Our morning at The Australia Children's Television Foundation

Greetings!

I’m Shayna Doi, and wow…I am in actually in Australia!

Yes, I am still amazed by just being here. Just walking around, I often find my inner child unleashing – I am curious about everything, crave excitement, and am drawn to things that pertain to my life. Such is the nature of children, and however silly these characteristics might sound to an average adult traveler, they are, beyond a doubt, catered to here as part of the Australian media.

I am talking about the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, one of the biggest forces behind children’s media education and entertainment. Here in Australia, there is a huge emphasis on younger generations becoming avid users of the media through education. While the ACTF’s main demographic is children, it was evident upon arrival to their colourful, eye-catching office building that they realize that media education involves everyone.

There wasn’t a part of that visit that didn’t interest me! Everything, right down to the cute, smiley-faced logo of the organization has some sort of educational meaning behind it being fun, which had me absolutely amazed. The programs of the ACTF are definitely designed to be entertaining as well as educational and they do a phenomenal job at it. Naturally, I had never heard of any of the shows that were introduced to us that day, but I certainly left wanting to know more. I just have to catch an episode of Noah and Saskia before I leave!

Hi, this is Jill Russell reporting from Melbourne, Australia. Riding the city tram in the late afternoon in Melbourne, it finally hit me. I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. I mean, besides the fact that I was the perfect personification of any red, white and blue blooded American woman; I noticed that I was one of the only people not reading the evening newspaper. This was not just one of those rare city observations. This was the norm in almost every nook and cranny of the city.

Alexandria English checks out the front page story on David Hicks while riding the tram.

The most fascinating part about this habit is that young and old Melbournians participated. To compare it to the US, newspaper readership is like a spectator sport. Some people were loyally cheering for Fairfax’s The Age and some were tipping their hats to Murdoch’s The Australian. As every good journalist is supposed to do, I tried to remain neutral. Needless to say, my neutrality didn’t last long.

As the week progressed, I found my self sitting in the main conference room of The Age. The Australians must know the key to any American college student’s heart is free food, because the staff had strategically placed tea and desserts upon arrival. While sitting in my plush executive chair, sipping my Earl Grey, I felt like I was fitting right in at The Age. The charming and handsome Fairfax communication director Nigel Henham talked to the group about the similarities, but mostly the differences in the Australian/ US newspaper process.

Nick Werts and Nigel Henham discuss news content issues.

One of the most fascinating titbits I learned was that The Age has put a large emphasis and a fair sized budget towards media education in schools. I was completely surprised by this. Print journalists have set up a partnership with hundreds of schools around Australia, providing lesson plans, projects, and even easy to read kid-friendly newspapers explaining recent current events around the world. The Age is not only focused on their current newspaper readers, but it also shows an avid commitment to sustaining their newspaper readers for the future.

Yours,
Jill Russell, Pacific Lutheran University

G’day from Melbourne, Australia! This is Nate Hulings, one of three “blokes” (males) from the PLU J-Term Australia Media course.

It’s been nearly a week since we touched down in Melbourne, and already a few things have become shockingly clear. After mingling with the Aussies, it’s now fact that we have the accents and that our American vocabulary is no longer the vernacular of choice. Since landing down under, the group of 15 students has learned that men are now “blokes”, women “sheilas”, and “cheers” is not only an old TV show but a way of saying good bye.

Tom Swenson posing in front of downtown Melbourne. (Photo by Nate Hulings)

Despite sticking out like sore thumbs when we talk or dress up to go out, we have been accepted quite warmly and generally get a friendly “g’day” wherever we go. Whether it’s asking for directions to find the next tram or inquiring about a topic at a meeting, Australians seem to be very easy going and direct.

At night, the city of Melbourne comes to life with outdoor cinemas (we caught The Wizard of Oz a few nights ago), affordable restaurants, and street musicians who put America’s sax playing acts to shame.

To much of the disappointment of the girls on the trip, we will be leaving Melbourne days before tennis players Andy Roddick and Roger Federer compete in the Australian Open. Quite a few of them went to watch the practice rounds today, we’ll keep you updated.

The city also has an entire district devoted to stadiums, many of which were used for the 2006 Commonwealth games. With the stadiums so close together, I am reminded of Seattle’s Sodo district, housing Qwest and Safeco. But instead of cheering for humongous men chasing around a football, one stadium in Melbourne hosts one of Australia’s most popular sports—cricket.

Outside the Melbourne Cricket Grounds. (Photo by Nate Hulings)

Speaking of cricket, our group had the pleasure of sharing our Queen’s College dorms with a few girls’ cricket teams for a few days this week. Being a sport American’s don’t know too much about, their explanations of the game only resulted in more confusion but also intrigue.

Let’s not forget about the heat either! As temperatures at PLU strive for freezing, temperatures in Melbourne have reached the mid 90’s. The hot weather has been manageable with occasional strong winds that have lasted the entire trip. To escape the stuffy dorms and the bustle of the city, many of us have spent a lot of time down at the beach. And to the excitement of Joanne and everyone else in the class, I’d like to officially report that no one has burned themselves beyond recognition and the hospital visit meter stays at zero.

A hot day down at South Melbourne Beach. (photo by Nate Hulings)

Tomorrow morning, the group will hop on a train bound for Sydney and I anxiously await what the city known for its Opera House and beaches has to offer.

This is only an introductory blog for our trip, and we intend on keeping you posted on our visits to media outlets and also bring a little bit of Australia to the Pacific Northwest with pictures taken by many of the students.

G’day! –Nate Hulings

Not to see the wizard, but to explore the world of media in the land of Murdock. It’s a perfectly smashing time to travel to this continent/country because it’s summer here... and bloody HOT.
We will travel along the east coast of the country from Melbourne to Sydney and finally to Brisbane. Field trips in these cities will include meetings with the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The AGE newspaper, the Australian Communication and Media Authority, the Australian Film Commission and the Australian Museum of the Moving Image, among others.
We will conclude this course by celebrating one of the most festive holidays on the planet… Australia Day on January 26.

Watch this space for blogs from the PLU students on this study away course as they learn about Australian media... enjoy the sun... and learn to speak Aussie. Here's to no worries and many g'days...
joanne lisosky