Groovin the Moo Grazes Through Townsville

Music lovers were treated to a rare rural opportunity to see their favourite bands at the 2013 Groovin the Moo music festival.

Musical guests included The Amity Affliction, The Temper Trap, and Tegan & Sara. Several local bands also performed at the event, such as Townsville’s Finding Luna. 

The Temper Trap performing at Groovin the Moo 2013

Along with musical acts, festival goers were able to attend meet and greets with band members. The chance to snag a signature or two was the icing on the cake for many music lovers attending the event. Kim Schifino, of musical act Matt & Kim, even took the time to tell one festival goer that she found Townsville weather to be pleasant and the people even more so.  

Groovin the Moo also helped to create many jobs for the weekend, with many hotels and restaurants struggling to keep up with demand. Lucy Alfred, a local hotel employee, said, “It’s good to see the hospitality industry in Townsville so busy.” 

As the festival continues to grow in popularity, so do the number of international acts, with speculation already beginning as to who will be making an appearance in Townsville for Groovin the Moo 2014. No matter whom the musical acts are, however, locals such as Alisha Newnham continue to say that they will definitely be attending next year.

Tumblr Tumbles Into New Ownership

If you are between the ages of 13 and 25, you’ll know what Tumblr is, and odds are that you are a blogger on the site yourself – after all, Tumblr has accumulated over 100 million users in the six months that they have been up and running.

However in the past 2 months it has been speculated that a deal between Tumblr’s CEO David Karp and Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer has been struck, with Yahoo Inc. reportedly offering $1.1 billion for the blogging platform. 

The deal follows Marissa Mayer’s promise to Yahoo consumers that she would help the company rise from the ashes following her placement as C­EO little over a year ago. 

Marketing analysts suggest that buying into a platform that reaches over 100 million users will increase Yahoo’s advertising opportunities. However, financial experts from Forbes doubt the credibility of these claims, stating that Tumblr only made $15 million in revenue in 2012. 

Similarly, Tumblr users are up in arms about the takeover, saying that they feel ‘betrayed’ and ‘abandoned’ by creator David Karp. Users have also predicted that Yahoo will attempt to transform the blogging platform into advertising space. 

Yumblr prediction created by Tumblr users.

Ethics in Journalism

Ethics are defined as ‘a set of prescriptive rules, principles, values and virtues of character that inform and guide interpersonal and intrapersonal conduct: that is the conduct of people toward each other and the conduct of people toward themselves’ (Edward Spence, 2005). They govern the behaviour of individuals through prescribing what can be done, prohibiting certain things that cannot be done, and guiding individuals through which choices to make when regarding ethical choices. Naturally, these ethical choices will vary according to the socio-cultural context of the individual, as well as the historical and political contexts in which the choice is made in. 

In terms of journalism, there are three forms of ethics:

·         self-regulation, where the state hands over the power to regulate the industry which enacts its own standards of behaviour through the creation and maintenance of codes of conduct, ethics, standards or principles.

·         semi-regulated/co-regulated environment, where governments and industries work together to draft rules that determine the ethical and regulatory framework in which the industry will operate

·         Absolute government regulation, where the government prescribes the rules in legislation which is overseen by a statutory authority 

Australia has a combination of self- and semi-regulated journalism; this is partially due to the fact that journalism is an open profession, and does not require a licence to be practiced. Despite this, there are several Australian regulators who monitor the content produced by journalists, including:

·         MEAA (Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance)

·         APC (Australian Press Council)

·         AJA (Australian Journalists Association)

·         ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 

There are several journalists who say that they are simply giving the audience what they want when as an excuse to breach ethical conduct. One way to sidestep this problem is to identify a true public interest in any story being covered. Through doing this, it can be determined whether or not a story is newsworthy and whether or not it adheres to the codes of journalistic practice.

Click here for a video lesson on the ethics of journalism.

Venezuela Faces Toilet Paper Crisis

Venezuela has been thrown into a state of crisis following a severe toilet paper shortage. 

Locals queue for toilet tissue [source]

The country, which is used to running short on necessities such as sugar, flour, and even medicine, is currently experiencing a severe toilet paper shortage, leaving locals lined up in supermarkets attempting to purchase the last available rolls. Locals such as Maria Rojas, aged 70, have said that they have never experienced shortages such as this.

Due to the panic spreading throughout Venezuela, many residents have been attempting to stock up on toilet tissue, leaving economic analysts saying that the demand for toilet paper in the country is becoming excessive. Despite this, the government has promised to import 50 million extra toilet rolls. 

While locals are seeing this shortage as an extreme inconvenience, political experts are speculating that this shortage could be part of a plan by the opposition to financially destabilise the government, now lead by President Nicolas Maduro, following the death of Hugo Chavez in March this year. 

Chavez altered the economic structure of Venezuela by making all goods affordable to the poorest parts of the society, which resulted in a lack of provisions from time to time. Citizens of Venezuela, however, care less about the politics of the lack of toilet paper, and more about the actual shortage.

Students Give Back Through SANTÉ

JCU Townsville not-for-profit organisation SANTÉ is working towards improving the health of lives worldwide. The group - whose name stands for ‘Supporting All Nations Towards Equality’, but ambiguously also means health in French – is run by a group of medical students who have taken a proactive stance on the health of developing nations. 

The group states, “Our mission is to raise awareness of poor health in developing communities; to advocate for human rights, peace and equality; to support students involved in improving global health and to organise and support projects pertaining to global health and development.”

SANTÉ do this through holding many information nights, which vary from being held in lecture halls with special guest speakers to hosting parties and fun runs. 

Their annual Red Party held at The Criterion supports HIV/AIDS research and awareness worldwide and The En Gedi Project. The Project is an orphanage in Zambia which houses children who have been affected by HIV and AIDS. This project is run by the family of a James Cook University student, which strengthens the tie between the orphanage and the staff and students of James Cook. 

Another annual event that is held by SANTÉ  is their Run to the Water. Participants can choose to run, jog or walk an 8- or 4-kilometre track in order to raise money for a charity called Water for Ghana. This charity was set up by a James Cook University medical student, and helps to provide Ghanaians with the resources needed to have access to clean water. 

Visit SANTÉs website or follow them on twitter to find out more about how you can help make a difference to the lives of those in need.