In my ideal world...

Isn't it funny how the Editor in Chief of your daily newspaper dictates which news is worthy enough to be put on the front cover?

Sure peoples deaths, natural disasters and the occasional slip of the tongue of our prime minister is interesting to say the least, but it's rarely the stories I read first sentence to last sentence.
Imagine a newspaper where you decided what stories you wanted to see on the front of your paper. Whatever you wanted. From a huge image of Jamie Oliver declaring his breakthrough risotto technique to images of models strutting down runways in the latest Spring collections from Paris.

Online Journalism allows the reader to pick what articles he or she finds most interesting and relevant to their personalities. No more having to flick through pages upon pages of 'boring' articles. Online gives you the option of selecting whatever article you wish to read and then intelligently reccomends to you what articles are similar. Hey presto, genius. Thankyou.com

David Jones S/S11

So the other week was the annual David Jones Spring/Summer fashion parade held at the iconic Royal Hall of Industries.

The parade is a must attend event for fashion enthusiasts, celebrities, models and of course our sweetheart darling Miranda Kerr (she’s no doubt getting paid the big bucks to be there). But joining the front row of Australia’s fashion elite, sitting Louboutin next to Louboutin are the new techno savvy fashion bloggers. With Ipads, blackberries, and Iphones at the ready, these new set of online journalists are allowing followers to have the latest runway images, gossip, and news instantly in their laps in the comfort of their own home.

And it’s not just bloggers and media commentators like Melissa Hoyer, Patty Huntington that are leading the way in Twitter updates #djsfashion. Models like April Rose, designers like Alex Perry and makeup artist Napoleon Perdis were all on their phones updating their twitter accounts filling in their followers with 140 characters or less updates and sneaky backstage, front row (if you’re that lucky) images.

The David Jones facebook page was also in over drive – uploading images direct from their red carpet. All it took was a few seconds and all Facebook fans of David Jones knew exactly what Lara Bingle, Kristy Hinze and Megan Gale were wearing, while the whole time the ladies hadn’t even moved positions. Now that’s quick journalism for you.


Social media sites like Facebook and twitter are perfect for organisations and companies to establish, build and maintain relationships with their customers. By giving them sneaky images and instant news straight from the event, customers that live in other states and aren’t sleeping with the guy working the ticket website, can still feel like that are in some form or another a part of the event.

I mean no one likes waiting till 10pm for Sandra Sully to come on for the late news, where she gives you a shitty 1 minute rundown of what went down at the show. Heads up Sandra, I’m on twitter. That shit is old news.

the blame game.

There has been a war brewing in the Australian Fashion Retailers Industry for some time. Although there have been no reports of stiletto stabbings (yet) it seems there is a rivalry between standalone retailers versus online stores.

Australia is in the midst of a 50 year retail slump. Retailers are feeling the pressure of poor sales and are pointing the finger to international online stores that offer low prices, current styles and have the added benefit of being ‘open’ 24/7. In an industry where the colour wheel extends beyond several shades of beige, it can be assumed that this rift in the fashion industry is a story told not just in black & white.

1233 ABC Newcastle reports that although the retail industry is blaming its recent woes on the rise in offshore online shopping they are partly to blame as they are not adapting to the new technologies and the embracing the fact that online shopping is here to stay.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten said that "the large retailers in particular have been put on notice by this draft report that some of the prices they're setting are very high and the profits they're seeking are very high”.

I found that Tim Lohmans online article from News Computer World to be particularly interesting and more in-depth than the abc.net.au report. Lohmans article also supports the ideas of Shorten but goes in to a lot more detail about other queries and problems larger retailers have/face when deciding to start their own online store. In particular I found the below statement to be accurate in understanding the current mind frame and thought process of retailers Myers and David Jones, because it brought up memories of myself as a prepubescent thirteen year old girl browsing through the David Jones website.

Longham says “An attitude among larger retailers that the purpose of websites was to [promote retail sales rather than facilitate online sales was also an issue.
“While department stores such as Myer and David Jones and large retailers such as Harvey Norman have had an online presence for some time, their websites appeared designed more to provide information on the range and specifications of goods they sell rather than to aggressively pursue online sales,” the report reads.

Both these articles were a great source into understanding the problems faced by standalone store retailers, but I found that the ComputerWorld article gave far more examples and a deeper level of research and understanding into the reasons and retailer psyche.

It can be noted that perhaps the reason for the short but direct online article from the abc.net.au website was because the main quotes were coming from Bill Shorten, a member of the commission.

Both these articles were up to date.
To view the whole article please visit

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-05/shorten-tells-retailers-to-pick-up-their-act/2825262/?site=newcastle
5th August 2011

and

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=51AEDCEE-1A64-6A71-CE2EA8E1DAACED71
7th August 2011