University Pieces

The Contextual Essay

My digital artefact is an online sports media platform. It aims to to show football and sport in a new setting all over the globe. Humour and positivity is also used in order to spread the message of football and sport. The digital artefact aims to unite people through the global phenomenon of sport following and the beautiful connotations that come with it. This is seen with a YouTube channel, podcast, Instagram and sports magazine.

This project was developed because sports is a key communication point, and something which unites people as one. This was something that wanted to be made possible. Inspiration was gained by 433, who do football interviews as well, and interaction they have is what was wanted in the DA.

This project will continue to be developed through regular weekly content, visually, audio and text, as well as advertising the content on each separate social media. This is useful as the audience which participate with the content being produced are hardcore, avid and beginner football and sports fans, mimicking the starter pack that was produced. That means that the DA is produced and being made for audiences of all experience and all fandoms.

The iteration process was immense within the digital artefact. Let’s start with the YouTube channel.

The process of making the park kick about videos was great, videos would be made within a day, and edited in the same day for a quick upload. The audience response for A MASTERCLASS IN SHOOTING *BANGERS* was brilliant, and the metrics were usual of a football park video.

Audience engagement, hearting the comment. This feedback helped with the direction for the content on the channel.

What was learnt is that content relating to football and the park do great! Consistency is key and #fefo was not seen. The content was able to be iterated and then worked upon for viewers to see. The social utility helped realise that this type of video is great for the channel.

On the Cypriot League page a key iteration was adding the old content back! This type of process led to creative synthesis and remaking.

The videos are made and done within 10 minutes, leading to successive content being realised and produced. BEBO is key, as starting early leads to it being done regularly. Giving viewers the content they want on a regular basis allows for the audience to come back, and continue to absorb this content.

The reason why people don’t make, is because they overthink and overvalue the production of their message- Gary Vaynerchuk. This mindset was crucial to the constant upload of content.

On the sporting magazine, not much feedback was implemented, however, constant iteration was done, remaking and remodelling the shape of the articles. Building a fan base early leads to a constant audience that reads the articles.

Whenever there is an article there is a view. This particular article gained more views as it was a more longer and in-depth article.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Review

A long type of podcast was created within the start of the podcasts existence, and upon this, the feedback was extraordinary.

After receiving this feedback, more longer interviews were made, and the views were doing better than those podcasts of just one person talking. This podcast episode received 48 listens on Soundcloud, and has been the most engaging podcast thus far. The episode was a part of the #teto process.

This Digital Artefact has helped discover what content people like within the content being produced. On top of this, seeing why and how this is possible whilst also exploring the power of audience feedback. The Digital Artefact will continue to be worked upon and improved past the conclusion of this assignment.

Sources:

https://www.slideshare.net/vaynerchuk/how-to-make-64-pieces-of-content-in-a-day-193602077/7

https://tldp.org/REF/CVS-BestPractices/html/section1-softwarebuild.htm

https://www.instagram.com/cypriotfirstleague.en/

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Review

https://www.by433.com/en

What Works and What Doesn’t?

Since the start of this project many of the content which has been seen has failed and some have been successful. Constant ideating, reiterating and remodelling has led to the constant thinking of what is next for the project?

Mavro Productions

After the break of football vlogs, the idea to bring them back, has led to the #bebo instrument being used. The building of the football vlogs early has led to this type of content being established, and does extremely well in comparison to other videos.

My most recent video, accumulating 36 views in around 16 hours.
Most recent football blog accumulated 85 views in 24 hours.

Overall, the football vlog videos continue to be a building block for the YouTube channel, and the video which was produced made the learning process a lot simpler. What was learnt is that people want to see a continuation of the same content. The football vlogs continue to do well and grow in popularity, meaning that this type of content should be maintained in order to attract new audiences and bring in old ones.

The most popular video on the channel was a vlog, with almost 900 views.

The newest video was 40 minutes long. Audience feedback was that many of them would not want to sit down and watch the video for that long, meaning short and concise videos will attract more views.

The audience average view time was less than half the actual video length.

Cypriot First League English

Again, a continuation of popular content has brought in more viewers and more engagement with the page.

The Goals of the Week continue to be a great interest point for viewers, this has a continued focus on remaking, with creative synthesis. This synthesis involves music and clever captions. This was part of the test early test often schedule. Being able to test this and its early success, has allowed for this type of content to always be tested, and continues to do well.

The Goal of the Week hitting 400 views and 46 likes, one of the most engaging posts.

This type of post can be compared to a standard post of the scores, which does not attract nearly as much traction nor attention.

This post only got 10 likes, which is the average for all the score posts.

Although it does not gain as much traction, the continuation remains there, as audiences know the scores of each game every week. What should be done next is the continuation of the goals of the week and the scores.

The Football Edge Pod

Audience engagement was not as high until feedback was received by an audience member on an early podcast from late last year. Although this is not during the DA period, it is another part of the #teto schedule. This podcast episode received 48 listens on Soundcloud, and along with the feedback received has been the most engaging podcast thus far.

This feedback will allow me to do even more interviews and content relating to football and comedy, as part of the question as to what is next?

What has been evaluated that the audience engage more with audio on a podcast then a video, in terms of length, as podcasts are known for length rather then videos on YouTube.

Talking Sports

Upon sharing this post:

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Review

Audience engagement was high on this day, at 16, as people from #bcm114 and the personal social media continued to read and share it.

When a post is being shared, the traction is there.

Building early on the sports magazine has established a key reading base, and people interact with the page as they continuously see posts from it.

Whenever there is a post there is a view, the prototyping of different types of reviews led to more traction. Longer and more in-depth analysis of the games that happened allows readers to gain better knowledge from what was known before reading the article.

This weeks traction.

What will be done next is to continue this overall cycle of posting, and maintain the postage of reviews and short articles, as they gain traction and views.

In terms of monetisation and making profit out of this, the sole purpose of these channels and media outlets is to build the online portfolio within these pages. Merchandise and a patreon have been set up, however, further growing the pages is the main objective at the moment.

The Project Beta

Since the start of this project the opportunities to learn, iterate and grow have become endless!

Mavro Productions

As the video discusses, the park style videos have received a lot of positive feedback, and a growth of views. Not only was adding a new face to the video bring in more audiences, but a return of a familiar face also allowed for avid viewers to watch too. This iteration has led to the continuation of these videos for the future.

A nice and short park video accumulated over 70 views in a day, showing the success of these types of videos.
A whole new editing style and idea, as part of the iteration process turns out to be a success as many viewers enjoyed this video.

The newest upload to this channel has led to audience engagement, uploading and talking about my exercise routine has led to many comments, encompassing even more audience engagement.

Very engaging video.

Cypriot First League English

Not only posting the scores, but adding and bringing back new ideas has led to a growth in followers and interaction. Last time, the page had 768 followers, now there is 780 followers.

Growth of the page.

The goals of the week leads to many comments, even from the TV network in which I use the footage from (with full recognition of course).

CableNet Sports commented on the video, leading to more exposure for the page.

The tables of the round allows for those who are scrolling through Instagram to see where their team stands as well.

The ideation which will continue is the progression of this type of context, as well as the normal content which continues to be on the page.

Talking Sports

Providing comprehensive previews and analysis of the latest sports news attracts the viewers back into the page. This ideation process has allowed for myself to continue to write on the website in a manner that attracts more views.

The return to Nurburgring delivers a scintillating race!
Comprehensive analysis of the motorsport allows those fans to read or relive the experience they just watched.

Using stats and figures further allows for the continuation of the website and shows more content for those who read the website.

Battle of the coasts, Miami Heat v LA Lakers- NBA Finals Preview

The Football Edge Pod

What continues to be noticed is the views that the longer length podcasts get in contrast to the shorter ones.

The ideation which has been seen is to make longer length podcasts, and to prepare and write notes for them, this has led to more views for the podcast as a whole.

The work in this project will further grow and expand under the # in which I have created which is #lega, learn early, grow after, which has been seen as a fundamental tool in the ongoing nature of the project.

Evaluation of DA Work So Far

Upon starting this assignment, the opportunities are endless. As for all the projects which are being completed, many failures and successes have been seen. Especially since this is a continuation of a project, it is clear to see what works and what does not.

Mavro Productions

Creating a 15 minute video is risky, upon creating my tier list of football jerseys I thought it was the best idea EVER! However, the video only received 40 views in 24 hours.

So, the best way to come back from this was to create another video, and long behold I made a prediction video, which comprises as a new video, which is almost on 100 views.

I feel like audiences watched this video more as it was more short, had a better thumbnail and had a title which attracted viewers to the video.

After making this video, I knew that these shorter and more clickbait videos would attract more views. Therefore, I learnt from this content and will upload these types of videos from now on.

I currently have 3 videos filmed being ready to be uploaded once a week.

One of these videos is a completely new video and a long style video, but I hope based on the content of the video that it will deliver results.

Cypriot First League English

The start of the Cypriot League has led to an increase in followers.

What I have learnt from this is that constant and consistent uploads leads to more interaction. Upon the league resuming, I have been tagged by numerous accounts sharing content on the league and tagging my page in it. This leads to more interaction with fans, my page has the interaction with the players, but an interaction with the fans is something I also aim for.

My page being tagged in a photo with 400 likes, leading to a growth in followers.

Upon this, many players have followed my account, especially new arrivals as they continue to interact with me.

Verified AEK Larnaca player follows me after posting about him.

The appeal to these players is what I will keep doing and I hope to bring back weekly ladders, goals and clips which attracts even more people to the page.

TFE Pod

The thing I will work on for my podcast is audience engagement, I do not know what my audience enjoys or not, but, I know from my YT channel that the interviews and exclusive videos do well, so I will continue to upload content like this.

Talking Sports

Again, uploading a lot keeps the website relevant. Today I posted 3 posts, after going on a 4 day hiatus.

I will hope to see feedback from these in the coming days.

I have learnt from this, and continue to post as frequently as possible.

Here are the three posts I did today:

One is short length, one is medium and one is long.

Omonia’s European adventure continues!
David v Goliath- Western Conference Finals Preview
All-NBA Teams Announced

Digital Artefact Additional Information

My digital artefact focuses on the beautiful connotations of sports following and watching. This will be provided and emphasised through various means of social media practises. Seen through YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Instagram, Facebook, a website and Twitter, the enhancement of Mavro Productions and its sub branches will allow for a further positive message of sport to be seen.

The different means of content sharing, through audio, visual and text caters to all people and further grows the content in which will be created.

Mavro Productions, Cypriot First League English, The Football Edge Pod and Talking Sports are pre-existing projects that will be continued to further the message depicted in the video above. These pages already have recognition and viewership all over the world. Examples include Cyprus, Portugal, USA, Greece and Spain. This DA will look to expand the content created to even bigger audiences around the world.

https://www.youtube.com/mavroproductions

https://www.talkingsports.com.au

https://www.instagram.com/cypriotfirstleague.en

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-football-edge-pod/id1489078296

 

Conservatism Is Not Dead

Instagram is a key social media platform which is used to portray an authentic sense of ones self.

For me, this sense of self is based on the identification with the branch of Conservatism and right-wing policies. Conservatism focuses on traditional values, and has been highly disregarded as the media grows more liberal. A downward spiral in conservative trust has been built based on the rapid growth of left leaning institutions and attitudes. 30% of millennials are dissatisfied with the way Donald Trump (Pew Social Trends) is running the United States, a percentage in which I do no adhere too. 70% of millennials would vote for a socialist (The Hill). The praising of mass murderers like Che Guevara and the emphasis of deliberate lies that some news organisations attribute themselves too has led to a mass wave of younger people adhering to socialism. The deaths of over 100 million people under these types of regimes is hidden and untold (The Heritage).

Instagram offers a lot more affordances than Twitter. Instagram allows for those with a public account to have their posts shared on other people’s stories and a story feature to add photos, videos and text. This is unlike Twitter who do not offer a story setting, and Twitter drastically silences and removes any conservative or right-wing posts, which opposes does not suit their progressive nature. This also tarnishes the nature of freedom of speech. The Instagram stories are the key way in which this sense of self I endure is shown, sharing stats and figures as well as news that the media does not cover or is rarely seen. According to A. Cooper conservatives use resources and stats to build relationships with others.

According to CJ Calhoun, a public sphere is adopted through a web of social relationships. As more conservatives share their views, an imagined community is seen and a further spread of the public sphere is recreated and immersed into ones daily life.

There is no intended audience within the sense of self I possess. The sharing of the information is to help provide conservatives with a firm stance on their views, and to provide liberals with another side of the news. This allows for the occasional participation in political discourse, and opens up a new view for those who may have never read or seen anything from the other side of the political spectrum. Many more conservatives would find my social media presence accessible and acceptable. Although, I prefer if anyone and everyone is able to access it to see an altering view from their own, and one that isn’t silenced by social media institutions. The praise of Trump within my stories would lead to a more international appraisal by Conservative Americans. I also share the Liberal parties policies, which attracts access for domestic conservatives. However, my social media has an outreach all the way to Europe, allowing for a further expansion of conservative views and statistics. This allows for conservative views to still be upheld, and the practise of freedom of speech to still be adhered to.

SOURCES

A, Cooper, 2016, The Conservative Campaign, Political Communication in Britain

C,J,Calhoun, 1992, Habermas and the Public Sphere, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

C, Somodevilla, 2020, Republican National Convention Day Four, Getty Images, viewed on 25th of August, 2020

K, Parker, N, Graf, R, Igielnik, 2019, Generation Z Looks a Lot Like Millennials on Key Social and Political Issues, Pew Social Trends, accessed on 25th of August 2020, https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/01/17/generation-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-key-social-and-political-issues/

L, Edwards, 2018, What Americans Must Know About Socialism, The Heritage Foundation, accessed on 25th of August 2020, https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/what-americans-must-know-about-socialism

M, Gstalter, 2019, 7 in 10 millennials say they would vote for a socialist: poll, The Hill, accessed on 25th of August 2020, https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/467684-70-percent-of-millennials-say-theyd-vote-for-a-socialist-poll

 

 

Citizen Journalism: Cyprus

Citizen journalism can be seen as both a good and bad thing. According to S. Allan and E. Thorsen citizen journalism is putting too work the technologies all people use on a daily basis. With a global usage of 1.69 billion on Facebook (Statista), citizen journalism has never been better to spread news within social media. This is based on the notion by R. Sambrook that everyone must have access to information, which is immensely seen throughout the spread of social media.

There are however, also bad instances of citizen journalism on social media. Although there are many nations in which citizen journalism is a norm, R. Sambrook notes that not all people are protected under journalistic law in some nations. A Ukrainian man was murdered in 2000 for speaking out against the government. Then, there is also the issue of news rooms ‘digital doorstepping’ (R. Sambrook) rather than asking for witness testimonies. This can ultimately harm the legitimacy of the news story in which they are using, hindering real emotion from the ‘breaking news’. This can also diminish the full message of the news story being captured.

Now an example of citizen journalism in a unique part of the world.

Cyprus is a European nation in the Mediterranean Sea, filled with immaculate beaches, resorts and beautiful people. It is however, swept by the imperialism of Turkey, who illegally occupy 36% of the nation, and a staggering 142,000 persons were removed from their homes due to the invasion in 1974 (this includes my father). It is imperative that news is catered to all Cypriots abroad and in the nation. Some of the top news outlets in Cyprus include Sigma Live and Cyprus Mail. Even in the shores of Australia, news is delivered to Cypriots seen through the ‘Greek News from Cyprus’ program on SBS in the mornings.

When it comes to citizen journalism in Cyprus, it is virtually non-existent. The main topic that is primarily discussed by news outlet is the conflict apparent in Cyprus today. According to S. Sahin, they claim that media outlets pursue nationalistic intentions and claim the other side is wrong (this is in accordance to a Turkish Cypriot standpoint). Citizens journalism could be far more influential to expose the true feelings of the Cypriot Greek people, who have had their land swept away from them. S. Pavlou claims that many news outlets associated with a political party often use their own agenda rather than tackling civilian issues. Although Cypriot news integrate a lot of interviews, the small population of 1.1 million endures a hard process of citizens journalism.

Citizens journalism would really help Cyprus develop a strategy to the Cyprus conflict that plagues the nation since 1974, or at least offer insight into news stories from the people who live within the nation themselves. The conflict in itself continues to be disregarded by big powers such as the United Nations, who made the issue worse when they had to come in. Therefore, a citizens journalistic approach will allow for the corroboration between citizens, the community and news outlets to work together to find a solution. 90.71% of the population (statscounter) are on Facebook, social media could be a massive help for the nation, through the inception of citizens journalism within Cyprus.

PHOTO TAKEN BY ME 

REFERENCE LIST

C, Christophorou, S, Sahin, S, Pavlou, 2010, Media, Narratives, Politics and the Cyprus Problem, PRIO Cyprus Centre.

E, Thorsen, S, Allan, 2009, Citizen Journalism- Global Perspectives, Peter Lang.

J, Clement, 2019, Facebook: number of users online from 2015-2020, Statista, accessed on 17th August 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/490424/number-of-worldwide-facebook-users/

J, Owen, H, Purdey, R, Sambrook, 2009, International News Reporting: Frontlines and Deadlines, Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

StatsCounter, Social Media Stats Cyprus, accessed on 17th August 2020, https://gs.statcounter.com/social-media-stats/all/cyprus.

 

You’ll Never Support Alone

The ever-growing nature of football as a sport has been on a rapid rise, that it is now under the category of popular culture. Popular culture has been defined by Fiske as being created by the people (Understanding Popular Culture). Football as a sport is nothing without its fans, its active audience, which has had a presence in the overall growth of the sport since the inception of the Internet. Football has become more commercialised than ever before, thanks to the introduction of the world wide web and social media.

To put it perfectly, P. Fontes and R. Riberio in their book about Brazilian football, details that the sport has become globalised under the idea of ‘footballisation of the world’.

Let’s put this into perspective, FIFA, the leading organisation for football in the world, earns a revenue of $4.64 billion, with English club Manchester United having a brand value of $1.65 billion in 2019 (Statista). All seen through the overall involvement of the sport by fans all over the world. Europe as a whole love their football, 6 national teams in the top 10 world rankings are from the continent (FIFA). The European football market has a revenue of 28.9 billion Euros. More than half the world’s population watched the 2018 World Cup, showing its dominance as a popular culture and its dominance in the world of sports (FIFA).

The popularity of football can also be linked with the theory of an imagined community. Football fans feel like they are members of a group, they can connect with fans all over the world, with whom they have never met. The sharing of the support of a club has explained why the sport is on a continual rise. Fans become producers of the way the club operates, through the interaction of the teams merchandise and ‘imaginary community’. In accordance with the book by A.Kavoura, social media is a key way to see what works for a target audience. When a football club shares a post, the imagined community communicates with each other, showing the interconnectedness of social media, football and the concept of imagined communities. Media content becomes more universally parallel, as audiences become more passive. This imagined community is bigger than ever before, as a fan like me in Australia can communicate directly with the team I support all the way in England. Whether it is a comment, a like or a share, the communication with the team in this realm of an imagined community is still apparent. The concept of local to global is put into practise, through the ideas of the imagined community. Further connections with a club and its imagined community are seen through music, chants and branding, all essential for a growth of a popular culture.

The media has also had an integral impact of the concept of an imagined community. As they also consume the sport, they share the news up to date, providing an array of information. This allows for more interaction by fans to the news, and a further discussion seen through the use of social and news media.

Photo Source: Pixels.com.

Reference List

A, Kavoura, 2014, Social media, online imagined communities and communication research.

C, Gough, 2020, Barclays Premier League team brand values 2011-2019, Statista, accessed 9th of August 2020, available at, https://www.statista.com/statistics/236255/teams-of-the-english-premier-league-by-brand-value/.

C, Gough, 2020, Soccer Statistics and Facts, Statista, accessed 9th of August 2020, available at, https://www.statista.com/topics/1595/soccer/. ‘

FIFA, 2020, Men’s Ranking, accessed 9th of August 2020, available at, https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/.

FIFA, 2018, More than half the world watched record-breaking 2018 World Cup, accessed 9th of August 2020, available at, https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/more-than-half-the-world-watched-record-breaking-2018-world-cup.

J, Fiske, 1989, Understanding Popular Culture, Routledge.

P, Fontes, R, Riberio, 2014, The Country of Football: Politics, Popular Culture & the Beautiful Game in Brazil, BBB De Hollanda.

T, Bohle, Pixaby Photos, people watching soccer game, accessed 9th of August 2020, Photo https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-watching-soccer-game-1884574/”

We the Fans

As I switch on my TV, to watch my favourite basketball team play, the Toronto Raptors I drift apart into a different universe, with the full involvement on the team.

Jenkins’ 1992 book Textual Poachers focuses on audiences, and how audiences are passive, and an overall fandom is an alternative community. Media content becomes universally parallel as an audience becomes more passive. Let’s use my basketball team as an example, my team is based in Canada, but I am a passive fan from Australia and local to global aspects rise. Media, broadcasting and the sharing on social media further allows for the fandom to rise. For instance, last year’s NBA Finals in which the Raptors won, according to CBC, Canadian athletes watched their team worldwide, leading to a boost in the franchise and fandom of the club. This allowed the ESPN media entity to show more Raptors games as they grow in popularity. Highly based on the notion of studying fans and how loyalty equates to boosting fandom.

tower near high rise buildings
Photo by Adrian Lang on Pexels.com

Early study models are not reliable anymore, as they do not focus on the media boost in which we have seen in the world in the 21stcentury. Fans used to be seen as gullible and susceptible to lies told within media entities. Now, fans are more active than ever, and ultimately drive the media in which they love to make money. I heavily follow the Raptors Instagram page and check on a daily basis for new photos to add to my already massive album. On top of this, I collect cards of my favourite player Kyle Lowry, driven by media as I see advertising on my socials. This could not be taken into account within early study models as the media was not prominent, or even existent back then to add an audience interaction with media component to it. In 1910, being a fan of anything was considered unusual.

As we further study fans, we further see the corroboration between fans and media and how that shapes media entities. Yes, I will bring it back to basketball again. Fans want to wear what their players wear. So, the NBA Store ships worldwide and has exclusive offers on current trending items. Fans ultimately dictate how and what a media entity to do to further spread its audience.

Media stars have a huge influence on fandom and a common example of a corroboration with a media entity. Drake, the world-renowned rapper is the global ambassador for the Raptors. For those who watch the games, he’s on the sidelines hyping up the crowd, and also hyping up my couch! Fans of Drake corroborate with his social media and his posts and will in turn support the team he supports. CBS News support this claim, indicating that Drake is indeed loyal to the team from the north. Especially the crazy ones. Explaining this concept of passive fans and how fans become produser, playing a role in decisions made by entities.

In fact, the name ‘Raptors’ was voted for by fans, eluding to how fans are a major stakeholder in the overall brand and image of the media entity of the Raptors. The name also brings together several media entities, the fans, the team and Jurassic Park, the concept in which the team was named after. According to Bardown.com. the Raptors were heavily invested in pop culture.

References

Adrian Lang, Pixaby Photos, tower near high rise buildings, photograph, accessed 20th of April 2020, “https://www.pexels.com/photo/tower-near-high-rise-buildings-3727070/&#8221; rel=”nofollow”>Pexels.com</a>

Bardown Staff, The Raptors were almost named the dragons, which would have worked perfectly today, Bardown.com. Available at: https://www.bardown.com/the-raptors-were-almost-named-the-dragons-which-would-have-worked-perfectly-today-1.835389

Celebrity fans of every team, CBC. Available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/celebrity-fans-of-every-nba-team/7/

Jenkins, H, 1992, Textual Poachers, United States of America, Routledge.

The Canadian Press, (2019) Raptors fandom goes global as Canadian athletes cheer Toronto team, CBC. Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/nba/canadian-athletes-cheer-raptors-1.5149665

 

Come All Ye Faithful

 

The public sphere is a social space in which different opinions can be expressed, and solutions can be discussed.

My public sphere is located within the means of conservativism and church groups. I get my news from conservative branches of online platforms such as YouTube channels and Fox. Catering to the content of my set ideologies, my public sphere is enhanced through these mediums. Within church, I learn about the news through the leaders within the church. This is where an area for discussion really comes into play. In accordance with Habermas and the Public Sphere by Calhoun, it is claimed in the book that the understanding of the public is solely based on private experience. As I learn about my own public sphere, and that which opposes my sphere it is attributed to experiences in which I have had. For instance, growing up in an Orthodox and conservative household.

photo of santorini greece
Photo by jimmy teoh on Pexels.com

My public sphere is operated on the notion of ethical conversation. Someone within the public sphere may have an opposing view. Political discourse does not lead to the premise of hatred, but rather civil conversation to understand why this opinion is the case. Further expressed in Tim Challies’ article on love and humility, stating that Christians humble themselves below the other person.

close up of tree against sky
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Church groups and conservatives are subject to many issues. This includes that they are non-conformists to an ever-growing liberal world. This issue does arise by those outside. However, as values of love and humility are taught, my public sphere in which I interact is, may develop the issue of not conforming, but remains firm in what they believe. Another issue is the toxic name calling within those outside my public sphere and constant assumption of judgement. This issue causes those within my public sphere to exit our public sphere, as they feel intimidated by the name calling seen outside the public sphere.

My public sphere in which I am considered to be in is open to anyone. Conservative, or not. Within the news publications I read, and the videos I watch, within my church public sphere we learn to open our arms to people. This way, no one is excluded, and everyone is included within the public sphere in which I identify with.

The media plays a crucial role in the public sphere. It continues to undermine my public sphere. The media aims to push an agenda against modern day Christianity, not covering stories of mass Christian persecution in the Middle East but will choose to cover a story slandering Christianity and religious sanctifications. The Guardian claims that persecution of Christians is coming close to genocide as an example of the mass persecution within the Middle East. My public sphere as a conservative is shattered throughout some media corporations, as they push an agenda of hating those who disagree with them. Contrary to that which is actually believed by those in my public sphere. Therefore, the integrity of news publications and media is further derailed as they focus on spreading hateful doctrine rather than covering news. As I see news from both inside and outside my public sphere, the news in which I read is catered to me and my public sphere. Thus, allowing me and others to choose their media publications based on their public sphere.

black and white cemetery christ church
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

 

References

Challies, T., (2004), Love and Humility, Challies.com. Available at: https://www.challies.com/articles/love-humility/

Craig CJ., 1992, Habermas and the Public Sphere, USA, Massachusetts Industry of Technology Press.

Jimmy Teoh, Pixabay Photos, photo of Santorini Greece, photograph, accessed 20th of April 2020, “https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-santorini-greece-1010657/&#8221; rel=”nofollow”>Pexels.com</a>

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