Annotated Bibliography- Assessment 3

This annotated bibliography will delve into the Kony 2012 campaign initiated in March of this year. Through looking at the mediums of online and ‘hard copy’ newspapers, television reports and finally a relevant scholarly journal article, very differing views on the same issue are unveiled.

de Brito, S. (2012, March 7). Make Kony Famous. The Age. Retrieved from: http://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/culture/blogs/all-men-are-liars/make-kony-famous-20120307-1ujd5.html

The author, an employee and blog writer at of The Age has over 10years experience writing for TV, film and newspapers. That expertise coupled with the fact that this article was written in The Age adds to the reliability of the article. Written early in the Kony 2012 campaign the article is more descriptive of the situation than anything else however rather than being swept up in the emotive whirlwind of the campaign, de Brito offers already emerging counter retaliations. This proves to show the lack of bias and perpetuates a balanced argument. Further into the article, the author briefly touches on the use of social media-by referencing tweet trends for example- yet doesn’t fully encapsulate the enormity due to, most probably, the issues recent conception. He forces the reader to approach the Kony campaign with a grain of salt yet leaves the ultimate opinion of the reader up to them, “they have started a conversation. The quality of that conversation is up to you.” (de Brito, 2012)

Fitzsimmons, H. (Reporter) (2012, 9 March). Lateline [Television broadcast] Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved from: http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3450301.htm

Winner of two Walkley awards, a Human Rights Award for TV reporting and over 15years experience, Hamish Fitzsimmons’ credentials speak for themselves. The ABC takes pride in providing objective and conclusive news reports; they have proven to be a reliable source of information in the past and their evening show Lateline is no exception. In his report on the Kony 2012 campaign, Fitzsimmons effectively describes the situation and then proceeds to give a balanced two sided perspective. He collates a varied yet certified array of sources, among them multiple Doctors with expertise in the matter, the co-ordinator of the Kony campaign, human rights experts as well as citizens actually living in war-torn Uganda. Fitzsimmons brings up many good points about the actual power of social networking and the ability they will have on the capture of Kony. The visual aspect of the report is also a good technique in providing the viewers’ with something somewhat tangible to associate with the campaign, giving a face to the name perse. The author brings a fresh perspective on the issue, wrenching the viewers’ away from the one, overexposed side perpetuated by the organisers of the Kony 2012.

Miller, N. (2012, 22 April). Catch Kony campaign loses couch potatoes. Sun-herald (Sydney, N.S.W.)  p. 28. Retrieved from: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/catch-kony-campaign-loses-couch-potatoes-20120421-1xdqc.html

Projected as a seemingly unaccredited author, Nick Miller has a mere thirty articles in the Sun-herald newspaper to his name. Alas, he is a published author nonetheless, which allows for some credibility.  Targeting the ‘couch potatoes’ or as he calls them, ‘clicktivists’ Miller has somewhat of a condemning tone as he describes the dismal turnouts to the event known as “cover the night”. With references to pot, memes and use of conversational style writing, the authors youth is made evident which, in some aspects, tarnishes his authority when put alongside professionals 20years his senior. The article is also poorly supported with Miller’s sources consisting of poorly written tweets and Facebook posts. The only redeeming attribute appears in the form of statistics however are only used to support the author’s one-sided condemnation of teenagers’ allegiance to a failed campaign. Concluding with the unsourced discrediting of the campaign organiser and pessimism to boot, this article leaves a somewhat humours yet nonetheless bitter taste in the readers’ mouth.

Kim, J. (2012). The institutionalization of YouTube: From user-generated content to professionally generated content. Media, Culture and Society, 34(1), 53-67. doi: 10.1177/0163443711427199

In this peer-reviewed journal, author Jin Kim, proves to be experienced in the field of YouTube and the role it plays in distributing information.  Ranked 40 out of 67 for communication among the journal community, Media, Culture and Society is a credible and knowledgeable source in the academic realm. The article extensively discusses the shift of YouTube from more user-generated content (UGC) to professionally generated content (PGC).  This is particularly relevant for the Kony 2012 campaign as it illustrates the power of social networking to influence consumers. With a string of sources from a multitude of different fields this article is not only wide in its analysis but also very deep. Kim goes on to talk about the impact of activist documentary shortening the “time gap between production and distribution, increasing impact and introducing new possibilities for strategic design.”(Kim 2012) This has been proven to be true with the immense impact of one twenty-nine minute documentary, an issue that has been present for over two decades suddenly made explosive due to social media. Kim has provided a very insightful, credible and extensive article about the impact of YouTube, featured in an equally credible journal.