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Opinion | Features
Whose views skew the news? Media chiefs ready to vote out Labor, while reporters lean left
Most journalists lean left-of-centre, says Folker Hanusch of the University of the Sunshine Coast, in a post first published on The Conversation.Most Australian journalists describe themselves as left-wing, yet amongst those who wield the real power in the country’s newsrooms, the Coalition holds a winning lead.
But while the media’s political leanings will no doubt be debated in the lead-up to September’s federal election, our study has also found other largely unscrutinised biases remain – particularly whose views disproportionately shape the news.
It's time for a new New Wave in the film world
Government funding bodies are lazy and decadent, says industry veteran Michael Thornhill but in a piece that first appeared in Encore, Ed Gibbs begs to differ.I vividly remember the time I first saw Animal Kingdom, David Michod’s breathtaking labour-of-love feature debut. The press screening was half empty, despite the film winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance just months earlier, in 2010. Yet its superb performances, stylistic flourishes and overall polish left me speechless. Could this really be a feature debut, an Australian one at that, I wondered, almost out loud? It seemed too good to be true.
Going cold turkey on an agency addiction
Life is sweet for freelance writer Max Kitchen, but in a feature that first appeared in Encore, he admits his struggle against returning to the agency fold.I’ve never taken heroin. But I suspect if I had, the temptation to try it again would not be too dissimilar to the lure of returning to agency life.
Can sport save Ten?
First there was the Grand Prix. Next came the reported $500m bid for cricket rights, then Ten secured the 2014 winter Olympics. So, can sport save the ailing network? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen investigates.The television sports rights bidding process is a bit like a game of poker.
Check, fold or bet. Those were the options for the Ten Network last week when it had to finalise its bid for the cricket rights.
Andy Lark: good for the marketing of marketing
I can still remember the first story I wrote about Andy Lark, when it emerged that he was to be the new chief marketing officer of CommBank.
It was immediately clear that Australia was about to meet an interesting marketer, one who blogged and tweeted and thanks to his time at Dell in the US was digitally savvy. Even two years ago, that was a big deal. The fact that he also had a stint in public relations gave him an absolutely intriguing background before he even arrived.
Storming the media barricades - advice for young journalists
This week Mumbrella’s Nic Christensen, who began his career four years ago, gave the keynote address to would-be journalists at the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance’s Student Day. This is an edited version of his speech.Good afternoon, I can remember distinctly the last time I was in this room.
It was 2009 and I was sitting where you are. I’d come to this event, a friend and myself — from memory we sat up the back — and I can remember at the time wondering if I’d ever get a job as a journalist.
It was only four years ago and then as now getting a job was ultra competitive but I’m not sure there was quite as much media ‘doom and gloom’ as there is now…
Paywalls will help fund campaigning journalism
In this guest post, News Limited’s group editorial director Campbell Reid responds to the views of ninemsn’s Hal Crawford that the company’s push into metered paywalls is about data rather than dollars.Hal Crawford is both right and wrong in his article which argued that our digital subscription plans are all about the data.
Fake it 'til you make it... as a features editor
Cosmo’s Kate Leaver tells us how to bluff it in her job in a feature that first appeared in Encore.What do you do, as a features editor?
Really, play with words and ideas all day. At any one time, we’re working across three issues of the mag – getting one on its way to the printers, pooling all the words together for another, and planning the issue after that. It’s busy but it’s a pretty magnificent process.
Savage counsel - JFDI
Hi Chris,I run a medium-sized agency that is doing pretty well. As the leader, I am finding my workload just seems to go up and up. I am struggling to stay motivated and particularly to tackle the bigger and tougher challenges I have to face every day. How do I keep up the energy when there just seems so much to do? How do you do it?
Productive, successful executives are those able to consistently tackle difficult and big challenges. It’s a constant struggle for me so I know how you feel. How do the successful leaders do it?
Q&A with Brett Clegg
Brett Clegg, group director – business media, Fairfax Media, in a Q&A that first appeared in Encore, on the journo who refuses to work with him – his wife.Who is the most powerful person in Australian media and why?
Hard to go past Rupert Murdoch. He controls the single largest and most diverse portfolio and is intent on leveraging its scale (and, of course, influence). He’s an innovator and his will to win is obvious to all.
The experiential experience
Anyone can throw up a tent in a high-traffic area and harass the general public, but what does it take to pull off an effective experiential event? In a piece that first appeared in Encore, Matt Smith investigates.A television commercial can easily be muted and ignored, but try ignoring a purring, squirming cat in your arms. That was the experience awaiting passers by in Sydney’s Martin Place in October last year when Mars Petcare built Whiskas Kitten Palace.
The News Limited paywall isn't about revenue. It's about data
In this guest post, ninemsn’s editor in chief Hal Crawford argues Fairfax Media and News Limited’s new paywalls won’t draw much revenue, but will generate data. And they’re late to the data party.When I first learned that ninemsn’s major digital competitors Fairfax and News Ltd were going to introduce paywalls across their mainstream properties, I was excited.
Every obstacle thrown in the way of their audiences is an opportunity. People hate friction and anything that makes life difficult on a rival site is a chance to get them on yours.
Is this the worst time to be a journalist?
With scores of redundancies in 2012 and a mass exodus of experienced journos, is this the worst time to be a journalist? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Nic Christensen asks the question.In June last year a tsunami of redundancies began to sweep across Australia’s media landscape. They came in a series of waves and in the 12 months that followed, an estimated 1,200 journalists departed the mainstream media.
Are you a conscious leader?
As the advertising and marketing industry struggles to address the issue of rocketing rates of staff churn in their businesses, Slingshot CEO Simon Rutherford argues that today’s ‘conscious leaders’ should be more focussed on creating ‘staff wellness’ in order to deliver high performing teams and healthy profits.
A conscious leader believes the business has a greater responsibility towards the community it operates in. To ensure sustainable long-term profits, people must come first. Awareness, trust, authenticity, transparency, 100% responsibility, connection, compassion, and love: these are the tools of the conscious leader.
Suits: less popular than pest controllers
Advertising suits have a thankless job that is currently being eroded by the changing industry says Naren Sanghrajka in a piece that first appeared in Encore.Not in my wildest, craziest nightmares would I ever have thought I’d say this. But I’m going to. Being a bean counter is far more appealing than starting as a suit in advertising. There it is. I said it. I actually said those words.
Yes, it’s incredibly depressing. But it’s true.
Gruesome Central Institute of Technology ad goes viral
A gory tongue-in-cheek sci-fi themed ad for the Central Institute of Technology in Perth has gone viral, amassing more than 1m views since it was uploaded earlier this month.
The ad was written and directed by CIT grads Henry Inglis and Aaron McCann.
Head of marketing at CIT, Kenley Gordon said in a press release: “Free reign isn’t supposed to mean dismembered limbs. If there’s a next time, I’ll stay on set till the final scene wraps. The youth market is what Henry and Aaron know and judging from the hits, they nailed it.”
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Comments
20 Feb 12
1:53 pm
To make a popular reference..
OMG.
Witty, shocking… and rememberable.
20 Feb 12
1:54 pm
The top comment on youtube is brilliant. CIT made a good choice letting them do their own thing.
20 Feb 12
1:55 pm
Gold.
20 Feb 12
1:57 pm
That was amazing.
20 Feb 12
2:00 pm
Wow, and not in a good way.
20 Feb 12
2:01 pm
Good on them, but no client would let an agency do this.
20 Feb 12
2:07 pm
Funny, I saw this last week but didn’t get past the second ‘”snap” cause it looked amateurish and dodgy. More fool me. Good on the creators, and good on CIT for letting them do it.
20 Feb 12
2:08 pm
It’s majestic.
20 Feb 12
2:08 pm
awesome
20 Feb 12
2:16 pm
Fucking 22 year olds right?
20 Feb 12
2:25 pm
Stands impaled head and shoulders above anything else in the category. Most uni advertising is woeful.
20 Feb 12
2:35 pm
lame strategy, Award school idea, brilliant execution.
That’s what happens when everyone who thinks they know stuff tells kids to be sensible and act like grown ups…..awesome.
20 Feb 12
3:13 pm
Somebody hire them!
20 Feb 12
5:23 pm
Pretty good job fellas.
20 Feb 12
9:29 pm
What a wank. Any message gets lost in the SFX and where are you going to run it, on the Zombie Television Network?
21 Feb 12
12:38 am
This will reel in the prospective students! What a wonderfully awesome clip!!!!
21 Feb 12
9:36 am
Danny thinks that 17/18 year old tech kids are sitting around watching TV, and therefore won’t see this because it’s “only” on the internet.
Wow.
21 Feb 12
12:10 pm
^this. Seriously, does he mean that? It has over 1m views already.
Also it is well done, and the message isn’t lost, especially due to the end board.
21 Feb 12
2:11 pm
Respect.
And I agree….fuck’n 22 year olds.
21 Feb 12
2:21 pm
Regardless of whether you like the execution or the idea, this really shows that when you take conservative ‘strategic’ marketers (aka ‘idea killers’) out of the mix, even uni students with a handicam can generate better, more engaging content that most creative agencies can ever dream of.
This is a great example that if both clients and creative agencies took more risks, it may just pay off.
21 Feb 12
2:51 pm
i see tonnes of ads for uni students – they’re all gay and show a smiling student happy with his and her decision in life.
this ad actually gets their audience.
21 Feb 12
2:52 pm
FFS, perspective please.
A film like this might get a whole bunch of junior ad creatives applauding its creative freedom on a blog because they’re all stuck doing retail catalogues, but this spot will persuade precisely no-one to attend this school. It’s sensationalist for absolutely no reason whatsoever, which is a advertising strategy that never works.
Welcome to advertising 101.
21 Feb 12
2:55 pm
It appeals to me. Viral adds are so hard to achieve and hats off to these guys. 1m hits is epic. Maybe the ending was over the top. Seeing the guy yack was enough, see decapitation, maybe a bit over the top
21 Feb 12
3:42 pm
Jeremy (Feb 21 at 2.21) is on the money. I’ve been a ‘strategic’ uni marketer paying big money to agencies who didn’t always deliver on their ‘idea’. These former students came to me with a bit of drive to get things done and they did it with basically a hand held and a bunch of mates and it takes off. I saw the script and wanted to meddle a little but thought that would just diminish their energy.
Take a risk, let ‘em go, sometimes it works out.
21 Feb 12
4:34 pm
Heh, talentless haters will hate. 1.3 million views can’t be wrong.
And the last globally viral campaign you did was … ?
21 Feb 12
5:36 pm
Mr/Ms Sharks,
I’m taking a wild guess here, but I’m pretty sure that at least some of the (to date) 1.4 million people who’ve viewed this 90 second commercial on youtube AREN’T junior advertising creatives.
Some of them are probably 17 year olds from Western Australia, who just viewed a 90 second commercial about the CIT.
Once again, this proves the point that if you make your work watchable enough, you don’t need to spend a bomb running it.
22 Feb 12
12:38 am
To circling Sharks – I don’t think Dan Harmon (creator and show-runner of Community) is a junior ad creative. And he seems to like it. Of course, his is just one opinion but a valid one if you’re judging comedy.
On your point of getting people to attend the school – does any university advertising really transmit to direct enrolments (especially when universities now days are becoming increasingly more fragmented in the courses they off)? Stuff like this is just to build awareness of the campus and, from what I can see, the capabilities of its students based on what they learn there.
Advertising 102? See you next semester. Don’t sleep with your teacher.
22 Feb 12
9:49 am
Hey @iselect guy
Ads don’t have sexuality so cannot be ‘gay’. I’m pretty sure you also weren’t saying the ads are ‘happy’.
Please don’t use that word to reference something you find lame. Yes I know you’re not the first one to do it and I’m not picking on you as I see and hear it a lot….but we’re all adults here (I think) and it is an abuse of language which is not to be encouraged.
22 Feb 12
2:05 pm
Dear Ricky,
Gay used to mean happy, cheerful, light of heart.
Then a whole bunch of people appropriated the word, and completely changed its meaning. Gay then meant homosexual.
Which made a complete mockery of any film dialogue pre-1950, and a bunch of brands including Golden Gaytime and Ben Gay.
Now a whole bunch of people have appropriated the word once again, to mean lame.
I hardly think the gay community can complain, given they pinched the word in the first place.
Maybe if they invented their own word, they’d have a case.
24 Feb 12
5:48 pm
Haahah this made my day!
24 Feb 12
10:21 pm
@Hmmmm I’m not ‘the gay community’. I’m me, and I find it offensive. I’m the one complaining.
28 Feb 12
1:27 am
Thank you CIT, you have made my life as an employer so much easier. From now on if I see a CV which indicates a person has attended your uni, I will throw it straight in the bin…. Well done Kenley Gordon!
28 Feb 12
2:03 pm
Hey disLIKE, if you take such an approach to hiring I doubt graduates from CIT would want to work with you anyway.