One Of The Closest Games I've EVER Watched

It was an exceptionally close game!
Unfortunately we came out with a loss but by god was it a close call!
Definately the biggest nail-bitter I had ever watched!
We came out with a loss of 32 - 31 against the Melbourne Rebels.
Better luck next week boys against the Lions!

I Don't Even Want To Talk About It

I'm so embarrassed about this loss!
The Sharks aren't even one of the best teams and they STILL flogged us!
The only positive thing that came from this was that at least we did score a few points...

Another Loss To Add To The Scoreboard

I don't think the Force will make it too far up the leaderboard this year.
With another loss against the Cheetahs, the season definately is NOT looking promising.
It may have been a close game (17 - 13), but in the long run the only thing that really matters is winning...

The Huge Clash I'm Glad I Missed!

So the huge clash that I was so worried about probably turned out for the better.
I decided to miss the game and watch the highlights at a later date.
Lucky I did!
The Stormers flogged the Force 17 - 3!
I didn't watch the highlights because I just knew that it would be so cringe-worthy!
If they don't have a much better game next week against the Cheetahs I may reconsider my loyalty to them!

Factual Storytelling Exercise - A Malaysian Disaster

In 1991 my father, Scott had been selected to represent Australia in a five day International Polo Tournament held in Malaysia. The horses that they had been given by the Malaysian Royal Family were very ‘green’. Scott’s horse, Snoopy was the worst. He bucked and fidgeted before every game and watching Scott hold on for his dear life through these times became a source of amusement amongst the team. 

Scott and the team at the Opening Ceremony. Scott is the man closest on the white horse. He was given a much calmer horse for this occasion.

Before the game. My father is the third man from the left, on his horse Snoopy.

It was Day 3 of the Tournament and Scott knew that something was off. The first match of the day against Malaysia started and Scott was surprised at how calm Snoopy was. It was just after halftime and the Australians were winning by only a few points. Scott was galloping after the ball when Snoopy slipped, throwing Scott to the ground. When Scott attempted to stand he knew that there was something very wrong with his shoulder. While the team chased Snoopy around the field, attempting to catch him, Libby and the team manager, Angus sprinted to Scott. Twenty minutes later they were in an ambulance on their way to the General Hospital. Scott’s shoulder went from bad to worse as they sat in the traffic. All he could concentrate on was the pulsating pain proceeding in his right shoulder.

Scott and Snoppy chasing the ball.

Scott and Snoopy moments before the accident. Scott is third from the right.

An hour and a half later they arrived at the hospital and by this time Scott was in extreme pain. The hospital however was full to overflowing and everyone was getting extremely frustrated by the lack of communication due to the language barrier. Eventually they made contact with an English-speaking doctor who hastily moved them through the filthy network of wards. The corridors were lined with injured people. One person in line was on a trolley with all his toes missing from a motorbike accident. The grubby hospitals walls were covered with grime and filth, there were stray cats stalking around the wards and lying on patients’ beds. It was obvious that the Malaysian standards were quite different to that in Australia.

While they sat, waiting for Scott's X-Rays to return, they saw a very large uniformed security team pacing the wards with loaded machine guns making the three of them feel extremely uncomfortable. Eventually they found out that they were guarding a sick prisoner. Some of the guards were outside joking around with their guns, when one guard accidentally shot another. Everyone began to run around madly, dragging him into Scott's ward and onto the bed beside him. Thankfully, only a few seconds later Scott's X-Rays returned showing a broken collarbone and Scott was strapped up only a few moments later. As the three of them left they felt an enormous sense of relief, and began to truly appreciate Australia’s health care system.

Eighth Lecture - Ethics

In this lecture we had a guest lecturer who taught us about ethics.
He taught us that there are three ethical theories in Journalism; deontology, consequentialism and virtue.

Deontology
Deontology involves three things; rules, principles and duties. In Journalism you will do the right thing by following these rules. All ethics codes are deontological.

Consequentialism
Consequentialism is about getting a 'good' or 'right' outcome. It doesn't matter how we get there, the end justifies the means, the greatest good for the greatest number.

Virtue Ethics
Within virtue ethics it's the 'goodness' (aka happiness) that comes from good habits of character.
These habits are 'virtues' such as courage, justice, temperance and prudence.
These habits of character are the 'golden mean' of behaviour.

The Mean
Courage is the mean between Rashness and Cowardice.
Justice is the mean between the injustice of overzealous and excessive law and the injustice of lawlessness.

Code of Ethics
That is deontological ethics, because that's the way things are done in Journalism practice and professional communication.

A Huge Clash!

This Saturday night two very very big events are happening.
One at my college and one at the NIB Stadium in Perth...
After paying an enormous amount of money for the college event on Saturday night, I just realised the Force are playing!
I hate having to watch the highlights the next day!
Because the kickoff is at 5:40pm WAST that means for us in Brisbane, the kickoff is at 7:40pm.
Right in the middle of the event!

OR  

Brisbane Broncos vs Gold Coast Titans

Should I or shouldn't I?
My parents won tickets to this game next Friday night!
I'm not even a fan of either team but it is two free tickets!
It could be a great way to start the weekend!
I think I secretly am a bit of a League fan, so it could be fun!
ARGGG what to do!

Seventh Lecture - Public Media

This lecture we learnt other form of media; public media. A short definition is that public media is a media whose mission is to serve or engage a public. Public media takes a number of different forms, it is not only on television but also on the radio. Shows such as; ABC and SBS are public media and Triple J, ABC Radio and CFM are all public media. We also learnt the values of public media include; embedding a ‘public service ethos’, value for license fee money, ‘weighing public value against market impact’ and public consultation. We were also taught that Nation Building (NBN, ABC), National Heritage (ANZAC Day), National Identity (what does it mean to be an Australian) and National Conversations (State of Origin) are all functions of public media.

Bob also gave us a few very interesting statistics about the ABC – each week 12.6 million Australians watch ABC television and 41% of Aussies get their news from the ABC. All of these statistics prove the idea that people watch the ABC because it’s a public media with no advertising and it is seen as much less bias then that of other news programs.

Sixth Lecture - Commercial Media

There are two main types of media – commercial and public. This week we learnt about the commercial media aspect of media. Commercial media includes Channel 7, 9, 10, Go, Gem, Eleven, Foxtel, Austar, APN, Fairfax, News Limited, Southern Cross, Optus and Telstra. Commercial media exists only because of the advertising they use during breaks in the show. Commercial media is a profit-driven media production, it is non government funded, survives or fails on business success and its business is generating audiences. Commercial media produces newspapers, cable TV, film, magazines, books, sports, regional newspapers, digital media, radio and outdoor advertising.