WINOL SHOWREEL

*For Documentary Assessment.
Submitted 17/05/2014

INNOVATIVE JOURNALISM

*For Magazine Journalism Assessment.

Submitted 10/05/2014

Magazine Production And The Pivotal Role Of Social Media

I believe it was Gandhi who commended those to “live simply so that others may simply live.” When examined from this perspective, we can interpret social media as a rather existential form; constructed in mind of a complex mechanism which is necessary in maintaining the popularity of the print industry. In other words it’s a dependency, like Michael McFarlane pointed out in my interview; “you can never forget the print medium because everybody communicates in print… if you want lasting stories, lasting information; it has to be reinforced with print, so print will never die.” Consider the growing obsession of social media as a promotional tool for online publications or blogs, for example. How can we relate this to the more traditional form of print?

The introduction of the internet (not to be confused with the World Wide Web, created by Tim Berners-Lee in the late 1980’s) saw the vast interconnection of networks on a global scale, which has since been made readily available to the public through a range of different mediums, mainly computers, and more recently portable phones and tablets. The current figure of internet users around the world, according to RealTimeStatistics (09.05.2014), is a whopping *2,508,838,498 and increasing, with approximately six people linking in per second. This is said to constitute around *787,085,233 keyword searches via Google; reinforcing the importance of certain “tagged” words to promote the content of a publication. Contemporary networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter serve as aides in sharing and distributing content; with an aim to inform the public of current affairs. Each feature a ‘trending‘ section once signed in, with the additional option to tag or track certain posts to further expand an audience. But with such easy access online, would we be right in thinking such ‘specialised’ magazines are becoming a “dying art?”

Gareth Evans, Editor of Coach and Bus Week Magazine, comments; “social media is an invaluable tool to both source news and feature ideas and engage with readers… [it is] a key promotional tool to advertise the sale of additional copies on the newsstand or direct from our subscriptions team.” It has been argued that one feels comfort in placing an inanimate object. In relation to books for example, it is considered aesthetically pleasing from a voyeur’s perspective, with the object denoting an immediate fiction of the reader themselves. On the other hand, the substantial rise in technology (detailed above) paves the way for a new generation of readers. Prior experience with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) when actively editing an online only magazine, proved highly effective in increasing the daily pageviews of the publication; tracked via Slimstat. Twitter account's tailored to a title also proves successful in increasing the magazine’s current following, inviting a personalized “live tweet” format. Therefore, it can only be expected that more activity equals an invaluable increase in readership.

Interview With Editor/Professional Journalist.

*For Magazine Journalism Assessment.
Submitted 01/05/2014

Michael McFarlane is a former publisher/editor who has a vast amount of experience in the audio visual industry; having worked to produce a number of 'specialised' magazines in South Africa. 

Media Law Update.

*Hanna, M. & Dodd, M. “McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists” (2012) 

*For further information visit: www.mcnaes.com

Post to outline recent changes made to British Legal System and how it affects Journalistic practice as a whole. 

*“bloodhound as well as a watchdog.”

“Media Organisations” used to describe publishers of newspapers, magazines and broadcasters, etc. Now includes the likes of freelance journalists and bloggers and “tweeters.”

Journalists can lawfully “tweet”/text/email live from courtroom.

*Social media as online advancement of modern Journalism; applies to ‘live, text based communications’ only.

*Journalists no longer need to apply to court for permission to post from internet connected laptops or mobile devices within public proceedings.

*These rules do not apply to members of the public however.

*”An unobtrusive, hand held, silent piece of modern equipment for the purposes of simultaneous reporting of proceedings to the outside world as they unfold in court is generally unlikely to interfere with the proper administration of justice.” 

Law Summary.

In brief; key points will be built upon over the next couple days.

Introduction.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION (EU, ARTICLE 10)
Update: Leveson Inquiry.
Chairman of Inquiry: Lord Justice Leveson.

*Two-part inquiry launched on 13 July 2011 investigating role of press and police following phone hacking scandal at 'News of the World'

*"Who guards the guardians?" Aim to examine the ethics of the press.

*First part of inquiry published 29 November 2012.

CIVIL LAW: Disputes between individuals.

CRIMINAL LAW: Against the community. 

STANDARDS OF PROOF: 

*"the balance of probability" (CIVIL)

*"beyond reasonable doubt" (CRIMINAL)

THREE SOURCES OF LAW:

*Common Law

*Statute Law (Parliament)

*EU (Human Rights)

RULE AGAINST PRIOR RESTRAINT

*Remedy to follow publication rather than proceed it.

Update: Injunction to undermine above (to perform/restrain against act)

PUBLIC INTEREST as common defence for Journalists.

*Regarding information that is valuable to society as a whole.

CRITICAL REFLECTION (FYP)

I approached my role as editor of the BA Journalism (Philosophy) Magazine a little later than expected but with an already distinct vision of how the product should function as a web based medium. It made sense to compare the site to higher-ranking magazines each week (as outlined in my proposal) with the site itself adequately functioning via a “Gabfire” theme generated for WordPress; which was pretty simple to navigate once I had the right tools. My new found familiarity with Slimstat for example was often challenged by questionable peaks in pageviews, which made sense once technological ‘spiders’ were taken into consideration. Unlike my previous experience, I found it a lot easier to organise myself in accordance to the content that had already been uploaded. My fundamental task was more to “tidy up” the initial site, which I admit perhaps didn’t take as higher priority as the weeks went on. A solid plan to include a ‘debates and discussions’ tab also took a back seat, as did actively editing the front page as a whole. Referring back to my FYP proposal however, I believe I did well to build upon each objective within this fully functioning website. 

*Increase All Social Media Relating To Website.

By the second week of active editing, a Twitter account had been set up under the alias @PhilosophyWinch with an aim to increase the magazine’s current following. Within four days the account managed to obtain *9 individual followers, which has now increased to a comfortable *19 dated 16^th March 2014. Experimentation with a “live tweet” format, where I proceeded to tweet mini tasters mid-semester, did well to increase social media hype.

*Edit All Existing Content.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day” so when considered in relation to all other responsibilities, subbing lecture notes was probably the least prioritized aspect of the project. I did however make the executive decision to begin ‘cleaning up’ the site, by setting all new content delivered via RSS feed to ‘pending;’ thus preventing automatic posting and promoting strict content regulation.

*Optimize Content And SEO Checks.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to grips with the varying aspects of statistical data through Alexa and Slimstat (amongst others). I would have liked to become more involved with Google Analytics specifically but a strict routine of blogging every week did well to motivate and keep me up to date with the magazine as a whole.

HCJ Statistics #5

The end of my previous post sparked the start of a definitive increase in pageviews which had peaked to a little over *2,000 on 17th February 2014. The past fortnight has seen this number continue to increase, with the highest amount of pageviews equalling *3,121 on 26^th February 2014. The magazine has also managed to increase its international audience, with approximately *50% recorded originating from the US. With this in mind, a French translation of ‘The Great Gatsby’ piece has been uploaded alongside the birth of a new tab, which is clearly advertised on the front page.

Circulation figures date from 04.03.2014 via alexa.com.

WEBSITE NAME	GLOBAL RANK	UK RANK
BA-JOURNALISM.CO.UK	7,549,124	-
NEWPHILOSOPHER.COM	176,116	2,341 (AUS)
PHILOSOPHYNOW.ORG	304,471	110,466 (US)
PHILOSOPHYBITES.COM	957,533	-
DIALECTICONLINE.WORDPRESS.COM	8,539,089	-

The BA JOURNALISM site overall has seen a steep decline in global rank, with a significant drop of minus *2,801,437 over the past couple weeks. I would like to think this decrease is a result of the expanding development of the site’s UK rank, which I will continue to monitor over the coming fortnight.