AFL Expansion Dubbed a ‘War’ as Tabloids Silence Public Sphere

The issue of the NRL and AFL have been built up to become a full scale war where ‘all bets are off’. Perhaps the most interesting point to be drawn from the media was their portrayal of the NRL as ‘victims’. While viewing these articles and programmes I couldn’t help but think that they had all the hallmarks of an epic fantasy novel. I could just imagine the promotional tag; “an evil force has risen and threatens to invade the mythical world of Heartland. Now the NRLians the inhabitants of Heartland must fight back”. Such a powerful image has been propagated by print media for their own ends. 

The ‘choking of the public sphere’:

Traditional media sources in general were a detriment to the public sphere in presenting this issue. Print media and more specifically Murdoch’s News Limited papers were the biggest culprits in propagating this story. It is interesting how one media giant could sway public opinion through transforming a simple story of two new AFL clubs into an all out war where loosing will have dire consequences. It is quite amazing how traditional media sources are convinced that we are all stupid. Such a dominant interpretation of this issue has been detrimental to the public sphere. As discussed in my blog post “Times Ticking as NRL Brace for Invasion” discusses how traditional media are choking the public sphere, denying the presentation of differing perspectives. What we must also question is whether there is a NRL Heartland or not? Despite the flooding of war like imagery within the public sphere, there is growing contempt towards traditional media and the emergence of contradictory perspectives. 

Social networking and its contribution to the public sphere:

As mentioned in my previous blog posts social media has created its own public sphere. Everyday people such as you and I have been empowered to voice our concerns regarding this issue. Many twitter feeds and online independent news sites that allow for comments have revealed a growing concern toward this issue dubbed as a war. In my blog post “War of words: online news fuels debate over battle of the codes” it revealed that there is a large majority of people who do not believe in the existence of a war but merely two competing businesses in an open market. Hence social networking has made a positive contribution to the public sphere through providing contradictory interpretations of this ‘war’. Social networking has essentially encouraged us to debate about this issue which has challenged the dominant image circulated by print media giants. 

Hysteria, moral panic and the ‘destruction of the NRL’:

After researching into print media sources I discovered that they have attempted to spread anxiety and fear through NRL communities. Why is it that print giants in NSW have intended to blow the addition of a second team in Greater Western Sydney into a full scale war? The answer lies in the simple fact that media giants and more specifically news limited have an agenda. Print media are motivated to increase their profit margins and spreading a sense of hysteria throughout NRL fan communities enables them to achieve this. In my blog post “Secrets of the heartland unlocked” challenged the existence of the ‘NRL heartland’. After sifting through various newspaper articles, it appeared that The Daily Telegraph were the primary culprits in somewhat inventing this concept. The Daily Telegraph used this term to spread anxiety among the NRL community and divisively pitting fans of both codes against each other. Papers like the Telegraph ‘take the moral high ground’ by favouring the NRL. These media sources have presented a dominant image which revolved around the depiction of the NRL as ‘victims’ while the AFL are an ‘evil force which threatens its very survival’. 

“They are destroying us with fact and truth”:

Blogging itself involves inter-textuality through the application and alteration of other research materials. All my blog posts used newspaper articles, TV shows and online news sites to further my argument. Furthermore these news materials were useful, enhancing my understanding of the media’s role and its presentation of this issue. Inter-textuality also presents some humorous perspectives of the situation. The Youtube clip ‘AFL verus NRL’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8q9HmDetl4&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fsearch_query%3Dhitler%2Bnrl%2Bversus%2Bafl%26oq%3Dhitler%2Bnrl%2Bversus%2Bafl%26aq%3Df%26aqi%3D%26aql%3D%26gs_l%3Dyoutube.3…37625.46556.0.46844.17.17.0.0.0.0.333.2739.6j2j8j1.17.0…0.0.U7mVK3x6JK4 was a humorous presentation of this issue which involved altering a little known German film called ‘Downfall’ (2004) by inserting English subtitles thus altering its context. Such a method of presenting this issue reminds the audience of the ridiculous approach print media has taken regarding the AFL’s expansion.

Print media sources have sought to influence public opinion regarding this issue by making us all believe this war is very real. Hopefully I have in some small way had a positive contribution to the public sphere as well as helped you to better understand the media’s role.

 

Times Ticking as NRL Brace for Invasion

With the severe decline in print media, it is important to examine the role of other traditional media sources and more specifically television. Television programs have jumped on the bandwagon started by newspapers. These programs have perpetuated the so called NRL, AFL war. What’s so shocking is that no other traditional media sources have challenged this perspective and has become an accepted part of our society.

60 Minutes’ ‘Turf War’ is one such example of television programs deciding to enter the debate. Instead of positively contributing to public discourse, 60 Minutes like its media counterparts has perpetuated this war for its own means. Overton discusses how the AFL is set to invade NRL heartland through grass roots level programs. The story also over exaggerates this war; “so, stand by for the mother of all battles for the hearts, minds and pockets of Australian footy fans” http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/peteroverton/567872/turf-war. While it could be considered that Overton’s story used good journalistic practice through the incorporation of a number of firsthand accounts, from both code bosses to a handful of mothers, his story fails to present a different perspective. Rather Overton’s ‘exclusive’ insight into this war concluded that the AFL could potentially wipe out the NRL. Like the majority of television news materials, Overton’s story portrayed the NRL as innocent victims who are about to be destroyed by an unstoppable evil force. Let’s face it, we are not stupid yet we are treated by ‘mainstream’ media as such. Why?

This all comes down to ideology which fuels media giants’ agendas. “60 Minutes” is a programme which is part of the nine network. The network is owned and operated by media giant CVC Asia Pacific http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Entertainment_Co. You are all probably thinking that this has no relevance. However it is important to understand the network’s owners who dictate the type of material presented to its audience. The network itself has vested interests in the NRL code being the prime broadcaster of its weekly games. As a result, Overton’s presentation of this issue heavily favours the NRL for the sake of ‘towing the company’s line’.        

We, the audience of media materials have been subject to television programs which rather meet the obligations of its business partnerships than the people. This is common practice in mainstream media which pushes its own agenda and is a detriment to the public sphere. This phenomenon I like to call the ‘choking affect’. Such actions are effectively ruining the public sphere and traditional media sources must be held accountable for their actions.

Blogging: the ultimate source for all things convergence

Blogging was an appropriate medium given the topics that were reflected upon. I believed there is an art to effective blogging which involves a particular language style and textual structure. As such I had to adapt my writing skills to more of a casual style while retaining proper sentence structure. While at first this proved to a quite difficult, practice made perfect and I managed to develop a competent blogging technique.

“Pro journalists caught in Hamster Wheel” I considered to be one of my best blog posts. This is because it focused extensively on one idea drawing out different perspectives and conclusions on citizen journalism. It discussed some extremely valid reasons as to why journalism as a profession was on the slide including the lack of quality news presentations. It incorporated various structural elements including the use of dot points, graphics and links to other websites. Furthermore the title of the post was a clever play on words essentially drawing in the reader.

“Big business set to pounce: is geek culture under threat?” was another blog post I was pleased with. This blog post effectively explored how geek culture was under siege by big business and copyright. It consisted of a series of questions and answered them in detail. This type of layout was effective as it made the blog post ‘readable’. It identified various reasons as to why there was growing intrigue in geek culture and whether such communities could survive while referring to well known geek material.

“News at the tip of a tweet” was one of my earlier blog posts which discussed user empowerment and how social networking should be regulated. My blog post successfully addressed the misuses of social networking referring to an incident where a British student was jailed for posting slanderous comments about a footballer. The combination of this current story and its rational layout culminated in successfully addressing this issue.

As trollers run rampant who really controls social media?

Cyberspace offers a unique environment for people to develop an identity. However the online environment has enabled people to post disrespectful messages from the comfort of their own home under another identity. Such behaviour has been particularly inflicted on women. Females have spoken out about their negative experiences online which has subsequently resulted in ‘mencallmethings’ which act as a support group for victims of ‘trolling’.

What we must all considered when thinking about ‘trolling’ is the governing of social networking. At the end of the day we are all responsible for what we say and do. As such social networking ‘washes their hands’ of incidences involving trolling and defamation. Rather social networking refers to user responsibility which the entire platform is based upon as their ‘defence’. When it comes to any issues affiliated to the media, we often blame them for it. While trolling is a serious issue we must not place the blame onto social media but rather the user. After all it is the individual’s responsible to monitor their behaviour. This was certainly not the case for Sean Duffy who slandered two deceased teenagers online and was sentenced to jail http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/13/internet-troll-jailed-mocking-teenagers. 

Perhaps the biggest defence by trolls is ‘freedom of speech’. With this in mind one point that must be raised is the removing of comments from sites. Sites have taken it upon themselves to remove comments that are perceived to be offensive or ‘troll’ material. Is this an encroachment of people rights? Could this be classed as censorship? By definition yes this is censorship. We must ask ourselves to what extent should sites remove comments? Whether you like it or not these comments are made in the public sphere and therefore should not be removed in a democratic context. In fact by removing these comments it would be a detriment to dealing with this issue. You see these kinds of comments that are displayed out in the open, raises awareness of this issue. 

Trolling is a serious issue which will continue to occur as long as public discourse exists. However I am adamant that solutions can be found to significantly reduce trolling. 

Pro Journalists Caught in ‘Hamster Wheel’

With the digitalisation of just about everything, we have witnessed the rise of citizen journalism. One perceived benefit of citizen journalism is the array of news sources. As a result we receive a range of perspectives offered up by social media and online news. While this sounds all well and good, journalism as a profession is fast diminishing. Citizen journalism in part has contributed to the degradation of journalism yet it would be narrow minded and perhaps cynical to suggest this is the only cause.

The media’s primary role is to stimulate political debate. In the last few years, the public have questioned the quality of journalism particularly in Australia. Television shows like ‘Today Tonight’ and ‘A Current Affair’ have failed to live up to these expectations. Instead we have found an unlikely alternative, the Chaser boy’s ‘Hamster Wheel’. The show examines the news from a satirical point of view. While on face value the show appears to be comical, it does however provide a unique analysis of not only news events but journalistic practices. Hamster Wheel also places politics under the microscope in relation to the media. Such a television program has become an alternative source of news and analysis when the dominant news outlets have failed to provide the same service.

Hamster Wheel: http://tvweek.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=928062&showcomments=true

In recent times ethical concerns have emerged in the world of professional journalism. At the heart of these concerns is whether or not journalists are carrying out ethical practices. Here are a few examples:

• Rupert Murdoch’s media empire faces an uncertain future thanks to its British tabloid ‘News of the World’ phone hacking scandal: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8634176/Phone-hacking-timeline-of-a-scandal.html
• Andrew Bolt was slammed for making inaccurate comments over several Indigenous Australians: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/in-black-and-white-andrew-bolt-trifled-with-the-facts-20110928-1kxba.html
• Prominent radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O; rape victim scandal: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/rape-claim-on-kyle-and-jackie-o-show-to-be-investigated/story-fna7dq6e-1225755953013.
• Journalist Rahni Sadler and channel 7 were charged over illegal interview with Bradley Murdoch: http://www.smh.com.au/national/reporter-charged-over-interview-with-killer-20120229-1u2qf.html

All of these incidences were preventable and have had a detrimental impact on the media industry. Particularly the phone hacking scandal which caused widespread contempt and distrust throughout the UK. No longer do we take ‘mainstream media’ as ‘gospel truth’ but look to civic media as a way to compare information.

Civic media is not the primary contributor to the degradation of professional journalism but is rather adding to the problem. It is self destructing through providing insufficient political debate and quality news sources. The profession needs to find solutions to produce quality journalism and news materials. It is time the profession woke up and smelt the daisies!