Ramadan, Eidfest and a unification of cultures

My experience of Muslim celebrations

Last week I attended the Brisbane city celebration of Eidfest; a festival for Muslims and Non-Muslims to come together to celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Throughout the day I experienced the vibrancy of many varied countries that practice Islam, their fantastic culinary spread and the beauty and individuality of countries such as Turkey, Singapore, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Indonesia. Moreover I was able to listen to a 'talk time' period with four academics who study in areas from law to Islamic faith, as they discussed the operation of Sharia law in Islam and how this works within our culture and other western cultures. The discussion focused around the enforcement of Sharia law whether it can be condoned in our present day world and how on the spectrum of interpretation, Sharia law is practiced in the various countries that hold the Islamic faith.

Amongst the enjoyment of the day, enjoyment of two major cultures coming together with a tolerant and celebratory atmosphere, this major topic was discussed. One question posed to the academics asked, in a scenario where a person steals, under Sharia law, is it legitimate that that person has their hand cut off?

The responses varied in support of Sharia law, mostly accepting its major purpose of enforcing a system of law and justice whereby people become too afraid to commit any crime, effectively severely punishing one person to ,in the long run, save lives of thousands that could be safe from crime. This is essentially the basis of our crime and punishment system that ensures the public understands the consequences of a crime. The argument throughout the Eidfest event, however, looks at how Sharia law is interpreted to its literal meaning, resulting in severe punishments of bodily harm and death.

We listened to the discussion amongst the academics and the audience as they explained the idea of Sharia law being 'watered down' in certain countries or cultures that practice Islam, in an effort to make the law's more acceptable perhaps in our modern day world. An argument was made that in the 'stealing scenario' the man’s hands being cut off may not be the literal meaning of the law. Perhaps the hands represent a man’s desire to steal, and by reprimanding him for his crimes, severely and publicly enough that he and others know not to attempt to steal again.  The knife that would cut the hands could thereby be compared to the strict Sharia laws being tough enough to instil fear amongst the masses.

As a counter argument, one man of Islamic faith and knowledge posed the question "if a system of law has been affective for many years, interpreted as its literal meaning, why 'water it down' for it to become acceptable to other cultures?" Essentially both arguments advocate for the safety of the many thousands of people that live in the countries that practice Islam and Sharia law. The argument this man makes is that by enforcing a law so severe it guarantees no man or woman would dare commit a crime that would be deemed punishable at this strict level.

I can see clear correlations between the way our two societies work, both in aspects of law systems and in aspects of life as many from each culture strive for personal happiness, contentment, and peace. It was incredibly insightful to see the wide variety of countries that practice Islam, their individual merits and the way in which their religion and law is interpreted and practiced. Following this event I found a news story that highlights the severity of punishment in Afghanistan inflicted under the Taliban regime, it created a very real scenario that forced me to think heavily on the discussion I had heard that day at Eidfest.

The horrific account of oppressed life in Afghanistan did force me to reassess my understanding of Sharia law. Throughout the article below both international forces and Afghanistan government condemn the killings as a clear "disregard for the sanctity of human life." I cannot claim to have nearly enough knowledge or understanding around the topic but I would encourage, even implore, others to do as myself and when hearing these news stories, seek the clarification of the law or oppressive regimes these people are living under. From our home ground visiting a festival such as Eid, need not be tainted by a lack of understanding and perhaps we can consciously work to nurture that connections able to be made between our two cultures. My need for knowledge around this issue is underlined and motivated by my overriding hope for unity and tolerance.

Nine MSN: World

04:16 AEST Tue Aug 28 2012

1 day 8 hours 10 minutes ago

Mamoon Durrani

Taliban behead 17 at Afghan party

"Taliban insurgents have beheaded 17 civilians, including two women, who were holding a party with music in a southern Afghanistan village, officials say.

The atrocity drew immediate condemnation from the commander of NATO's military force in Afghanistan, the United Nations, the US and Britain.

"I can confirm that this is the work of the Taliban," the Helmand provincial governor's spokesman, Daud Ahmadi, told AFP, referring to Islamists notorious during their rule for public executions and the suppression of music and parties.

"Two women and 15 men were beheaded. They were partying with music in an area under the control of the Taliban," he said.

Nematullah Khan, the Musa Qala district chief, confirmed that the villagers had organised a party with music, and one local official said he suspected the two women had been dancing.

Secret parties with dancing women from a gypsy-type tribe are common across southern Afghanistan.

During their 1996-2001 rule in Afghanistan the Taliban, now waging a fierce insurgency against the NATO-backed government of President Hamid Karzai, also tried to stop the mixing of men and women who were not related.

"This callous act clearly demonstrates the insurgents' willingness to stop at nothing in terrorising civilians," said General John Allen, commander of NATO'S International Security Assistance Force.

He pledged the assistance of NATO troops "to help bring these criminals to swift and sure justice", while the US embassy in Kabul condemned the killings as "a shameful act".

The UN mission in Afghanistan said: "This criminal act is unjustifiable and totally disregards the sanctity of human life.

"UNAMA has repeatedly stated that the killing of civilians is a clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws and has called for the perpetrators of such reprehensible acts to be brought to justice."

Britain, too, joined in condemning the killings "in the strongest terms".

Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said: "I am appalled at the cruel killing of 17 people at a party... The facts are still being established but early indications are that the Taliban were responsible."

The insurgents have in the past been blamed for beheading local villagers, mostly over charges of spying for Afghan and US-led NATO forces.

Hours after the beheadings, Taliban insurgents overran an Afghan army post in the same province in a pre-dawn attack on Monday, killing 10 troopers, authorities said.

Provincial spokesman Ahmadi said the attack was an "insider plot" in which some army soldiers helped the rebels attack the post.

If it is confirmed that the attack was facilitated by soldiers, it will mark a new escalation in a string of insider attacks on Afghan and NATO security forces.

Two NATO soldiers were killed on Monday when an Afghan army soldier turned his weapon against them in a "green-on-blue" attack in eastern Laghman province, the US-led International Security Assistance Force said."

(DURRANI, MAMOON
NINEMSN: WORLD
AUGUST 28TH 2012)

Lecture Reflection: Lecture 6

Lecture 6: Commercial Media

  'Advertisers are the real consumers of a commercial media organisation, not its readers, viewers or listeners'

Above are some of the big names in commercial media as far as broadcasters and distributors of our media goes. The FOX network being the heaving weight of all commercial media with our 'Uncle Rupert Murdoch' at its reins. The big names above are responsible for what programs we watch during prime time, which ones capture a nation and send ratings through the roof and exactly what barges its way through our eyes and ears into our minds. But what or who is behind the networks, particularly those that are free to air? 
Looking back to our lecture on the New News and the Semantic Web the answer becomes unequivocally clear... THE ADVERTISERS!

From commercial radio, television, film and online media, the money behind the screen or speakers are the advertising giants who ever so expertly utilise our viewing of popular shows to bombard us with their brand. However cynical many may be about this almost unconscious consumerism, it is the way it is and it perpetuates the public feeling of entitlement to their free to air TV and so forth. 

Commercial media is profit driven, where shows will either make or break depending on how many people watch and take in the ads. It simply relies on the business of generating audiences. Commercial media is not traditionally funded by the government or license funded (unlike public media) although in recent times heads have been turned at government money being thrown at commercial media, particularly TV to keep it free to air; namley Stephen Conroy's licence fee rebate.

Some of the major players behind each individual network are as follows:

• News Limited
• Fairfax
• APN
• Nine Entertainment Network
• TEN
• WIN
• Telstra
• Optus
• Maquarie
• AuStar

All of these key players have their share of the pie that is commercial media and its various businesses. News Limited for example, is heavily involved in newspapers, magazines, cable TV, films, books and sports. Big money comes from the commercial television area of their involvement in particular with '20th Century Fox' releasing major blockbusters. The advertisers will pay to have their brand aired on the cable TV networks but what about the other assets in Murdoch’s empire? Rupert Murdoch's take in the newspaper industry does not turn a large profit for the company, in fact Murdoch's infatuation with 'The Courier Mail' and 'The Australian', for example are upheld because of his own agenda and the power he has to sway or narrow public opinion.

 Fairfax is another great example of the scope of commercial media and what advertisers will pay to be involved in. As well as their involvement largely in digital media and newspapers 'Sydney Morning Herald', 'The Age', 'Brisbane Times' and 'Financial Review', Fairfax also own social networking site 'RSVP.com' and career such engine 'Mycareer.com'. This opens up a whole other spectrum in which advertisers can target specific audiences, bringing us back to the idea of hyper-localisation specific advertising.

Away from Murdoch's empire of subscription television, commercial media reaches its wide audience with free to air TV via networks such as the Nine Entertainment Network and Seven West Media. This free to air television works under a different structure than that of public media, which of course also doesn’t charge for viewing. The form of commercial media is always either subscription based, sponsored or subsidised, this enables its function to reach audiences through commercial viewing, influence public opinion with various propaganda and take part in the social side of media.

With all of our commercial media caught up in their business with the advertising giants, and our viewing simply being eyes and ears for the advertisers to influence, can our commercial media be unbiased and untainted? Can commercial media work fairly and successfully in a democratic society? The balance of trust between the public and the media is delicate! There is a supposed ethical wall that sits between the commercial functions of media and advertising and sales, so as not to taint the trust one puts in the media’s accuracy and fairness. However, how efficient this structure could be is questionable. I could simply site Gina Rinehart’s battle and berating of the Fairfax board for her extra seats, to what purpose one might ask, other than to have more influence.

When looking at the target audience of commercial media, we can clearly see how their product is styled to suit that audience. Three key characteristics of commercial media are the 'dumbing down' of content, the 'desire' to please the audience and advertisers and tabloidization (as seen with the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and Financial Review.) This differs greatly from the 'good old days' when the link between media content and sales was blurred and not able to be measured by mouse clicks. Quality news used to be what captured the audiences and the advertiser’s respectively, upholding the integrity of news and media. Nowadays, the story goes profit over quality and plays up to the 'Mickey Mouse' style of news to cater to the masses and where their mouse desires to click.

It’s not all bad news for commercial media though; some organisations are taking to 'expanding the public sphere' through mediums such as blogs and more social media to keep the advertisers keen and wallets thick. One of my favourite news outlets that uphold this new way of working commercial media is 'The Global Mail’. The Global Mail uses commercially trained journalists, many from a television background to deliver their very demographic appropriate news. It is currently funded by experience sales group Whatif.com without the support of advertisers. I believe their tagline puts it beautifully in respect to how commercial media and advertising are currently working:

The Global Mail: "Our only agenda is our audience"

Lecture Reflection: Lecture 5

Lecture 5: Picture Stories

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

A powerful picture is an idea that resinates with me as I’m sure it does many others. Think about how one might read a tragic news story with compelling images; does it tug on our heart strings as it would without a picture? This by no means lowers our capacity for understanding, empathising or relating through news, but we now live within the capacity that technology has given us to embrace story telling through pictures.

Through the lecture we were taken through a history of picture stories. From cave paintings that share the stories of a culture and their history, to the first photos and movies that brought picture storytelling to life. Of course this story telling has been swept up in the unique attributes of social media. Some statistics representing just how much social media plays in our visual story telling are as follows:

1.       14 million Instagram accounts created

2.       On average 60 pictures uploaded onto Instagram every second

3.       100 billion photos estimated to be on Facebook by mid-2011

4.       4.5 million photos uploaded onto Flickr daily

5.       6 billion photos on flickr (August 2011)

6.       Apple IPhone 4 is the most popular camera used on Flickr

Of course there is plenty of ‘rubbish’ that goes up in picture form on the internet but with how easy it is to take a photo, upload it, and watch it go viral, some real gems have swept through news and social media.  An example that comes to mind of just how powerful photo story telling can be, is the outrage that followed photos being released of American Soldiers at Abu Ghraib Prison.

WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGE

Lynndie England holding a leash attached to a prisoner, known to the guards as "Gus", who is lying on the floor.

Although news of what was happening at the prison was circulating well before the photos emerged, the public disgust did not reach full force until suddenly these photos were in our living rooms and spreading through social media. These photos were taken by the guards on their amateur cameras or phones but are very profound in the story they tell. When we look at what makes a ‘great photo’ from a photo journalist point of view, this picture has power in its story but does not necessarily holds characteristics that make it a fantastic shot. It is certainly true that “A picture has no meaning at all if it can’t tell a story” but power in visual story telling comes from both meaning and a well put together shot. 

Shown below is the winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize Breaking News Photography category. This photo was taken by Massoud Hossaini moments after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the Abul Fazel shrine in Kabul on December 6th, 2011. Tarana Akbari, 12, stands among her family and screams at the realization a bomb has gone off.



Pulitzer Prize Winner 2012, taken by Massoud Hossaini

What makes this a powerful photo? We can know the story behind this picture as it shows raw human emotion as Hossaini captured this horrific scene moments after it occurred. The ‘timing’ in place here makes for a very real photo.  The framing also centralizes the young girl, focusing the audience’s attention on her emotion.

After I travelled through India and Nepal last year I was very aware that I was seeing and taking part in a culture that has immense learning value and is worth sharing with ‘my world’. I also knew that the most powerful way to share it with my generation particularly was to visually capture their attention.  Therefore photos featured heavily in my travel blog to convey the message I endeavored to share.





The four youngest children at the Buddhist Children Home, Nepal

This is one of my favourite photos of some of the children I was working with in Nepal. For me, along with the stories I shared in my travel blog, it shows their environment, in all its bareness, but importantly how much they are a family and how well they look after each other. I took this photo on my IPhone, as I did will all of my photos from my trip, and I was able to frame and angle to photo well and not even have to think about good exposure or quality of photo.  I was also able to post the photo to my blog and Facebook on the day. This transfer between technologies is something that has transformed the photo journalism world, and it is ever expanding with not only phones but tablets, Ipads and more.

This new dimension of photo journalism is also impacted by its collaboration with online media. For example the idea that with an online news story, an entire gallery of photos can be added to enhance the story; perhaps even to tell it more effectively.  This also allows for photo’s to be used in a sequence so that they inform each other. Prior recognition of one photo can become a platform for explanation of the ‘story’ behind another, a good example of this is the Afghan Mona Lisa portraits, of Sharbat Gula taken by Steve McCurry.

We have previously looked at how news breaks in different mediums, the most newly found being social media. So how does social media affect visual story telling? It comes back to the concept of simultaneously uploading a photo as news breaks and often times it is pedestrians who see it first. It is not uncommon at all for news outlets to use photos and video footage taken on the camera phone of the average Joe, to back up their news coverage. When citizens are there when the new breaks, most all of them now have the tools to be citizen journalists and document the story visually.

Moving on from the power of still shots, we can look at video and the moving image to tell a story. Video, film and documentary have been utilised in many ways to tells stories both fictional and factual, personally one way that I find particularly interesting is film propaganda. I believe this has been especially powerful, whether for better or worse, in situations where a message is being sent out to the masses via this medium that in recent history is very new, strange and captivating.

The way video is used now in journalism has also transformed in recent history with technology progressing, becoming more accessible and movable, a Video Journalist can report, record and send back to ‘headquarters’ their story with pretty much a one man crew. And this is something to keep your eye on as, according to our School of Journalism, the video journalist program and how the industry is utilising this skill set; it is the way visual story telling is heading.

“If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that’s a good picture.”



UQ Union Policitcs

Controversy for UQ Union Elections

I'm looking into the action currently sweeping through the University of Queensland for my own understanding of the issue and to shed some light on the situation for fellow students. Although this has been a very public debate I, being a relatively new student, am not entirely familiar with the setup of our union or the various parties running and their associations. Although this may not be something that grasps the attention of students from a political standpoint, it is immensely important to understand exactly what is happening with our student union, the power it holds and the repercussions of the suggested 'dirty tactics' at play.

The focus of what has received media coverage across Brisbane and now nationally, is the accusation that the student union FRESH have deliberately blocked other candidates from running in this year’s election. FRESH supposedly changed the rules under which candidates can nominate their electoral ticket just 48 hours before the nominations were due; according to competing party PULSE. There have been noted rule changes in the last year, which FRESH are adamant the other runners were aware of and that they have had a year to accommodate the changes.

The downright 'dirty tricks' swamping this election is the use of PULSE's name under another party not associated with the official group, but supposedly associated with FRESH president Colin Finke. Finke claims to have no association with the fake PULSE ticket. This is surprising considering his brother is on the ticket in a prominent role.

I have been paying close attention to the interactions of the FRESH group and other students on campus, and my general impression is that they are trying their upmost to detach themselves from the controversy. However, what’s more concerning is that they seem to be 'buying' the vote of students with vouchers and T-shirts and leaving them unawares as to what is really going on behind this election.

As a student who intends to be fully aware where her vote goes this year and in consequent years, I am keeping up with the coverage and tyring to follow both sides of the story. Two pieces of journalism that I believe show the 'ins and outs' of the unfolding story are linked below.

The Herald Sun reports the information based around the fact that FRESH claims to have informed the other candidates adequately and that they had plenty of time to comply with the new rules. The second is a very interesting interview from non-other than Steve Austin (our guest 'Sound' lecturer in JOUR111, week 4) who interviewed Lorelai Links from Democracy 4 UQ U (D4UQU). Steve sites that, although many attempts were made, Colin Finke and any member from FRESH remained unavailable for the interview.

Herald Sun: "University of Queensland to hold hearing over union Fresh's 'dirty tactics'"

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/university-of-queensland-to-hold-hearing-over-union-freshs-dirty-tactics/story-fndo45r1-1226455938819

612 ABC Brisbane: UQ Campus Politics, interview with Steve Austin and Lorelai Links

http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2012/08/uqs-campus-politics.html

A hearing was held between FRESH and D4UQU on Thursday the 23rd of August but the case has been dismissed. D4UQU continues to voice its outrage around the election and FRESH and having withdrawn their candidacy will publicly protest and 'shame' FRESH until our student body is aware of what exactly is going on behind our union doors.

For more information visit the Democracy 4 UQ U Facebook page for updates and information on how to vote, rally, and stay informed!

D4UQU Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/#!/Democracy4Uqu

"1 in 3 people Will Need Blood, but Only 1 in 30 Donates. Donate Today"

Australian Red Cross Blood Service

Today at Uni, I faced my usual frustration when seeing the Red Cross Blood Donation van, ready and awaiting our donations. My frustration does not stem from the idea of giving blood, far from it! What could be better than being told to relax, sit back, give some love to the world and get tea and biscuits afterwards! However, unfortunately because I lived in the UK between 1980 and 1996, I am unable to make this precious donation, all in the name of Mad Cow disease!

Other possible circumstances under which you can not give blood are:

· If you are HIV positive

· You have hepatitis B

· You have or have had hepatitis C

· You have ever injected yourself or been injected with drugs not prescribed by a doctor or dentist (even if this was only once)

      You will not be able to give blood if, in the past 12 months, you have/or had:

· Sex with another man, even ‘safer sex’ using a condom (if you are a man)

· Sex with a man who has had sex with another man (if you are a woman)

· Sex with a partner who has HIV or hepatitis C

· Sex with a partner who has hepatitis B, unless you have been vaccinated
and/or are immune on our testing

· Sex with a partner who has ever injected themselves with drugs not prescribed by a doctor or dentist

· Sex with a male or female sex worker

· A blood transfusion, excluding transfusions of your own blood

· Hepatitis or been in close contact with someone with hepatitis

· Been in prison

· Sex with anyone who lives in, or has come from, a country considered to have a high rate of HIV infection.

I implore anyone who is capable to donate, donate life! If we are blessed with the gift of health then is it not the least we can do to 'pay it forward’ and gift to others what we ourselves take for granted.

Check out the website at www.donateblood.com.au.

Find out your blood type, ways to donate or other ways to help!

Have you had a kindness shown?
Pass it on;
'Twas not given for thee alone,
Pass it on;
Let it travel down the years,
Let it wipe another's tears,
'Til in Heaven the deed appears -
Pass it on.

~Henry Burton, Pass It On

Lecture Reflections: Lecture 4

Lecture 4: Sound

‘Radio is the theatre of the mind’

Nowadays, because of the way people consume their media, online and legacy media have fluctuated. Radio, however, has remained steady and strong and kept on through the changes. Public radio is thriving in a new environment of podcasts, twitter plugs, and further avenues for audience participation and this medium still keeps its very unique strengths and power.

I very much enjoyed the approach both Richard Fidler and Steve Austin took to convey to us the power and use of sound, most notably from their experiences and careers in radio.

‘Conversations’ presented by Richard Fidler

As I noticed in my media production and usage log, radio listening is a type of media that does not feature heavily if at all within my intake of media. However, the insightful journey that I embarked upon whist listening to the stories of Richard Fidler has sparked a desire in me to delve further into the possibilities of journalism and radio. What Richard noted as imperative was to clearly distinguish the difference between TV as a medium for communication and radio as a medium, understanding that radio stands very much in its own as a powerful medium.

“Radio is a much more intimate medium”, Richard identified, and noted that it allows its audience to take an active part, particularly in his program, ‘Conversations’. It is the job of the presenter to be the facilitator of the conversation keeping it interactive, accessible and inclusive. The skill of radio as a type of media is that it has very individual strengths. When one can flick through TV channels, for example, until being grasped by image and sound, radio, can operate as a part of everyday life; in the car, in the background of the household, and it inspires thinking on the audience’s part thereby internalising their media.

So what makes a good presenter?

It was made apparent that no matter how good the interviewee, how much potential the conversation or story has, the presenter must be animated, enthused and above all interested and sincere in his/her questioning and conversations. The previously mentioned intimacy is conveyed to the audience because the interviewer and interviewee build up a basis of trust and allow the talk and ‘back and forth’ to flow easily. Moreover, it is the presenter’s duty to involve the listener but making the questions and possibilities for rebuttal both accessible and entertaining. Including the listener in radio is a must as it is one of the defining and appealing qualities of radio, competing with the perhaps easily conveyed entertainment on TV.

 Richard listed questions he asks himself, such as:

·         Is the audience coming on the journey?

·         Does the conversation feel natural and comfortable

·         Is there integrity in the questions and communication

·         Is the interview prepared for? E.g. has pre-production research and pre-interview been undertaken?

All of these points encourage preparedness and trust in the program to run a true course that the interviewer, Interviewee and the audience can all relate to and be comfortable with. These are enabling factors that encourage a sense of sincerity and therefor and personal relationship with the audience.

Richard addresses the presenter’s role as “being a guide through the story” and allowing it to flow to ‘magical’ places where truths are revealed unwittingly. Skills that help to coerce such revelations are:

·         Being able to read the moment

·         Follow a natural structure of conversation

·         Controlling tone, pitch and pace.

As one can imagine, a guest forgetting they are ‘on air’ is a priceless prize for the presenter. A statement Richard made that I particularly liked was “don’t be afraid of silence, silence is powerful”. It is fascinating to think that through this intimate media, a quiet moment could make for news or media history.  

I am encouraged by the essential skill of being able to relate to people, empathise and understand what they need. On the talk back segment of the program, for example, Richard notes that possessing the “skill of listening to people” allows the presenter to respond and clear a path for insightful, entertaining, lively involvement from his audience.

Radio reaches out a wide, fairly unrestrictive net, for its demographic. It is engaging for almost anyone who is interested in what’s new and real and who would like to voice their own opinion through a medium with history and years of integrity.  This medium helps to facilitate contemporary thinking and understanding in relation to our news and as Richard says, it is a “public service” where the presenter is a here and now story teller.

Steve Austin, ABC local radio

Steve Austin offered some very practical advice in regards to skills to acquire and ways to boost ones career in radio. Supplementary to the skills mentioned by Richard Fidler, Steve adds these to the list:

·         Volunteer at community radio

·         Train your voice! Annunciation, tone and presentation of speech matter!

·         Be yourself

·         Be respectful and courteous to your guest

Speaking from experience from his  ‘Evenings’ radio program, Steve, identified that at that time of night particularly, you are competing with commercial entertainment. Consequently his news program is an amalgamation of commercial radio and conversation or talk back radio. It needs to be interesting and funny, to have a mix of people on board that have the talent to be entertaining, whether that be the presenter, interviewee or guest.

Steve acknowledges the importance of knowing you audience, not only in relation to what demographic they may fit into, but also their circumstance, for example why are they listening? Some possible factors that influence this are time and place. A late night program for example can be intimate, feature personal stories and show a vulnerability to cater for an audience that is inviting radio into their ‘down time’. Steve suggests that the human voice and human ear are interconnected, ‘married’ even.  Therefore, it is up to the presenter to engage them with what they want to hear and to do it with truth and skill. An ear can tell when it is fake and can tell when you’re lying and when you reveal a truth.

A great rule to follow, Steve says is “don’t do anything on radio that you wouldn’t do in real life.” Pretty straight forward, that one!                                                                                                                                    If one happens to be probing in real life however, it is in a programs prerogative to get people frustrated to get them to pick up that phone!

Although sound is the power in radio, that does not necessarily mean a talkative presenter is a good presents. Steve implores us to talk less and listen more! This affirms the respect you have for your guest and again allows free flowing and human, emotional responses and answers to come forth.

Truth and serenity is power.

Both our interesting hosts of this lecture are positive that Radio is surging. People being time poor allows this ‘easy to fit in’ listening medium time to get into your ear and spread that word!