Newsletter: aM i a Player3

1. Topic
The topic of this project for newsletter composed of print and online version is MP3 players. This newsletter will be named "aM i a Player3 (Am I a player?)" that could emphasise the main word, MP3. The newsletter will convey new movements and information about new MP3 player products and purchasing prices.

2. Goals
The purpose of this project is to provide useful information by print and online method. One in 10 U.S. adults, about 22 million people, has a MP3 player (Ranger 2005, para. 1). Even though MP3 players have become popular music player, this is still recognised something difficult to enjoy the music because this requires technical environment, such as the Internet and computer. Moreover, some MP3 magazines are using technical words which are difficult to understand in their reviews. This newsletter will be easy to read and enjoy new technical issues and knowledge helping MP3 players. It will be able to be substantial purchasing guides of new MP3 products.

3. Target Market
The target market of the newsletter varies in different methods. Print version targets localised in Sydney, Australia, whereas online version targets world-wide. The global sales of MP3 players have been rapidly increasing. It had increased twice from U$ 23.10 billions in 2003 to U$ 46.60 billions in 2006. In addition, the prospect of this consumption is up to U$ 57.70 in 2008 ("I Want My MP3" 2004, p. 21). That is how the newsletter (online version) targets world-wide. However, the prices of MP3 players are different at each local market. Thus, print version (if it includes the price information) must have targeted by regional markets.
According to the Nielsen Media Research (cited in Commercial Radio Australia 2006), the age of 25-39 years is 32% of MP3 player owners and the age of 14-24 years is 41% of MP3 player owners. The survey tells us that the main users of MP3 player are posited at the age of 14-39 years (73%). As a result this age also could become the target audience of the newsletter.

4. Content
Both of the newsletters, print and online versions, convey four main contents. These contents are organised to support reader’s real acts. It could be structurally from induction of interest to making a purchase (Whitbread 2001, p. 2).

NEWS
Deliver new technical issues, such as release the high capability memory chip.

REVIEW
Examine the features of new MP3 player with images.

STORE
Recommend recently MP3 players with main specs and retail prices.

GLOSSARY
Introduce useful words about MP3, such as codec, ID3 and Ogg.

5. Design Approach
The design approach of this is designed for readers in the target market. This approach should try to communicate information easily to understand by logical order and appropriate language (Whitbread 2001, p. 3). Although the target readers are interested in the same topic, MP3 player, each reader has different experiences and knowledge. Therefore, this newsletter will use moderate words, tone and images for the target age (14-39 years) in order to cover every reader.

5.1 Print Version
No chosen newsletter is just paper, not information. The newsletter of print version should be more attractive rather than online version. Shushan et al (1991, p. 3) state that newsletter must belong to readers to satisfy that readers' needs or wants the information, and to get readers' attention. Thus, his will use strong and simple words with big size font with colourful MP3 images to be recognised that this is about MP3 and this has something I want to know about MP3 in front page.

5.2 Online Version
The merit of online version is that it can combine large amount of the information. The online version of the newsletter will conveys larger information than the print version. According to Williams (1994), elements of newsletter can connect, relate and unify with the other information by placement. Online newsletter may be the next step of the print version so this must have more specific information and arrange clearly. An example of this is 'MP3 Glossary'. The print will describe meaning of a couple of words but the online will give more describing words to readers in the website.

References
'I Want My MP3' 2004, PC Magazine, 16 November, p. 21.

'Radio, MP3 Devices and Podcasting' 2006, National Survey Results: Survey 6, Commercial Radio Australia.

Ranger, S. 2005, 'IPod and MP3 Player Ownership Soars', viewed 23 November 2007, <http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2126781/ipod-mp3-player-ownership-soars>.

Shushan, R., Wright, D. & Lewis, L. 1991, 'Effective Communication in an Information Environment', Desktop Publishing by Design, Microsoft Press, pp. 2-9.

Whitbread, D. 2001, 'What Does Design Do?', The Design Manual, UNSW Press, pp. 2-5.

Williams, R. 1994, 'The Four Basic Principles', The Non-Designer's Design Book, Peachpit Press, CA.

Wag the Dog (1997)

"Wag the Dog" is a comedy movie showing relationship between politics and entertainment business.

Before 12 days of election, the United States President's sex scandal occurred with a Fine fly Girl. This affair will have a had influence upon the approval rating of the President The White House calls a spic doctor, Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro) to fix it. Brean decides making war with Albania and then he makes a deal with Hollywood’s producer, Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman).

Motss and his staffs produce the war from using computer graphics and making songs. The public start to believe the Albanian war. However, CIA interferes their project. Another candidate of election also demands an explanation from the sex scandal. Brean and Motss decide making a war hero, Sgt. William Schumann (Woody Harrelson) who survived in Albania and they make a song called "Old shoes". The hero and song create a sensation to the public, Finally, the President’s rating increases up to 87%.

This movie was one of the funniest movies in 1999. The director, Barry Levinson also got that his humour was still alive. This movie satirised both of two, politics and Hollywood. The Motss' house is bigger than the White House. Motss also enjoyed making them like playing game. Motss is much influenced producer who has never got any award but the White House recognised his skill to make the war.

This movie is funny. However, we are unable to laugh at ease because even though there are some funny conversations in the movie, these happenings, such as TV news, are too familiar to the real. Motss said in the movie "If it’s on television, it must be real".

They made lot of true but they just made one shoot scene (Albanian girl with a white cat), songs, and a hero. However, the public believed, and broadcasts also believed. This means politics is above the public but under the real.

Even Motss wanted to get true (truly wanted to recognise his work), he also became a part of this project. However, he can get his reputation and his works after his death. He can be both, victim and celebrity in the media.

Who is the dog? And who wag the dog? Mr Fix-it, Brean is doing well his job and Mr President does not show his face. By the way, for whom the election doing. Even though Brean's job is fixing problems in the White House, his job is faking to the public, and then the people do that re-elect the Mr President.

Actually, after showing this movie in the U.S., some events occurred, Clinton’s sex scandal called Zipper Gate and attacked a country, so this movie was like the trailer of real.

We believe that we can see truth but sometimes, it is just image that we want to believe the truth. Moreover, this is the fact everybody wants and demands that come together.

Have a look the Albania in the movie again. Everybody believed that everybody knew what happen there. However, nobody knew that.

The New Road to Effective Communications

In the article "The New Road to Effective Communications" (Parsons and Groh 2006), the authors argue the effects of new techniques for communications, especially between employers and employees.

According to the authors, there are five reasons proving that Human Resource communication strategies and procedures are failing today. Firstly is the changing of learning styles in the workforce. Today's environment requires short, simple and personalised messages to employees. Secondly, Human Resource programs with benefits and compensation have become too complicated. Thirdly, there is competition between Human Resource communications and other messages. Fourthly, new techniques, such as podcasts and instant messaging, are being used to gather employees' attention. However, these are not used for benefits communication. Finally, the purposes of Human Resource's communication have changed (Parsons and Groh 2006, pp. 57-58).

The authors point out that technologies, such as e-mail, teleconference, videoconference, and webcasts have shown that these are effective to reach a targeted audience and to collect immediate feedback. They also demonstrate that new technologies, such as blogs, instant messages, podcasts, and streaming media have been difined by the academic words in order to prompt their impact. An illustration of this is one of the recent studies by the University of North Carolina, "Blogs affect workplace trust, satisfaction, and commitment" (Parsons and Groh 2006, p. 60). Moreover, there are some reasons why new technologies are improving within workforces; helping connect between employees and the organisation by other means of learning and in turn, making it easier to send information.

In addition, Parsons and Groh (2006, p. 60) comment that many companies are worried about launching new technologies because answering and supporting issues is difficult. It is also accompanied by leadership support, credibility, liability, and staffing. Even these have the ability to increase the process (Parsons and Groh 2006, p. 61).

Parsons, A. & Groh, K. 2006, 'The New Road to Effective Communications', Compensation and Benefits Review, July/August 2006, pp. 57-64.

Two Websites; freemedia.at and amnesty.org

Operating website is now one of the popular ways to promote and convey the operators or organisations' purposes. There are two websites; first one is the International Press Institute's www.freemedia.at and another is Amnesty International's www.amnesty.org. This post will explore and analyse these websites, focusing on the purposes and compositions.

1. www.freemedia.at
This is the website of the International Press Institute (commonly known as IPI). According to the introduction of IPI, this global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists is dedicated to the furtherance and safeguarding of press freedom, the protection of freedom of opinion and expression, the promotion of the free flow of news and information, and the improvement of the practices of journalism.

The website communicates IPI events, such as world congresses, conferences, seminars and workshops, and through the World Press Freedom Review, this examines documenting press freedom violations and major media developments. In addition, this website delivers news and information, such as IPI's activities and congress reports.

There are many linked pages in this website; some of these pages provide their significant issues and could be recognised IPI's history, also show press freedom and journalist organisations and media groups which work to promote press freedom and human rights. An example of these pages is IPI Death Watch which refers to journalists and media staff who were deliberately targeted because of their profession - either because of their investigative reporting or simply because they were journalists. It also includes journalists who were caught in the crossfire while covering dangerous assignments. Through the IPI Death Watch, we can know 100 journalists killed in 2007 and 90 journalists killed so far in 2007.

'Press freedom' is the term commonly used to describe that we have the right to know what happens there. However, sometimes we forgot that someone sacrificed oneself for this freedom.

2. www.amnesty.org
This is the website of Amnesty International (commonly known as AI). According to the AI, this is an international non-governmental organisation which is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognised human rights and AI's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

This website is similar to IPI's website in main contents. The website communicates AI events, such as acting now, campaigns, and through the News sections, this can deliver movements about human rights all over the world. Moreover, visitors can navigate the whole library in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Even though these website are similar, there is difference in the form. IPI’s website promotes its organisation; it seems to be a newsletter whereas AI's website is shaped like a news website. In addition, AI's website conveys their works and purposes.

AI's website also has many linked pages; these pages are defined more clearly than IPI's. It is easy to follow what AI wants to tell visitors. For example, the Library section could be used to find more specialised documents with selections which are countries, regions, subregions and themes all over the world. This could affect to arouse visitors' interest, because it is own country issues.

The effective website should arouse a public response everywhere. From this fact, AI's website could be a substantial work.

Spy Films

The spy films treat spies who find out the political, military, or industrial secrets of enemies or rivals. Through theme of fictional espionage, these films could be divided between realistic and fantasy, such as the Jason Bourne series and the James Bond series. Many spy films have adapted by novels. Ian Fleming's the James Bond series and Robert Ludlum's the Jason Bourne series are good examples. The history of spy film genre is quite long. It began in the silent picture days, and it is still continued with historical context, such as the start of the First World War, and the Second World War and the Cold War.

The spy film genre is generally a sub-genre of action and thriller film. It also could be war film genre without tanks because it deals with the operations of more than two countries or organisations. This genre is typically involving a spy or a secret agent who has been well trained by the military with good career, and a love for his country or organisation. They also have many names and passports to conceal one’s identity, very attractive face, and looking good female partner of partners. Spies usually work alone with their organisation’s support and always use the state-of-the-art technologies.

Heroes and enemies with romance and adventure between faith and conspiracy

There is only one option; to be us or to be them. Spy films talk about relationships of contrary positions. The positions are in the middle of their unshaken faith; protecting and keeping. Moreover, in the historical timeline, the enemies in the spy films changed from secret organisations to the Soviet Union. However, after the Cold War, modern spies have fought the insiders or the Third World.