Week 5

"Who owns the newspapers and TV stations in your country? Do you think this has an effect on the news that you hear?"

Who owns the newspaper and TV stations in Malaysia? From my research, I found that most of them are either owned by the government of Malaysia or owned by political parties of the Barisan Nasional coalition government for example, “Media Prima”.

The media of Malaysia include television, radio, newspapers, and web-based media such as bloggers. Many media outlets are either owned directly by the government of Malaysia (e.g. Bernama) or owned by component parties of the Barisan Nasional coalition government (e.g. the Media Prima group, which is owned by the United Malays National Organisation).

Media Prima Berhad is a subsidiary media corporation that controls several television networks, newspaper, and radio stations and is linked to Malaysia’s ruling party UMNO. Media Prima controls English newspapers such as New Straits Times and Malay Mail, as well as Malay papers like the Berita Harian. This company is the biggest media group in Malaysia, owning roughly 54% of Malaysia television viewership and controlling a market share of approximately 29%. Television channels such as TV3, NTV7, 8TV, and many more, while radio stations for example Hot FM and Fly FM are owned by this company. Besides Media Prima, another media corporation is the Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) who controls 17 % of the television audiences. The government owns RTM and operates a number of radio and television stations in Malaysia. RTM runs 8 national, 16 states, 7 district radio stations and two television station at present.

From my point of view, it has made a big impact to our country in regarding the news. Most Malaysians read and listen to information that has been censored and filtered by the government. Clearly, there is a tight relationship between the press and the political parties in the ruling coalition. The party-owned media get to control the media and this allows them to have the power to decide on the scope and nature of the media content. This makes it difficult for the journalist as they are merely a part of the government’s propaganda machines and not professionals performing their duties to the best of their abilities. This situation also makes it hard for the citizens to exercise their rights to information and the right to make informed choices.

The government controls the media by imposing laws and acts to constraint the content of each media. These laws not only instill fear among the journalists, but also prevent media professionals from practicing investigative journalism and from playing any role as the guardian of truth. Malaysiakini represents a concept of independent media, which trouble the government a little. The website says a lot about the government finding it hard to come to terms with the new media and with internet media, and now it is an environment where the government is losing complete control on truth.

Week 4

"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?"

News is information about recent events or happenings that are reported through a media, whether it is the newspapers, periodicals, radio, or television. It may seem like everything is news, because on a daily basis we are inundated with "news" from the morning newspaper, the TV, the Internet, and the radio. Some of what is being written and broadcast is newsworthy, some is not.

Reading newspapers everyday is must for both students and adults for growth and enlightenment irrespective of the class or field of their life. As for me, reading newspaper everyday is highly educational and an important informal education in that. So, I read newspaper and watch news from TV. Honestly, I prefer get to know the news from TV or from internet. It is because newspaper has many words have to read through. Sometimes, I do not have the patience to read it finish and I will ask my parents about what the news happen is. TV is more attractive to me because TV news is people telling the news to the audience and we just have to listen and get to know the news very clearly. Not only have that, TV news showed the picture is more colourful than newspaper. It will make me more concentrate what they are talking about the news.

I feel that news is very important in many ways. They give us lots of information about various matters at various levels that are not available anywhere. It provides right news and also provides the important incidents happening through the country or at times through the world. It also brings awareness in the public about the right and duties that should done. They also play an important role in the field of education, employment, and advisement. News increases the general knowledge of the people. They also increase the communication skill of the people.

In conclusion, we get the news to know how changes around us affect our life. We know the news to broaden our knowledge and keep abreast of the recent developments in various fields, be it in politics, economics, science, sports or art and culture. Newspaper is an important tool of the learning process for people.

Week 3

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

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 is a media from because it is clear and the message is direct bring to the audience and it can communicate to specific audience in verbal and non-verbal communications. In thinking of theatre as performance, as a means of communication, one cannot ignore the architectural medium, since the architectural structure mediates the relation between performance and audience, just as the performance mediates the relations between the message to be communicated and its recipients. Theatre groups can create space for storytelling and discussing because such theatre can convey information and still remain popular and entertaining too.  It is relatively easy to create a play which is readily accessible to most communities, since there is no need for complicated or expensive technology or equipment.

Theatre is grabbing the attention and interest of a great number of people. This is because theatre is performed live and based on reality. It combines oral communication, physical expression, dance, image, music and song, which work together to maintain people’s interest over time.

Theatre is live and human: it uses voice, speech, language, the body and motion. It brings life and human reality to the audience. It makes people think and respond. Theatre plays a good communication form with the audience.

Week 2

Task

Get pictures of 10 different types of media forms and describe them.

1. Print Media
Print Media is a knowledge associated with one academic field of study or profession. A disciplinary incorporates types of knowledge, expertise, skills, people, projects, communities, problems, challenges, studies, inquiry, approaches, and research areas that are strongly associated with academic areas of study or areas of professional practice.

Source : http://www.ehow.com/about_7221638_definition-print-media_.html

Date : 9 November 2012

2. Broadcasting
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/Broadcast_media

Date : 9 November 2012

3. Electronic Media
Electronic Media is information or data that is created, distributed and accessed using a form of electronics, electromechanical energy or any equipment used in electronic communications. The common equipment we use on a day to day basis to access Electronic Media is our television, radio, computer, cell phones and other devices transporting information to and from us by means of electronic involvement.

Source : http://www.electronicmedia.co.za/

Date : 9 November 2012

4. 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.

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

Date : 9 November 2012

5. Outdoor Media
Outdoor media include billboards and signs, placards inside and outside of commercial transportation modes, flying billboards (e.g., signs in tow of airplanes), blimps, and skywriting.

Source : http://www.enotes.com/mass-media-reference/mass-media

Date : 9 November 2012

6. The Internet
The Internet (or internet) is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide.

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

Date : 9 November 2012

7. Video Game
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, but it now implies any type of display device that can produce two or three dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use. Video games have gone on to become an art form and industry.

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

Date : 9 November 2012

8. Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still images on a strip of plastic which, when run through a projector and shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.

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

Date : 9 November 2012

9. New Media Art
New media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, video games, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology. The term differentiates itself by its resulting cultural objects and social events, which can be seen in opposition to those deriving from old visual arts (i.e. traditional painting, sculpture, etc.). This concern with medium is a key feature of much contemporary art and indeed many art schools and major Universities now offer majors in "New Genres" or "New Media" and a growing number of graduate programs have emerged internationally.

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

Date : 9 November 2012

10. Social Media
Social media includes the various online technology tools that enable people to communicate easily via the internet to share information and resources. Social media can include text, audio, video, images, podcasts, and other multimedia communications.

Source : http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/g/socialmedia.htm

Date : 9 November 2012


Journal entry
"4 social/cultural groups and what media they use."

Social group has been defined as two or more humans who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and collectively have a sense of unity. Social group can be divided into two categories, primary group and secondary group.

Primary groups are those in which individuals intimately interact and cooperate over a long period of time. Examples of primary groups are families, friends, peers, neighbours and classmates.

Secondary groups are those in which individuals do not interact much. Members of secondary groups are less personal or emotional than those of primary groups. An example of a secondary relationship is that of a stockbroker and her clients. The stockbroker likely relates to her clients in terms of business only.

Peer group

Children and adolescents prefer using media together with friends and their peer group. Habits of media use within a peer group differ depending on the media type (e.g., print versus electronic media) and are also related to age and gender. Media use also varies from one country to another. Peer groups are characterized by common leisure interests, ethical values, and preferences concerning important in-group matters such as lifestyle and music. This type of social group is important throughout a person’s life. The media they use is the internet, mobile phones and social media. They are always using those media with their friends. They will use like Facebook, Twitter, Tango, Skype, Whatspp to connect with their friends.

Household

All individuals who live in the same home, Anglophone culture may include various models of household, including the family, blended families, share housing, and group homes. The media they use is broadcast media, which is radio and television. They use those media to know the latest news or information in the country. Family watch TV together is one of their entertainments.

Franchise

Franchise is a type of license that a party (franchisee) acquires to allow them to have access to a business's (the franchisor) proprietary knowledge, processes and trademarks in order to allow the party to sell a product or provide a service under the business's name. In exchange for gaining the franchise, the franchisee usually pays the franchisor initial start-up and annual licensing fees. Franchise use media to participate in conversations, engage with brands, and find job opportunities. The media they use are print media (newspaper, magazines), internet, outdoor billboards and broadcast media (television, radio).

Club

A club is an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities; there are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth. Clubs create a social environment by bringing together people who have similar interests. Club will used social network like Facebook, radio broadcasting, and print media such as flyers, posters, banners, etc. to promote their club.

Week 1

Task

Disciplinary is a knowledge associated with one academic field of study or profession. A disciplinary incorporates types of knowledge, expertise, skills, people, projects, communities, problems, challenges, studies, inquiry, approaches, and research areas that are strongly associated with academic areas of study or areas of professional practice.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_(specialism)

Date : 2 November 2012

Cross-disciplinary knowledge is that which explains aspects of one discipline in terms of another. Common examples of cross-disciplinary approaches are studies of the physics of music or the politics of literature.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_(specialism)#Cross-disciplinary

Date : 2 November 2012

Interdisciplinary knowledge is the knowledge extensions that exist between or beyond existing academic disciplines or professions. The new knowledge may be claimed by members of none, one, both, or an emerging new academic discipline or profession.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_(specialism)#Interdisciplinary

Date : 2 November 2012

In practice, Trans disciplinary can be thought of as the union of all interdisciplinary efforts. While interdisciplinary teams may be creating new knowledge that lies between several existing disciplines, a trans disciplinary team is more holistic and seeks to relate all disciplines into a coherent whole.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline_(specialism)#Transdisciplinary

Date : 2 November 2012

Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when. Hence, smaller but focused samples are more often needed than large samples.

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

Date : 2 November 2012

Ethnography is a qualitative research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena. The resulting field study or a case report reflects the knowledge and the system of meanings in the lives of a cultural group. An ethnography is a means to represent graphically and in writing, the culture of a people. Ethnographic research is also known as participant observation, in which the researcher lives within the setting and among the people she studies.

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

Date : 2 November 2012


Journal entry
"Thoughts on media use"

Media is known to be the most powerful means of communication. The print media, electronic media and the Internet are all the subsets of mass media. The newspapers, newsletters, magazines and brochure are included in the print media, while the electronic media consists of the television, radio and other modes of communication. Internet is without doubt the fastest known way of communicating with millions of people across the globe. However, the effects of mass media on society can be positive as well as negative.

The best thing about the mass media is that it immediately provides us with the latest information about the things happening around us. Mass media reports news from all the fields such as politics, sports, wars, natural calamities, entertainment, etc. Because of the keen efforts and dedication of the people working in the media and the entertainment sector, our knowledge remains fresh. With the gained knowledge, we become more smart and outgoing. Many times, we understand what is good and bad for us through the media programs. The contribution of mass media in the fields of arts, education, technology and health care is laudable. We also get the correct information about the various crimes and illegal activities happening in our surroundings quite easily. Media is a boon for youngsters in many ways. They get useful information related to their career and higher education mostly through the mass media. The mass media influence or the effects of mass media on the minds of the youth is significant.

Media plays a very important role in shaping the personality of people. It has been observed that citizens become more sensible and capable to shoulder their responsibility towards the nation and the society because of the media. We get our role models by hearing about the appreciation of their great deeds from the media itself. Over the years, mass media has played an important role in making people understand the meaning of democracy. We also come to know about the strengths and weaknesses of the economy of our country, the population figures, the various problems faced by the nation, achievements of the nation in different sectors, through the prompt and precise reporting of different forms of media. Media plays an important role in building the sense of unity and pride among the people of the nation. In those countries where there are many cases, religions and languages spoken, media has even more tough responsibility of conveying the true news to the citizens. Media makes the citizens aware of their fundamental rights and their duties towards their families, state and the nation. Utility of the mass media in the areas of advertising and marketing is simply great. The effects of mass media are truly everlasting.

Though the positive mass media effects are many, there are some cons associated with the mass media as well. The news which is published without having bothered to check whether it is a fact or not, can create unnecessary confusion and extreme feelings among the common masses. There have been many instances of huge fights and controversies emerging, because of improper reporting. It becomes the duty of media to provide only relevant and precise information to the masses.

Over the years, the media has become an inseparable component of our daily lives and hence, it is its prime responsibility to keep the confidence of people alive by reporting only true details of any particular event. I believe that the mass media is important for individual and social development nevertheless each person should make an appropriate use about the information that receive and about electronic devices that take part.