What is it with all the press surrounding the split of Radio host Kyle Sandilands and his wife Tamara Jaber? Firstly I would like to point out that no-one seems to like Kyle, besides the teenie boppers who listen to 104.1 in the morning. Well no-one I know seems to have a very high opinion of him due to his recent scandals (eg.the lie detector incident), his flamboyant lifestyle and cocky attitude. Is this why the press seems to be jumping on Tamara's bandwagon? The media does not seem to know why the couple split but they are assuming that it was Kyle who dumped Tamara and left her in Sydney while he jetted off to LA to start a relationship with a stripper.
Here is the news.com.au article I came across today, http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/music-eases-pain-for-tamara-jaber-after-kyle-sandilands-break-up/story-e6frfn09-1225905377407
news.com.au has an interesting format, which I really like. At the beginning of a piece, readers are presented with the main points of an article. This allows for easier navigation because we are able to see if the article will be of any interest to us after reading only a few words.
This article really annoyed me and I'm trying to work out why. Firstly, I don't believe that a break-up of a couple should be any one's business but there own, even if they are celebrities! Leave them in piece for a little bit at least. Why do we have an article about how Tamara uses music to get over it? It just seems ridiculous. I don't believe that anyone read this article thinking how well-informed they are now and how enlightening it was to read. I was bored to tell you the truth but I still cant figure out if this is all from my dislike of Kyle. I'm not a big fan of Tamara either because I don't think she has really done anything to warrant her celebrity status beside her marriage to Kyle Sandilands....this has also seemed to help her land a role on 'Dancing with the Stars'.
OK enough ranting and back to the article....
The author also uses information from other sources eg. The Daily Telegraph to write his article, which may have been necessary because the singer may have only given one interview.
The article refers to Tamara's pain at having to "watch Sandilands' new liaisons played out in women's magazines". Speaking of which, Kyle has been on air and publicly denied any involvement with the LA stripper, claiming they are merely friends and all this negative press has really hurt her too...blah blah blah. Thus it seems strange that the media are still reporting on the issue. Who am I kidding? I'm sure this story will continue to be run until the stripper comes forward and makes a statement and then hopefully we can put all of this to bed. They are celebrities and we all love to hate!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Homosexuals, Zombies and Porn....OH MY!
As you may or may not have guessed the title of this post is referring to the new gay zombie film, 'LA Zombie', which has sparked controversy in Australia. Australia of all places..... I always thought we were a nation that wholeheartedly supported gay dead people having sex and I'm outraged. I mean c'mon hasn't anyone seen 'Vampire Lesbian Killers', I'm sure that one was a hit with men everywhere.
All jokes aside, The Sydney Morning Herald published the article 'Gay zombie porn to screen in Melbourne', this week.
Here is the link....http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/gay-zombie-porn-to-screen-in-melbourne-20100811-11zu9.html
QUICK SUMMARY OF ARTICLE: Director, Bruce LaBruce's (no I didn't make that name up) film, 'LA Zombie', "was refused classification', which means that it is illegal to screen it here, in Australia. This is significant because it was supposed to air at Melbourne International Film Festival, but the censors stepped in saying that it was inappropriate. According to the title of the article, this is due to the fact the film is 'Gay zombie porn'. So the Director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival has stepped in saying he will screen the film regardless of the fact that it is illegal. He says he will not release the venue until the last minute so the police will have less chance of shutting down the event. That's pretty much the story...
I have to admit I was instantly drawn to the article because of the title. In class, we have been learning about news values. For instance, currency (eg. how hot is the topic in the media), consonance, conflict, proximity and novelty. I believe that this story contains all of the above. I think that the story has currency because censorship and classification are always big stories in the media. Also, there is normally controversy surrounding these stories. There is another aspect that I also think needs mentioning. The 'Twilight' series of movies has brought about a huge fan base for films with supernatural themes. Thus families could be concerned that this sort of film will influence children to see the film etc. The story contains conflict for obvious reasons. Film director vs. classification board....Underground Film Festival Director vs. police.
Proximity is relevant because the situation is unfolding in Melbourne, Australia. Thus the Australian public will have an invested interested in the outcome. Novelty is possible the most obvious news value in the article. I always find myself drawn to the articles with quirky, attention-grabbing title and I think this journalist has done that well.
The article is also interesting in relation to the fact that the film was refused classification. We are currently learning about media regulation in a media and ethics class and I am fascinated over what constitutes an 'unclassifable' film!
Overall, I think the article was written very well and I enjoyed reading it. Probably due to its quirky nature!
I don't know about you but these sort of articles sure seem to drum up alot of publicity for films and television a great deal of the time...but after reading the article I do have to say I'm intrigued and a part of me wants to see this film. Lets just say i probably won't be attending the ''public disobedience freedom of speech event'' though. For those of you who are, expect lots of fake blood-soaked clothing and people looking as if they are severely intoxicated.
All jokes aside, The Sydney Morning Herald published the article 'Gay zombie porn to screen in Melbourne', this week.
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| Zombies...Source: Wikimedia Commons |
QUICK SUMMARY OF ARTICLE: Director, Bruce LaBruce's (no I didn't make that name up) film, 'LA Zombie', "was refused classification', which means that it is illegal to screen it here, in Australia. This is significant because it was supposed to air at Melbourne International Film Festival, but the censors stepped in saying that it was inappropriate. According to the title of the article, this is due to the fact the film is 'Gay zombie porn'. So the Director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival has stepped in saying he will screen the film regardless of the fact that it is illegal. He says he will not release the venue until the last minute so the police will have less chance of shutting down the event. That's pretty much the story...
I have to admit I was instantly drawn to the article because of the title. In class, we have been learning about news values. For instance, currency (eg. how hot is the topic in the media), consonance, conflict, proximity and novelty. I believe that this story contains all of the above. I think that the story has currency because censorship and classification are always big stories in the media. Also, there is normally controversy surrounding these stories. There is another aspect that I also think needs mentioning. The 'Twilight' series of movies has brought about a huge fan base for films with supernatural themes. Thus families could be concerned that this sort of film will influence children to see the film etc. The story contains conflict for obvious reasons. Film director vs. classification board....Underground Film Festival Director vs. police.
Proximity is relevant because the situation is unfolding in Melbourne, Australia. Thus the Australian public will have an invested interested in the outcome. Novelty is possible the most obvious news value in the article. I always find myself drawn to the articles with quirky, attention-grabbing title and I think this journalist has done that well.
The article is also interesting in relation to the fact that the film was refused classification. We are currently learning about media regulation in a media and ethics class and I am fascinated over what constitutes an 'unclassifable' film!
Overall, I think the article was written very well and I enjoyed reading it. Probably due to its quirky nature!
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| Source: Wikimedia Commons...Zombies as portrayed in the movie 'Night of the Living Dead' |
I don't know about you but these sort of articles sure seem to drum up alot of publicity for films and television a great deal of the time...but after reading the article I do have to say I'm intrigued and a part of me wants to see this film. Lets just say i probably won't be attending the ''public disobedience freedom of speech event'' though. For those of you who are, expect lots of fake blood-soaked clothing and people looking as if they are severely intoxicated.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
This can't be true?
I have chosen to write my blog about entertainment news. I love celebrity news, not only because it is interesting but it can be very funny.However, entertainment pieces can also be very poorly written. Each week I will pick a different article, disect the writing style and offer my point of view. enjoy!
In this day and age I am well aware that celebrities seem to think that because of their 'status' they can act above the law (cough cough Lindsay Lohan). Most celebrities believe they will not suffer the same punishments/consequences that everyday people do. Yesterday whilst reading news.com.au, I stumbled upon 'Wyclef Jean 'to run for Haiti President'", August 04, 2010.
Here's the link: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/wyclef-jean-to-run-for-haiti-president/story-e6frfku0-1225900909111
I am not saying that if well-known singer Wyclef Jean became the Haitian president he would be breaking the law but I would hate for a celebrity to become president due to their celebrity status. Now for one, I am completely supportive of people believing in themselves to the extent that they have dreams and goals for the future, however, this is just ridiculous.
Not only was I amazed at the subject matter of the article but I also feel that it was not well-written and was poorly researched. Basically the whole article is speculation. There are no interviews with credible sources and yet it is published on the website to be re-tweeted and shared amongst the web community. This is how rumours start. Even the author of the article admits,
The author mentions that the singer was born in Haiti, insinuating that because Jean was born there then maybe the run for presidency will be successful. This is very frustrating. The length of the article also shows that there isn't very much useful information on the subject.
This article could be vastly improved by gaining interviews with relevant sources to substantiate the claims made and give readers a little more reason to believe that Wyclef Jean is seriously considering running for president of Haiti!
Until next time...
In this day and age I am well aware that celebrities seem to think that because of their 'status' they can act above the law (cough cough Lindsay Lohan). Most celebrities believe they will not suffer the same punishments/consequences that everyday people do. Yesterday whilst reading news.com.au, I stumbled upon 'Wyclef Jean 'to run for Haiti President'", August 04, 2010.
Source: Wiki Commons (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/WyclefJean.jpg)
Here's the link: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/wyclef-jean-to-run-for-haiti-president/story-e6frfku0-1225900909111
I am not saying that if well-known singer Wyclef Jean became the Haitian president he would be breaking the law but I would hate for a celebrity to become president due to their celebrity status. Now for one, I am completely supportive of people believing in themselves to the extent that they have dreams and goals for the future, however, this is just ridiculous.
Not only was I amazed at the subject matter of the article but I also feel that it was not well-written and was poorly researched. Basically the whole article is speculation. There are no interviews with credible sources and yet it is published on the website to be re-tweeted and shared amongst the web community. This is how rumours start. Even the author of the article admits,
"Rumours have swirled for months that Jean would run. The singer has always been careful not to rule out a run for the president and recorded a song titled 'If I was president'".Wow! Is the author really saying that because Wyclef Jean recorded a song about being president, that means he will run? Is Wyclef Jean really the right person to get this crisis filled nation back on track?
The author mentions that the singer was born in Haiti, insinuating that because Jean was born there then maybe the run for presidency will be successful. This is very frustrating. The length of the article also shows that there isn't very much useful information on the subject.
This article could be vastly improved by gaining interviews with relevant sources to substantiate the claims made and give readers a little more reason to believe that Wyclef Jean is seriously considering running for president of Haiti!
Until next time...
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