Hello blog readers and followers: please feel free to take a read of my short essay which describes what i am getting up to in Media Industries 1 in terms of research and individual progress for this mammoth 3rd year report write up to come! Lucky i have chosen some interesting topics to explore!
The overall aim of my research group is to critically analyze the more profound shifts radio culture has made over the last 30 years, and how the recent acceleration of innovation in delivery technology will see equally as influential shifts in only 10 years. In this research group I will be responsible for exploring two separate subtopics. Firstly, I will be exploring the history of radio as a platform for entertainment, focussing on past radio plays such as the renowned, 1938 Orson Welles satire. Secondly, I will be conducting research on Australian radio personalities and their influence and contribution to radio.
To begin research on Orson Welles and his “War of the Worlds” parody I searched for information online, visiting sites such as Wikipedia, as well as watching relevant YouTube documentaries. In addition to this, I have visited my VCE media textbook and old school notes, which proved to be very beneficial, informative and assisted in again establishing a basic understanding of this event in radio history. I now plan to progress to the next stage in my research through looking for further, more comprehensive and thorough information through various library resources.
Regarding my subtopic of radio personalities, I have so far conducted research online via Wikipedia, various official radio personality websites, and multiple social media platforms. In recent weeks, Melbourne based radio personality Hamish Blake, commonly recognized for his radio show on Fox FM “Hamish and Andy,” was interviewed on ABC’s popular television program “Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight”, which I currently work on. This proved to be a very beneficial asset to my project’s research as I was able to watch Hamish’s full interview live, as opposed to the shortened version that went to air. Through this experience I was able to gather yet more information and learn about various aspects of his career that I had not sourced in my online research.
In addition to this, I recently attended a live broadcast radio event run by Hamish and Andy through Fox FM, and present at the event was many other well-known radio personalities. Regardless of this being a social event, I believe that the experience has given me further insight to radio and it’s nature today, as well as how the involvement of these radio personalities have such a huge influence on the shape of the audio shows.
I believe that through the research of radio personalities I will also have the option to include a case study in my report. This may prove to be very beneficial as it would ad content to my report, as well as supporting the messages and information being conveyed throughout.
In addition to the progress I have made through my research of topics, I have also made significant progress within this project through attending and contributing to team meetings with my other group members. Here we discuss, plan, and give feedback to one another’s ideas, and actively work on the group assessment aspects of the assignment.
I have established an online presence through the creation of my blog, which I regularly update with information from various media-based courses that I am currently studying. On this blog is a section purely created for information from Media Industries 1, which is where I post information regarding my research project and the progress I have made thus far.
A main strategy that I have utilised within my research has been firstly exploring a broad range of information through multiple resources, then highlighting and selecting what I believe to be important, useful and relevant aspects of the information. I keep an ongoing bibliography throughout my research so that I am able to reference where information was drawn from. Another strategy I find useful is creating a visual representation of my research and ideas regarding how to construct my report through mediums such as brainstorming and mind mapping.
A problem I have encountered during my stage of research has been establishing exactly how the research of radio personalities can best support the overall discussion for this group essay. In this I have had to give great thought into deciding whether or not to focus on just one or two radio personalities, or discuss many, as a broader topic. I am currently looking into how an interview could effectively support this and add informative and engaging content to the website where our group report will be published and released to the public, and if I do choose to conduct an interview, I will then need to make an educated decision on who to interview, and how best to approach them in an effective yet professional manor.
Another challenge I have encountered during the research period of this project is time management. I feel that in order to complete this report to the best standard possible I need to focus on organisation, and effective use of time during my research, interviewing, and essay writing stages.
A strategic effort to resolve these problems may be through creating a visual representation of the intentions of my essay. I need to yet again establish exactly how my research is supporting the main aim for my group, and I need to stay focussed on this throughout my research. I have found that once a large amount of research has been conducted, it is not difficult to get lost amongst it all and lose sight of your initial plans and ideas.
I feel that another effective way to solve one of my problems would be by conducting thorough research in a wide range of radio personalities, decide on a select few, then approach them and see if I can get an interview with at least one. This way I am keeping my options open, and not restricting the content that could come of the interview. If it so happened that I could conduct interviews with more than one radio personality, I would potentially be in an even better position, particularly if both interviewees have opposing opinions or vastly different experiences in the radio industry, as through this our audience can gain a strong sense of perspective and a more knowledgeable understanding of the content we are delivering.
In order to resolve my challenge of time management I plan to map out goals and deadlines for various segments of the project. This way I will be working on achieving small segments at a time, by it’s designated date, as opposed to attempting to tackle the entire report without breaking it down.
I believe that one of the many ways my report and exploration may intersect and relate with future research projects conducted independently or within university studies could be a research project potentially focussing on how to enter the industry of radio and approach a job opportunities in a professional yet passionate manor.