Class Activity (02/03/2006)

Write stories with 3 short pars regarding developments in an unfolding story.

Initial Story

Ultimo is under siege tonight after a man believed to be a prison-escapee barricaded himself in a Henry Ave flat.

Police and state protection groups cannot confirm any details about the man, other than he was helping them with an ongoing investigation and want him to surrender.

So far the siege has lasted 9 hours.

2 HOURS LATER…

Ultimo is under siege tonight after a prison-escapee barricaded himself in a Henry Ave flat.

Local and state police are trying to end the stand-off peacefully, which so far has lasted 11 hours.

The man is believed to be Longbay inmate Michael Rodney White, 28, who was helping police with an ongoing investigation before escaping from prison last November.

2 HOURS LATER…

Ultimo is under siege today after a man barricaded himself in a Henry Ave flat.

Corrective services have confirmed Longbay inmate Michael Rodney White, 28, who escaped from prison in November, is holding local and state police at bay threatening to shoot them.

Supt. Paul Carrey cannot confirm whether he is actually armed, but he says they are doing everything they can to end the stand-off peacefully. So far White has not made any demands. All neighbouring houses have been evacuated and surrounding roads have been blocked.

2 HOURS LATER...

The NSW Opposition Justice spokesman has weighed in to debate arising from the ongoing stand-off involving a prison-escapee in Ultimo.

Andrew Humferson says valuable police resources cannot be wasted on criminals who should be in jail, and reminded the press 7 inmates have escaped from NSW prisons.

He has called for justice minister Tony Kelly to be sacked.

2 HOURS LATER…

NSW Justice Minister Tony Kelly has defended the state government’s record on prison escapes after opposition spokesman Andrew Humferson called for him to be sacked.

Minister Kelly said prison-escapee rates have dropped dramatically since the ALP came into power in 1995.

In 1994, out of 6000 prisoners there were 51 escapees, whereas in 2005, there were 31 escapees from 9000 inmates.

2 HOURS LATER…

Prison escapee Michael Rodney White, the man who held police at bay outside a block of flats in Ultimo, has been taken into custody.

The siege ended when tactical operations police raided the room to find White had thrown away his weapon, which was a replica.

White was taken to hospital before being questioned by police in Surrey Hills, where he is tipped to be charged for possession of a weapon and a spate of robberies.

THE NEXT DAY…

Apprehended prison escapee Michael Rodney White will appear in the Central Local Court today charged with multiple offences following his 28 hour stand-off with police which ended yesterday.

White, 30, is charged with escaping custody, using a weapon to avoid apprehension and 10 counts of armed robbery.

White was taken down in an Ultimo flat after he threw a toy pistol he used to threaten police with out a window.

FINAL Class Activity (12/10/2005)

Write two seperate articles using the information handed out in class.

The Prime Minister has begun selling the Government’s new industrial relations reforms, touting stronger bargaining positions for workers.

The changes to be introduced next month include emphasising individual agreements and outside workplace rewards, which see employees bargaining with their bosses for certain conditions.

Mr Howard said as a result, workers would have more jobs with higher wages available to them.

“If the economy is strong and if our IR laws have contributed to the strength of the economy, workers will be in a stronger bargaining position,” he said.

But Opposition industrial relations spokesman Stephen Smith said the changes will erode working conditions and workers should be wary of them.

“If the proposals were so good for Australia, who do we need to see millions and millions of taxpayer’s dollars being spent by the Liberals to persuade the Australian people?” he said.


Shooting the Messenger

The Federal Government has refused to reveal how much it planned to spend on the promotion of its workplace changes, with estimates ranging within $20 million.

Australian Democrats deputy leader Andrew Bartlett put the questions forward to Special Minister of State Eric Abetz in parliament, who said it’s impossible to estimate how much was spent on the campaign only two days after the changes were announced.

“No final figure has been put on it, and I don’t intend to put a figure on it,” Senator Abetz said.

“We will do what’s necessary to ensure the workers of Australia have a full understanding of all their rights and entitlements and all the benefits that will be flowing to them under our proposals,” he added.

____________________________________________________________________

Go to the magnews site and update your story using any information you can gather from it.

While the Prime Minister sells his new industrial relations reforms, the Labor party is working on its huge support base with 50 per cent of voters saying Labor would handle the reforms better.

The Australian reported Newspoll’s largest IR approval rating in its 18 year history, nearly doubling the Liberal’s fanbase of 26 per cent.

Mr Howard touted the reforms to be introduced next month as a chance for workers to have more jobs with higher wages.

The changes include emphasising individual agreements and outside workplace rewards, which see employees bargaining with their bosses for certain conditions.

Opposition industrial relations spokesman Stephen Smith said the changes will erode working conditions and workers should be wary of them.

“If the proposals were so good for Australia, who do we need to see millions and millions of taxpayer’s dollars being spent by the Liberals to persuade the Australian people?” he said.

But the Prime Minister is adamant a strong economy will ensure the reforms will work.

“If the economy is strong and if our IR laws have contributed to the strength of the economy, workers will be in a stronger bargaining position,” Mr Howard said.

No doubt after Labor’s surprising results IR is now the highest issue on the public agenda, but the Coalition still holds a two-to-one majority over Labor in areas of national security after the recent Bali bombings.

In addition, the Coalition has also recorded a 57 per cent approval rating for economic management compared to Labor's 21 per cent.

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.

Class Activity (31/08/05)

1) Find a page about the 1960's band, Nirvana (not the band with Kurt Cobain).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_(1960s_band)

2) Find a page about famous brother and sister Peter and Kerryn Phelps.

http://www.ama.com.au/web.nsf/doc/SHED-5EXHVU

3) Find out who runs http://www.lleytonhewitt.biz/ - When was it last updated? Who did the design? If you had to contact the owner, how would you do it? Find a contact phone number for the person who runs the site.

It was last updated August 31 and was designed by Red Chook. To contact the owner is an email adress (ally@glisten.net), mail address (16-18 Belmore St Penrith 2750) but unfortunately, no phone number.

4) Go to http://www.lib.rmit.edu.au/resources/display.php and find the link to the AusStats database. Use reports found on the AusStats database as the basis of a web news story.

THE 20SOMETHING AUSTRALIAN...

In the last 25 years, 20 year-olds are more likely to be living at home.

Between 1976 and 2001, the life of a twenty-something year-old has changed dramatically. 20somethings in 2001 were more likely to be living with their parents than in 1976 (30% compared to 21% respectively), plus, their chances of having their own family with children is half what it used to be (20% compared to 41%).

On the plus side, 20somethings were almost twice as likely to be studying (23% compared to 12%) and to have gained a non-school qualification (45% compared to 31%). Labour force participation has increased from 75% to 81% over this period, with this increase being driven by increased participation for women (up from 57% in 1976 to 75%) and a slight decrease for men (92% to 87%).

Class Activity (Cont'd) (24/08/05)

ABSTRACTS

TEENAGE AUDIENCE:

The Oz on Citizen Journalism: "Within 45 minutes of the London Bombings, the term 'democratic media' became a reality, and the role of news-reporter was changed forever."

The Oz on Chandler: "The creator of pulp fiction was a scholar, a dreamer and a drunk. And no, it isn't Quentin Tarantino."

INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE:

The OZ on art theft: "Australian artist Richard Dunlop has proven his unqiue love for art - he has been charged with stealing several hundred paintings."

URABN PROFESSIONAL AUDIENCE:

The Age on Artificial limbs: "Sabi Mashid's road to future success may prove more challenging than your average 6-year-old - seeing he has to walk it with a prosthetic leg."

Class Activity (24/08/05)

Where is the audience coming from?

According to the stats, a majority of the audience is from Australia (for obvious reasons), while countries outside Australia which view the site mostly consist of English-speaking nations (Canada, US). However, there have also been readers picked up in French, Arabic, Spanish and Turkish speaking countries.

How are they viewing the site?

Funnily enough, the majority who visit the site tends not to view it for too long (most of the coming up as 0:00). A lot of them seem to view the page by mistake while looking for something else (most of the site's audience found the site through search engines like Google). The site's peak reading time is around 9pm when 60% of the day's readers log on. A majority of the readers are viewing the site through Microsoft Windows XP on 1024 x 768 monitors.

What can we draw from this information?

- The majority of the audience comes from the east coast of Australia, probably because the majority of the readers attend RMIT who produce the site.
- It seems not a lot of readers intend to stay no more than a few minutes on a news website.
- An obvious fact would be how people tend to favour locally-produced websites for their news.
- Although it's a small number, I was most surprised with the fact other nations would come across the site in their travels. I'd be even more interested to find out what they think.