Press Release II : Tahlia Moore
A young girl was seriously injured in a car accident in Epping yesterday morning.
Tahlia Moore, 9, was struck by a 1997 white Hyundai that ploughed through the fence of her Meadowglen Primary School playground.
The offender, a 16-year old learner driver, was heading down Derby Drive in Epping in a stolen vehicle before losing control of the car and veering off the street through the school playground’s fence.
The driver was found to be heavily under the influence of alcohol; his blood alcohol level showing well over the standard 0.05 of a probationary or fully licensed driver.
Moore, conscious at the scene, was rushed to the Royal Children’s hospital by ambulance after sustaining severe leg, back and head injuries. She is reported to be in a stable condition.
The vehicle was deemed un-roadworthy prior to the offence. This, coupled with an amateur drink driver made for a frightening combination.
The first time offender , lucky to have escaped with no physical injuries and his life, was taken into custody. He is expected to be charged on summons with culpable driving offences.
“It was lucky more children weren’t hurt or killed,” said Sergeant Mandy Subraman, the responding officer at the scene.
“The girl sustained serious injuries but it could have been worse if there were other children there. Very lucky indeed.”
Death By Buffet
Harley’s article was the best read I’ve had all semester. It felt like I was reading a novel. His use of language to paint a picture of his surroundings was beautifully detailed, expressive and colourful. It made his story come alive. I felt like I was almost there, like I could almost hear the sounds of the city and smell the pungent smells. I think I even wrinkled my nose at times like I was experiencing it first hand for myself. Being from India myself, I felt like I was back home and could comfortably relate to the references he made about the country’s culture and people. But for those who aren’t Indian or haven’t been to India, I think this article would definitely still take you there momentarily. Overall, an excellent and humorous narrative. It kept me chuckling from beginning to end. I couldn’t put it down and disappointed when it ended. I would recommend it as a light autobiographical read.
Quarter-Life Crisis
My name is Melissa Maria Lee. I’m a 25-year-old Anglo-Indian full-time student and part-time travel consultant. I have 5 major financial responsibilities to take care of (I.e. phone bill, World Vision Australia sponsorship, annual car registration, a constantly accumulating HECS debt and the $200 monthly contribution to my parents). The rest of what I earn is for me to use at my leisure, whether I choose to shop till I drop or save for a rainy day. In exchange for the $200 monthly contribution, I have a roof over my head, food in my stomach and clean laundry. My chores are to keep my room clean and do the dishes once a week on my day off. Yes!! I am 25.
A lot of people look at my lifestyle and say, “Hey! You have got it so easy. Live with your parents as long as you can!” I agree to an extent that due to my academic endeavours and significantly decreased financial income owing to part-time hours, that yes, living at home allows me to live very comfortably and within my means. But I’m not going to lie to you. I actually HATE (with a passion) living at home. Here’s why. Are you paying attention.?
“PEENNNIIISSS!!”
Great! You were paying attention. This is the fine print. The clause that’s written in size 3 at the bottom of every page, that everyone signs off to without so much as a second thought until they come to a complex crossroad during some point in their life.
Being at home feels more like being in a cage a lot of the time. At 25, I don’t have the luxuries most my age do. I can’t up and go wherever I like, whenever I like. Being of Indian descent means that I must report all whereabouts at all times. I have a curfew on weekdays of 11pm. Not 11.01pm or 11.02pm…just 11pm! On weekends, my parents say that I can come home “at any time. ” Small print moment – ‘anytime,’ also referred to as ‘a decent hour,’ is no later than 4am. Now on occasion, I do get away with arriving well after the sun rises. This is if I am lucky enough to walk through the front door whilst they are so far gone into la-la land that they cannot possibly hear anything come or go.
Next on the list is what happens when I actually do go out. No matter how tired I get or how serious my reason, I am not allowed to ‘sleep-over.’ Especially, if it’s a male friend (i.e. usually they are thinking about a boyfriend). “It would shame the family,” “What would people think?” or “No way in hell!” are the three most common responses that greet me if I ever ask to stay the night out somewhere. I never, ever, EVER ask to stay at a boyfriend’s house. I tried to jokingly ask that one time. It was asked for the absolute last time. Their death stares almost melted through the layers of cosmetic construction on my face. Not a lot can get through that but this could. Yes! I am 25.
The only way around this rule is ‘white-lies’. So I pick their area of weakness and torture them mercilessly. “I have to stay at my friend’s place from class. She’s having our ‘all-girl’ study group over to finish this massive assignment. We have to get this done! We have a major deadline! If I don’t go, it’s as good as a fail!” Bingo!! Works every time! Indian parents love their children to strive for anything academic-related. A small victory but a victory nonetheless.
So $200 is a small price to pay for financial security but a lot to pay to feel imprisoned. So if you ever see me out and about on campus, with my lunchbox packed and labelled, I urge you to please refrain from automatically thinking I have an easy life. It is but a subtle sign of parental control. But then again, I am only 25. Maybe things will be different when I’m 26.
Underbelly: Feature Planning
LEAD:
Underbelly’s use of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll, to expose the underhanded activities of Gangland Melbourne’s most notorious “hoodlums and thugs,” was supposed to be “a cautionary tale.” Instead it served as a “disgraceful glamorisation(s)” of the behaviours and lifestyles of these criminals, according to former Supreme Court judge, James Wood.
The first series of Underbelly, attracted just over 1.3 million viewers. This almost doubled by the premier of the third series, with a reported 2.2 million people tuning in.
“There is nothing honourable or admirable in relation to the people who are depicted in these programs,” Mr. Wood says, “You’ve got a high chance of ending up in prison for 20 to 30 years. These shows don’t show that.”
STORY PLAN:
- Gather ratings of all the programs in the same time-slot as and including Underbelly. Also look at audience demographics.
- Look at comparisons between Underbelly and other Australian crime shows, and also international crime shows.
- Look into interviewing police and/or a legal team on their insight about what the show illustrates and its real-life implications.
- Interview a relative of someone whose life has been directly connected to someone involved in ‘gang-banging’ activities and how this has affected them?
- If possible, also interview someone from the shows network to see why they chose to broadcast such a show and why they think it is such a success.
- Look into censorship laws and whether this program has crossed any of them and if so why is still being broadcasted?
Descriptive Journalism x 3
NYPD Inaction!
This article saddened me to tears and sickened me at same time. Clearly, an investigative piece of journalism, it kept me wanting to know more.
The headline was punchy and captivating, summarising what was to be unveiled below. Once I started reading, I liked how it kept me in suspense momentarily but not for too long that I would lose interest in it.
Gardiner description of the victim’s family and lifestyle was very personal and touching. This could possibly be attributed to him spending time in getting to know them and tell their story they way they would have wanted. The description of the injuries sustained by victim was a bit gory but it certainly provided a picture and a feeling of the pain she went through. There was a real tone of sympathy and respect.
All-in-all, it was highly informative and thoroughly researched., with a lot of supporting information. I didn’t find any aspect of this case irrelevant. I was definitely very moved by this article.
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Hmmm…The concept of what they were doing was very interesting and maybe even slightly humorous. Apart from that, it was way, way, WAY too long! The whole reading sounded monotonous. Did this author actually go back and read everything he wrote? Or was he over it too? Ha-ha. It just felt like a lot of unnecessary information was included simply because the author may have been obliged to (i.e. the history of the violin and some of the songs etc.).
I would probably be the person on the street who walks past the busker with a possible sideways glance if he was any good; but I would most likely still keep walking. NOT because I don’t appreciate good music but simply because it is so drilled into my head that buskers are a bit of nuisance. This coming from numerous, prior painful experiences of having to listen to more noise than music.
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Her First Time…
“After years of being babied and having my hand held through procedure after procedure, I was nervous and daunted when thrown into the acute ward,” Aina Nott said, “I certainly didn’t expect to administrate treatments on my own for the first time.”
Upon completion of her Bachelors of Nursing at Bendigo’s La Trobe University, Aina was successful in receiving a position as graduate nurse at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital.
Raised in the small town of Bendigo, Aina moved to the busy metropolitan city of Melbourne to start her career in nursing at the age of 20.
As more and more people are being admitted into hospitals everyday, the pressure on hospital staff to provide sufficient service to everyone is increasing.
“There’s no bigger issue facing the nation than the ageing of our population, the overcrowding of hospitals with people who should be in nursing homes, filling up acute care wards in our hospital systems around the state,” Former Victorian Premier Mr. Bracks said.
This chaotic issue has resulted in newly graduate staff being forced to take on more responsibility single-handedly and quite possibly beyond their capability, which in turn could lead to the uprisings of forced errors.
With the current health reform that the PM is trying to pass through to the senate, this is an issue that needs to be addressed more closely, as it affects the provision of health care.
Nickel & Dimed
Both Williams’ and Ehrenreich’s stories are based on a similar theme about low-income owners struggling in America. The use figurative data as a means to support their story.
Williams’ story draws upon the struggles of various other subjects to expose Atlanta’s financial crisis. Her piece is very factual and ordered, following the constrained format of a hard news story. I found that the breakdown of the article into subcategories made for an easier read. Although, not directly impacted by the financial crisis, Williams’ appeared to be genuinely concerned about this issue.
Ehrenreich draws upon her own difficult experiences in dealing with the financial crisis; this time in Minnesota. By using herself as both the subject and the producer of her own news story, she is telling a story within a story (the bigger picture). I find her personal and narrative style of writing an easy and captivating read. This style of writing allows a reader to take on the emotions of the writer and get a real feel of where they are coming from. It also allows those readers who are facing a similar struggle to be able to relate.
By relating the issue at hand to the cause of other possible problems that American’s face, they have opened the doorway for further investigation of the matter.
Do you like it hard? Or soft?
The term ‘hard news’ refers to a style of writing that is factual and to the point. It does not take on a personal tone and it is not open to interpretation by its readers. It is not so much the content of a hard news story that is difficult to write but more so the constraints within which it has to written.
Soft news, by comparison, is a completely different style of writing. It is characterised by the authors personal tone and point of view, as well as its lack of factual provision. Personally, I find soft news more engaging and often entertaining. There’s always something for everyone. It is very apt to my personality and writing style. However, on my ‘journey’ (ha-ha) to becoming a successful journalist, I believe that mastering both styles of writing are necessary for me cater to a broader or varying audience (medium).
From the listed readings provided to us over the Easter break, the two hard news stories were RBA’s ‘Stevens warns against housing speculation’ and ‘Push to end underquoting as market stays hot.’ They follow the structure of a proper hard news story; opening with a precise summary of the story to follow and working down to the least important piece of information. Also, like any good, strong factual piece of news; it provided facts, figures and quotes throughout the story to back it up.
The three soft news stories were: ‘Flying in the face of convention, Naan Violent Protest, and 2010 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.’ All three appeal to a range of readers; its genres covering a current affair, a film and an event blog. The ‘diary-like entry,’ of the ‘Melbourne Gastronome,’ was very appealing and didn’t initially strike me as a journalistic piece. The use of elegant and simplistic images to enhance her piece was effectively enticing.
Writing Exercise One – Press Release
Police have rescued a young couple from a burning car, after they were attacked by rock throwers on the Nepean Highway in Frankston.
The Red Nissan Pulsar crashed into an embankment and burst into flames, after a rock thrown through the windscreen knocked driver, Darren Browne, unconscious.
Darren, 25, and partner Sally Weinstein, were heading North on Nepean Highway in Frankston shortly after midnight on a Monday morning, when the accident occurred.
“You could see flames coming from the undercarriage of the car. Once we had them out, I grabbed a fire extinguisher from our patrol car and put the flames out,” Senior Constable Glenn Paxton said.
The victims were rushed to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Mr. Browne remains unconscious after sustaining head injuries, with police still awaiting a further update on his conditions.
Ms. Weinstein escaped serious injury but is being treated for a possible broken arm. She assisted police with a sequence of events that led to the crash.
Police suspect 4 Caucasian men as the lead offenders in this case. They urge any witnesses with information on this case to come forward, or to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Lead Writing Exercise
Lax food labelling laws mean GM foods are largely unavoidable in Australia, according to a report released this week by Choice Magazine.
According to senior campaigner, Clare Hughes, cereals, breads, cakes, biscuits, sauces and cooking oils are only some of the products on an endless list of food products containing GM Canola Oil.
