Colourful and Classy

http://lookbook.nu/look/2901747-Senorita

http://lookbook.nu/look/3257623-flowers-in-red

http://lookbook.nu/look/3163855-Practically-Perfect-In-Every-Way

http://lookbook.nu/look/2798053-My-Someday-s-Gone-Now

Lecture Seven

"The difference between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference between consumers and citizens." 

Nigel Milan, former managing director of SBS 

Lecture Seven was entitled 'Public Media'. In Australia our public media is comprised of ABC and SBS, with their various television channels and radio stations.

http://www.abc.net.au/

Image source: 

http://auses.org.au/blog/news-2/abc-news-solar-sector-under-a-cloud-of-uncertainty-2/attachment/abc-logo-3/

http://www.sbs.com.au/

Image Source: 

http://www.publicityqueen.com.au/Queentessentials/July2011/MeettheMedia/DavidAstle

The BBC is my favourite overseas public broadcaster and I learnt in this lecture that in the UK they have to pay a licence fee which goes towards public broadcasting funding. We used to have that here in Australia as well.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Public media needs to have 'public value', which is defined by the BBC as:
1. Embedding a 'public service ethos'
2. Value for licence fee money
3. 'Weighing public value against market impact'
4. Public consultation

The ABC was founded in 1929 as a "nation-building" project and it is fully-funded by the government. SBS was founded in 1980 as our multicultural channel and twenty percent of its revenue comes from advertising.

News is a big part of public broadcasting because it is cheap and easy to make compared to other kinds of television. Plus, people want to watch it and therefore advertisers want to advertise on it too.
Forty-one percent of Australians get their news from the ABC and each week 12.6 million Australians tune in to the ABC.

The style of public media tends to be:
- serious
- 'broadsheet' style
- importance over interest
- care and considered, rather than quick and unchecked

Criticisms of public media include accusations of being:
- boring
- elitist
- uninteresting
- poorly presented
- out of touch

Both commercial media and public media have their own challenges. For commercial media it is whether you will make a profit and for public media there are pressures regarding independence.

Here is an opinion piece in The Age by Peter Costello regarding his view on ABC bias:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/everyones-abc-only-if-you-lean-left-20090825-ey0m.html
Plus two other related links:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-10-21/liberal-mp-sprays-gay-bc-and-lunatic-ideas/2306554
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/abc-dumps-milne-from-insiders-20110903-1jrsa.html

This lecture was a really good overview of public media and I learnt about things like the licencing fee you used to have to pay for public broadcasting in Australia. There is an important place for both commercial and public media in our broadcasting landscape. However, I think having an independent and thriving public media is especially essential because public media has an obligation to act in the public's service.

Personally, ABC1 is my favourite channel and the one I am most likely to watch. My three favourite television programmes made for the ABC would have to be The Chaser's War on Everything, Summer Heights High and The Gruen Transfer. Below are some funny snippets from each.

The Chaser's War on Everything:

Summer Heights High:

The Gruen Transfer:

Also, here is a remix of the ABC news theme song:

Patty Cakes

These look so beautifully decorated and delicious!

http://audreyallure.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/tasty-thursdays-strawberry-cupcakes.html

http://greentea-and-sherbert.tumblr.com/post/2972143871/ohmagahd-those-are-beautiful

http://myzencupcake.wordpress.com/page/139/

A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square

Simple and Classic

http://lookbook.nu/look/3246349-Muted

http://lookbook.nu/look/3332291-earth-tone-rider

http://lookbook.nu/look/3152567-Buttoned-up-in-silk

http://lookbook.nu/look/3213953-2-12-314

Favourite Fashion Blogs

These are my favourite fashion bloggers:
http://www.misspandora.fr/
http://www.liebemarlene.com/
http://www.foxtailandfern.com/
http://fellt.com/tuula
http://fellt.com/kisforkani
http://altamiranyc.blogspot.com.au/

IT Crowd Moments

A couple of classic IT Crowd moments:

Picnic at Hanging Rock

I love both the novel and film versions of Picnic at Hanging Rock. It's a very haunting story that stays in your mind afterwards. It was written by Joan Lindsay and adapted to film by director Peter Weir in 1975, starring Anne-Louise Lambert as Miranda. Here are some photos from the film (I included quite a few because it was too hard to decide which to cut out). It is beautifully shot and the costumes are so lovely. I particularly love Miranda's white dress and Irma's brilliant red cape.


On St Valentine's Day in 1900 a party of schoolgirls set out to picnic at Hanging Rock...

... Some were never to return...

http://www.andibgoode.com/2009/11/silver-screen-sunday-picnic-at-hanging.html 

http://cinema.leparisien.hxwin.info/films/pique-nique-a-hanging-rock/50980

http://fashion-cheesecake.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/picnic-at-hanging-rock.html

http://mypeartreehouse.blogspot.com.au/2009/11/icnic-at-hanging-rock.html

http://troyolson.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/picnic-at-hanging-rock.html

http://gregcwik.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/picnic-at-hanging-rock-1975-2/

http://nightofthelivingtrev.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/picnic-at-hanging-rock-1975-review/

http://troyolson.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/picnic-at-hanging-rock.html

http://blogs.whatsontv.co.uk/movietalk/2010/07/29/petes-peek-the-directors-cut-of-peter-weirs-picnic-at-hanging-rock-on-blu-ray/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/3555243/DVDs-of-the-week-Picnic-at-Hanging-Rock-Deluxe-Edition-and-LAvventura.html

http://www.dramastyle.com/movie/Picnic-At-Hanging-Rock-/

http://troyolson.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/picnic-at-hanging-rock.html

http://cinema.leparisien.hxwin.info/films/pique-nique-a-hanging-rock/50980

http://foxesinbreeches.tumblr.com/post/2196426294/my-ear-trumpet-laceandlaughter-irma-in-picnic

http://troyolson.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/picnic-at-hanging-rock.html

http://cinema.leparisien.hxwin.info/images/pique-nique-a-hanging-rock/50980/3

http://cinema.leparisien.hxwin.info/images/pique-nique-a-hanging-rock/50980/4

http://somewhereboy.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/50-films-3-picnic-at-hanging-rock-peter-weir-1975/

http://gregcwik.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/picnic-at-hanging-rock-1975-2/

Also, here is the trailer:

Skirts and Blazers/Jackets

http://lookbook.nu/look/3226333-DIY-skirt

http://lookbook.nu/look/1975328-SMART-CASUAL

http://lookbook.nu/look/3211923-PLEATS

http://lookbook.nu/look/3275733-Mix-it

Lecture Six

Hello!

The most recent lecture was about commercial media, with a particular focus on the Australian media landscape. One of the questions we examined was whether commercial media can deliver both commercial and social functions. That is, does the profit-driven aspect of commercial media impinge upon how trustworthy or credible the media source is? It's extremely important in a democracy to have free and trustworthy media because if the people are the ones voting they need to be well-informed and be given a balanced perspective.

The Hutchins Commission, 1947. Social responsibility of the media in a democracy:

1. a truthful, comprehensive, and intelligent account of the day's events in a context which gives them meaning;

2. a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism;

3. the projection of a representative picture of the constituent groups in the society;

4. the presentation and clarification of the goals and values of the society

5. full access to the day's intelligence.

The "first duty [of the media] is to shun the temptations of monopoly. Its primary office is the gathering of news. At the peril of its soul it must see that the supply is not tainted. Neither in what it gives, nor in what it does not give, nor in the mode of presentation must the unclouded face of truth suffer wrong. Comment is free, but facts are sacred.

C.P. Scott (Editor/Owner of The Guardian)

We looked at the the major companies and groups in the Australian media, in addition to the areas they have focused on. A lot of the companies had a diverse range of areas and types of media. For example, Nine Entertainment Co. doesn't just own Channel Nine and its associated digital channels. It also owns or is involved with Ticketek and magazines such as Cleo, Women's Weekly, Zoo etc. Fairfax doesn't just own the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Financial Review. They also own the RSVP dating website, MyCareer.com.au and domain.com.au.

I liked this lecture because I didn't know how wide-ranging some of the areas of media ownership were. They have needed to branch out a bit from traditional forms, for example with the decrease in printed classifieds they have bought online websites that offer similar services.

To ensure that both the commercial and social functions of the media are met there needs to be a clear separation of the advertising and editorial aspects.
I think this recent story is pertinent to this lecture:

"IT HAS tried every avenue of marketing, from ads to sponsorship of sport. Now McDonald's is opening up a new front - its own TV show.The fast-food giant has funded a documentary about itself that will air on prime-time television in a move that blurs the lines between advertising and programming."

That excerpt above is from Julien Lee's article, which you can find here:
http://www.theage.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/mcdonalds-beefs-up-tv-presence-20120330-1w3o0.html

Some of the problems associated with certain styles of commercial media can be the dumbing down of news and the aim to please the reader. "The Sun" is an example of this style of tabloid newspaper. Now that we have internet news which shows stories individually, we can pinpoint which exact stories are clicked on most. Unfortunately the most popular tend to be sensational stories about things such as UFOs, shark attacks, celebrity romances or sport. These things score more clicks than politics or 'hard news'.

Here is a link to the BBC's section on Australian media:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15675260

Finally, here's a link to an alternative media business model which is neither profit-driven nor government subsidised:
http://www.theglobalmail.org/
The Global Mail is a philanthropically funded news website that is not for profit.