About

Latest News - Cameron announces plans for NHS reform -::::- Southampton Toll Collectors go on 1 week strike -::::- Follow @mackingnews on Twitter for all of the latest stories -::::-

Sunday, 12 December 2010

Code of Conduct

Thier are 4 different Codes of Conduct for Journalism:-NUJ(National Union of Journalist). This Code of Conduct is a very good one to follow as it is constructed by the journalists themselves, and therefore you can be sure they are fair and reasonable to follow.PCC(Press Complaints Comission) - This Code of Conduct is more stacked against you, and is seen as an 'Editors Code Of Conduct'.BBC - The BBC have thier own Code of Conduct for people that are employed by them and are named 'guidelines. They are available to view online here.Ofcom- This Code...

Monday, 6 December 2010

Jonathon Swift and Adam Smith

A Modest ProposalIn 1729, when Ireland was in very big financial trouble, satirist, Jonathon Swift decided to publish 'A Modest Proposal'. This was a satirical piece of writing which suggested eating your children, or selling them to the rich as a food. He pointed out that up to 1 year of age, a child can survive on nothing but the mothers milk, and therefore not needing to cost the family any money during that time. He suggests they turn 1 year old, they are then killed and used for feeding and cloathing. The Cloathing items that Swift suggests...

Sunday, 5 December 2010

News Agenda - Sunshine Radio

Sunrise Radio is one of the most popular and successful independent radio stations in the UK reaching around 2 million listeners monthly. Its target audience is the Asian Community, and they project towards a young audience with the content they include such as the contemporary music and brief news coverage throughout the day. As a radio station they feel they are ‘in touch with customers on a personal level’. This claim shows their confidence that they know who their audience is and what they want, this makes their radio station a very powerful...

Monday, 29 November 2010

News Agenda - Daily Express

The Daily Express claims to have over 1.5 Million newspaper readers and just fewer than 2 Million unique visitors online each day. The average age of their readers is 59. This makes me question why they are releasing an ipad app for their newspaper when their target audience is unlikely to use it. They have a mid-market readership in terms of both age and social class. The Daily Mail is its biggest rival, but has a more female readership. The front cover of the Daily Express presents it as a very patriotic newspaper with the logo of St George,...

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

The Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act enables journalists to request (and receive) certain information and data from the public sector. One very useful website for submitting FOI requests is here at www.whatdotheyknow.com Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled:- - To be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request - (If that is the case) To have that information communicated to them. An example of data that would be stored would be the Department...

Monday, 15 November 2010

David Hume - HCJ

David Hume was an empirical philosopher. Russell gives Hume huge praise in ‘History for Western Philosophy’.Some Key Hume Points- Events in the universe are constructed in our minds through our sense experience- Did not believe in causation in the universe;, and apparent causes are constructed in our minds they do not exist in reality- Logical Positivists (followers of Hume) feel statements are only worth discussing if they are capable of independent verification. ‘God exists’ can’t be verified and would therefore be classed as not worth discussing.Impressions...

Wednesday, 10 November 2010

Investigative Journalism – Law

In this week’s law lecture we covered ‘Investigative Journalism’ which means you are getting the information/news yourself when fulfilling your role as the ‘eyes and ears of the public’.Examples could be claims like ‘I think football matches are fixed’. As a journalist you would then investigate this claim to try and find proof that it is true so that you can present your findings to the public.One example of great investigative journalism is Watergate. A few journalists felt the president (Nixon) had hired criminals to burgle his political opponents....

Monday, 8 November 2010

Cristiano Ronaldo Wins Libel Payout - The Daily Express

8/11/10In The Daily Express they have reported that Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo ‘has accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages over a claim that he put his injured ankle at risk by “living it up” in a hollywood nightclub.The claim was made by the Daily Telegraph in July 2008 with the story ‘Ronaldo back in the limelight’. He did not appear at London’s High Court for the settlement against Telegraph Media Group Ltd.Allan Dunlavy (his solicitor) claimed that the story lead to embarrassment, distress and offence to the player as...

Saturday, 6 November 2010

Super-injunctions over?!?!

In todays(6/11/10) edition of The Sun, they reported a story of Arsene Wenger supposedly having a 2 year affair behind his wife's back. However, while reading through the 2 poage report, i noticed a small story in the corner headlined 'Sun win as judge lifts gag'.In the brief article, they have revealed that yesterday(5/11/10) they won 'a landmark legal ruling that could end the "super-injunctions" taken out by celebrities to cover up scandals.Mr Justice Tugendhat(a senior high court judge) has ruled that sportsman that attempt to prevent publication...

Joseph Addison - HCJ

Joseph Addison – HCJJoseph Addison was an English poet and playwright born in the 17th Century. With his friend Richard Steele, he founded the ‘The Spectator’.The SpectatorFor our seminar we read ‘The Spectator’ number 476. In this edition Addison speaks about his own writing style saying it sometimes follows regularity and method, whilst occasionally having no order to it. However, through this edition he voices his preference that ideas are presented in logical order to the reader. He states that when writing, further thoughts are continued so...

Thursday, 4 November 2010

News Agenda - Professor Peter Cole on Mid-Market Newspapers

In his series of articles that were published in 2007, Professor Peter Cole wrote about UK newspapers at a time when a decline in their sales started to show, but with their influence on the public and the media in general still clear. In the first edition of this series, he speaks about The Daily Express and its decline from the dominance it enjoyed between the ‘1930s to the 1960s’. As i will be closely observing The Daily Express in the next few weeks, I found this part in the series particularly interesting.The Daily ExpressPeter Cole blames...

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Law Lecture - Copyright

Although I learnt some of the basics about copyright law in a special lecture a few weeks ago, we spent this week’s law lecture covering other areas of copyright, exploring how important it is to us for both protecting our work and protecting others.Copyright has existed in the UK and US in common law since the early 18th century – ‘turning information into money’.You need copyright to prevent others from using your creations. In the 18th Century it was compared to theft, their intellectual property is given legal protection. However, there is...

Sunday, 31 October 2010

This Week's Winol

I have seen the Winol broadcast improve week after week. The main signs of improvement is the better quality audio and shots that seem more relevant to the stories.I’ve enjoyed the variation in presenters; it keeps each broadcast fresh which is important if you are trying to attract a young audience. I enjoyed the first news story this week which was about the attack on a man in Winchester, I found it relevant as it’s in our area, and the style it was presented in was very professional and I was impressed with the extent coverage of the story...

Precision English

For the last few week’s we have been studying Precision English with Annette. It was quite a shock to suddenly realise how little knowledge I had about grammar, spelling and punctuation. Despite studying English at A level, it soon became clear (after a horrid spelling test and a few grammar and punctuation exercises) that my English wasn’t up to scratch. I‘m hoping that after these few weeks of practice, I will now be able to write not only these blogs but any other work with more confidence that what I am writing is of a higher standard. Already...

Confidentiality - Journalism Law

Confidentiality focuses on private matters and is treated as a civil law. However, secrecy/state secrecy is seen as criminal law. An example of state secrecy would be revealing the location of British troops at any time (without permission).In Section1 of the ‘Official Secrets Act’ it covers state secrets such as telling enemies of tank positions, or revealing secret codes.Commercial secrets usually affect businesses ad is seen as civil law. This can include revealing a secret recipe for a certain food or restaurant, or claiming they break certain...

Friday, 29 October 2010

Journalism Now

Photojournalism in the Early 20th CenturyAt the beginning of the 20th Century, it was believed by the majority of the public that everything seen in a photograph was true. Photojournalism soon became a distinctive form of photography. Unlike in the 21st Century, it was impossible to tamper with photographs using a computer. This meant that they were used as irrefutable evidence which was supported by empiricism and modernism.The New York Times started publishing photographs in 1896, and newspapers across the world soon did the same. When photos...

John Locke - HCJ

John Locke was crucial for Journalists and philosophy. He had many important ideas such as the social contract which is the way people agreed to be ruled by governments. Locke fled to Europe which is where he wrote most of his books.History shows why John Locke felt religion should be removed from the public domain. He saw that religion tore the country apart. He felt that religion should be kept private, away from politics and no longer influence it. Many of his views reflect those that now exist in America.John Locke seemed to have very modern...

Saturday, 23 October 2010

Qualified Privilege

Qualified Privilege is one of the best defences against libel.The requirements for solid defence are:-- Justification- (Fair)Comment- PrivilegeYou should always think about what fact is and what comment is when writing/reporting a story as it can be easy to confuse the two.Privilege makes you exempt from Law (libel law in certain circumstances).Statutory Privilege allows the Journalist to publish certain specified information. Parliamentary Privilege means you can report certain parliament events.If an MP says something at Parliament with malice,...

Copyright Law Lecture

On Monday 18th September we had a guest lecturer to talk to us about copyright law. The guest speaker was Peter Hodges. He was the former 'Head of Copyright at the BBC.Knowledge of copyright and how it works enables broadcasts; an article etc to go ahead without any issues, and ensures that anything a journalist produces is protected from copyright issues.Copyright Law effects sound recordings, broadcasts, books, performances, designs etc. However, an idea cannot be copyrighted.And you are required to have permission (or pay for permission) if...

Monday, 18 October 2010

Defamation and my visit to Winchester Courts

In this week’s lecture we focused on Defamation and the trouble journalists can get into when accused. A defamatory statement has the tendency to damage somebody’s reputation in the minds of other people. Libel Trails (involving a Judge and Jury) is where a Journalist can be sued for Defamation.Ridicule/Contempt can cause them to be shunned or avoided. It affects their business, trade or profession and tends to alter their image to right thinking members of society.Defamatory damages can possibly go into millions. Journalists try to stay away from...

Thursday, 14 October 2010

This Week's Winol

I've just finished watching the latest live Winol Bulletin. First looking at the stories that were given, I found the majority of them relevant to their target audience. Particularly those focussing around student life such as the international students struggling to get into certain bars and clubs, as well as the potential removal of tuition fee caps. Also the story about the Queen could generate some interest as she was not too far from our location. Although I feel the minimal coverage meant that it wasn't a particularly interesting story and...

Sunday, 10 October 2010

My 1st History of Western Philosophy Seminar

Well, it was a daunting experience, not knowing what to expect when i entered the room. Being on eof the first people to supply a seminar paper added to the pressure and tension. But i've survived it, and found my 1st seminar in philosophy to be quite useful in establishing that i'm on the right track with my reading.Bertands book is certainly a challenge to read, particularly if you;ve never studied philosophy before. However, i feel like i am starting to get to grips with it's theories and ideas, and even some of the language is starting to make...

My Philosophy Seminar Paper

General Characteristics and Italian RenaissanceThis began with the church dominating ideas in the dark ages. It was a time when the only true point of knowledge was what the Greeks had written in their texts and books. As these were written down, they could not be challenged or questioned.However, it eventually leads to the diminishing authority of the church whilst the authority of Science started to increase. These were two very important changes in modern history as they re-shaped our views on the world and religion as a whole.Democracy had...

Sunday, 3 October 2010

An Introduction to Essential Law for Journalists

Law is essential knowledge for any aspiring Journalist, without knowing the laws, there is a risk they could break it when reporting. In this blog i will look at the basic laws and knowledge that is required as well as observing a recent news story that explores some of the points raised.Why Law is important to Journalism:-- It’s a source of News.- Crime always interests for a wide audience – murder, violence, fraud, deception.This is shown by the large number of newspaper sales, particularly when a crime is on the cover.Law is a constraint to...

Friday, 24 September 2010

A Brief Introduction to History and Context of Journalism

Today, Chris Horrie provided an overview of what we can expect to explore as we begin reading 'History of Western Philosophy' by Bertrand Russell and exploring Philosophy as a whole throughout the semester.The main focus of the talk was the continuial differences between what is believed, and what is fact. This is of course a key point for Journalists to always remember when reporting any sort of information as mistakes in the past have lead to huge losses financially as well as leading people into a lot of trouble. I know for a facthati don't...

Thursday, 23 September 2010

Hello

Hello. My name's Daniel, but you can call me Dan or Danny. I'm 18 and from South London, not too fart from Wimbledon(although i've never watched the tennis there) and right next door to 'The Bill' (which has now ended), so nothing too exciting. I enjoy watching films and playing football. I support Chelsea, but am not a glory supporter.In my spare time i write and film amatuer productio...

Monday, 12 July 2010

The World Cup Aftermath

The World Cup is now over.We had the thrills and spills of a magical Octopus, a dreadful England exit, and the constant hum of the vuvuzelas. There’s been a lot of talk about the impact this world cup will have on South Africa, but I think the vuvuzela will threaten to affect the whole world of football. There’s no way hiding them or pretending they never existed, they were watched by millions across the world.Many people would say that they now love those crazy horns, whilst others are glad it’s finally over. But is it? Manchester United have...

Saturday, 30 January 2010

3. Why have pointless celebs?

“A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized”I think that with the end of Celebrity Big Brother, it is only fitting that I address the world of celebrities, and explain exactly what is wrong with it.We all love gossip, and hearing rumors about famous people, there’s nothing wrong with that. But why do we care about the lives of people that are just like anybody else? Who cares about Katie Price? What makes her life so exciting, because I just don’t get it. They make...