed to showcase the best of our abilities, in the studio, newsroom and outside broadcasts. The strain of the night that was to follow was evident upon the creases of everyone’s’ foreheads. The only audible sounds were the clicking of mice, tapping of keyboards and printing of paper. There was a pleasant breeze blowing through the window that provided an element of calm for the headless chickens.
The feel of immediacy in the afternoon was peculiar for a deadline that was a long way off. The ten o’clock kick off time seemed a lifetime away but the hours were dropping like flies. Before I knew it, it was seven thirty. The first scheduled rehearsal time. In spite of this, many of the team were nowhere to be found. Their hunger needs had to be satisfied. It wasn’t until eight thirty that the team had finally assembled ready for the first dress rehearsal. If this were a play, I hadn’t learned my lines!
As the team rehearsed I looked on, half concentrating on them, and half concentrating on communicating with a first year, out on an outside broadcast from the New Forest. I had sent him off on his way earlier in the afternoon after vigorously testing his equipment and it looked like he was all set to go. As it turned out, the internet connection out in the sticks was poor. Communicating with him was hard, even at the best of times.
My shift on screen was not set to be until midnight but midnight crept up on me like a cat stalking its prey. I was not prepared in any shape or form. Panic had set in. When the changeover was set to happen, I was still running between the newsroom and the studio, hopelessly trying to communicate with everyone on outside broadcasts. There was only so much that could be done in the studio since outside broadcasts were going live almost all the time. So, at the last minute I called upon the other political editor that was set to take the stage at two o’clock but had to step up two hours earlier.
At every advert break the anchor would mop his sweaty brow with a towel. That’s how intense the heat beaming from the lights was. I was to take to the sofa to showcase my ‘political expertise’ at any moment knowing full well that I was going to melt the second I got to the other side of those lights. It was time. Make or break. Or rather make or melt.
As I crossed the line of cameras and took my seat on the sofa, the camera lens looked like the eye of a gun staring down at me. I knew that when the red light on the camera appeared, it was aiming at me. This was something I did not want to muck up. I’m almost sure that the feeling of being held at gunpoint wasn’t too far from the feeling I felt at that exact moment. I’ve never really been one for nerves and I felt that my confidence in front of a camera was beginning to increase. It wasn’t. I felt awfully uneasy. The sofa I was sat on would look comfortable to anyone, but to me, it was the most uncomfortable place in the world.
The not knowing didn’t help. I had just a few seconds to prepare before going live and the anchor would throw me a question. I had no idea what I was talking about. I was just talking, and talking, and talking. The words just came out and I’m not sure if they made any sense at all. I had narrowly crossed the line between feeling anxious to feeling natural in front of the camera. There was still a huge sigh of relief when I knew the camera wasn’t on me though.
It was ironic that on election night I would use a technique that many politicians use, not answering the question, but instead talking about what they want to talk about. I would always bring in topics that I was knowledgeable of and confident to talk about. The longer I sat on the sofa the more comfortable I got. Although, I made sure I never got too far ahead of myself, knowing full well what was at stake.
As the broadcast went on, hour after hour, it still did not become a formality. The constant struggle against technology was a recurring problem that the anchor had to constantly apologise for. Repeating the same packages every hour was slowly driving everyone insane. At this stage, I don’t think anyone had quite realised just exactly what we had managed to accomplish tonight. What we had produced was unimaginable just a month previous. Journalism students at other universities could only dream of having the facilities and opportunities to experience something as comprehensive and fulfilling as this.
In the final stint I was asked to be the outside broadcast presenter. This is essentially speaking at a television screen in the hope of having a conversation with the person on that screen. The technology baffled me. So it was no surprise that when I first tried to communicate with someone it was to no avail. However, after repeating myself with increasing volume each time, I eventually solved the problem and I was almost able to engage in a full conversation.
Our historic broadcast had come to an exciting end at five thirty in the morning. Everyone was physically and mentally drained. The sun was rising. It was time to go home. The success of our broadcast had not set in at all and most people were just glad it was over.
The newsroom felt extremely professional. There was no mucking around today. A Facebook page wasn’t in sight. It was clear everyone was particularly conscientious about this broadcast, as it needed to showcase the best of our abilities, in the studio, newsroom and outside broadcasts. The strain of the night that was to follow was evident upon the creases of everyone’s’ foreheads. The only audible sounds were the clicking of mice, tapping of keyboards and printing of paper. There was a pleasant breeze blowing through the window that provided an element of calm for the headless chickens.
The feel of immediacy in the afternoon was peculiar for a deadline that was a long way off. The ten o’clock kick off time seemed a lifetime away but the hours were dropping like flies. Before I knew it, it was seven thirty. The first scheduled rehearsal time. In spite of this, many of the team were nowhere to be found. Their hunger needs had to be satisfied. It wasn’t until eight thirty that the team had finally assembled ready for the first dress rehearsal. If this were a play, I hadn’t learned my lines!
As the team rehearsed I looked on, half concentrating on them, and half concentrating on communicating with a first year, out on an outside broadcast from the New Forest. I had sent him off on his way earlier in the afternoon after vigorously testing his equipment and it looked like he was all set to go. As it turned out, the internet connection out in the sticks was poor. Communicating with him was hard, even at the best of times.
My shift on screen was not set to be until midnight but midnight crept up on me like a cat stalking its prey. I was not prepared in any shape or form. Panic had set in. When the changeover was set to happen, I was still running between the newsroom and the studio, hopelessly trying to communicate with everyone on outside broadcasts. There was only so much that could be done in the studio since outside broadcasts were going live almost all the time. So, at the last minute I called upon the other political editor that was set to take the stage at two o’clock but had to step up two hours earlier.
At every advert break the anchor would mop his sweaty brow with a towel. That’s how intense the heat beaming from the lights was. I was to take to the sofa to showcase my ‘political expertise’ at any moment knowing full well that I was going to melt the second I got to the other side of those lights. It was time. Make or break. Or rather make or melt.
As I crossed the line of cameras and took my seat on the sofa, the camera lens looked like the eye of a gun staring down at me. I knew that when the red light on the camera appeared, it was aiming at me. This was something I did not want to muck up. I’m almost sure that the feeling of being held at gunpoint wasn’t too far from the feeling I felt at that exact moment. I’ve never really been one for nerves and I felt that my confidence in front of a camera was beginning to increase. It wasn’t. I felt awfully uneasy. The sofa I was sat on would look comfortable to anyone, but to me, it was the most uncomfortable place in the world.
The not knowing didn’t help. I had just a few seconds to prepare before going live and the anchor would throw me a question. I had no idea what I was talking about. I was just talking, and talking, and talking. The words just came out and I’m not sure if they made any sense at all. I had narrowly crossed the line between feeling anxious to feeling natural in front of the camera. There was still a huge sigh of relief when I knew the camera wasn’t on me though.
It was ironic that on election night I would use a technique that many politicians use, not answering the question, but instead talking about what they want to talk about. I would always bring in topics that I was knowledgeable of and confident to talk about. The longer I sat on the sofa the more comfortable I got. Although, I made sure I never got too far ahead of myself, knowing full well what was at stake.
As the broadcast went on, hour after hour, it still did not become a formality. The constant struggle against technology was a recurring problem that the anchor had to constantly apologise for. Repeating the same packages every hour was slowly driving everyone insane. At this stage, I don’t think anyone had quite realised just exactly what we had managed to accomplish tonight. What we had produced was unimaginable just a month previous. Journalism students at other universities could only dream of having the facilities and opportunities to experience something as comprehensive and fulfilling as this.
In the final stint I was asked to be the outside broadcast presenter. This is essentially speaking at a television screen in the hope of having a conversation with the person on that screen. The technology baffled me. So it was no surprise that when I first tried to communicate with someone it was to no avail. However, after repeating myself with increasing volume each time, I eventually solved the problem and I was almost able to engage in a full conversation.
Our historic broadcast had come to an exciting end at five thirty in the morning. Everyone was physically and mentally drained. The sun was rising. It was time to go home. The success of our broadcast had not set in at all and most people were just glad it was over.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Left 4 Dead 2 - 'The Passing' DLC Review
The long waited DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 ‘The Passing’ releases today on Xbox 360 and PC. The main reason that a lot of people were excited about this DLC was because it features the new Left 4 Dead 2 survivors meeting the original survivors from Left 4 Dead 1 and as the tagline ‘Nobody survives forever’ states; sadly one of the original Left 4 Dead survivors is dead. I’m not going to reveal who it is but I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.
‘The Passing’ takes place just after ‘Dead Center’ and before ‘Dark Carnival’. At the beginning of the campaign you can see Francis standing on a bridge but of course you have to go the long way round to get to the original survivors. This new campaign only has 3 chapters and they are all quite long and entertaining. The first features a wedding that has a special bride model of the Witch and new uncommon infected of wedding guests. The second features a murky sewer where you have to go under the bridge. In the finale you have you raise the bridge by retrieving 16 gas cans to start the generator. The finale map is quite big and it can take a while to get all the gas cans with the constant attacks from hordes of zombies and special infected but again the key is sticking together, go off in groups of two to collect the gas cans so that there is always someone to save you if you get incapacitated.
There is nothing really special about the new special infected, ‘The Fallen Survivor’ other than the fact that when this type of infected are killed they randomly drop items such as Med Kits, Pain Pills and Molotov's which you can pick up, so it’s very handy if you’re running out of supplies! There is also a new, more intelligent, AI Director that slightly changes the map every time you play, for example, blocking off some routes and creating new ones and adjusting the amount of zombies in each chapter depending on how the players are playing. I've yet to explore this new feature fully yet but it should make 'The Passing' feel fresh on every playthrough.
‘The Passing’ adds a couple of new weapons to the mix, the incredibly powerful M60 and a golf club, both of which have new achievements relating to killing a lot of zombies using them. Also the pre-order exclusive melee weapon the baseball bat is randomly dotted around the various chapters. Of course no new Left 4 Dead 2 content would be complete without a new Midnight Riders song which you can hear at the wedding or on various jukeboxes.
The new game mode that valve promised isn't a completely new game mode but more of a recycling and combining of old game modes. It's called 'Mutation' and there will be a different ‘Mutation’ game modes every week, this week it is ‘Realism Versus’, no prizes for guessing which two games modes this game type combines. However Valve had said that there are over 20 planned ‘Mutations’ and one that they have mentioned is ‘Chainsaw Massacre’ which does sound very fun. Valve have also said that once a month there will be a poll and the most popular ‘Mutation’ of that month will feature again for a week. 'Mutation' seems like a very good move by Valve to keep interest in Left 4 Dead 2 by introducing a new game type each and every week.
With ‘The Passing’ comes a title update for Left 4 Dead 2 that now includes AI infected in Versus and Scavenge mode, this evens up the teams a lot and makes for much more balanced and interesting games.
‘The Passing’ is available now for 560 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360 or for free to PC users.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Review: Futures - The Holiday
From the ashes of the band “Tonight is Goodbye” comes Futures. Combining former vocalist Ant West (now turned guitarist/vocalist) with guitarist Casey Roarty, drummer George Lindsay and new bassist Christian Ward (formerly of The Riverclub) comes a recipe for pure musical genius.
Having been working on new material since the TIG split, the High Wycombe boys originally planned their debut album for release as a free download on March 1st. However, Daily Informer can reveal that ‘The Holiday’, will now be released on March 3rd free with Rock Sound magazine.
With a much more mature sound than Tonight Is Goodbye; Futures have taken a different perspective on pop punk. Long gone are the days singing of failed love affairs and puppy dog love. This positive new tone is an escape from the plethora of depressive lyrics in similar types of music at the moment. ‘The Holiday’ is about being content with who you are and that break ups aren’t necessarily the massive downfall they may seem.
‘Sal Paradise’ is a perfect example of the talent that Futures posses, the infectious guitar riff and spot-on song writing not to mention the sing-along chorus “And I will show the world / If you just take me the hand and talk about our souls.” The track ‘Thank You’ is another example of Ant West’s brilliant song writing and is the perfect ending to the album.
‘The Holiday’ is an apt title for the album as every song is very uplifting; feel good, with a catchy guitar riff, and sing-along chorus. The album feels like a holiday from the rest of music at the moment, exhaling a fresh breath of summer air into the oh-so cold UK music scene.
The band’s first single ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ released February 22nd was limited to 250 copies and sold out within a week and the video is extremely popular on music channels at the moment. With the resounding chorus “This is the boy who cried wolf / Too many times before / Too many times before,” it is clear this will be echoed by crowds around UK on their tour this month.
‘The Holiday’ is a constant reminder that summer is just around the corner, despite being in what seems like an endless winter. Here at Daily Informer we’re pretty sure that Futures will be the soundtrack to this summer, at least ours anyway! With infectious hooks and magically intertwined melodic riffs, how could it not be? Simply put, there is nothing to dislike about this album, and what’s more is that it’s free, so make sure you pick up Rock Sound on March 3rd.
92%
Having been working on new material since the TIG split, the High Wycombe boys originally planned their debut album for release as a free download on March 1st. However, Daily Informer can reveal that ‘The Holiday’, will now be released on March 3rd free with Rock Sound magazine.
With a much more mature sound than Tonight Is Goodbye; Futures have taken a different perspective on pop punk. Long gone are the days singing of failed love affairs and puppy dog love. This positive new tone is an escape from the plethora of depressive lyrics in similar types of music at the moment. ‘The Holiday’ is about being content with who you are and that break ups aren’t necessarily the massive downfall they may seem.
‘Sal Paradise’ is a perfect example of the talent that Futures posses, the infectious guitar riff and spot-on song writing not to mention the sing-along chorus “And I will show the world / If you just take me the hand and talk about our souls.” The track ‘Thank You’ is another example of Ant West’s brilliant song writing and is the perfect ending to the album.
‘The Holiday’ is an apt title for the album as every song is very uplifting; feel good, with a catchy guitar riff, and sing-along chorus. The album feels like a holiday from the rest of music at the moment, exhaling a fresh breath of summer air into the oh-so cold UK music scene.
The band’s first single ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ released February 22nd was limited to 250 copies and sold out within a week and the video is extremely popular on music channels at the moment. With the resounding chorus “This is the boy who cried wolf / Too many times before / Too many times before,” it is clear this will be echoed by crowds around UK on their tour this month.
‘The Holiday’ is a constant reminder that summer is just around the corner, despite being in what seems like an endless winter. Here at Daily Informer we’re pretty sure that Futures will be the soundtrack to this summer, at least ours anyway! With infectious hooks and magically intertwined melodic riffs, how could it not be? Simply put, there is nothing to dislike about this album, and what’s more is that it’s free, so make sure you pick up Rock Sound on March 3rd.
92%
WINOL Week 3 Debrief
Winchester News Online Bulletin 24/02/2010
Debrief by Chris Horrie
The bulletin is generally very good.
Debrief by Chris Horrie
The bulletin is generally very good.
Stu recovered from the autocue not working and didn't panic.
The headlines were good, with dramatising and puns added to most of them.
Notes about the first story -
- Use people's function first, not name, unless they are a celebrity.
- Make sure you are convinced that it's reasonable to call this person a "leading" councillor.
- Sentence structure should be: Subject -> Verb -> Object, it's basic but never wrong.
- "The move follows..." is the perfect start to any 2nd paragraph.
- Story begins with a good quote.
- You tell the story with your voice and the interview is for quotes.
- "They've got good intentions, but good intentions don't pay the bills" - Good example of a 'quote'
- A problem is that Joey didn't have any cutaways, so he could only cut away to Trinity.
- Looks like cutting room journalism which is from the old days, where reporters would film for hours on a tape and then cut it together.
- The process when filming a story should be: 1. Think of a story 2. Go and do it.
Notes about the second story -
- Classically written newspaper court report, but no pictures.
- Did well to get the interview with the relative.
- Made a big deal about legal reporting restrictions, told the viewer, looks very professional, like you know the law, which is good.
- Possible juxtaposition libel, don't make people identifiable by cars (registration plate) etc.
Notes about the third story -
- Comment in the link, it is reasonable, but we need to know the difference between fact and comment and only use fact.
- Qualified priviliage to film the people at the parking discussion.
Notes about the forth story -
- Interviewee telling the story in his interview, should be told by Jon.
- Time = Quality of the interview, the longer the interview is, the more useful quotes you will have.
The sport and the 'And finally...' were also very good.
The bulletin is not perfect but 80% there to what you see on regional bulletins.
WELL DONE TEAM! :)
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Existentialism
Existentialism is not a religion, but more like a creed. It is an organised ideology that takes lot from Friedrich Nietzsche and has no rational or reasonable restraint on expression. It is very relevant to journalists because writing is the act of freedom and the fact that we can write what we want means that we are free.
'The Outsider' by Alfred Camus
In this novel, the main character Meursault has many qualities that an existentialist would admire. He murders a man he has never met before for no reason, just because he felt like it. This is ultimate liberation. He was of the opinion that life is pointless and you're going to die anyway so why do anything? This is known as an existential void. No morals have any point or logic to them so why should Meursault adhere to them? He goes on trial for killing an algerian man in a french colony in Algeria. The jury are all French and raciest and so try to get him off. His mother died a few days before he committed the murder and if he would have said that he was upset about that then he would have been let off. However Meursault said that he didn't care about his mother dying and he doesn't care about anything! This is the main reason that he is sentenced to death, because he didn't show any emotion at his mothers death. He is also offerend to turn to God by a chaplain but says that God is a waste of his time. This is extremely existentialist.
"Existence Perceives Essence" - John Paul Satre
Existentialists would say that the past is fantasy and the future hasn't happened yet so it might not happen, everyone could just disappear at any moment. Existence is a fact and is pretty much the only fact. A criticism of existentialism is that is it just marxism but without technology and that women, homosexuals, and black people are the proletariat. In the book 'The Second Sex' by the french existentialist Simone de Beauvoir she states that one is not born a woman but one becomes a woman. However existentialism is not class based and it is often the difference between those who are determined by others and those who are free to determine others. In existentialism it is also a sin to stereotype as they believe that everybody is capable of doing anything at any time. Andy Warhol was a very existentialist film maker, for example his film 'Sleep' which only showed his friend John Giorno sleeping for five hours and 20 minutes. Warhol was bored of everything and wanted to show timeless pointless time. This is also like jazz star John Coltrane, who was a heroin addict and would just improvise for hours and hours on a saxophone. In fashion existentialism is just black, black, black; clothes that don't signify anything.
On the upside of existentialism is personal liberation. It also questions the westen philosophy phrase of 'I think therefore I am' because it proves that it is impossible that you exist because it is impossible 'that I am' therefore I am impossible. This questions existence itself, is just a mistake or a joke? You can rewrite your own story.
This is the 'Duck-Rabbit' image and it shows that we can have a certain amount of voluntary control how we see certain images, this control is linked to how we understand things around us without making decisions. But we can decide what we see in that image and we can decide how to understand the things around us, this is very existential idea.
Good faith / Bad faith
The existentialist dilemma is weather to collaborate with bad faith. If you even do this just a bit it is still very bad. You should do everything in good faith , you know why you're doing it, you've negotiated with other people and you're happy that you're doing it. Existentialist set themselves goals and then achieve them. They also do not let people down, if they have made a commitment to someone then they have to do it. They also don't treat people as means to an end, rather they treat everyone as separate end and treat all people as bundles of possibility, not fixed.
Existentialists often talk about the 'burden of being' and they are thinking all the time about if there could be a pure existence and constantly trying to free themselves. Another trademark of existentialism is being passionately committed to something, weather that be a football team or a religion etc. If you are passiately commnited to something then that means that you have point to your life and you have determined yourself, for example going to every football game of the team you support, this would be a path to liberation and having a life.
We find out who we are by how we act act
Existentialist do not sit and worry but actually go and do something. They are of the opinion that we are practically thrown here and we don;t know why or how the world came to be and we can;t chose when we were born or who our parents are, it's all just random. Existentialists believe that you are what you are because of that personal choices that you make and you can change all of this! This is the existentialist dilemma, what are you going to do? Existentialist only do something because thy think it is getting them somewhere, if it's not, what is the point of doing it? This links to the existentialism angst that you're going to die and you're not going to exist again so you better get on with it!
Cool Communication / Hot Communication
This is where the origin of the word 'cool' came from. Cool communication is where the meaning is determined by the viewer which means that people see you and determine for themselves what they think you are communicating. Hot communication is where the meaning is determined by the producer, for example when someone is wearing a train driver's uniform the viewer would identify them as a train driver. So next time you want to look 'cool' make sure you have no determined meaning in your clothing before you go out!
'The Outsider' by Alfred Camus
In this novel, the main character Meursault has many qualities that an existentialist would admire. He murders a man he has never met before for no reason, just because he felt like it. This is ultimate liberation. He was of the opinion that life is pointless and you're going to die anyway so why do anything? This is known as an existential void. No morals have any point or logic to them so why should Meursault adhere to them? He goes on trial for killing an algerian man in a french colony in Algeria. The jury are all French and raciest and so try to get him off. His mother died a few days before he committed the murder and if he would have said that he was upset about that then he would have been let off. However Meursault said that he didn't care about his mother dying and he doesn't care about anything! This is the main reason that he is sentenced to death, because he didn't show any emotion at his mothers death. He is also offerend to turn to God by a chaplain but says that God is a waste of his time. This is extremely existentialist.
"Existence Perceives Essence" - John Paul Satre
Existentialists would say that the past is fantasy and the future hasn't happened yet so it might not happen, everyone could just disappear at any moment. Existence is a fact and is pretty much the only fact. A criticism of existentialism is that is it just marxism but without technology and that women, homosexuals, and black people are the proletariat. In the book 'The Second Sex' by the french existentialist Simone de Beauvoir she states that one is not born a woman but one becomes a woman. However existentialism is not class based and it is often the difference between those who are determined by others and those who are free to determine others. In existentialism it is also a sin to stereotype as they believe that everybody is capable of doing anything at any time. Andy Warhol was a very existentialist film maker, for example his film 'Sleep' which only showed his friend John Giorno sleeping for five hours and 20 minutes. Warhol was bored of everything and wanted to show timeless pointless time. This is also like jazz star John Coltrane, who was a heroin addict and would just improvise for hours and hours on a saxophone. In fashion existentialism is just black, black, black; clothes that don't signify anything.
On the upside of existentialism is personal liberation. It also questions the westen philosophy phrase of 'I think therefore I am' because it proves that it is impossible that you exist because it is impossible 'that I am' therefore I am impossible. This questions existence itself, is just a mistake or a joke? You can rewrite your own story.
This is the 'Duck-Rabbit' image and it shows that we can have a certain amount of voluntary control how we see certain images, this control is linked to how we understand things around us without making decisions. But we can decide what we see in that image and we can decide how to understand the things around us, this is very existential idea.
Good faith / Bad faith
The existentialist dilemma is weather to collaborate with bad faith. If you even do this just a bit it is still very bad. You should do everything in good faith , you know why you're doing it, you've negotiated with other people and you're happy that you're doing it. Existentialist set themselves goals and then achieve them. They also do not let people down, if they have made a commitment to someone then they have to do it. They also don't treat people as means to an end, rather they treat everyone as separate end and treat all people as bundles of possibility, not fixed.
Existentialists often talk about the 'burden of being' and they are thinking all the time about if there could be a pure existence and constantly trying to free themselves. Another trademark of existentialism is being passionately committed to something, weather that be a football team or a religion etc. If you are passiately commnited to something then that means that you have point to your life and you have determined yourself, for example going to every football game of the team you support, this would be a path to liberation and having a life.
We find out who we are by how we act act
Existentialist do not sit and worry but actually go and do something. They are of the opinion that we are practically thrown here and we don;t know why or how the world came to be and we can;t chose when we were born or who our parents are, it's all just random. Existentialists believe that you are what you are because of that personal choices that you make and you can change all of this! This is the existentialist dilemma, what are you going to do? Existentialist only do something because thy think it is getting them somewhere, if it's not, what is the point of doing it? This links to the existentialism angst that you're going to die and you're not going to exist again so you better get on with it!
Cool Communication / Hot Communication
This is where the origin of the word 'cool' came from. Cool communication is where the meaning is determined by the viewer which means that people see you and determine for themselves what they think you are communicating. Hot communication is where the meaning is determined by the producer, for example when someone is wearing a train driver's uniform the viewer would identify them as a train driver. So next time you want to look 'cool' make sure you have no determined meaning in your clothing before you go out!
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