The relationship between journalism, communication and the general public will be ever evolving as society continues to change. This relationship can be strengthened once particular patterns are recognised in the public’s behaviour toward the media. Results taken from a poll of 436 university students showed a trend towards changes in the public’s attitude towards the media. When an individual’s sample was extracted from the poll it became evident that an online audience was taking shape in society. This gives an indication of the types of media that should be generated to accommodate this change.

Below is a graph illustrating the types of media utilised by a single student over a ten day period. It is clear from this graph that the laptop was the most common medium, and it can also be said that accessing the internet was the most frequent media usage.

When the individual’s data was compared with the survey in Fig.1, it supported the findings that the most common form of media, due to its ease of accessibility, was the internet. Over 75% of those polled admitted they used the internet for up to 4 hours a day.

Fig. 1

Acknowledging that the internet was the most frequent media usage, it was important to establish what types of online activity was conducted for the media to target a specific audience.          

The students stated that their internet usage mainly consisted of accessing the social media site Facebook, emailing, general surfing and research (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

This trend was also evident in the individual’s Media Use Diary (Fig. 3, portion of Media Use Diary) as the majority of the time spent online was accessing Facebook, Hotmail or Google.

Fig. 3

If media forms such as radio or news wished to increase their audiences it would be beneficial for them to make online access easier. The data from the poll shows that to keep up to date with the latest news, over 65% of student’s accessed online newspapers (Fig. 4). To strengthen the relationship between journalism, communication and the public, the use of the internet as a popular form of accessing radio and the news would be beneficial.

Fig. 4

The most common channel of listening to music was via an iPod or phone; however there is still a large majority that use their computers. Therefore, if radio was to be broadcasted regularly on Facebook, a bigger audience could be reached (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5

Based on the findings derived from the data a conclusion can be drawn about the role of journalism and communication in a changing society.  To ensure that the relationship between journalism, communication and the public remains strong and relevant, a move must be made towards increasing accessibility to online media.

To Whom It May Concern,

Please excuse my next post, it is an assessment that must be submitted in such a way.

To Whom It May Concern,

Today has been a day of strange revelations. I discovered the art of burning coffee for instance. Yet that does not even compete with what I discovered moments ago; being sick brings people together.
That sounds awful doesn't it? Don't picture two ruddy nosed strangers in bathrobes surrounded by mountains of tissues hugging one another. That's not what I mean at all. What's wrong with you?

Have you noticed how everybody seems to be getting sick? At first it was your friend, then it was a sibling, then you're on a bus trying not breathe because everybody is sniffling and suddenly it's you? Yeah, that's how it went for me. So, today I'm under quarantine because of that stupid bus ride and am seriously hating my immune system. Cue melodramatic obscenities.

Then, something kind of wonderful happened. After being coaxed into doing my sisters washing for twenty dollars (don't judge, you would too), I was downstairs loading washing machine. It's really not pretty; I forgot a tissue, I'm too lazy to go back upstairs and this brings us to a whole lot of sniffing and blinking and odd face distorting. Finally, my senses get jack of being contorted and I sneezed. Low and behold I hear a voice from next door yell 'Bless You'. I thank him for his kindness and continue on feeling mildly embarrassed but thinking that was so nice of him. Then, after a moment of silence I hear him sneeze and realising he has been sentenced to quarantine too I yell out 'Bless You". This led to a lot of laughing between the two of us.

I have no idea which of my neighbours it is, I can't see his face nor could he see mine. I just thought it was super damn cute that it was our mutual sickness that brought us together. Isn't life odd? Or it is just mine? Oh how I love people.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am not the kind of person who finds much pleasure in routine. To live my every day as similar as the day just gone seems nonsensical to me, and not the good kind of nonsensical. So much is happening in the world and in each moment something beautiful is unfolding. Terrible beauty is something that has occurred to me recently. There is much to understand about, for instance, choosing the better of two evils. There is a beauty to each moment and sometimes it is impossible to escape the awful moments. That doesn't make them any less beautiful. This, I find every day in the news.

My first lecture begged the question, "What is Journalism?". The responses were fairly curious. Philip Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post, responded fairly poetically, in my opinion, as he explained that "Journalism is the first rough draft of history." American historian and novelist Edward Eggleston claimed that "Journalism is organised gossip." There seemed to be no wrong answer, and, consistent with the repeated notion that I was already a journalist, I wondered how I would answer that question.

Steal back to my first paragraph for a moment and I have derived that, at this moment, on this day, at such a time in my life, journalism to me, is capturing the beautiful moments. And that, I could do every single day for the rest of my life.

To Whom It May Concern,

In no way do I intend to discuss or argue about faith in this post. I don't even want to write about it much more than to say, to a vast extent, for my own reasons, I believe everything happens for a reason.

In doing my Bachelor of Journalism I have elected to do studies in American history from 1945 to the present. Currently I am investigating society in the 1950's and how they functioned under the strain of the Cold War. What I have found consists largely of a push towards epic consumerism and mass production. The true beginning of it. Keep that in mind.

Currently, my sister is studying a bachelor of something with about twenty five titles that I will never be able to remember until I'm old and senile. Therefore, my explanation of her degree is that it regards geography, economics, the regerneration of the environment and it's population. Please endeavour to keep this in mind also.

I never, in my wildest imaginations, thought that these two spheres of influence would ever relate.

About ten minutes ago, as we studied independently right next to each other, through some twisted wormhole of impossibility, I discovered that they do relate. In a very big way.

The 1950's was an era, I repeat, of MASS CONSUMPTION. When this ball got rolling America could well and truly deem itself saved from its past of 'buy only if necessary'. Here was the beginning of the 'good life'...We all know how this has eventuated. Even if you had been living under a rock you would know this because either a) your rock has become slighty eroded from the new toxins that have leaked into the air from this mass consumerism or b) they took away your rock to use in their mass consumerism. It's not exactly a surprise.

These days, it all seems a little bit bleak, end of the world, die from our own filth and greed hungry addictions blah, blah, blah. Right? We've heard it so often. It's not that we don't care. In fact, you probably really do care. It's just that you can't pin point the crux of the issue, or how it all works. Right? That was the boat I was in anyway. Then, luck would have it that my sister zoomed over in her little boat of new-found knowledge and showed me this little clip: "The Story Of Stuff" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM.

Cue a realisation of intense significance.

There is a way to tackle our fast impending global implosion. Understanding what happened in the 50's severly helps to create a foundation of understanding for what is happening now.
I believe that everything happens for a reason, so if by some absurd chance you did happen to read this post all the way to the bottom then humour me; watch that clip. Or tell someone about it. Because it matters.

To Whom It May Concern,

I couldn't shake off what Skye Doherty had said about the importance of text and words. A few posts ago I wrote about moments when words were unnecessary and since then the idea of words as an independant variable stuck with me. Words had always meant much to me; they allowed to me feel free either out loud or on paper. Words had always been there for me and much of my life I had spent cultivating and fine-tuning my vocabulary. Why? Because I believe there is a power in words. Then I did something I very rarely do; I went on Youtube and I typed in that exact thought. I found this:                                     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU

This clip goes for just over a minute and encompasses exactly how I feel about words. Watch it and tell me what you thought; I dare you.

To Whom It May Concern,

After my Journalism lecture today I could feel a few too many thoughts rattling around my head. I bought a mocha because I'm a coffee fiend and it masks the awful coffee on the campus, I found myself a lovely little piece of wall and took a seat. It was here that I had my epiphany. Cue photo:

There are so very many forms of Journalism out there that could be explored. In Brisbane alone there are around 3,000 different magazine titles in accordance to Bruce Woolley's findings. Who do I want to be as a writer and who on earth is my audience? It is not possible to put it down to the citizens of Brisbane because they obviously do not think along the same wave lengths. Evidence? There are 3,000 magazine titles purely to satisfy their tastes. Then I realised what I want to achieve at least on some level. This was my epiphany; I want to write for people who think like I do. I don't think I can explain who those people are to be precise. Yet, that doesn't particularly concern me because if I'm writing about something that concerns me surely it will concern like-minded people? However, that also begs the question to those who read this post, whether aspiring writer or no. Who is your target audience?

To Whom It May Concern,

There is certainly something to be said for strangers and their exceptional strangeness. Particularly in the cases of mass social events like concerts and festivals. Allow me to provide an introduction; yesterday in a lecture we were introduced to a woman by the name of Skye Doherty. Doherty was a wonderful speaker and print journalist and she spoke to us on the importance of text. This lecture made me think about the importance of words. Now, I am about to get substantially off-track but I believe that if nothing our lectures are meant to make us think of situations and problems outside of what we are taught. If not, well, it is a terrific excuse as to why I can to this subsequent thought. As I was thinking about the importance of words I began to wonder at times when words were unnecessary and, in fact, mute point. Thus, festivals and concerts.

Here, I would like to show you what I mean about strangers and their strangeness:

SOUNDWAVE 2012

FUTURE MUSIC 2012

Picture this;
I am standing by myself in a crowd that was winding itself up for something big. I have just narrowly escaped a kick in the teeth in the circle pit. I'm fine, I'm ecstatically happy. Later that night I was going to witness the beauty of System Of A Down live. I was thrilled. Not once, did I look at the the people directly around me.  I cast my glace far and wide, taking in the excitement. People start cheering and I know that Slipknot are about to go onstage. The drums kick in, people go wild. Suddenly I'm being LIFTED and CARRIED back about  three feet. Before I even have time to react the man that had picked me up takes my hand and points back to where I was standing. There a man cracked his neck twice, flexed his biceps and after a great roar began to rip his fists and feet around ferociously. I should have known. I thanked my saviour and he gave me his phone with the words; 'Sorry about carrying you, he looked crazy. My name is Dillon.' written in a text.

Now picture this:
Chase and Status are ripping into their very best. The crowd is going nuts. It's pouring with rain and the five of us are screaming out the words with everybody else. I stop and look at the guy in front of me. He's emptying the remainder of what could only be speed or cocaine into his mouth. I don't particularly care for the drug. That was his business. Yet, as he began to flex his muscles and crack his neck I had a flash back. On impulse I grabbed a few of my friends and forced them to look at the guy in front of us. Using nothing but hand signals and facial expression they somehow understood what I meant and we squeezed over away from his subsequent moshing.

In the heat of the moment it was a stranger's strangeness that made me realise that there are times when words will not work. Not verbally. Text was vital, that was true. Yet not always spoken word.

To Whom It May Concern,

It's 5:30 in the afternoon. Today was an odd kind of beautiful. It rained, the sun shone and the wind blew. Strange isn't it, how often we regard the type of weather as a major factor in how good our day was. As if the weather could exactly control our actions and our moods, we allow it to come into consideration in how we rate our day. That alone is proof that Mother Nature and Human Beings are undeniably important to one another. People cannot control nature, as much as we try to and as much as we believe we can. That said, Nature will always be vastly affected by People.

Today, the 11th of March 2012 is the year anniversary of Japan's tsunami. Today, I sat with my Mum and listened to six stories of that horrible event. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, follow this link to quickly read about it: http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/13137372/japan-marks-anniversary-of-tsunami-tragedy/. Something that stuck fast within me is a sentence they all repeated; 'I thought I was going to die'. With the exception of a melodramatic meltdown on the odd occasion, I have never uttered those words. It has never been a reality to me, to consider death at eighteen. Listening to those people I realise how much we do that is selfish, that is vain, because it is normal. Fussing over our clothes, worrying about our hair, stressing over relationships or sporting scores are normal to us. In fact, it is actually second nature to most to double check their reflection in the mirror before leaving the house. Why? Because you desperately fear leaving the house with your skirt tucked into your underwear, or breakfast in some unsightly formation on your teeth. Trivial little events that will cause embarrassment. We never leave the house worried about its low-lying positioning or its relative closeness to surrounding bodies of water. To imagine a life where that is our last thought as we begin our day is truly awful. We never considered how lucky we are until someone else suffers. That is so devastatingly heartbreaking.

Part of being Human is recognising and considering Nature. We think about it everyday. It's now 6:00 at night and I'm looking out my window. I'm thinking of the people who suffered. I'm thinking of the unassuming wrath that did not affect me. I'm sparing a moment out of normality to be grateful for what I have.

To Whom It May Concern,

There are many events that bring the most unlikely of people together. My focus in this post will be a sporting game, in particular Rugby Union. Cue wonderful picture:

 The Queensland Reds (Sorry, St George Reds sounds ridiculous) are a team that conquered last season in a shock and scream series of wins that were unprecedented. It was a glorious time to be a Queenslander. Many a match did I scream myself hoarse in joy, yet in the moments of pause (or during the games that were too frustrating to sit still) I found myself people watching. I know I'm not alone in this past time, as creepy as it comes across, because humans are inquisitive creatures. Have you ever noticed the absurd people amongst the ordinary in any crowd? It is truly fascinating.

It was at this particular game, Reds VS. Rebels at Suncorp, that it dawned on me the degree to which people differ. Tonight, at the risk of sounding insane, I did not find this clash as satisfying as I usually do. In fact, the only satisfying result would have been if I could have thumped the man to my right and the man a section over to my left. I was pissed, to but it bluntly and it was for VERY different reasons.

Man on my right gave me an extremely colourful display of the worlds worst swear words in a tirade of  'constructive criticism'...what a load of crap. That man just wanted an excuse to hear his own voice form the awful words spilling from his mouth. Even had we not been surrounded by children I would have been offended. I'm no prude, I let loose enough vulgarity to appease my soul but this was intense. This would shame a trooper!

Man on my left made my teeth set on edge and anger rise in me so raw I had to bite my lip from yelling at him. Picture this; everyone is cheering, dressed in their Red jerseys and eagerly anticipating the kickoff. This absolute fool of a man stands up in his chair amongst his friends and holds up a sign that clearly reads 'LEAVE KONY ALONE'. I wanted to reach across and throw my drink in his face. Violent, I know. Inappropriate, I know. Yet what stopped me was the knowledge that in the face of such sickening realities I would lend a hand and he would always be a fool.

I love my Rugby and I love the mixture of bits and bobs that make up a crowd. I'll take the good with the bad because what better way to understand people than to deal with all of them? However, if I ever meet that man on my right again I cannot make any promises about where I will or will not be throwing my drinks.

To Whom It May Concern,

To begin by jumping in the deep end I want to talk about motives. I suppose in a way I am offering no new light or information but I started thinking about this when all of the Stop Kony 2012 posts began on Facebook. A man - so evil as to have half the world utterly outraged - has acted. He has voluntarily chosen his path. What happened to make a man so twisted? What possible motives could he have had? I am in no way suggesting that, had he had logical motives it could excuse his actions, quite the opposite really. What I want to know is what course of events does he have that he could even begin to justify his actions with? If you don't know about Kony, don't take my words on his atrocities as the most reliable source for they will be coloured by anger. Check out this page run by Invisible Children instead; http://kony2012.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/.

Is it possible for a person's motives to be justifiable at all regardless of their actions? I think so in many cases. All of the people who are set to graffiti our town in the name of a good cause are, undoubtedly, breaking the law. Yet, I will be the first to say their actions are justified. I wonder what the community and the authorities will make of this mess.  Could it be that, like every other aspect of our lives, motives will be deduced by an enourmous spectrum that each individual will argue differently? At one end you have motives so poor and pathetic that you deserve to fall victim to your own actions, and at the other motives so selfless and pure that it would be a crime against humanity to act against the offender. Each person falls somewhere in between that. Will the same person who judges Kony for his actions judge us on ours?

To Whom It May Concern,

I have no experience with writing a blog, I have always failed at keeping a diary and I will be the first to admit that at the moment I am writing this first post I could be considered technologically illiterate.
Yet, what I have under my belt is a desire to express the ramblings in my head and the questions on my tongue to all that care, if only a little. Therefore, I have titled this blog To Whom It May Concern.

Partially this is part of an assessment, so excuse me those of you (if any) who do not follow all of what I say. I will endeavour to make as much sense as is humanly possible. So, with the inclusion of a few notes and posts about what I am learning in my Journalism studies at UQ, I henceforth will be writing and exploring a true passion of mine; people.