Tia Thomas

The major project research was off to an unsure start as I was unsure of what topic to discuss, which made me initially very behind compared to my fellow peers. But after some discussion with my tutor in week 10, I began to organise and narrow down my topic to get more on track with my work. Since my presentation was about gender prejudice in the journalism industry, I have decided to dive deeper into the issue and discuss gender in the media, more specifically females behind the scenes of productions. Whilst trying to find interviewees, I sent out approximately ten emails to a variety of production companies in the Newcastle and Hunter region. However, after a few days of waiting I received no replies and became very nervous. When I was about to start sending more emails, I unexpectedly received an email from a company based in Newcastle saying they were excited and on board to be interviewed. But as discussing gender problems can be a very sensitive topic, the interviewees underst...

Society has developed a significant dependence on digital outlet as sources for information, rather than newspapers. Portable technology has allowed news to be constantly accessible, anywhere and anytime. To remain relevant to their audiences, social media including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube is growing more important to the journalism industry and media organisations. Without a strong online presence, major news sites can rapidly become irrelevant. However the switch from traditional to modern has irreversibly changed how the journalism industry produces content, writing style and also employment opportunities. As Georgia Cherry shared during her presentation, research found that in the previous decade the number of print journalists employed has rapidly declined. With almost 70 thousand in 2006, this number dropped to 40 thousand in 2015. Unlike digital-only producers which was meek in 2005, but increased to 10 thousand in 2015. Although initially online news may be seen as...

Despite popular opinion, freedom within Australia is not easily obtainable as originally believed. As societies conflicting values continue to headline major newspapers and sites, understanding how freedom works within the legal system has never been more important. Unlike the United States, Australia’s citizens do not have the right to freedom of speech. But rather the freedom of opinion which entails “the right to hold opinions without interference… or restriction” (AUST GOV). Despite also having the freedom of expression, this is not without its limits, which forces Australian citizens to ask ‘should we incorporate freedom of speech into our legal system?’ However, freedom of speech can also have negative repercussions, especially upon minorities. As social media is constantly accessible and can rapidly share information, the spread of hate speech has never been so dangerous. Especially as tensions continue to grow surrounding religion, as it was commonly linked together ...

As an aspiring journalist, identifying the gender issues within the Australian media instantly became a subject of interest for my upcoming presentation. I specifically focused on how women are both perceived and represented within the journalism industry to ensure my audience did not feel too overwhelmed by the information. Although there are numerous groups in society that deny gender inequality exists, there are reports that prove the significant inequalities women face as professionals. This year, the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia released a report analysing the nation’s top 15 news sites on four consecutive Thursdays in October 2018. The report included a broad spectrum of news and entertainment sites including 9 News, The Guardian, Buzzfeed and Yahoo. During my research, it shocked me to discover the major differences between genders in all areas of the journalism industry. The Herald Sun was found to have the lowest percentage of female journalists, with a di...

As an aspiring journalist, identifying the gender issues within the Australian media instantly became a subject of interest for my upcoming presentation. I specifically focused on how women are both perceived and represented within the journalism industry to ensure my audience did not feel too overwhelmed by the information. Although there are numerous groups in society that deny gender inequality exists, there are reports that prove the significant inequalities women face as professionals. This year, the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia released a report analysing the nation’s top 15 news sites on four consecutive Thursdays in October 2018. The report included a broad spectrum of news and entertainment sites including 9 News, The Guardian, Buzzfeed and Yahoo. During my research, it shocked me to discover the major differences between genders in all areas of the journalism industry. The Herald Sun was found to have the lowest percentage of female journalists, with a di...

Newspapers used to be considered the primary outlet for journalists to nationally and locally share factual news. But as society’s digital footprint increases, the many aspects within the journalism industry begins to suffer. Ultimately leading to an uncertain future for aspiring journalists. With print journalism being slowly replaced with online platforms, there are numerous issues with employment decreasing and false information being shared through citizen journalists. Despite the necessity for photographs and videos as proof of current events, citizens can access social platforms and share violent or misleading information rapidly. Google and Facebook have become a primary source for both entertainment and news. Thus provides a new outlet for media organisations to share articles to a variety of audiences. But as peer student, Georgia Cheer mentioned in her presentation, there are approximately 2.4 billion active Facebook users. Ultimately, the dependence of online rather than ...