Class Activity (21/09/2005)

Come up with a story idea from the information in the supplied balance sheet.

On page 11, Just Group LTD's "business aquired" section shows Dotti pty ltd (a subsidiary of Just Group) purchased the operation of 10 Dotti stores. It's almost been a year since this happened (October 21 2004), so it would be interesting to see how this investment is shaping up after 12 months.

What angle would you take?

I'd take the grass-roots approach, see how the retailers are being run from the ground up and to see if the chain has what it takes to stay alive.

Who would you talk to for further information?

I'd probably talk to people who work in the retailers (managers and staff), plus someone from the Employee Chamber of commerce and industry for some background information on Just Group and how the company is doing.

Write an abstract to go on the front page of a news website about this story.

Intensity in ten-city retailers -
In October 2004, Just Group's 4.1 per cent increase in profits at the end of the financial year prompted a bold expansion. A year on from Just Group subsidiary Dotti PTY LTD's opening of ten new stores, the chain is showing promising returns.

Class Activity (14/09/2005)

1) Search the net or gated databases for definitions for 4 business terms:

WTO = World Trade Organisation, the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations

EBIT = Earnings before interest and tax

NAFTA = North American Free Trade Agreement, an agreement between Canada, the US and Mexico for free trade which helps improve living standards

OPEC = Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, who coordinate oil production policies in order to help stabilise the oil market and to help oil producers achieve a reasonable rate of return on their investments.

2) Pick an announcement from the ASX to use as a story idea. Write an abstract and include who you'd contact to get more information and what angle you'd take.

September 13: Telstra is up in arms over an investigation by ASIC and the ASX over media reports of a document regarding alleged job cuts throughout the Telco.

I'd probably try to find out what the impact this announcement would have (if any) due to the consistent decline of Telstra shares.

I'd get in touch with Senator Stephen Conroy about his request for the investigation, Douglas Gration who released the announcement to find out more about what's being done, as well as a financial adviser (Kevin Bailey from The Money Managers for example) about what stockholders can and should do.

Class Activity (07/09/2005)

1. What good online journalism can you find reporting on the Katrina disaster. Think particularly about the important information that people want and need.

MSNBC's website provides a section on their site devoted to citizen journalism surrounding Hurricane Katrina. At the top it advertises "send your story, video and pictures", which provides immediate, intimate and accurate accounts of Hurricane Katrina which mostly cannot be found within mediums other than Online Journalism.

2. In groups, find a piece of law, regulation or a legal decision that affects online journalism. Summarise what the case is about, who is involved and what it means for Online journalists.

Me and Paul Riordan have chosen the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

For a more condensed version of the bill (including info on who is involved and what it is), check out this link.

As for what it means for Online Journalists, the new methods of protection toward the distribution of copyrighted materials are being pushed forward as being necessary to protect material from being pirated or misappropriated, sites have reported the provisions "undermine individual ability to make "fair use" of digital information", leaving negotiations behind and leaving the terms and conditions in the hands of the copyright owners. This means the law is rather narrow, leaving scientists, software engineers, journalists in the dark.
To journalists specifically, one site reports the DMCA means journalists would be prosecuted if they simply provide hypertext links to software code. But this is really a two way street. On one hand, it reduces the complexity of software installation, while on the other, it can lead to inappropriate use and piracy. In short, the law is a huge grey area, and will always have opposition.