Over the last 14 days I have kept a detailed log of my personal media use and production. The following dossier contains an explanation and analysis of which media I have used and produced. This examination has a primary focus on Journalism and Communication, and turned up some very interesting and unexpected results...
MEDIA USE:
As you can see by the graph below, my two main sources of media were, of course, the internet (32%) and television (27%). These were followed by radio (17%), mobile (16%) and last and definitely least – print (8%).
Internet - 32%
TV - 27%
Radio - 17%
Print - 8%
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Now, let’s get a bit more specific shall we…
The graph below is my media-use over the two week recording period, INCLUDING ELECTRONIC LEARNING (aka Lectures, Tutorials and Training)
The final pie chart below is a graph of my media use EXCLUDING ELECTRONIC MEDIA LEARNING (aka Lectures, Tutorials and Training), which obviously dominated my overall media consumption...
Now, HERE’S WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING:
WHAT: Internet…
WHEN:
Multiple times a day, 1-2 hrs daily
WHERE:
Mainly at home and uni
HOW:
Through home PC and laptop
WHY:
Social networking main use, general web surfing and online TV sources such as ABC iview also popular, with comedy and social commentary programs being the main genres viewed
ANALYSIS:
Statistics-wise I only have 1 Facebook account, and therefore comply with the 96.6% of students that took the online Journalism 1111 survey. Scrolling through my chat bar this evening I must say that there were very few people that I would consider having a serious conversation with. I realised that some I hadn’t even spoken more than 5 words to in “real life”! I was also part of the 88.1% of students who used the internet mainly for ‘Facebook-ing’, which I was somewhat intrigued about. This is part of a wider pattern of global internet use which has become more prominent over the last decade. Facebook Addiction Disorder (or FAD as it is commonly known) is also becoming more and more common amongst users, which all statistics gathered so far support. **see later BLOG**
http://sickfacebook.com/350million-people-suffering-facebook-addiction-disorder-fad/
http://sickfacebook.com/350million-people-suffering-facebook-addiction-disorder-fad/
In that sense I comply with the general majority in that very few of my Facebook friends are “true” friends. However, personally, I would never add anyone that I hadn’t met previously and know all of my 291 Facebook friends through “real world” connections, which is somewhat rare.
Of all media forms, the internet was the only medium I used daily without question. Like 67.8% of JOUR1111 students, I only have one blog and am also part of the 78% of students who only own one Twitter account.
In my case online TV was used mainly in the evenings to wind down; giving me a chance to switch my brain off. This form of media use also meant cost-free, ad-free programs; where I could watch what I wanted, when I wanted. This form of television is becoming increasingly popular with our generally time-poor, technologically competent society embracing being able to control personal viewing experiences online.
I was somewhat shocked to see that 34.5% of students who participated in the online survey used the internet over 4 hours a day! That equates to roughly 1/3 of a persons average day spent online – which I find kind of scary.
Personally I found that I spent an average of 1.8 hours a day online over the two weeks. I think a major factor contributing to this was time, especially in regards to travel. Living over an hours drive or train ride fromBrisbane
Personally I found that I spent an average of 1.8 hours a day online over the two weeks. I think a major factor contributing to this was time, especially in regards to travel. Living over an hours drive or train ride from
I found I read very few blogs, the over-commentating clouded the report and most factual ‘evidence’ I did not trust. Through this experience I didn’t class blogging as journalism, although I am sure I will be informed about the evidence against this argument.
WHAT: TV…
WHEN:
Generally twice, 1-2 hrs daily
WHERE:
At home
HOW:
Family television
WHY:
Morning news overview (Sunrise
Preferred comedy/social commentary programs (Media Watch, Hungry Beast, The Gruen Transfer)
ANALYSIS:
TV was used to both turn off my brain and to stimulate it. The news programs contained information while the comedy and social commentary shows both informed and entertained.
The pattern I noticed in viewing news was that every news show I watched contained elements of entertainment. Most programs involved a good reporting/commentating balance and contained both deep and somewhat superficial journalism. However in my opinion this wasn’t a bad thing. The implication of viewing these types of shows meant that I received relevant news daily, while being entertained and thus maintaining interest.
For example 'Sunrise'
WHAT: RADIO, MOBILE and PRINT…
WHEN:
All in transit:
Radio – Car
WHERE:
Travelling to/from Brisbane
HOW:
Car radio, smart phone and newspaper
WHY:
Most news I gathered was from my smart phone which I started using in August this year. I must say that joining the ever growing smart phone society has been extremely liberating and, to some extent, has changed my life. I found that I took in more news and stayed more socially active since using the HTC Wildfire. Although most students in JOUR1111 (44.9%) use an Iphone, I have found using another brand less costly and just as beneficial.
Radio and phone use were mainly to stop boredom and use spare time effectively. Where I could have been sitting on a train or in the car with little benefit, I was using that time to catch up on news, my social life and listen to music.
I also found that I only read and bought newspapers whilst in transit, which was interesting.
ANALYSIS:
My radio consumption was always done whilst travelling. It was also quite alarming the lack of print I consumed. I put this fact down to cost and accessibility – with internet sources being free and at my fingertips and again, ad-free!
Radio is something you can consume whilst doing other things which for most people who multi-task is an attractive thing. News on my smart phone was also popular due to the portability and specific nature of news stories. If I wanted to know about a particular issue I could simply use the search engine rather than trawling through a bulky newspaper.
Radio is something you can consume whilst doing other things which for most people who multi-task is an attractive thing. News on my smart phone was also popular due to the portability and specific nature of news stories. If I wanted to know about a particular issue I could simply use the search engine rather than trawling through a bulky newspaper.
51.3% of students only listened to 1-2 hours of radio daily, whereas I listened to 3-4. I was part of the 73.8% who listened to the radio while driving. This leads me to draw the conclusion that most people surveyed have less hours of transit and live closer to campus.
MEDIA PRODUCTION:
I was also surprised at how much media I put out there myself. The methods of doing this included Facebook status updates, online restaurant and movie reviews, posting links from Youtube onto Facebook as well as songs. Telling friends about sites etc, blogging, tweeting, showing new music to friends via sharing of CDs and I-tunes, were also ways in which I produced and influenced media over the two week period.
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How’s this for a current and live example of media production???:
*BELOW is a really interesting Youtube clip about modern media usage with specific reference to Australians. It is a great example of how pervasive modern media is and how little we actually think about such an integral part of our everyday lives– ENJOY! J
JUST FOR FUN:
Regardless of how you define modern journalism and communication, it’s comforting to know that those in TV land are in fact human and just like the rest of us, make (some pretty massive) mistakes:
...and just cause I'm feeling generous, here's a link to an interesting online resource: http://www.crikey.com.au/media/
Overall reflection:
The extent of my media use and production did surprise me. I have never considered myself a “news junkie” or “media buff” so did not expect to use much media at all. Having to keep a media diary made me realise the extent to which media is consumed everyday, often without thinking. I wasn’t surprised about internet and television being my preferred forms of media.
However I didn’t expect that I would use nearly as much radio as I did without specifically trying to. I discovered that I prefer an entertaining journalistic style, with hard news included. I liked programs and media sources that focused on factual, hard hitting reporting whilst maintaining a lighter commentary element.
Overall, it was a worthwhile and interesting exercise that I definitely recommend you to try for yourselves.
LINK TO STUDENT SURVEY RESULTS:
Overall, it was a worthwhile and interesting exercise that I definitely recommend you to try for yourselves.
LINK TO STUDENT SURVEY RESULTS:
IN SUMMARY, I have included detailed graphs of the 14 day Media-Use Diary I recorded for your personal comparison and future reflection:
(inserted in separate (previous) post)
