Commodification of news

(Headlines that sell)

 "Your Remote Control Could Launch Nuclear Weapons"
 "Her Son Is a Werewolf"
 "Bodybuilder Explodes"
 "Aliens Wrote the Constitution"
 "Plumber Goes Down the Toilet"
 "Missing Baby Found Inside Watermelon -- He's Alive!"
 "Ads on Tombstones Cut Burial Costs in Half"
 "Researchers Discover Language That Only Women
     Understand"
 "Dead Hubby Buried With Winning Lotto Ticket in
     Pocket"
 "Man Weds 20 Women in One Year"
 "Mom Trades Twins for Lottery Ticket"
 "Girl With 36-Inch-Long Fingernails Kills Herself While
     Picking Her Nose"
 "Smoking Makes You Ugly"
 "Show-Off Drops Dead After Eating Two Telephone
    Books"


These are the types of news headlines which sell which we have discussed in the lectures. Its shocking how gossip has replaced hard core news and real social concerns.

Internet Studies 102 Final Project

hey mates...!

For the first part of this project, I will have to use photographs, music and sound, special effects and text, to make a visual argument for some aspect of Section 16 of the constitution. The general message of your movie is: Freedom of expression is important in a cosmopolitan society and democracy. My project will focus on the Freedom of the press.


The second part is that in 1500-2000 words, I will have to write a clear and highly detailed explanation of how my movie expresses ideals of cosmopolitan, democratic citizenship. My discussion should draw upon discussions of public sphere and civic agency drawn from lecture material and use the three texts listed below:
Kwame Anthony Appiah, “Cosmopolitan Citizenship”, Chapter 2 in Martha Nussbaum, For the Love of Country? Boston: Beacon Press, 1996.

Mamphela Ramphele, “The Challenges of Citizenship” in Laying Ghosts to Rest: Dilemmas of Transformation in South Africa. Cape Town: Tafelberg, 2008.

South African Constitution: Bill of Rights
This essay must also display photographic stills from my movie and explain how they illustrate particular points which I am trying to put forth in the movie.

end of internet studies.

This semester is drawing to an end and I am just trying to tie up all the lose ends and start preparing for exams. I start on the 9th of November.

Today all the Grade 12's of South Africa wrote their final Africans paper. I Wish them all the luck. "THE FUTURE LIES IN YOUR HANDS GUYS, SHOW THEM WHAT YOU MADE OFF... ALL THE BEST"

I need to get started with my final project for internet studies. I am going to miss this course very much next year. :(

Reserch project.

Hey mates! 

The post below titled "article two" is a small piece from our second group effort. which was to form an article after doing direct research and interviewing various people. 


Our interview and article was based on the Protection of Information Bill. We interviewed various people, from high profile lawyers to first year students. Gaining their person views on this Bill and the effects of it was very important for our research project.

My group members were Irshaad Bramdev and Yuvetha Sewlal.  

Article two

The protection of information bill is perhaps the most controversial political issue in South Africa at the moment. The consequences of the bill if it is passed could see a complete reform of the media and its rights of freedom of expression and speech. The bill has been hailed as many as a tool of the ANC to control the media and regulate the influence that the media has on the prospective voters. Helen Ziller, leader of the Democratic Alliance, hailed the proposed bill as a, “mask for corruption,” ¹ this view is shared by many academics in society. Jamiel Hoosen (25), a bachelor of social science graduate with history honours, believes that the bill is, “a smokescreen for the government to hide behind.” ²

The proposed bill seeks to set up a media tribunal that will regulate all forms of media for content that is harmful to national security or harmful to the personal life of anyone involved. This may seem as a noble intention, however the proposed bill does not specify the limits of the tribunal and in theory any piece of media that is published can be labelled as private or as a threat to national security despite its content. Hoosen believes that , “ The bill may prove to strengthen the democracy of the country by respecting an individuals right to privacy,” and that society voted for the government and therefore, “ We voted for our government so lets trust them.” ² This view may seem naïve yet it shows that there are many contradicting views with regards to the bill and that both society and government need to be careful as the bill moves onto its final stages.

1. Chauke, Phindile, 2010. Zille: Media tribunal a tool to mask corruption - Mail & Guardian Online: The smart news source. Mail and Guardian online. Available at: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-09-18-zille-media-tribunal-a-tool-to-mask-corruption [Accessed October 18, 2010].
   
2. Hoosen, Jamiel (25), Bachelor of Social Science with honours in English and History, graduate from University of KwaZulu Natal 2006.
   

for all those mates from around the world. :)

CHECK THIS SITE OUT ASAP...IT IS AWESOME MATES. 

MediaClubSouthAfrica.com image library

The MediaClubSouthAfrica.com image library is a public service offering some 2 000 high-quality photos of South Africa, available in both low and high resolution for use on the web or in print - free of charge.


Read more: http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=240&Itemid=76#ixzz11N7MfIov

 

 

"Parliament to decide how much secrecy our democracy can permits"

hey mates...!

I have just read a very interesting article regarding The Protection of Information Bill. I think you guys should take a look at it.

http://www.polity.org.za/article/the-protection-of-information-bill-2010-07-20

"Parliament to decide how much secrecy our democracy can permit 

South Africans' Parliamentary representatives face a critical decision this week - how much secrecy should be allowed in our democracy?

The Protection of Information Bill has two legitimate objectives. It aims to replace the existing 1982 apartheid-era law, which imposes excessive secrecy, and to establish a statutory framework to protect state information from loss, alteration or destruction, as well as from disclosure to the public in certain circumstances. To this end, it proposes a system for preserving, classifying and declassifying state information to regulate access to all information in the hands of state officials..."

 Written by: Shameela Seedat and Gary Pienaar, senior researchers with Idasa's Political Information and Monitoring Service (PIMS)

The Protection of Information BILL.

BILL
To provide for the protection of certain information from destruction, loss or unlawful disclosure; to regulate the manner in which information may be protected; to repeal the Protection of Information Act, 1982; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
PREAMBLE
RECOGNISING
the importance of information to the national security, territorial
integrity and well-being of the Republic;

ACKNOWLEDGING
the harm of excessive secrecy

AFFIRMING
the constitutional framework for the protection and regulation of access
to information

DESIRING
to put the protection of information within a transparent and sustainable
legislative framework

AIMING

to promote the free flow of information within an open and democratic society
without compromising the security of the Republic.

ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa.



http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=118894