Semester One at Winch

The first semester of university is over... it flew by, and felt like a million years all at once. Goodbye's are always the hardest for me, leaving college and my close family friends behind proved to be one of the biggest challenges for me; my problem is I get too attached, I don't deal with change. But, going to University has been the biggest change in my life- moving away from home, (something I never thought I would hear myself say) becoming an independent woman, and beginning the journey and training into becoming a Journalist.

I have noticed a change in myself as a person too, I can safely say I have gone through all of my educational years staying true to myself and not changing for anyone. If anything, uni has made me a better person, I am far more appreciative of the smallest things in life, good company, exquisite food, meaningful hugs and to treasure every moment with the ones I love.

This semester has displayed a wide scope of different aspects in a Journalistic future. From media- to learning the law which was the most interesting for me- to philosophy which although seemed insane at the time has begun to make sense- to learning to write for papers and radio script- to learning shorthand which I wish we continued, achieving 40wpm- to precision English. Wow, we've covered a lot in 3 months, this just makes me excited for the upcoming 3 years!

I'm ashamed to say it, but I even got my first job this year. Earning money and tackling study really did make me feel as though I have grown up. Working at the Christmas Market selling mulled wined, and various Christmas delights including mince pies and stollen, was a pleasurable experience with interesting characters.

 I have made many memories being enclosed in this cute chalet
all of which I will look back upon fondly. 

Winch is now my second home, I love the cute town, the beautiful scenery and historical presence, I even accept the hills... I finally feel more settled but coming back to my real home couldn't be sweeter. I've missed it, it really has made me realise that where ever we may be and who we may be with, our loved ones are forever in our hearts and we should make the most of it all.

 live love laugh

2011 has been a year I'll never forget. Bring on 2012. 

Winchester Hospital Fire

Firefighters dealt with a fire which initiated in the MRI department at Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester about 4pm today. No one has been injured. 

Photograph taken by Ben Steer

As I was working at the Christmas Market at the time, all I had heard were rumours, but it was soon confirmed when an evacuated patient wondered off and found her way to my stand. She was in an unstable way, shaken up, scared and confused... the number of questions running through my mind at this point were unbelievable. The cathedral staff helped her return back to the hospital safely.  

I was overwhelmed by the smell of smoke as I walked home through town; Romsey Road has been closed off and police are on stand by. This was all such a shock to students and residents, but to look on the bright side, no one was hurt. 

A huge credit goes out to all those firefighters and hospital staff that dealt with the safety of those affected by the fire so efficiently.

Ambulance Service Interview at the Christmas Market

Today Nadine and I volunteered to carry out our very first interview! It involved going down to the Christmas market to interview the ambulance service about their intentions to get volunteers on board. It was a great first interview scenario, .the people were approachable, not making it too awkward when standing cm's away from them with a microphone, and most importantly our questions were answered clearly and concisely.

We got back to show the radio team what audio we had achieved, definitely feeling chuffed with ourselves! The MA student who kindly taught us some editing tips, was surprised that we managed to do it all in one take, with no "ums" and "ers"... we were even told the quality of our audio is of a higher standard then some MA students. If only you could see the look on our faces, we left feeling extremely pleased and proud of ourselves!

Rousseau

Background
Rousseau was born in 1712, and died a decade before the French Revolution. He is considered the founder of the Romantic Movement.

He was part of a circle of French intellects, most notably Voltaire who is a french enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher.

Rousseau was anti-enlightenment, he said that the progress of arts and sciences had no beneficial effect on morality, this was a dramatic and permanent break with the principles of the enlightenment.

His most famous work, titled 'Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of inequality among men' outlined that humanity was naturally good, but it had been corrupted by society. The effects of history on us has been compared to the ideology of a sttaue that has be damaged by the elements such as the winds and storms, therefore it is now disfigured and you could barely resemble the fact it like like a human being at all. He suggested that society damages us, and it is only the noble savage* who has not been distorted by society.
*Noble Savage is someone close to nature, who lives outside of society

The Social Contract (oh yes this relates back to good ol' Locke and Hobbes)
"Man is born free, and is everywhere in chains"
Attack on Hobbes - Hobbes believes that life would be "nasty, brutish and short" without a monarchy, "war of all against all" however, Rousseau says that war and such violence only come into being once we are in society, and that the state of war is really the state of society.
Attack on Locke - Locke agrees to a sovereign so that property can be protected, however Rousseau says the main problem is property: "The first person who having enclosed a piece of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe him was the true founder of civil society." 
He believed that we are more like animals in our natural state: free agents that operate on our own needs and desires. In addition, he believed that natural man was virtuous and that man is not rational... we are sensitive and this is proven as we have the ability to cry. However, it is society that civilises us and corrupts us by making us obsess about possessions.

The General Will
This is essentially what we all agree on; as a group we discuss and put our opinions together to form laws which we all have agreed upon. Therefore, by following the law you are following your own opinions. Rousseau believe in a direct democracy and that as individuals you represent yourself as you follow what you believe.

Rousseau stated that laws are providing citizens with more freedom as we are following our own opinions. If it turns out during the discussion that there is a majority vote, thus meaning there is a minority of people who disagree with their opinion, they are will be "forced to be free."


The French Revolution
"Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was very heaven" - Wordsworth
Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights. Revolution collapsed into terror, and mindless violence was used by the Paris mob. During 1792 Paris looked as though it was going to be attacked by Prussia which led to the Paris Citizens becoming armed. In 1793 the King was executed with a guillotine. The French revolution brought about a time of famine, rising food prices and the government were in masses of debt due to war. During this period in history, hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

Key Concepts Media Revision

Dear fellow media students,

I hope these notes help you ACE the exam:

Mass Culture Theory

Mass culture is a standardised, formulaic, repetitive and superficial culture

High Culture - 'Good Taste' - smaller audience e.g Opera, Ballet

Low Culture - 'Poor Taste' - mass audience, popular e.g Cinema, Reality TV

Taste is socially constructed, and used by different groups to gain status

Cultural Capital -  linked to social status, and can be acquired through education. Its value can shift over time it is not fixed. 

Semiology 

Ferdinand de Saussure says that language is not just a way of classifying objects in an external world, he does not believe that meanings are fixed. He asks why does a word mean what it means?

 e.g why is it that when we hear the word cat, we automatically think of a small cute furry animal?

He also believes that signs are arbitrary 

Signifier - Sound/image/mark on paper

Signified - The concept 

Referent - Real Item

 e.g heart shape is the signifier, romance is signified, but the referent is a heart organ 

Langue - Language

Parole - actual utterances of words 

C.S Pierce distinguishes three types of signs:

Symbolic - no relevant connection e.g Red means danger/stop

Iconic - resemble meaning in some way e.g Queens head on money - wealth

Indexical - signs which indicate what they stand for e.g smoke indicates fire

Structuralism 

Propp - looks at Russian folk tales, breaks them down into basic narrative units called 'Narratemes', he states that there are 31 narrative units and narratives are made up of 8 characters: hero, villian, helper, donar, princess, father, dispatcher, false hero

Barthes - suggests narratives have up to 5 distinct codes: Symbolic codes, Cultural codes, the Hermeneutic or Enigma code, which acts as a mystery/puzzle which engages the viewer to guess what will happen at the end. 

Wright - Western 

Eco - James Bond

Todorov - argues there is a common underlying structure in narratives: Equilibrium - Disequilibrium - Equilibrium this suggests that narratives begin balanced and stable, they then become disrupted, and then the status quo is restored, and a balanced and stable world is restored. 

Fabula - another word for 'story', forms in our minds through influences

Syuzhet - another word for 'plot', arrangement of events by author 

Genre Theory

Contract between producer and audience

Genre Hybridity - two genres mixed together e.g Romantic Comedy 

Intertextuality - draws in other texts 

Political Economy 
Material conditions in which a text was produced/Relationship between hard and soft power
Hard Power - capital, military, legal systems
Soft Power - symbols, discourses, semiotics

Stuart Hall 
Encoder - Message - Decoder
3 interpretive codes:
1. The dominant - fully decodes it
2. The negotiated - partly decodes it
3. The oppositional - understands it but chooses not to share it

New Media 
WorldWideWeb 
HTML - HyperText Markup Language
Internet
- ability to produce content e.g on YouTube
- ability to communicate with others e.g on Social Networking Sites- Facebook

The Chicago School 
Offers a model for Regulation (I remember it as SLAM)
Social Norms - how we should behave
Law - sanctions and threats given if we disobey the law
Architecture - forms of constraints e.g Tinted windows don't let you see in
Market - availability and prices constraint our actions of what we can afford to buy

Narrative
Relationship between 'teller' and 'listener' 
Narratives are all constructed, they are organised as a sequence of events

Framing - tells us what to think, selects what is salient (important)
Priming - tells us what to think about, allows us to have our own opinion, it stimulates thought and emotional reactions
Agenda Setting - media can influence the audience by amount of attention given to a particular news story

CMC - Computer Mediated Communication 
Seperation between reality and online reality


Hegenomy Theory - where popular ideas of 'common sense' reflects the interests of the powerful elites

Uses and Gratifications 
- Audiences are active not passive, they exercise choice in media consumption
- They use media for what they want, they seek media use for specific needs
e.g to find information, create a personal identity, communicate and socialise with others on SNS such as Facebook, for business, for entertainment
- Media use is goal directed

Chomsky and Herman believe that there is a ruling class which controls the media and its effects

Barthes suggests that codes are 'naturalised' to form myths which convey a particular message.
e.g Bleach is like liquid fire and Soap gently 'lifts' dirt
Two levels of meaning
Denotation - first level, what it actually is
Connotation - second level, what it makes you think of

So that's all, hopefully its enough for us to pass!
I wish you all the best of luck x

News Writing - Lecture 2

Today was our second news writing session, and we're already topping the BBC's top lines.
Learning from your own and others mistakes is the best way of improving, I can prove that by sharing with you the top three tips I took from today's session:
1. Keep it simple, no one wants to read overly complicated and discombobulating words
e.g Use the word "car" not "vehicle" 
2. Choose language carefully, make sure that what you are writing is not misleading and therefore wrong.
3. Do not put unnecessary words in, avoid baggage and keep words where possible minimal.
e.g Fresh Fish Sold Here - all you need is "Fish"


Here is the article I wrote:

A 13-year-old boy has been confirmed dead after a collision between a Land Rover and pedestrian yesterday afternoon.

Police and emergency services arrived at the scene at 2pm where they found the young boy from Crowsborough suffering from serious injuries. He later died in East Surrey Hospital. The driver and his passengers are uninjured.

A 62-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of careless driving. Further enquires are due to follow but he has been released on bail until January 16th, 2012.

Officers ask anyone with information who witnessed the collision to inform Sussex Police on 101. Please quote Operation Fairlight.

The BBC's version can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-15976552
After re-reading my article, I would remove the last para after it was brought to our attention how silly it is to ask for witnesses. If you happen to be at the scene and are a good citizen, course you would inform someone, you wouldn't walk away and leave it up to a newspaper article to make you realise you should actually let someone know. I hope!