Reflections

Looking back on this semester, it has been a boon learning Issues in Publication and Design. I am now able to appreciate and analyse a document, be it a static or multimodal (Walsh 2006) text.

Also, being from a multiracial country, where racial harmony is of utmost importance, I now possess the knowledge necessary to create documents that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but correct and appropriate from a cultural context (Halliday & Hasan 1985). This would ensure that the documents I create are well received across all segments of society.

I have also learned the importance of ethical publishing, for the publishers must take care to not offend their readers by publishing material that would prickle the public (Putnis & Petelin 1996).

With all this, I am now equipped with the basic know-how of document design, and I can only look forward to learning more in the coming semesters. Goodbye, IPD! You will be missed.

(156 words)

References

Halliday, MAK & Hasan, R 1985, Language, context and text: aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective, Deakin University Press, Waurn Ponds, Victoria.

Putnis, P & Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney.

Walsh, M 2006, 'The textual shift: examining the reading process with print, visual, and multimodal texts', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29. no. 1, pp. 24-37.

Daredevil Design

The 21st July 2008 edition of The New Yorker caused a splash with its controversial cover, "The Politics of Fear", which depicted Barack Obama (now the current and 44th President of The United States of America) and his wife, Michelle Obama, as grinning, fist bumping Islamic militants who celebrate as the American flag burns in the fireplace, over which hangs a portrait of Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.

(Source: Google Images 2009)

The New Yorker calls it 'satire' (AFP 2008) - namely, a play upon and a ridiculing of the malicious rumours that circulated around the Muslim roots of Obama's family. While others attacked the editorial decision, calling the cover 'tasteless and offensive' (Lewis 2008).

The most important question is this: was this a case of unethical publishing, or merely satire blown out of proportion?

This issue is a grievous one in many ways - the first of which was that it was done during the peak of campaigning during the run up to the United States Presidential Elections in November 2008. Lewis (2008) questions whether the satirical attack at the rumours surrounding Obama would highlight the ridiculousness of the accusations, or reinforce lingering doubts surrounding him. As such, it was not ethical from a situational context (Schirato & Yell 1996) as it was done during a crucial time in the campaigning, and could have cast doubt on the Democratic candidate's character and background.

Besides that, it is highly inappropriate from a cultural context (Halliday & Hasan 1985). This is because there is a significant Muslim population in the United States of America, comprising at least 3.5% of the total population (Factbook.net 2009). The cover would undoubtedly offend the Muslim population, as most have had to deal with the stigma associated with their religion after the September 11 incident in 2001. This cover may, despite its purely satirical intentions, provoke unfounded fears among the non Muslim population in America, leading to discrimination towards the Muslim population.

Publishing regulations in America are also quite lax, as they have a lot of leeway for satire, being firm believers in the absolute freedom of speech. Had a cover of this nature (bordering on defamatory, and rather inflammatory) been published in Malaysia, a whole clampdown of laws from the Internal Security Act to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (Haji et al. 2003) would have been enforced upon the publication. As such, it can be concluded that this is regarded as satire in an American context, but probably unethical publishing everywhere else.

Therefore, publications should be mindful of how they convey their message, taking into account the situational and cultural contexts of their audience.

References

Factbook 2009, An analysis of the world Muslim population by country/region, viewed 15 June 2009, <http://www.factbook.net/muslim_pop.php>

Haji, NMJ, Redzuan, M, Abu, AS, Haji, IMR 2003, Malaysian studies: nationhood and citizenship, trans. Wong FK, Prentice Hall, Malaysia.

Halliday, MAK & Hasan, R 1985, Language, context and text: aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective, Deakin University Press, Waurn Ponds, Victoria.

Lewis, P 2008, 'New Yorker's 'terrorist' Obama cover under fire', viewed 15 June 2009, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2008/jul/14/newyorkercover>

'Obama Campaign Outrage by New Yorker Cover', July 2008, AFP, New York, viewed at 12th June 2009, <http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jkF71Ri2guGdCg_LKmNga69rgoRw>

Schirato, T & Yell, S 1996, Communication and cultural literacy: an introduction, Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards.

The Digital Domino Effect

The surprising outcome of the March 8th 2008 General Elections in Malaysia, can be safely attributed to the use of digital media. Low's article, Malaysia's digital revolution - the death knell for The Star, and the rise of the e-news portal? (2008), highlights how the opposition's use of the alternative, largely digital, media was the turning point of their campaigning.

This was done through SMS, through popular opinion sites such as Raja Petra Kamaruddin's website, Malaysia Today, independent media organizations such as Malaysiakini, and the blogs of opposition party members such as Jeff Ooi 's Screenshots and Tony Pua's Philosophy Politics Economics (Low 2008.

(Source: Malaysia-today.net, 2009)

All of this led to what I term the Digital Domino effect - a cumulation of digital media efforts that let to an escalation of support for the opposition party.

However, merely having the megaphone does not ensure the crowd will listen to what one has to say. What the opposition did was to identify their audience, purpose and context accurately, allowing them to tailor their message for effective dissemination. Their target audience varied according to the form (Bear 2009) the message was disseminated in - sending out SMSes via mobile phones meant they could reach out to a diverse demographic from every strata of society, while the online alternative media aimed to reach out to a tech-savvy, urban audience.

However, the function (Bear 2009) – to educate the people about the opposition’s mission, and to inform them of the opposition’s side of the story, which is often misrepresented in the mainstream media - was the same across all forms.

Besides that, the choice of forms were highly interactive, a hallmark trait of the new media (Bezjian-Avery, Calder & Iacobucci 1998). People could leave instant feedback after they read opinion pieces on a blog, or forward an interesting SMS to their friends. The new media is also personalized to increase the receptiveness of their target audiences – blogs not only provide textual information, but are multimodal (Walsh 2006) as they have visual accompaniments like pictures, and some even have live streaming videos. SMSes are kept short and simple to encourage their dissemination – the shorter the text message is, the more likely it will be forwarded to someone else.

In conclusion, the opposition party harnessed the new media and the Internet effectively as they were able to meet the needs of their audiences and fulfilled their very purpose of existence, by providing honest, unrestricted opinions to the masses that hungered for the truth.

(400 words)


References

Bear, JC 2009, Form and Function in Design and Publishing, viewed on 15th June 2009, <http://desktoppub.about.com/od/graphicdesign/a/formfunction.htm>

Bezjian-Avery, A, Calder, B & Iacobucci, D 1998, ‘New media interactive advertising vs. traditional advertising’, Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 38, no.4, pp. 23-32

Low, B 2008, Malaysia's digital revolution--the death knell for The Star, and the rise of the e-news portal?, CNET Asia, viewed 15 June 2009, <http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/teteatech/post.htm?id=63002611.>

Walsh, M 2006, 'The 'textual shift': Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.

:O + :) + :S + :( = ?

Puzzled by the subject title? Don't be. They are emoticons, the new wave of communication aiders. They came into existence when Scott Fahlman invented the sideways smiley face to accompany his online jokes in 1997 (ABC 2007).

(Source: www.icons-land.com 2009)

Since then, they have evolved from simple symbols to sophisticated graphics depicting every emotion imaginable.

However, did emoticons come to be of such importance in our online communication? According to Byron (ABC 2007), we tend to misjudge the emotions of others in e-mail communications, due to the lack of cues provided in this online medium. The worst part is that we seldom realise our mistakes, which can endanger our real life relationships with others. Fortunately, this is where emoticons can save the day.

One cannot deny that one's message is clearer with the use of an emoticon. A simple statement, such as 'Don't joke with me!', can retain its original meaning as a warning, or be transformed into playful banter by the mere addition of a playful emoticon such as the one below.

(Source: www.logo.cafepress.com 2009)

Walsh's (2006) theories of meaning-making are relevant here. Through the use of emoticons, we are able to add connotations or meanings to mere text that could be interpreted many different ways. Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) however caution that images are too polysemous in their meaning, meaning that without the accompanying textual communication, the emoticon above could be misinterpreted as a taunt, for the meanings it could potentially convey range from sheer light heartedness to a flippant insult. Therefore, while emoticons do add meaning to the text they accompany, they must be used appropriately to ensure that we convey our messages, or our meanings, accurately.

Besides that, one must consider the genres in which these emoticons are used. Different genres alter the way we understand texts (Schirato & Yell 1996), therefore the use of emoticons must be considered depending on which cultural, or situational, context one is writing for (Halliday & Hasan1985; Schirato & Yell 1996). For example, to pepper a business e-mail with emoticons would be considered unprofessional and childish, leading to a negative impression of the sender by the receivers. However, using emoticons liberally in a personal e-mail to a friend is not only appropriate, it is also highly encouraged as the visual cues would prevent misunderstandings and fully convey one's intended meanings.

In conclusion, emoticons can either aid or debilitate communication, depending on the context of its usage.

(400 words)

References

ABC , 'Emoticons and e-mail etiquette', viewed 18 October 2007 http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2064342.htm

Halliday, MAK & Hasan, R 1985, Language, context and text: aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective, Deakin University Press, Waurn Ponds, Victoria

Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 2006, Reading images: the grammar of visual design, Routledge, New York.

Walsh, M 2006, 'The 'textual shift': Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.

Schirato, T & Yell, S 1996, Communication and cultural literacy: an introduction, Allen & Unwin, St. Leonards.

Why Suffer for Supper...

...when Suharto is on your cover?

(Koran Tempo's controversial cover of Suharto and family. Source: Google Images)

Of course, if the image on your weekly resembles a certain iconic painting:

(The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Source: Google Images)

Then one can only expect an uproar of indignance from your audience.

In their article, 'Indonesian weekly apologises over Last Suharto Supper cover', ABC News (2008) reported that the Koran Tempo, which depicted former president Suharto and his family in a composition that mirrored Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, sparked a wave of furore from the Christian communities in Indonesia. This led to the Koran Tempo's editor-in-chief issuing an apology over the whole debacle.

"We had no intention of hurting Christians. We were only inspired by the composition of the Leonardo painting, and not in the concept or context of the event told in the holy bible," said Toriq Hadad in his apology.

However, when one has power over a publication, one must be mindful of the contexts of one's audience. Under Indonesian law, a publisher must apply for a publishing license from the Information Ministry, and this license can be revoked on editorial grounds, i.e. publishing offensive material (Harsono 1996).

To better understand why the Koran Tempo's cover was the scandal of its day, and a pertinent example of unethical publishing, we refer to Halliday and Hasan's (1985) context of situation.

Halliday and Hasan (1985) define three characteristics of context:

1) Field: Namely, what is happening. The Koran Tempo's cover was related to their content - a dedication to the passing of Suharto and the legacy of his presidency.

2) Tenor: The people involved. In this instance, the Koran Tempo's target audience was Indonesian, which also includes some Christian communities (ABC News, 2008).

3) Mode: The role of the (visual) language used. Suharto's depiction on the cover, which mirrors Christ's position in the Last Supper painting, is highly ironic as Suharto was a corrupt figure riddled with scandals, while Christ is a revered religious figure for Christians worldwide (Wikipedia 2009).

Walsh (2006) echoes Halliday and Hasan with her theory of 'levels of meaning', which infers that readers process information according to the cultural knowledge and general knowledge they already possess.

Therefore, readers who are culturally aware can easily spot the similarities between Koran Tempo's cover and the Last Supper painting, and anyone with sufficient general knowledge can deduce that to liken a corrupt premier with a godly figure, whether as a form of aspiration or inspiration, is obviously and highly insensitive in any context.

In conclusion, despite the Koran Tempo's apology, their 'Setelah Dia Pergi' issue cover is a regrettable decision that will always be a textbook case of unethical publishing.

(400 words)

References

ABC News 2008, Indonesian weekly apologizes over Last Supper Suharto cover, viewed 14 June 2009,

Halliday, MAK & Hasan, R 1985, Language, context and text: aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective, Deakin University Press, Waurn Ponds, Victoria.

Harsono, A 1996, Indonesia: from mainstream to alternative media, First Monday, viewed 14 June 2009, <http://131.193.153.231/www/issues/issue3/harsono/>

Walsh, M 2006, ‘The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 24-37

Wikipedia 2009, Christ, viewed 14 June 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ>

The Times, They Are A'Changin

Remember how excited you were when you got your first blog? The joys of tweaking your layout to perfection, expressing your views on anything and everything - those were the good old days.

Since then, new media publishing has crossed new frontiers, with the boundaries being tested, sometimes downright broken. It's no longer just blogs - there are now vlogs, linklogs, and so much more (Wikipedia 2009).

What's new, you ask? Apart from mobile television, the most exciting new development is the harnessing of the Internet for political purposes.

New media such as alternative online newspapers are gaining popularity in Malaysia, a pertinent example being the ubiquitous Malaysiakini. This highly popular news portal is an independent media organisation (Malaysiakini 2009), and provides an alternative viewpoint to the ones presented in government-owned mainstream news organizations.

(Source: Malaysiakini 2009)

This news portal is instrumental in the shaping of a free and fair Malaysia, for although it is non-partisan in nature, it is rather opposition centric in its reporting. This provides an interesting 'check and balance' to the mainstream media which tends to practice self censorship, due to the presence of laws which curb the absolute freedom of speech such as the Internal Security Act and the Sedition Act (Haji et al. 2003, p. 171).

Lastly, the appeal of the Malaysiakini website is due to its multimodality (Walsh 2006) - the text, or the content, is delivered in a multitude of modes. It not only has written content in the form of articles and opinion pieces, but also has a 'Videos' section, where readers can become viewers. In today's day and age, it is no longer enough to write about something, nor post pictures of it - videos are the here and now of information.

Therefore, new media can transcend being merely entertaining, to informing and enriching your understanding of your country's political scene.

(300 words)

References

Haji, NMJ, Redzuan, M, Abu, AS, Haji, IMR 2003, Malaysian studies: nationhood and citizenship, trans. Wong FK, Prentice Hall, Malaysia.

Malaysiakini 2009, About us, viewed 12 June 2009, <http://weblog.malaysiakini.com/?page_id=2>

Walsh, M 2006, ‘The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 24-37

Wikipedia 2009, Blog, viewed 12 June 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogs>

Classifying Blog Communities

The term 'weblog' was coined in 1997 by Jorn Barger, owner of one of the pioneer weblogs, Robot Wisdom (Blood 2004). Fast forward to 2009 - with at least 185 million blogs (Technorati 2008) in existence, a system of classification is increasingly necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff.

According to Wikipedia (2009), blogs can be classified by their media types, which include:

1) vlog
2) linklog
3) sketchblog
4) photoblog
5) tumblelog

Simons (2008) breaks blogs down into 9 further categories, which include:

1) pamphleteering blogs
2) digest blogs
3) advocacy blogs
4) popular mechanics blogs
5) exhibition blogs
6) gatewatcher blogs
7) diary blogs
8) advertisement blogs
9) news blogs

Although the definitions suggested by Wikipedia and Simons are definitive, an important factor to consider is that most genres of blogs overlap one another. While Technorati (2009) classifies bloggers into three main categories - the personal, the professional, and the corporate - they acknowledge that an overlap in topics often occurs.

(Source: Technorati Inc, 2008)

Therefore, bloggers must employ their own system of classification within their blogs to simplify the reading process for their audience. This can be achieved by labeling their blog posts according to categories such as 'Political', 'Personal' and 'Music'.

However, how do blogs go beyond their authors and become community blogs?

White (2006) identified three types of community blogs:

1) Single blogger centric communities: largely revolving around a single blogger.

2) Topic centric communities: bloggers that identify with a particular topic.

3) Boundaried communities: collection of blogs and readers hosted on a single site.

An example of a single blogger centric community would be Parliament Member Khairy Jamaluddin's blog, http://www.rembau.net.my/.

His blog largely revolves around his thoughts on 'politics and public policy issues' (Khairy Jamaluddin 2009) in Malaysia, and his postings on his perspectives are open to comments and debate from the public.

(300 words)

References

Blood, R 2004, 'How blogging software reshapes the online community', Communications of the ACM, vol. 47, no. 21, viewed 15 June 2009, <http://siti-server01.siti.disco.unimib.it/itislab/uploads/2007/11/how-blogging-software-reshapes-the-online-community.pdf>

Khairy Jamaluddin 2009, Khairy Jamaluddin, viewed 12 June 2009, <http://www.blogger.com/www.rembau.net.my>

Wikipedia 2009, Blog, viewed 12 June 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogs>

White, N 2006, Blogs and community: launching a new paradigm for online community?, viewed 13 June 2009, <http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-–-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community>

Simons, M 2008, A taxonomy of blogs, ABC, viewed 14 June 2009, <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript%29>

Technorati Inc 2008, State of the blogosphere 2008, viewed 15 June 2009, <http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/who-are-the-bloggers/>