WEEK 5 | Task

Write a short essay of about 400 words about the below stated issue: news and you, again.
Who owns the newspapers and TV stations in your country? Do you think this has an effect on the news that you hear?

In Malaysia, newspaper and television are known as a very common media to deliver news to the public. Even though the internet has almost surpassed television as the main source of national and international news for 16 to 29-year-old young people, TV, radio and newspaper are still considered the major media for effective marketing off-line. Malaysia have 6 main free TV channels, which are TV1, TV2, TV3, NTV7, 8TV and Channel 9. Somehow, TV1 and TV2 are owned by government. Both channels is outdated and old style. Effort is made to change the image of both station but unfortunately failed. So, both channels have less audience. While NTV7, TV3, 8TV and Channel 9 are under same corporation. All of them is more updated and have a bigger audience group.

Do you think this has an effect on the news that you hear? My answer is yes, because it has affected most of us on receiving the real news. After having research of the information found around the internet, I'm surprised by the results.

Most of the mainstream media are sharing or controlled by the same owner. That's mean that the information's that we heard and watched from the radio to television and the newspaper are all being filtered down to the same kind of altered or distorted information's  Media imperialism is one of the most common governing method that you can see in any country because it can be used to control the people in the country to think what the government wanted them to think about. For this reason, most of the sensitive issues are being censored and we won't get the chance to see them in the mainstream media and we can only hear this from the alternative media which is the Internet.

Malaysia has some of the toughest censorship laws in the world. The authorities exert substantial control over the media and can impose restrictions in the name of national security. The government is keen to insulate the largely-Muslim population from what it considers harmful foreign influences. News is subject to censorship, entertainment shows and music videos regularly fall foul of the censors, and scenes featuring swearing and kissing are routinely removed.

In conclusion, we should be always beware that we can't only relying on one source of the information, it's always a good practice to have two to three reliable source for the serious issues before we can come to our own conclusion to the news that we are concerned about.

WEEK 4 | Task

Write a short essay of about 400 words about the below stated issue : News and You.
How often do you read the paper or watch the news on TV? How important is it for you to keep up with current events?

Reading or watching the news on TV?  I'm sure that 70% among the teenagers nowadays will choose to  watch news on television rather than reading a newspaper news. So, I'm also one of the teenagers who prefer to watch news through TV. First and foremost, news in TV will be more interesting than the newspaper which is plenty of words. Once if I'm at my hometown and there is a TV program of news reporting, I will watch it. So it's counted quite often for me watching news on TV i think? Most of the people may just take a glance through the headline in newspaper and will only continue finish reading it if they were interested with the news. For TV, there will be someone that is reporting and all we need to do is just sit down and listen to it. For those who is very busy with their work in daily life, sitting and listening to the news when they are back from work is also one of their entertainment. Not only that, the visual that is shown in TV news will definitely more than the newspaper which maybe just one or two pieces of picture. By seeing the picture shown, we will get to know the news or events more clearly or maybe from the person who is reporting, we can know either the news or events is a serious issues or just some small cases. In the other hand, getting to know the current news or events from TV may also help us to save our money from buying the newspaper and also help our country to cut down the use of trees.

It is important for us to know the things happening around us. That is why there are certain tools that help in dispersing news around the world. The television for example, is one of the major instrument that provides us with knowledge about everything that we need to know. Not only this, but it also gives us entertainment and recreation. Another tool that is commonly used is the news paper. Yes it may be old-fashioned, but it is still patronized specially by our fathers. They usually read the news paper every morning together with a cup of coffee. Like the television, the news paper also provides the same things. News, information, entertainment and even lists of job opportunities, all of these are inside the newspaper. The only thing that makes it different from the television is, of course, the fact that it is not moving.

In my opinion, news are very important to us. Without it, it is like walking around the world with our eyes closed. Also, we can learn many things from it. Political, religious, sports and insurance news are some of the things included. There are also of course, news about crime, theft, terrorism and a whole lot more. But sometimes some do not want to spend even a single moment to watch or read about it. The consider it a waste of time. The most common people that hate news are children, definitely children. Why? I experienced being a child myself and I must admit that I was one of those who despise it specially at times when I was watching my favorite cartoon show then my mom will suddenly change the channel. I think this factor is common to all children because they are not yet mentally matured to understand the real importance of news and all they ever think about is fun, cartoons and food.

In conclusion, without news, our world would be a catastrophe. No one would ever know what is happening around them, whether there is already a war threat or not. That’s why parents encourage their children to watch news even just once a day, so that they would realize its worth even at a young age.

WEEK 3 | Task 1

Write a short essay of about 400 words on the ‘subject-matter’ below stated.

What is theatre? How do you think theatre, as a media form, communicates messages to its audience?

What is theatre? Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance. Elements of design and stagecraft are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. Modern Western theatre derives in large measure from ancient Greek drama, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its themes, stock characters, and plot elements. Theatre scholar Patrice Pavis defines theatricality, theatrica. Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance. Elements of design and stagecraft are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. Modern Western theatre derives in large measure from ancient Greek drama, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its themes, stock characters, and plot elements. Theatre scholar Patrice Pavis defines theatricality, theatrical language, stage writing, and the specificity of theatre as synonymous expressions that differentiate theatre from the other performing arts, literature, and the arts in general.

Theatre today includes performances of plays and musicals. Although it can be defined broadly to include opera and ballet, those art forms are outside the scope of this article. Besides that, theatre can be precisely defined as a performer do an action for audience. Therefore, anything can be theatre and theatre is different to drama.

In my opinion, theatre is a type of media form. It can bring messages to the audience. Theatre is an effective media form. We use theatre as a media form as it is a story telling for people to recall the facts or the story. The writer has to be creative and think of ways to set an emotion into each character which can be felt by the audience such as comedy, romance, mystery and so on. Other than that, they need to think on the type of audience would be aiming at and have to keep in mind of their target audience. 

In conclusion, theatre has involves the audiences in variety of ways. Audiences have been engaged differently, often as active participants in the action on a highly practical level. Audience participation can range from asking for volunteers to go onstage. By using audience participation, the performer invites the audience to feel a certain way and by doing so they may change their attitudes, values and beliefs in regard to the performance's topic.

WEEK 2 | Task 2

Identify at least four social/cultural groups and what media you think they use. You can include photographs if you like.

A social group is a collection of people who interact with each other and share similar characteristics and a sense of unity. A social category is a collection of people who do not interact but who share similar characteristics. In my opinion, it can divided into 4 large groups which is kids, teenagers, adults, and elderly.

The first group is the KIDS. Small kids in our society get a big daily dose of television, video games and music lyrics. Children are very fond of watching television. They will not miss any of the cartoon programs. Children love watching television because they get to enjoy cartoons, movies and songs. Meanwhile such media can provide education and entertainment to the youngster. For example, channels like ‘Animal planet’ and ‘Discovery’ act as the best source of providing knowledge about different places and adventurous things to children. Beside this, playing console video games is also popular among these young children. In short, this group are more frequently to be in touch with media like television, storybook, textbook, and also electronic learning materials.

The second group is the TEENAGERS. This group use the internet, mobile phones, social media and social networking sites, as well as teen communication preferences and online information consumption. Most of them are internet users and prefers Facebook or Twitter. They also participate in video chats with others using applications such as Skype, Googletalk or iChat. They always stream video live to the internet for other people to watch and likes to watch video in Youtube.

The third group is the ADULTS. Adult is affordable with the latest technologies since they are capable to earn money. So, as compared to the teenagers, their tools or equipment would be updated. For example, smartphones. Smartphone features many different of apps which allow them to communicate. For example, social media like facebook, twitter, weibo; apps like Lines, Whatsapps, Viber. All these is encompassed in digital media. At this stage, written media is seldomly used.

The last group of social group is the ELDERLY or also known as senior citizens. New media such as internet, online communities, web advertising are still consider new to our older generation, and they are not familiar with it. New tools are not easily adopted and this age range is more politically conservative and traditional in their media consumption habits (radio, TV, print news). Media used by the elderly are commonly television, radio, house telephone and newspaper.

WEEK 2 | Task 1

Get photograph at least 10 different media forms, and describe them. Make sure you note your reference if you get the photographs from.

1. Broadcast Media

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio or visual mass communications medium, but usually one using electromagnetic radiation (radio waves). The receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset thereof. Broadcasting has been used for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication such as amateur (ham) radio and amateur television (ATV) in addition to commercial purposes like popular radio or TV stations with advertisements.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcasting

2. Mobile Media

Mobile media is a type of terms that we frequently utilize which is pervasive in our day-to-day life and yet so indistinct theoretically that we are not able to identify it. We all know that it can be our mobile phones when we are not using it to start calls or create texts, our iPods, our table pc's and all another gadgets. But we do not grasp the thought to the point that we all know print media for the reason that newspapers and magazines as what we read, TV as what we watch and radio as what we listen to. But with cell phones, tablet PC's, laptops and iPods and other mp3 devices which can make us read news, watch video clips and listen to or in other terms, access all 3 types of media, we can not technically reveal that mobile media is new content. 

Source : http://www.articlelisted.com/Art/75473/32/Definition-Of-Mobile-Media-Technology.html

3. Outdoor Media

Outdoor media is a form of mass media which comprises billboards, signs, placards placed inside and outside of commercial buildings or objects like shops or buses, flying billboards (signs in tow of airplanes), blimps, and skywriting. Many commercial advertisers use this form of mass media when advertising in sports stadiums. Tobacco and alcohol manufacturers used billboards and other outdoor media extensively.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media

4. Art as Media

"Media art" refers to artworks that depend on a technological component to function. The term "media" applies to any communication device used to transmit and store information. By incorporating emerging technologies into their artworks, artists using new media are constantly redefining the traditional categories of art.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_media_art

5. Electronic Media

Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user (audience) to access the content. This is in contrast to static media (mainly print media), which today are most often created electronically, but don't require electronics to be accessed by the end-user in the printed form. The primary electronic media sources familiar to the general public are better known as video recordings, audio recordings, multimedia presentations, slide presentations, CD-ROM and online content. Most new media are in the form of digital media. However, electronic media may be in either analog or digital format.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_media

6. Printed media

Pamphlets, brochures, and posters constitute other print media used to disseminate health messages. These devices are readily found in most public health agencies, offices of private practitioners, health care institutions, and voluntary health organizations. The extent to which persons read, reread, and keep these devicesr circulate them to other readerss not well evaluated. Thus, their permanence is unknown.

Source : http://www.answers.com/topic/print-media

7. Film Media

Film encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. The name comes from the photographic film also called filmstock, historically the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist motion pictures or just pictures, the silver screen, photoplays, the cinema, picture shows, flicks and commonlymovies.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media

8. Primitive Media

Primitive media bear the marks of the human touch.It reveal the aesthetic and subtle communicative possibilities of primitive media.The end of every medium should be to reveal the connect between the natural, the cultural and the spiritual elements of a community. Primitive media, unlike mainstream media, have no implicit or explicit agenda. Though graffiti are an unedited display of emotion, a wall journal can serve as a fine primitive medium to fulfill the creative aspirations of a community.

Source : http://www.angelfire.com/nd/nirmaldasan/editorials/february2007.html

9. Written Media

Written media is defined as any words, events, message or thoughts written or recorded on a surface. Writing needs to be more explicit, since obscurities and misunderstandings cannot be removed immediately. People feel more committed to what they write because of the potential permanence of the written communication. Self-correction is eliminated through editing in writing.

Source : http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/mediumterm.htm

10. Spoken Media

Conversation, the most common type of speech, involves immediate interchange between the participants, who convey their reactions either in words or through facial expressions and bodily movements. There is more spontaneity in conversation than in writing; self-correction occurs in the flow of conversation.

Source : http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/mediumterm.htm

WEEK 1 | Task 2

WRITE AN ESSAY ABOUT 400 WORDS : DESCRIBING YOUR THOUGHT ON MEDIA USE INCLUDE PHOTOGRAPH IF YOU WANT.

In society today, the construction of a personal identity can be seen to be somewhat problematic and difficult. Young people are surrounded by influential imagery, especially that of popular media. It is no longer possible for an identity to be constructed merely in a small community and only be influenced by family.

Firstly, it is important to establish what constitutes an identity, especially in young people. An identity is something that occurs to a person, like a state of drunkenness. However, I believe that identity is something that is constructed over a period of time and can constantly be updated or changed completely. Young people can be seen to change their identities throughout puberty and often have different identities at the age of 11 or 12 to when they hit mid teens to their early 20s. Throughout this period, they will be in contact with many different influences ranging from older brothers and sisters, what is deemed to be ‘cool’ in school to popular imagery derived from the media such as the ‘in colour’ this season.

For the BROADCAST MEDIA, the content have not always been available for use to young people growing up. Nowadays, it is quite common for children when they come home from school to switch on the television and watch the programmes especially designed for them.  It is hard for the parents to control their children to watch. Most of them were worrying that thier kids might copy the behaviour portrayed on screen and use it in school, somehow constructing their identity from aspects of the characters in the drama.

Similarly, PRINTED MEDIA such as magazines can also be seen to have a great influence on the formation of an identity, not just in young people but with adults too, to an extent. For example, there are constant complaints made about the portrayal of thin models in fashion magazines that apparently encourage young women to want to be as thin as the fashion models they see in such magazines. Adverts seen in magazines, on billboards, on television or even the Internet and the imagery such advertising campaigns put forward can also be seen in influence a young person constructing their identity. This can be anything from the ‘correct’ labeled trainers to buy to which mobile phone is the smallest and therefore most popular to which beauty treatment to use. The list is endless. 

The same can be said of the SOCIAL MEDIA. I believe the Internet is an especially interesting medium for young people to use in order to construct their identities. Not only can they make use of the imagery derived from the Internet, but also it provides a perfect backdrop for the presentation of the self, notably with personal home pages. By surfing the World Wide Web adolescents are able to gain information from the limitless sites which may interest them but they can also create sites for themselves, specifically home pages. Constructing a home page can enable someone to put all the imagery they have derived from the popular media into practice.

In conclusion, it can be seen that the popular media permeates everything that we do. Consequently, the imagery in the media is bound to infiltrate into young people’s lives. This is especially the case when young people are in the process of constructing their identities. Through television, magazines, advertising, music and the Internet adolescents have a great deal of resources available to them in order for them to choose how they would like to present their ‘selves’.

Source : 
http://www.journyx.com/node/2065
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/klh9802.html  

WEEK 1 | Task 1

1. CROSS DISCIPLINARY
Involving two or more academic disciplines; interdisciplinary: cross-disciplinary studies in Biblical archaeology.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cross-disciplinary  30 Oct 2012

2. INTER DISCIPLINARY
Combining or involving two or more professions, technologies, departments, or the like, as in business or industry.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/interdisciplinary  30 Oct 2012

3. TRANS DISCIPLINARY
Involving two or more academic, scientific, or artistic disciplines.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interdisciplinary?show=0&t=1352007896  30 Oct 2012

4. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Research generated outside the framework of a quantitative approach. Collected data is not subjected to formulaic analysis for the purpose of generating projections.
http://www.investorwords.com/3993/qualitative_research.html  30 Oct 2012

5. ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDIES/RESEARCH
Ethnography means "portrait of a people." This social science research method, closely associated with the fields of anthropology and sociology, though not exclusive to them, provides a detailed description of a culture from the viewpoint of a researcher who brings both inside and outside perspectives.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5519812_meaning-ethnographic-studies.html  30 Oct 2012