Spotswood residents rally against Western Distributor
Short video following the campaign and July 30 protests against the proposed Western Distributor
Reflection
I chose to cover the Western Distributor Project for my news story. As a resident of the Western Suburbs, I have friends who live in Spotswood and will be directly affected by the Western Distributor should it go ahead. They have been involved in the campaigning against the project and thus were able to give me an insider’s perspective on the issue. After doing significant research on the issue, I decided that it would be a great story to tell via video format for YouTube, which was my group’s chosen platform for the assignment.
I wanted to centre the video around the protest against the Western Distributor Project on Saturday 30th July. Unfortunately, the time of the protest coincided with my work commitments so I used social media for important information and a friend who was at the protest for footage. In addition to the protest footage, I wanted to get comments from key stakeholders. I contacted Greens Senator Janet Rice who is a local resident and who has been outspoken in her views against the Project, and Emma McLean’s Kindergarten who will be affected by the proximity of the Western Distributor.
In a report released by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, it was found that some common key markers of success for off-site and social videos included brevity, the ability to play without sound, a focus on soft news and a strong emotional element (Reuters Institute, 2016). Considering this, I chose not to have narration in my video and instead used a combination of written words, photos, subtitled video footage and music. I wanted to create a video that people could view with or without sound, in any location, public or private.
I think that YouTube is an effective platform for this news story. Considering the complexity of the issues related to the Western Distributor and truck traffic in the Western Suburbs, I think a short, simplistic video that gives a brief overview of the issue is a powerful way to increase public interest and knowledge regarding the issue. In research carried out by BBC Media Action, it was found that access to Internet, mobile networks and social media are critical in helping people feel more informed and better connected (BBC Media Action, 2016). As YouTube is a platform that is easy to access and easy to share via social media channels such as Facebook, videos such as this have a greater chance of reaching a wide audience than some other forms of news stories.
References:
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism 2016, Online video news driven by technology, publishers and platforms, not consumers – new report, Reuters Institute for the study of Journalism, accessed 07 August 2016, http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/online-video-news-driven-technology-publishers-and-platforms-not-consumers-new-report
BBC 2016, Powerful immersive film from BBC Media Action tracks a refugee’s journey via mobile phone, BBC Media Centre, accessed 08 August 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/bbc-media-action-refugee-film
