the second coming of journalism? rebirth, resurrection ... proceedings uon 2017 final.pdf ·...
Post on 17-Jul-2018
217 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
TheSecondComingofJournalism?Rebirth,resurrection,renewal,resistance,
resurgence.
ProceedingsoftheJournalismEducationandResearch
AssociationofAustralia2017conference
UniversityofNewcastleNewcastle,Australia
4-6December2017
i
Publicationdata
TitleDetails:TheSecondComingofJournalism?Rebirth,resurrection,renewal,resistance,resurgence.
Subtitle:ProceedingsoftheJournalismEducationandResearchAssociationofAustralia2017Conference,Newcastle,NSW:UniversityofNewcastle,NewcastleNSW,Australia,4-6December2017.
Format:Online
PublicationDate:12/2017
Editors:JanetFulton,FelicityBiggins,PaulScottandChristinaKoutsoukos.
Publishedby:TheJournalismEducationandResearchAssociationofAustraliaIncorporated(JERAAInc).
Statementofpeerreview
Researchpapersandabstractsintheseproceedingswereindependentlyreviewedusingadouble-blindpeerreviewprocess.Foreachabstractandpaper,atleasttwoqualifiedreviewerswereappointedonthebasisoftheirindependenceandtheyreviewedtheabstractorfullpaperdevoidoftheauthors’namesandinstitutionsinordertoensureobjectivityandanonymity.Followingreviewandacceptance,thepaperswerepresentedattheJournalismEducationandResearchAssociationofAustralia2017ConferenceattheUniversityofNewcastle,Newcastle,NSW,Australia,4-6December2017.Panelsandpanelabstractswerereviewedbytheconferenceconvenorsforqualityassurance.
Recommendedcitation:
<Author(s)>.(2017).<‘Title’>,inFulton,J.M.,Biggins,F.,Scott,P.&Koutsoukos,C.(Eds.),TheSecondComingofJournalism?Rebirth,resurrection,renewal,resistance,resurgence.Proceedingsofthe2017JournalismEducationandResearchAssociationofAustralia,UniversityofNewcastle,NewcastleNSW,Australia,4-6December2017.
Acknowledgments
Theeditorswouldliketothankthemanyacademicswhocontributedtheirtimetoserveasblindpeerreviewersfortheabstractsandparticularlythosewhoprovidedblindpeerreviewforthefullpaperspublishedintheseproceedings.Thankyoutoallthoseacademicswhohavecontributedtheirresearchtothisvolume.
Disclaimer
Theopinions,advicesandinformationcontainedinthispublicationdonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsorpoliciesofJERAAoritsmembersorexecutive.Whileallduecarewastakeninthecompilationoftheseproceedings,theJERAAdoesnotwarrantthattheinformationisfreefromerrorsoromissions,ordotheyacceptanyliabilityinrelationtothequality,accuracyandcurrencyoftheinformation.
ii
ContentsPublicationdata.........................................................................................................................................................................................iContents.......................................................................................................................................................................................................iiPeerReviewedAbstracts(alphabeticalbyauthor)..................................................................................................................1PeerReviewedPapers(alphabeticalbyauthor).....................................................................................................................32Panels.........................................................................................................................................................................................................52
1
Wikipedia–acollaborativejuggernautthataggregates,synthesizesandpublishesbreakingnews
BuntyAviesonUniversityofSydney
In2015TheNewStatesmencalledWikipediathe“mostinfluentialsourceofinformationintheworld”and“ourfirstdestinationwhenwewanttounderstandsomething”.Withinhoursofamajornewseventoccurring,suchastheParisterroristattacksortheManchesterbombing,Wikipediacontributorsfromaroundtheworldconvergeinavirtualnewsroomtoreporttheevents,followedcloselybyreaders,seekingtobeinformed.Thebreakingnewspagesareamongthesite'smostreadandmostedited.Wikipedia’sprotocolsofverifiabilitymeanthecontributorsrelyalmostsolelyononlinenewsorganisationsfortheirinformation,whichtheycollateandre-purpose.Despitetheclaimthat‘anyonecanedit’,theonlinesiteoperateswithinanestablishedhierarchy,muchlikeeditorsandreportersonatraditionalnewsdesk,withexperiencedWikipediansdeterminingwhatinformationisincludedandwhatisdeleted,accordingtovarious,often-contradictory,policies.Whilethesitemakesexplicitclaimsarounditsnewsreportingpractices,e.g.thatitdoesn'treportbreakingnewsorregurgitatemediacoverage,thoseclaimsdonotstanduptoscrutiny.TheonlineencyclopediaemergedalongsidetheSeptember11,2001,terroristattacksintheUSandbreakingnewsisinitsDNA.Inmultiplewaystheonlineencyclopaediashadows,mimicsandcompeteswithnewsorganisations.Thisplacesitwithinthenewsmediaecosystemandworthexaminingthroughajournalismstudieslens.
BehindeachWikipediapageisembeddedthehistoryofitscreation,includingeveryeditandthediscussionsamongcontributorsastheywrestlewithknowledgeconstructionandtheroleofWikipediainthemedialandscape.Usingquantitativeandqualitativemethodsofanalysis,thispaperinvestigatestherolesperformedbythe176contributorswhoworkedonthe2014CaféLindtpageasthenewseventunfolded.Itdemonstratesthereisahierarchyofeditorswhobringoddlyskewedinternationalinfluencesandoperateinwaysthatreflect,rejectandreinterpretestablishednewsroompractices.
InternationalisingJournalismEducation:TheForeignCorrespondentStudyTour
SabaBebawiandAndrewDoddUniversityofTechnology,SydneySwinburneUniversity
TheannualForeignCorrespondentStudyTour(FCST)toJordanisahighlypracticalinternationallearningexperienceledbytheUniversityofTechnologySydney(UTS)inpartnershipwithSwinburneUniversity.Theprogram,whichhasbeenrunningforthreeyears,issupportedbyDFAT’sCouncilforAustralian-ArabRelations(CAAR)underits'mediainterns'flagshipprogram.Thetourallowsstudentstoexperiencewhatitmeanstobeaninternationalreporterbyactuallybecomingone.ThroughanexclusivepartnershipwithSBSOnline,theprogramoffersstudentsopportunitiestofilenewsstoriesonthegroundwithrealdeadlines.Thisemulatesthe‘foreigncorrespondent’experienceandprovidesrealaudienceswithfreshinsightsonalittle-understoodregion.Thetripexposesstudentstoaninternationalstudyexperienceoutsidetheclassroomwhileprovidingthemwiththetoolstodojournalismwithinanotherculture.Thispaperdiscusseshowthe
2
FCSTinternationalisesjournalismeducation-bybalancingscholarlyinteractionwithlocalhostuniversities,industryvisits,journalismtrainingseminarsandmeetingswithexpertsinthefield-whileencouragingpracticalapplicationoftheconceptualframeworksstudentshavestudiedaspartoftheirdegree.
‘ThePerfectStorm’?:Understandingthe‘fakenews’phenomenon
JenniferBeckettandDavidNolanTheUniversityofMelbourne
Whileonthesurface‘fakenews’referstothephenomenonofthepurposefulmanufactureoffabricatedstoriesforthepurposesofpoliticsandprofit,thispaperseekstopositionitassymptomaticproductofadrasticreshapingofmediatedpolitics.Tothisend,itadoptsagenealogicalapproachtoanalysingtheshiftingrelationsthroughwhichcontemporarynewsformsemerge.Indoingso,itseekstocontributetoa‘historyofthepresent’,identifyingaseriesoffactorsandareasofchangethatmaybeseentohavecontributedtosuchtransformation,positioningthesehistoricallyinordertogainperspectiveonaspectsofcontinuityandchange.Somekeytransformations–therapiddeteriorationoflegacymediabusinessmodels,theriseofnewsasentertainment,changedmodesofconsumption,theconvergedmediaenvironment,theneedtodrawadvertisingrevenue,thealgorithmicallydrivenadventoffilterbubbles–areaboutthechangingfaceoftheindustry.Others,however,speaktocomplexchangesintherelationsbetweenonlinemediabusinessmodels,long-termtransformationsandemergentpracticesinthefieldofpolitics,andemergentknowledgessurroundingmediausers.
Thispaperconsiderstheparticularsignificanceofuserpracticesintheconvergedmediaspacethatcentreonthehumandesireforaffinityandbelonging.Thedeliberatetargetingofsuchaffectivedesiresinthe‘likeeconomy’,throughpracticessuchasthepreferencingofaffectivejournalismintheformofopinionandclickbaitheadlinesasawaytoincreaseengagementmetricsiscentraltotheenvironmentinwhich‘fakenews’hasflourished.Suchtargetingexplicitlyimpactsneurophysiologicalpathwaysthroughtheprovisionofopportunitiesforpeopletoaffirmtheiridentityandworldviewvialikesandsupportivecommentarytriggeringadopaminergicresponse,onethatliesattheheartofaddictivebehaviour.Ofkeyconcernisthewayinwhichentrepreneurs,hoaxersandpoliticalmarketersalike,inthewordsofearlyFacebookinvestorSeanParker,“exploitthisvulnerabilityinhumanpsychology”(CNNinterview,2017).
Whilethesignificanceof‘fakenews’andhowtocombatitremainafocusofsubstantialdebate,thescandalanddebatessurroundingithighlightsignificantquestionssurroundingjournalism’sshiftingboundaries,andraisepressingquestionsforboundary-drawingpracticesandpossibilitiesinaforwardenvironment.Inengagingwiththesequestions,thispaperaimstoprovidearesourceforconsiderationofjournalism’scurrentandfutureperformanceasa‘technologyofcitizenship’.
3
Changingwiththetimes?TheimpactofsocialmediaonlocalnewspapersinAustraliaandCanada
KathrynBowdTheUniversityofAdelaide
Theimpactofsocialmediaonjournalismpracticehasnotbeenconfinedtomajormetropolitannewsoutlets–localisedmediahavealsobeenaffectedbythegrowthofplatformssuchasFacebookandTwitter.Whileinmanycasessmallernewsoutletshavebeenslowerthantheirbig-citycounterpartsinmakingtheleaptosocialmedia,engagementwithoneormoresocialmediaplatformsisnowintegraltonewscommunicationforbothcorporate-ownedoutletsandindependentnewsprovidersoutsidemajorcities.Thisisnotonlychangingthewaysinwhichjournalistsandnewsroomsoperate,butalsohasthepotentialtoaffectongoingrelationshipsbetweennewsoutlets,journalistsandnewsaudiences.However,theimpactofsocialmediaonjournalismoutsidemajorcitieshassofarbeenthesubjectofrelativelylittleacademicexploration.ThispaperfocusesonthepreliminaryresultsofasurveyofjournalistsemployedbysmallernewspapersintwoAustralianstatesandoneCanadianprovince.TheonlinesurveywasdistributedtonewspaperjournalistsinNewSouthWales,southernQueenslandandBritishColumbia,withtheaimofexploringtheirperceptionsoftheimpactofsocialmediaontheirprofessionalpracticeandtheirrelationshipswiththecommunitiesservedbytheirnewspapers.Thesurveyfoundthatjournalistsinbothcountriesconsideredsocialmediaengagementintegraltotheirwork,butthatplatformssuchasFacebookandTwitterpresentedbothbenefitsandchallengesinnavigatingrelationshipswithnewsaudiences.Whiletherewasasenseofguardedoptimismamongrespondentsfrombothcountriesaboutthefutureofregional/communityjournalism,therealsoappearedtobeagreatdealofuncertaintyaroundhowthistypeofjournalismmightbesustainedinanongoing24/7,social-mediadrivennewsenvironment.
Identifyingtheneedsofjournalismamidsttheriseofonlinenews
MarcBryant,SaraBartlett,JenniferHowardandBrydieJamesonHunterInstituteofMentalHealth
Asjournalismcontinuesitstransitionfromprinttoonlinenews,therehasbeenasteadyrisein‘clickbait’andsensationalisedmedia.Thisissuccessfullydrivingtraffictonewssites,butatwhatcost?
TwotopicsfrequentlyreportedinAustralianmassmediaarementalillnessandsuicide.Notonlyaretheysubjectsofpublicinterest,itisimportantthattheyarediscussedinthepublicforum.Itisimperative,however,thatreportingisdoneinasensitiveandethicalmannertoensurevulnerablepeoplearekeptsafe,anddiscriminationandstigmadoesn’toccur.
Theimmediacyofonlinenewsandthediminishedrelianceonsub-editorsincreasesthechancesofhigh-risk,sensitivecontenttobepublishedunfettered.
Mindframe’sevidence-basedguidelineshavesupportedtheAustralianmediaforalmosttwodecadesintheresponsiblereportingofmentalillnessandthesafediscussionofsuicidesthatareofpublicinterest.
Mindframecontinuestoworkwithcurrentandfuturejournalismeducatorsandstudentstoassistfuturemediapractitionersinmitigatingrisktovulnerablereadersandpromotinghelp-seekingbehaviour.
4
Mindframedoesthisbyrespondingtotheneedsofmediaandjournalismstudentsandprofessionalsthroughpreandpostengagementevaluationwithusers.
Inlightofthe24-hournewscycle,nowmorethanever,Mindframe’sguidelinesarerelevantandnecessarytoensurevulnerablepeopleareprotected,andmentalillnessandsuicidearenotusedasclickbait.ThisoralpresentationwillexplorethecontributionandneedforMindframeinachangingjournalismlandscape,toensurethequalityandaccuracyofmasscommunicationaboutsuicideandmentalillnessisnotcompromised.
CollaborationforChange
MarcBryant,SaraBartlett,JenniferHowardandBrydieJamesonHunterInstituteofMentalHealth
MentalillnessandsuicidearewidelyreportedintheAustralianmassmedia.Thewaythatthesetopicsarereportedandcommunicatedcaninfluencecommunityattitudes,andcanevenleadtostigmaanddiscrimination.
TheNationalMentalHealthandSuicidePreventionCommunicationCharter(theCharter),alongwithMindframeguidelines,havebeendevelopedtoenableAustralianjournaliststoreportonmentalillnessandsuicidesafelyandaccurately.
Since2002Mindframe,managedbyEverymind,hasdevelopedevidence-basedguidelinesforAustralianmediaandcommunicationpractitionerstosupportsafe,accurateandeffectivecommunicationofsuicideandmentalillness.
In2014,theNationalMentalHealthCommissionestablishedtheCharter,whichsupportsanationalapproachforhealthcommunicationpractitionerswhendevelopingmentalhealthandsuicidepreventionmessages.MindframeistheCharter’s‘steward’andaimstoensurecollectiveresponsibilityandconsultationforitsongoingdevelopmentandimplementation.
In2007,theUniversityofMelbourneandtheUniversityofCanberraconductedthemediamonitoringstudyChangeinmediareportingofsuicideandmentalillnessinAustraliasince2001.ThestudyshowedthatsinceimplementationofMindframein2002therehadbeenanincreaseinthenumberofstoriespublishedaboutsuicideandmentalillness,aswellasanimprovementinthequalityofreportingonthissubject.
MindframeiscommittedtoensuringthatcommunicationprofessionalsimplementtheCharterandtakeownershipofitsongoinguseanddevelopment.
Thispresentationwilladdress:
– therationalebehindtheCharter
– thelevelofskillsandcompetenciesexpectedofcommunicationprofessionalswhenreportingonmentalillnessandsuicide
– waysinwhichMindframecansupportcommunicationprofessionalstotakeownershipoftheChartertoportraysafemessagesaboutmentalillnessandsuicide.
5
Rebirthorresistance?ReimaginingPhotojournalisticRoutinesintheAustraliannews
HelenCapleTheUniversityofNewSouthWales
Thefactthatthestaffpositionofthephotojournalisthasbeenallbuteradicatediswidelyacknowledgedinthejournalismliterature(Anderson2013;Allan2015;Thomson2016),andAustraliaisnoexception.PhotographicdepartmentsatFairfaxandNewsCorphavebeendecimated,again(Battersby2017;Meade2017).TheABChasforalongtimebeenrelyingonreporters,editors,producers,andpresenterstosupplynewsimagery,especiallyonregionalhappenings.Somenewsorganisationsblamelayoffsontheubiquityoffreeimageryonline(Lang2011,referringtoCNN’sdecisiontolayoff50photojournalists,techniciansandlibrarians),andakeyquestionemergingfromthistrendiswhethercitizensandorganisationsoutsideofjournalism,throughtheirengagementwiththedigitaleconomy,arere-shapingandre-definingphotojournalisticpractice.
Toaddressthisquestion,IexplorethesourcingofnewsimagerybythemajornewsprovidersinAustralia:Fairfax,NewsCorp,andtheABC,includingtherelativenewcomertotheAustralianmarket,GuardianAustralia.Icombinelarge-scalequantitativesurveysofthesourcingofnewsimagesintheAustraliannewsmediawithqualitativeethnographicinterviewswithindustryprofessionalsinordertoyieldmultipleperspectivesonthemassiveculturalshiftsbeingexperiencedbythejournalismindustrytodayandtoassesstheirabilitytoadaptpositivelytochange.
Threecasestudies,investigatingthesourcinganduseofnewsphotographyinthereportingofspecialevents–thefederalelectionof2016,AustraliaDay2017–andofaspotnewsevent–themajorstormsofSeptember2016inSouthAustralia–arecomplementedbyastudyofroutineeverydayreportingthroughout2017.Byexaminingbothspecialnewseventsandthemoremundanereportingofeverydayevents/happenings,thisstudyprovidesthemostcomprehensivestudyofphotojournalisminAustraliatoday.Myconclusionsshowthatratherthanrelyingonthefreelyavailableonlineimageryproducedbycitizenwitnesses,theAustraliannewsmediacontinuetosourceimagesfromprofessionalphotographicsources:amongthemformeremployeesnowworkingasfreelancers.Thus,weseeareconfigurationofworkroutinesintheAustralianphotojournalisticcommunity,routinesthataremuchdiminishedintermsofstability,security,andremuneration.
References
Allan,S.(2015)‘Introduction:Photojournalismandcitizenjournalism’,Journalism Practice 9(4):455–464. Anderson,M.(2013)‘AtNewspapers,PhotographersFeeltheBruntofJobCuts’,Pew Research Centre,11November.
Accessed12Jan2015.http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/11/11/at-newspapers-photographers-
feel-the-brunt-of-job-cuts/ Battersby,L.(2017)‘NewsCorpgutsphotographydepartmentsamidjobcutsatcitytabloids’,Sydney Morning Herald,
11April.Accessed29May2017.http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/news-corp-guts-
photography-departments-amid-jobs-cuts-at-city-tabloids-20170406-gvfdu9.html Caple,H.(2014),‘Anyonecantakeaphoto,but:Istherespacefortheprofessionalphotographerinthetwenty-first
centurynewsroom?’Digital Journalism,2(3):355-365. Lang,B.(2011)‘CNNLaysoff50StaffersafterEmployeeAppreciationWeek’,Reuters,11November.Accessed29May
2017.http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/idUS39879393020111111
6
Meade,A.(2017)‘FairfaxMediatocutaquarterofjournalistsatSMH,theAgeandAFR’,Guardian Australia,2May.
Accessed29May2017.https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/03/fairfax-media-job-cuts-sydney-
morning-herald-the-age-australian-financial-review Thomson,T.J.(2016)‘FreelancePhotojournalistsandPhotoEditors:Learningandadaptingina(mostlyfaceless)
virtualworld’,Journalism Studies,OnlineFirstDOI:10.1080/1461670X.2016.1215851
Whatitmeansto'do'mediacriminology
KatrinaCliffordandRobWhiteUniversityofTasmania
Forthemostpart,scholarlyresearchandtheliteratureontherelationshipbetweenmediaandcrimehasderivedprimarilyfromsociologicalandcriminologicalperspectiveswithanunder-developedregardforanappliedor‘workingknowledge’ofjournalismandothermediapractices.Theresulthasbeenamostlyone-dimensionalinterpretationofthemedia-crimenexusthatover-emphasisesandperpetuatestheideathatmediatedrepresentationsofcrime,criminalityandcriminaljusticeare‘badnews’orientedanddistortingincontent.Thisbothnegatesthefactthatpositiveportrayalsarepossible,anddoindeedoccur,aswellasthewaysinwhichmedia(initsbroadestterms)canoffermarginalisedindividualsaplatformfromwhichto'speakback'andlobbyforchange.Whilsttheprovincialismevidentwithinthepracticeofmediacriminologymaynotbeproblematicinitself,wearguethatthereismuchtobegained–intermsofricher,deeper,reflexive,nuancedandappliedformsofanalyses–fromamoredeliberatecouplingandconvergenceoftheempiricalknowledge,conceptualapproachesandresearchmethodologiesspecifictothedisciplinaryfieldsofcriminologyandjournalismandmediastudies.Thispapersharestheexperiencesofarecentcollaborationofthiskind.Itexploresthewaysinwhichwehavebothbeenchallengedbytheperspectivesandspecialistlanguageoftheother,buthaveultimatelycometoconcludethatthisisnotreasonenoughtoabandontheinterdisciplinaryenterprise;thebenefitscanfaroutweighthedrawbacks.Inparticular,wesuggestthatbringingtogetherthebestofbothdisciplinarybackgrounds,experiencesandexpertisecancreateaspaceinwhichtocriticallydiscuss,debateandlearnfromoneanotherincreativeandproductiveways.Moreimportantly,itoffersachancetotryandunderstand,negotiateandrealisewhatitmeansto‘do’mediacriminology,especiallywithinachangingmediaenvironment.
“Humanitycanneverletthishappenagain:”Remembrance,resistanceandthealt-right©
DrCarynCoatneyUniversityofSouthernQueensland
AnonlineresurgenceofHolocaustdenialhassparkedamovementofcitizenactivistswhohavestagedtheirownmediatheatresofjusticetochallengethealt-right,orultranationalism,inAustralia.Thispaperasks:howhaveprofessionaljournalistsrespondedtothepoliticsofemotionintheonlinerepresentationsofHolocaustdenial,evasionandprotest?Certainly,therehasbeenlittlenewsanalysisonthere-emergenceoftheformerlyfascistslogan,AustraliaFirst,anditshistoricalunderpinningsintheAustraliaFirstMovementofNazisympathisersduringWorldWarII.Thisstudyhasexaminedthemediaportrayaloftherelatedhistoricalterms,AustraliaFirstandHolocaustdenial,inonlinenewsarticlesduringthepastyear.Thispaper
7
drawsuponTheodorW.Adorno’sconceptofremembranceandMichelFoucault’sregimesoftruth.Contemporaryjournalistsoftenshowedthatthecitizenactivistsaccomplished,usingAdorno’sterms,anabilityforworkingthroughthepastasadynamiccommunicationprocessbypostingonlinevideostoresistHolocaustdenial.AstheGuardian(27April2017)quotedaJewishstudentunionrepresentative,theactivistsintendedtoattractmediaattentiontowardstheneedforremembranceandcriticalreflectiontoensurethat“humanitycanneverletthishappenagain”.Manynewsreportsrepresentedatendencytocorrectthealt-rightattemptstodisseminateregimesofpost-truth,atermcoinedbyJaysonHarsin.YetthenewsanalysesrarelymentionedtheproblematiclegacyoftheAustraliaFirstMovement.Theslogan,AustraliaFirst,hasreappearedinmainstreampoliticaleffortstoappealtodisaffectedvoters.ThecontemporaryrhetorichasmitigatedthesloganasahistoricaleuphemismforNazisupport.ThispaperalsoshowsthecapacityofjournalismeducationtoshedlightontheAdornianviewofbreakingacaptivatingspellfromthepast.
ComedyTechniquesinSocialCommentary
RobertCrosbyandMichaelMeany UniversityofNewcastle
Thispaperprovidesanoverviewofthreekeysconceptsthatlinktheuseofcomedytothepracticeofjournalisminthecoverageofsocialissues:framing(Burke,1937);comedyasasocialcorrective(Bergson,1911;Ziv,1988);andtruthand“bullshit”(Frankfurt,2005).Itreferencespopulartelevisionprogramsthatmixnews,comedyandsocialcommentary.Further,toillustratetheconceptsittakesasacasestudy,TomBallard’scomedylecture“BoundlessPlainstoShare”.Thepurposeoftheanalysisistocritiquetherelationshipbetweencomedyasasocialcorrective,newsandsocialissues.
Humouristheabilitytoperceiveorexpresstheintentionalorunintentionalcomicelementsoflife.Humourhasbeentheorizedusingarangeofdisciplinaryapproaches(c.f.Attardo,1994;Raskin,2008).Comedy,bycontrast,isanintentionallystructuredculturalproductthatemploysparticularformsandconventionstocreatetheaffectofamusementinanaudience.Theoriesofcomedyarefrequentlymoreheuristicthanformalinnature.Themajorityofcomedy‘how-to’textsdevoteachapter,oratleastsomespace,totheconsiderationofhumourtheories(c.f.Byrne,2002;Carr&Greaves,2007;Schreiber,2003;Vorhaus,1994).Anintentionofcomedymaybetoactasasocialcorrective.“Bergsondescribedhumorandlaughterasessentiallysocialandshared.Laughingatsomeone,ontheotherhand,functionsasameansofexclusion,andhenceasasocialcorrectiveandformofsocialcontrol”(Kuipers,2008,p.368).
WrittenandperformedbyAustraliancomicTomBallard,“BoundlessPlainstoShare”examinesAustralia’simmigrationhistory,culminatinginacritiqueofhowtherefugeeissuesarepresentedinthecontemporarysocialandmedialandscape.Framedfromacomicperspective,thecomedylecturepresentsanaccountofrefugeediscoursebyemployingarangeofcomedytechniques.
Inconclusion,thepaperarguesthattherelationshipbetweencomedyandnewsallowsforuniquediscussionsofcontemporaryissues.However,theconceptofcomedyasasocialcorrectiveproblematicforatleasttworeasons.First,theconceptimpliesthatthereisaconsensuspositiononwhatisandwhatisnot
8
appropriatesocialbehaviour.Second,thatcomedyneedstojustifyitselfbyservingasocialpurposegreaterthanprovidinglaughterandenjoyment.
References
Attardo,S.(1994).LinguisticTheoriesofHumor.Berlin;NewYorkMoutondeGruyter.
Bergson,H.(1911).Laughter:Anessayonthemeaningofthecomic.(C.Brereton&F.Rothwell,Trans.).London:
MacmillanandCo.,Limited.
Burke,K.(1937).AttitudestowardHistory.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.
Byrne,J.(2002).WritingComedy(SecondEditioned.).London:A&CBlack.
Carr,J.,&Greaves,L.(2007).TheNakedJape:Uncoveringthehiddenworldofjokes.London:PenguinBooks.
Frankfurt,H.G.(2005).OnBullshit.Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress.Kuipers,G.(2008).TheSociologyofHumor.
InV.Raskin(Ed.),ThePrimerofHumor
Research(pp.361-398).Berlin;NewYork.:MoutondeGruyter.
Raskin,V.(Ed.)(2008).ThePrimerofHumorResearch.Berlin;NewYork:MoutondeGruyter.
Schreiber,B.(2003).Whatareyoulaughingat?:howtowritefunny(screenplays,stories,andmore).StudioCity,
California:MichaelWieseProductions.
Vorhaus,J.(1994).Thecomictoolbox:howtobefunnyevenwhenyou'renot.St.LeonardsN.S.W.:Allen&Unwin.
Ziv,A.(1988).HumorasaSocialCorrective.InL.Behrens&L.J.Rosen(Eds.),WritingandReadingAcrossthe
Curriculum(3rded.,pp.356-360).Glenview,IL:Scott,ForesmanandCompany.
Preparingjournalismgraduatesforalifetimeofwork
TrevorCullenEdithCowanUniversity
Governmentreportsonthefutureofworkin2016and2017revealthattoday’sgraduatesfaceuptosevencareerchangesintheirworkinglifetimes.Thisfindingdoesnotimplythattherewillbefewerjobsinthefuture,butratherthattherewillbedifferentandvariedones.Therefore,itisvitalforgraduatestodevelopskillstoadapttothesetransitions.CapstoneunitsandexperienceshavebeenchosenbytheAustralianhighereducationsystemasthemostappropriatemechanismforassistingfinal-yearundergraduatestudentstomanagethetransitionfromuniversitytoprofessionallife.CapstoneunitsarealsofavouredbyjournalismeducatorsinAustralia.Thispaperreportsthefindingsandagreementsofan18-monthAustralianNationalTeachingFellowshipstudythatinvestigatedhowcapstonesareviewedandusedbyjournalismeducators.Thestudyinvolvedface-to-faceinterviewswith30journalismeducatorsfrom18universitiesinAustraliafromlate2015toearly2017.Onemajoroutcomeofthestudywasagreementontheaimsandtypesofcapstones,togetherwiththeprinciplesandalistofskillstobedemonstratedbygraduates.Thesecondpartofthispaperarguesthatcurrentjournalismcapstonedesignisoftenlimitedtothedemonstrationofknowledgeandskills,butintheever-changingworldofwork,graduatesalsoneedwell-developedpersonalandprofessionalidentities,solidreflectivepracticesandlife-longlearningskills.Theultimategoalistousecapstoneunitstopreparejournalismgraduatesforalifetimeofwork,notjusttheirfirstprofessionaljob.
9
Mediaframesofclimatechange:AcomparisonbetweenIndiaandAustralia
JahnnabiDasUniversityofTechnology,Sydney
Despiteanincreasingattentiontotheissuesofclimatechangeinrecentyears,therehasbeenalackoffocusonhowthemediaframesvariousspeakersinenvironmentalcoverage.Accordingtosomecritics(Carragee&Roefs,2004;Ytterstad,2015),framingisnotonlyconcernedwithwhatandwhoareincludedinthemedia,butalsowhatandwhoareexcludedandwhy.Inthisway,framingrelatestothecontestationofpowerwithinthebroadpoliticalandsocialcontexts(Carragee&Roefs,2004;Luedecke&Boykoff,2017).However,whileitiseasytodeterminethepresenceofanythinginthemediacoverage,itisdifficulttoobserveabsencesofissuesorspeakersbyexaminingonlythepublishedcontent.Theclosestonecangettosuchananalysisistocomparedifferenteditorialdecisionstakenbetweenavailableoptionsincomparablesituations(Metag,2016).Toconductaframeanalysisofinclusionandexclusion,IexaminethemediacoverageofclimatechangefromIndiaandAustraliaduringCOP21(Paris,2015)andCOP22(Marrakech,2016)withaspecificfocusonthe‘marginal’actors(Manning,2000),suchasenvironmentalactivists.Iidentifytheframesaswellasthepresenceorabsenceofvariousspeakersoractorstounderstandthecontestationofpowerinthemediaframingprocess.Thefindingsuggeststhat,unlikepreviousinvestigationswhereenvironmentalactivistsusuallyreceivedasignificanttractionintheclimatechangecoverage(Reber&Berger,2005),thereisadecliningpresenceofthemassourcesbothinIndiaandAustralia.Thisfindingmaysuggestapotentiallychangingrelationshipbetweentheenvironmentalactivistsandmediaorganisations.
References:
Anderson,A.(2014).Media,environmentandthenetworksociety.Hampshire:PalgraveMacmillan.
Billett,S.(2010).Dividingclimatechange:globalwarmingintheIndianmassmedia.ClimaticChange,99,1-16.doi:
10.1007/s10584-009-9605-3
Boykoff,M.T.(2011).WhoSpeaksfortheClimate?MakingSenseofMediaReportingofClimateChange.Cambridge:
CambridgeUniversityPress.
Caney,S.(2005).Justicebeyondborders:Aglobalpoliticaltheory,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
Carragee,K.&Roefs,W.(2004).Theneglectofpowerinrecentframingresearch.JournalofCommunication,54:2,214-
233;doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2004.tb02625.x
Dreher,T.&Voyer,M.(2015).Climaterefugeesormigrants?Contestingmediaframesonclimatejusticeinthepacific.
EnvironmentalCommunication,9(1),58-76.doi:10.1080/17524032.2014.932818
Eide,E.&Ytterstad,A.(2011).Thetaintedhero:FramesofdomesticationinNorwegianpressrepresentationoftheBali
climatesummit.InternationalJournalofPress/Politics,16(1),50-74.doi:10.1177/1940161210383420
Goodman,J.(2017).SocialMovementParticipationandClimateChange,TheOxfordResearchEncyclopaediaofClimate
Science.OxfordUniversityPress,doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.340
Hansen,A.(2010).Environment,mediaandcommunication.NewYork:Routledge.
Luedecke,G.&Boykoff,M.T.(2017).Mediacommunicationonenvironmentalissues.InD.Richardson,N.Castree,M.
Goodchild,A.Kobayashi,W.Liu&R.Marston(Eds.)TheInternationalEncyclopaediaofGeography,
Malden/Oxford:JohnWiley&Sons.DOI:10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg0464
Metag,J.(2016).Contentanalysismethodsforassessingclimatechangecommunicationandmediaportrayals.Oxford
ResearchEncyclopaediaofClimateScience.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
10
Editorialworkinthemagazineindustry:Howthedigitalshiftischangingit
KaytDaviesEdithCowanUniversity
Despitemorbidpredictions,magazinesarestillwithusandsomearedoingwell.ThispaperpresentsresultsofaseriesofinterviewswithAustralianeditorsofprintanddigitalwomen’sandlifestylemagazinesabouttheimpactofthedigitalshiftoverthepastsevenyearsonhoweditorsperceivetheirrole.Specificallyitexplorestheconceptofcurationofbothcontentandaudiencesandhowonlineinteractivityhaschangedthenatureandmeaningofthatwork.Thesemi-structuredinterviewformatallowsexplorationofanumberofthemes.Theseincludejournalisticintegrity,advocacy,andtheextenttowhichmagazineeditorsseethemselvesasagentsofculturalchange.Anothermajorthemeis‘interactivity’.Editors’viewsonthebenefitsofinteractivitywillbedocumented,aswilltheirconcerns.Theinterviews,conductedin2017,willenabledocumentationoftheshiftinthetypeofworkeditorsdo,andtheextenttowhichnewpracticeshavebeenforcedbytherequirementsofnewmediabusinessmodelsandhowmuchtheyhavebeentheresultofeditorscreativelyexploringnewwaystoachievetheirgoals.ThebaselinedatathisstudycomesfromanethnographicstudyofmagazineeditorsinAustralia,completedin2008(Davies,2009).Duffy’s(2014)writingonshiftsinthemagazineindustryprovidedguidanceontheselectionofthemesandquestionsforthe2017interviews.
References
Davies,K.(2009).Women'smagazineeditors:whataretheydoing?Aretheygossipsorguardians,pawnsofthepatriarchy
orsubversivewisewomen?LambertAcademicPublishing.
Duffy,B.E.(2014)Remake,remodel:Theevolutionofthewomen’smagazineinaneraofmediaconvergence.Universityof
IllinoisPress.
Understandingeachother:AcollaborationbetweenAustralianandIndonesianjournalismschools
AndrewDoddandSueGreenSwinburneUniversity
In2016journalismstaffandstudentsatSwinburneUniversityinMelbourneandUniversitasMultimediaNusantarainTangerang,Indonesiadevisedaninnovativewayofworkingtogethertopromotegreaterculturalawareness.Theexercise,calledProyekSepaham(ProjectUnderstanding),involvedeachuniversityworkingseparatelytowriteandproducemultimediafeature-lengthreportsinresponsetoquestionsprovidedbytheotheruniversity’sstudents.Studentschosetopicsonwhichtheyfelttheylackedunderstandingabouttheothercountry.Theyswappedtopics,whichrangedfromseriousissueslikereligionandlawandordertoquirkysubjectssuchasvegemiteandsinkholes.Thestudentsthenproducedjournalismaimedatprovidinginsightsintotheirowncountryforreadersattheotheruniversity.Theresultswerepublishedontwointer-connectedwebsitesunderthebannerProyekSepaham.Thispaperdiscussestheevolutionofthisproject,keylessonslearnedandhowfuturesuchcross-culturalcollaborationscouldbeconductedbasedonthoselessons.
11
TellingthestoryoftheWarrigalCreekMassacre
AndrewDoddandLisaGyeSwinburneUniversity
InJune1843asmanyas150GunaiKurnaipeople,livingonlandthatisnowcalledGippslandinVictoria,weremassacredinareprisalraidfollowingthemurderofawhitesettler.ThepersonwidelyacknowledgedastheleaderoftheraidingpartywasAngusMcMillan,themanafterwhomtheFederalelectorateofMcMillanisnamed.ThispaperdiscusseshowstudentsandstafffromJournalismandMediaandCommunicationsatSwinburneUniversityworkedtogetherwithlocalhistoriansandGunaiKurnaipeopletoproduceafilmtotellthestoryofthemassacre.
TheprojectwasdesignedasapiloteducationalprojecttohelpmediaandjournalismstudentsdevelopabetterunderstandingofthepoliticalandethicalsensitivitiesofworkingwithAboriginalcommunitiestotellstoriesaboutwhatareoftencomplexandcontestedhistoriesinthiscountry.ItentailedanextensivefieldtriptoimportantIndigenoussitesandtothesiteofthemassacre.Thepaperexploreshowthisprocessunfoldedandwhatwelearnedaseducatorsfromtheproject.
Verification,factchecking,trafficandpartnerships:deceptivechangesinnews
CateDowdUNE
StoryfulwasoneofRupertMurdoch’smediaventuresafterthedemiseoftheNewsoftheWorld.TheinitialfocusatStoryfulwasontheverificationofsocialmediastoriesfornews,butby2016thefocusshiftedto‘brandingandadvertisingforsocialvideocontentandsocialmediaintelligenceforCorporationsandGovernmentagencies,andnewsmediaagencies’(Storyful2016).StoryfulhadturnedintoabargainingchipforMurdoch’smediaempire,enablingentryintootherworldsof‘bigdata’andpredicativeanalytics.AlthoughGooglehasmanyadvantagesinmachineintelligence,Facebookalsousesintelligentsemanticsearchsystems,whicharepowerfulsystemsfordataanalyticsanddiscoveringnewmarkets.Asearlyas2014‘Facebook’sNewswirewaspoweredbyStoryful’(Facebook,2014),andthispartnership,amongstpowerfulmediaplayers,markedaseriouscrossingoftheRubiconbetweennewsverificationandsocialmedia.By2016Facebookhadalsosignedcontractswith‘140mediacompaniesandcelebritiestocreatevideosforitslivestreamingservice’(Perlberg&Seethharaman,2016),includingacontractwiththeNewYorkTimes.Eventhoughsomecontractswerenotrenewedin2017,thedealswereattemptstoboostonlinetraffic,attheexpenseofnews.However,datafarminganddataminingforpredicativeanalytics,embeddedinsemanticsearchandalgorithms,areabiggerproblemfornewsandjournalism,thatgobeyondthemereinfluenceofdataanalyticsoneditorialdecisions.Thepowerofpredicativeanalyticsontheintegrityofnewsandjournalismisalsoalignedwiththeutilitarianfunctionofviralstories,usercomments,fakenews,fact-checkingandverification,whichhavebecomeindustriesintheirownright.Theseindustriesaresupportedbymediamogulsandsocialmediaentrepreneurs,becausetheyincreaseonlinetrafficandadvertisingdollars,andnotnecessarilyforperceivedethicalreasons.
12
ExperimentingwiththehyperlocalinSoutheastQueensland
ScottDownmanandRichardMurrayTheUniversityofQueensland
Formorethanadecadethetermhyperlocaljournalismhasbeenusedtodescribeavarietyofjournalismmodels.Fromuniversity-basedblogs,tograssrootscommunitynewssites,toprofessionalandcommercialoperationsrunbymainstreammediaorganisations–hyperlocaljournalismhasbecomealabelforadiverserangeofmedia-basedenterprises.However,unpackingwhatismeantbyhyperlocaljournalismisdifficult.Hyperlocaljournalismisoftenexperimentalandorganicmakingitdifficulttopigeon-holeintermsofbusinessmodelsandpractice-basedparadigms.Thispaperusesacasestudyapproachandexplorestheconceptofhyperlocaljournalism‘plants’byFairfaxinSoutheastQueensland.Thecasestudyinvestigatesfourstart-upsthathavebeendevelopedinhigh-growthareasaroundBrisbaneandlooksatthestrategiesusedtobuildhyperlocalaudiencesincommunitieswithpre-existing,long-termlocalmediaoutlets.ThestudyusesCastiglione’snotionofthe‘renaissanceman’asatheoreticalframeworkforexploringtheskill-setrequiredbyjournalistsandmediaorganisationsinhyperlocalcontexts.
Thepaperexploresthetriggersthatprompttheneedforhyperlocaljournalism.Thesetriggersincludearangeoffactorssuchasalackoflocalnewsdiversity,theissueoflocal‘newsdeserts’andenvironmentalfactorssuchastheinfluenceoffakenewsand‘thin’newsinlocalcommunities.Secondly,itexaminesthethornyissueofbusinessmodelsandtheeconomicviabilityofproducinghyperlocalnews.Lastly,theroleofhyperlocalaudiencesandtheirconnectionwithhyperlocaljournalismenterprisesisoutlined.
Newsportinghorizons:acontentanalysisofnewspapercoverageofAFLWandSuperNetball
PeterEnglish,AngelaCalder,SimonePearceandKatyKirbyUniversityoftheSunshineCoast
Theintroductionoftwonewprofessionalsportingcompetitionsin2017providedalong-awaitedboostforwomen’ssportinAustralia.ThroughtheemergenceofSuperNetballandtheAustralianFootballLeagueWomen’scompetition,femaleprofessionalathleteswereprovidedwithacentrestagetodisplayskillswhichhadoftenbeenpushedtothebackground–orshutofffrombroadcastscompletely.Inthisnewenvironment,stadiumsweresoldoutandmatcheswereshownliveonprimetimetelevision,includingonfree-to-airchannelsandonlineplatforms.Newspapercoveragewasalsomoreprominent,reflectingthegrowingcommercialandpublicinterestinfemalesport.
Butwhatdidthestoriesinclude?Didthereportsreflecttheprofessionalismofthesport,throughaspectssuchastacticalanalysis?Ordidtheycontainthehistoricallydismissiveandpatronisingelementsthathavebeenafeatureofwomen’ssportscoverage?Usingamediaframingframework,thisstudywillexaminereportingoftheSuperNetballseasontoprovideinsightintonewspapercoverageofwomeninsport,aswellassuggestionsforfuturesportsreporting.
Thisstudyutilisesacontentanalysistoexploretheprintcoverageofthefirstseasonofthisprofessionalsportingcompetition.Specifically,itmeasurestheamountandtoneofcoverage,thetypesofstories,anddescriptionsemployedinarticles.Datahasbeencollectedfromthenewspapersportspagesinthehomecity
13
orregionofeachoftheeightSuperNetballteams.Theresultsalsoallowforcomparisonswithtraditional,male-dominatedmediacoverage.
Foodreviews:lifestylejournalismoranextensionofmarketing?
PeterEnglishandDavidFleischmanUniversityoftheSunshineCoast
WhenTheWeekendAustralian’snationalrestaurantcriticJohnLethleandeliveredareviewof0outof5forupmarketrestaurantHillofGraceinAdelaidein2016,therewasawidespreadreactionandthreatsoflegalaction.Theratingandtheresponsehighlightedthecontemporaryroleofjournalisticreviewersintermsofindependentanddetachedreporting,whicharekeytraitsoftraditionaljournalism.Italsoprovidedinsightintothecommercialforcesoperatingwithinthemedia,includinginlifestylejournalism.ThatLethlean’sreviewratingofzerowasunusualraisedissuesoverreaderandrestaurantexpectationstowardcriticalreviewsintraditionalmedia.Werejournalistsemployedtogiveadetached,balancedcritiqueofakitchenanddiningroomexperience,orchargedwithpromotingtheestablishmentsthroughtheirreviewsandoverallmarks?Thesequestionsprovideabasetoexamineinthispilotstudywhethernewspaperfoodreviewersaremoreinfluencedbythetraditionalapproachtojournalism,orplayerswithinthefoodindustrywhoaremoreinclinedtopraisethandismiss.Inthisclimate,itisthereforevaluabletoexaminethereviewsoffoodcriticsinacomparativestudyoffourbroadsheet/qualitynewspapersinAustraliaandtheUnitedKingdom.ThenationswereselectedduetooperatinginsimilarWesternmediasystemsandsharingCommonwealthhistories.Broadsheet/qualitytitleswerechosenbecausetheyfocusonaudiencesmorealignedwithaspectsofmiddleclass,taste,identityandstatus.
Intotal,theratingsfrom550restaurantreviewsfromTheWeekendAustralian,TheSydneyMorningHerald,theGuardianandTheTimeswereexaminedacrossthethreeyearsofthestudy.Theoverallmeanofreviewratingswas69.37percent–oralmost7marksoutof10.However,examiningthehighestandlowestmarksprovidesanindicationofhowgenerousorcriticalthereviewerswere.Onlysixrestaurantswerejudgedtobeinthe91-100percentbracket.Thenumberofrestaurantsthat“failed”–receivingamarkoflessthan50percentaccordingtothereviews–was45.Atthebottomendofthe“fail”scale,thereweretworeviewsbetween0and10percent,andsixmorebetween11and20percent.Overall,theresultsreflectaspectsofindependentanddetachedjournalismaswellastheimpactofmarketingandpromotionalelementsinfoodreviews.
#Guptaleaks,scorpionsanddungbeetles:Theresurgenceof[independent,“outside”]investigativejournalisminSouthAfrica
AntheaGarmanRhodesUniversitySchoolofJournalismandMediaStudies,SouthAfrica
InthispresentationIlookatarecent,sudden,andveryinterestingresurgenceofinvestigativejournalisminSouthAfricaagainstthebackdropofamajorattackonthecountry’sdemocraticinstitutionsengineeredbytheGuptafamily(withtheirglobalempirespanningmedia,miningandIT)whohaveaquestionableassociationwithPresidentJacobZuma.Thisresurgenceofverybrave,investigativejournalismis
14
exemplifiedbythecollaborative#Guptaleaksscrutiny.Basedoutsidethetraditionalmainstreammedianewsroom,thismajorinvestigationhasusedtheforms,sourcesandtoolsofWikileakstoputoutanoverwhelmingamountofdamninginformation(100000plusleakedemails)soastomakeapowerful,immediate,publicimpact.TheinvestigativeteamconsistsoftheindependentinvestigativeunitAmabhungane(whichusedtoworkinassociationwiththeMail&Guardian)andanewinvestigativeunitcalledScorpiostartedbySouthAfrica’sonlynewonlinemainstreamnewspublication,TheDailyMaverick.Stalwartjournalistsschooledinnewspaperinvestigativetechniquesaswellasyoungreporterswhohaveonlyknowndigitaljournalismmakeuseofarangeofdigitaltoolstomountinvestigationsthatarenolongersupportablebythelegacymedia“inside”newsrooms.ThroughtextualanalysisandinterviewsIexploretheinterplayofold-schooljournalisticknowledgeandknow-howwithnewtoolsofdigitalnewsgatheringanddissemination.Ilookattherelationshipbetweenjournalism“outside”theformalnewsroomand“inside”theinstitutionalmedia.Theseformsofinterplayarecrucialforeducatorsinjournalismprogrammestounderstandsothattheycanbetterpreparemediastudentstoforgecareersinwhathasbecomeaverycomplexjournalismenvironmentwithanerodingfinancialbase.
Globalnetworkjournalismandtheriseoftheglobalfourthestate
AmandaGearingandPeterBerglezQUTandÖrebroUniversity,Sweden
Thispaperexaminestheparticularcharacteristicsofglobalnetworkjournalism,whichisstillunder-theorizedandunder-researched.Itisarguedthatanunderstandingofthetechnologicalandepistemologicalcharacterofglobalnetworkjournalismrequiresthreeinterrelatedanalyticaloperations.Tobeginwith,thereistheempiricalrealityofemergingexamplesoftransnationalinvestigativereportingandstorytelling–despitelanguageandculturaldifferences-suchastheICIJsLuxembourgLeaksandPanamaPapersinvestigations(WalkerGuevara2014;Ryleetal.2013;WalkerGuevara2013).ThePanamaPaperscoverageby370reportersoftheactivitiesofPanamaniangloballawfirmMossackFonsecainmorethan100newsorganisationsaroundtheworldinApril2016wasthelargestcross-borderjournalismcollaborationeverundertaken(TheInternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists2016;Wayneetal.2014).Second,theemergenceofglobalnetworkjournalismneedstobeunderstoodinrelationtotheever-greaterimportanceofaglobalfourthestate,inwhichdomesticjournalism’sdemocraticrolebecomes“transnationalised”(Gearing2016).Third,adeeperunderstandingofglobalnetworkjournalismrequiresananalyticalcombiningandmergingoftwotheoreticalconceptsthatarestillratherseparated,morepreciselyglobaljournalism(Cottle2009;Berglez2008;Reese2016)andnetworkjournalismstudies(Heinrich2012;Gearing2016).Timeisoftheessenceinthetransitionfromnation-basedjournalismtoglobalnetworkjournalismbecauseofthesuddenandsharpcontractioninmediaorganisationsthatareclosingforeignbureaus,cuttingtravelbudgetsanddisbandinginvestigativeteams.Thepublicisthereforelosingitseyesandearsaroundtheworldpreciselywhentheyaremostneeded(Keena2014).
References
Berglez,Peter.2008"WhatisGlobalJournalism?"JournalismStudies9(6):845-858.
Cottle,Simon.2009."Journalismstudies:comingof(global)age?"Journalism10(3):309-311.
15
Gearing,Amanda.2016."Globalinvestigativejournalisminthenetworksociety."PhD,DepartmentofMedia,
EntertainmentandCreativeArts,QueenslandUniversityofTechnology.
Heinrich,Ansgard.2012."Whatis'networkjournalism'?"MediaInternationalAustralia,IncorporatingCulture&Policy
(144):60-67.
Keena,Colm.2014."Luxleaks:averymodernscoop."TheIrishTimes.November8,2014.
Reese,Stephen.2016."TheNewGeographyofJournalismResearch:LevelsandSpaces."DigitalJournalism4(7):816-
826
Ryle,Gerard,MarinaWalkerGuevara,MichaelHudson,NickyHager,DuncanCampbellandStefanCandea.2013."Secret
FilesExposeOffshore’sGlobalImpact".InSecrecyforSale:InsidetheGlobalOffshoreMoneyMaze.USA:
InternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists
TheInternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists.2016."AnewICIJinvestigationexposesarogueoffshore
industry".InThePanamaPapers.Washington:ICIJ.
WalkerGuevara,Marina2013."Howweallsurvivedlikelythelargestcollaborationinjournalismhistory."TheGlobal
Muckraker,InternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists12April2013.
WalkerGuevara,Marina2014."Luxembourgleaks:acasestudyincollaborativejournalism."TheGlobalMuckraker,6
November2014.
Wayne,Leslie,KellyCarr,MarinaWalkerGuevara,MarCabraandMichaelHudson.2014."LeakedDocumentsExpose
GlobalCompanies’SecretTaxDealsinLuxembourg":ICIJ.
Fact-checkingonWikipedia:anexercisewithJournalismundergraduatestudents
MarcioGonçalvesIbmec/Facha/Estácio,Brazil
In2016,theOxfordDictionaryrevealedthewordoftheyearwasadjective"post-truth."Thetermwaschosenbecauseitsfrequencyofuseincreasedby2000%overthepreviousyear.Hence,fakenewscreatedindigitalenvironmentsariseand,consequently,anissuemustbeaddressed:howtotrustwhatisreadontheInternet?Whatpathshouldjournalismtakewhenopinionsandfactsmingletocatchtheattentionofascatteredaudience?
Darnton(2017)statesthatfakenewshasalwaysexisted.Procopiuswasa6thcenturyByzantinehistorianwhowrotesecrettext"Anekdota",throughwhichfakenewswasspread.PietroAretino(1492-1556),journalistandadventurer,isconsideredthemainfakenewspropagator.In1522,hewroteshortpoems,sonnets,andgluedthemtothestatueofPasquino,inRome.Everyday,hedefamedoneofthecardinalsintherunningforPope.In1770,inLondon,therewereso-called"paragraphmen,"whogatheredgossipanddraftedthemintoasingleparagraph,sellingthemtoprinters/publishers,whichprintedthemasshort,oftendefamatoryreports.
ChristofolettiandLaux(2008)considerthenewspropagationspeedanincreasinglydecisivecriterioninthereliabilityofcontent.Fact-checkingworkshops,afakenewsfightingtool,heldwithjournalismundergraduatestudents,useAgênciaLupa’smethodologyandenablefuturejournaliststobroadentheirviewregardingthisscenario.StudentsanalyzeWikipediainformation.AccordingtotheWikimediaFoundation,Wikipediaisoneofthefivemostvisitedwebsitesintheworld,withover400millionuniquevisitorspermonth,whichrepresents5%oftheworldpopulation.
16
Wikipediausespresscontentasreferencesources.Inthefooter,therearehyperlinkswithdigitaladdressesofthereferredtojournalisticcontent.Fact-checkingprovides8labelstotheinformationfound:True–theinformationisdemonstrablycorrectTrue,but–theinformationiscorrect,butthereaderdeservesfurtherexplanationTooearlytosay:theinformationcanbetrue,butitisnotyetExaggerated–theinformationisontherightpath,butexaggeratedContradictory–theinformationcontradictsanotherpreviouslydisclosedbythesamesourceUnsupported–nopublicdatasupporttheinformationFalse-theinformationisdemonstrablyincorrect,andEyeTracking-amonitoringlabel.
Studentsmustanswerthefollowingquestionswhenstartingtheprocess:Didyoucheckthepublicationdate?IstheURLreliable?Istheauthorreliable?Whatisthesourceofthesource?Haveyoueverheardofthewebsiteyoureadthenewsfrom?Hastheinformationbecomeviralinthetimeline?Doesthetitlehavecatchyadjectives?DoesthetexthaveerrorsinPortuguese?Fromtheanswers,studentsidentifythesourcesandstartchecking.
In100%ofthecases,entrydataisunsupportedandcanbeconsideredflawedforbecomingpartofanencyclopedia.Inthissense,studentsrealizetheimportanceofinformationproductionintoday'ssocietyandconcludethatjournalistsmustproperlycheckthefacts,sincetheproductionoffakenewstendstogrowinproportionwithinourinterconnectedsociety.
References
Darnton.R.(2017).Notíciasfalsasexistemdesdeoséculo6,afirmahistoriadorRobertDarnton.Retrievedfrom
http://bit.ly/2fEgpc5
ChristofolettiR.&LauxA.P.F.(2008).Confiabilidade,credibilidadeereputação:nojornalismoenablogosfera.Retrieved
fromhttp://bit.ly/2fkNz3s
JournalismStudies:whichbedrockinaseaofchange?
BeateJosephiTheUniversityofSydney
Journalismstudiesfoughthard–bothconceptuallyandwithinuniversityadministrations–toachievethestatusofitsowndistinctdiscipline.Itsresearchconcentratedonandcritiquedthecorebusinessofnewsprovisionfromthebedrockofinstitutions.Digitaltransformationstonewsprovisionhavecausedseverefaultlinesinthisbedrock.Journalismstudies,however,neednotbesweptawaybyanyensuingtsunami.Adaptabilityhasalwaysbeenoneofjournalism’sstrongpoints(butalsosomethingofanAchillesheel),andjournalismstudiesarealreadyprovingtobeadaptable.Thiscontributionwillarguethatjournalismstudiesmaylosesomeofitscentralityintheongoingchangesinasmuchastheirfocuswasembeddedinlegacyjournalism.Inresearch,journalismstudiesarelikelytoshedsomedistinctivenessintheprocessofbecomingpartofalargerinquiryintodigitalnewsprovision,publiccommunicationandsocialmediabehaviour.Also,globaldataonjournalistsforcesustoacknowledgethatjournalismhasbeenamoretransitoryoccupationthanportrayedandthatjournalistsseethemselvesdecreasinglyasacoherentbody.Thismaypromptjournalismstudiestorecastnotionsofessentialism,anddefinetheirboundariesbydelineatingwhatisconsidered‘journalistic’.Thisshouldbeaidedbythefact,observableinAustralia,that
17
whiletheresearchfocusischanging,theteachingofjournalisticskillshasremainedremarkablysteady.Infact,itcanbearguedthatitisthisadaptableandexpandableskillsbase,whichmakesforthebedrockofjournalism.
BestpracticesinAustralianstaff-studentcollaborativepublishing:anoverview
ProfessorMatthewRicketson,DrJenniferMartinandLucySmyDeakinUniversity
Thenumberandscopeofstaff-studentcollaborativepublishingventuresinAustralianjournalismschoolshasgrowninthepastdecade,rangingfromstaff-supervisednewsbulletinspreparedforcommunityradiostationstogroupinvestigativeprojectshousedinsideparticularsubjects,toa“wheelandspokes”modelwherealmostallstoriesproducedbystudentsenrolledinajournalismprogramarefedtoacentralpublicationpoint.Mostrecently,theUniPollWatchprojecthasexpandedsubstantiallythepossibilitiesinherentinjournalismschools.Theaimofthispresentationistotakestockoftherangeofstaff-studentcollaborativepublicationsandgaugebothbestpractices,andwhatcanbelearntfrompastprojects.Thepresentationwilldrawoninterviewswiththosejournalismacademicsengagedinsupervisingthecollaborativeprojectsandwillaskwhatscopethereistoexpandsuchpublishingventures,especiallyinlightoftheemergingdemocraticdeficitinsomepartsoftheoverallreportinglandscape.
A‘veryprivatefragility’:Thelackofalanguageforreportingmentalhealth
JonJureidiniandJohnWalshTheUniversityofAdelaide
Elitesportsmen,eitheractiveorrecentlyretired,frequentlycometomediaattentionbecausetheyaresaidtohavedevelopedamentaldisorder.Sucheventsareoftenaccompaniedbypleasfordecreasedstigmatisationandincreasedrecognitionofmentalillnessinyoungmen.
ThebreakdownandrecoveryoftheeliteAustralianRulesfootballer,LanceFranklin,in2015–2016wasextensivelyreportedinthemedia.WecarriedoutalanguageanalysisofallreportingintheMelbourneAgeandHeraldSunfromAugust2105toApril2016.
Wefound439statementsrelatedtomentalhealthin106articles.WeconcludedthattherewasanimpoverishedlanguagetodescribeFranklin’spredicament.Overtwo-thirdsoflabelsappliedwereemptytermssuchas‘issue’orgenericmedicaltermssuchas‘mentalillness’.Thereisastarkcontrastwiththereportingofphysicalillnessinathletes.
Thereareanumberofreasonsforthispatternofreporting.Journalistsdidnotappeartohaveaccesstoinformationandwereconstrainedfromspeculatingoutofawishtorespectprivacyandperhapsawarinessofbreakingformalandinformalcodesforreportingmentalillness.Moreimportantlyhowever,wearguethatthiscasestudyillustratesthelackofausefulpubliclanguageofpsychiatrybeyondreductivepsychiatriclabels.
Asecondimportantobservationwithimplicationsformentalhealthreportingwasthewayagencywasattributed.Mostoften,possiblyintheserviceofreducingstigma,Franklinwasdepictedasthepassive
18
recipientofhismentalhealth‘issue’.Thishastheeffectofestablishingtheillnessasanentitytobetreatedbyadoctorwiththepatienthimselfasaninterestedbystander.Weargueforadifferentapproachthatpreservesagencyforthesuffererwithoutincreasingstigma.
Journalistshavefoundalanguagetotalkaboutracism,and,incollaborationwiththeAFL,havemadeasignificantcontributiontochangingpublicattitudes.Mentalhealthprovidesdifferentchallenges.IffollowingtheadviceofsuccessivechairsofBeyondBlue(Kennett,Gillard)westronglyencourageplayerstotalkabouttheir‘issues’,howdotheytalkaboutthesematters?Basedonouranalysis,weoffersometentativesuggestionsforhowthelanguageofmentalhealthreportingmightbeimproved.
Itislikelywedon’ttalkaboutmentalillnessbecauseitisstigmatised–anditisstigmatisedbecausewedon’ttalkaboutit.Perhapsthemedia/journalistshavearoleininterruptingthiscircularitybydevelopingandusinglanguagewhichismeaningfulandmedicallyaccurate.
ReformandDefend:FakeNewsdiscourseasproblemandopportunity
ChristopherKremmerTheUniversityofNewSouthWales
DonaldTrump’sself-serving‘FakeNews’discoursehasralliedAmericannewsmediaindefenceofjournalisticvaluesofverification,fairnessandspeakingtruthtopower.ButdoesthisjustifiableresistancetoTrump’sdishonestyandtotalitariantendenciesthreatentoburyequallyimportantcritiquesofcontemporarynewsmediapractices?Weliveinaworldinwhichtriballoyaltytoacontesteddisciplinelikejournalismisincreasinglyproblematic,givenitsassociationwithlargemediacorporationsthatonoccasionhavesoughtadvantagebyusingjournalistsaspoliticalshocktroops.Debateaboutfakenewsoffersanimportantopportunityforintrospectionanddiscussionamongjournalistsaboutwhatailsnewsmedia,aswellaswhatisgenuinelyimportantandgoodaboutit.Itchallengesustoaskwhetherfakenewsmaybetheorisedinawaythatencouragesagenuinelyopencriticaldiscourse?InanapproachinfluencedbyconceptsofpolyphonyanddialogismexploredbyBakhtin,thispaperarguesthatsuchadiscourseshouldstandontwopillars.Firstly,acommitmenttodefend,extendandentrenchjournalisticfreedomsandtheprotectionofjournalists.Secondly,astrongcommitmenttojournalismethics,accountabilitytothepublic,andavigorousengagementwithnewmediaapproachesthatseektocritique,reviseandreformtraditionaljournalisticpracticesandourunderstandingofwhatwecall‘news.’
Itnotallbloodandguts-Differingoutcomesoftraumaexposure:posttraumaticgrowthandmoralinjury
CaitMcMahonDartCentreAsiaPacific
SincePTSDwasdefinedin1980therehasbeenaplethoraofresearchonthissyndromeandithasdrivenourunderstandingofnegativeoutcomesoftraumaexposure.Morerecentlythediscussionhasbeenbroadenedtootheroutcomesoftraumaexposure.Moralinjuryandposttraumaticgrowtharejusttwothathavecometothefore.
19
ThispaperwillpresentDrMcMahon’srecentresearchonposttraumaticgrowth(PTG),ameasurable,positiveoutcomeoftraumaexposure.McMahonhasexaminedthisphenomenonamongst115Australian,trauma-reportingjournalists.
McMahon'sresearchoutcomesidentifiedthatwarreporters,freelancersandphotojournalistsreportedhigherlevelsofPTGthanotherjournalists.PTGmeasureshigherratesoffunctioningpost-traumainareassuchassenseofself;deeperpersonalrelationshipsandenhancedexistentialexperiencesthanpre-traumafunctioning.Thiswasoftenrelatedtowhatshetermsthe'journalist-person'dilemma.
Further,theconceptofmoralinjuryisanascenttheoryamongstjournalists.Thetermisbeginningtobeusedopenlybyjournalist’sbloggingabouttheirtraumaexposure(e.g.,DeanYates,Reuters)andsomeresearchisemerging(Feinstein&Storm,2017)yetthetermislittleunderstoodinrelationtotraumaexperiencesinjournalists.
Learningoutcomes:
- Deeperunderstandingoftraumaoutcomes.
- Skillstoeducatejournalismstudentstothinkmoredeeplyabouttraumaoutcomesforthemselvesandtheirinterviewsubjects.
MeetyouoverattheGuardian:rationalisingparticipatoryjournalismatendofin-housenewscommenting
FionaMartinTheUniversityofSydney
From2015onwardsmanylargeandsmallnewsorganisationsinternationallyabandonedtheirin-housecommentingsystems.Insteadtheyencouragedaudiencestoengagewiththemviabrandedsocialmediachannels,overwhichjournalistshavelittleeditorialcontrolormonitorialcapacity.Yetthistransformationoftheconditionsforso-called‘participatoryjournalism’hasbeenlittlediscussed.Howdoaudiencesfeelaboutthelossoftheseenvironments,orothermajorchangestotheparticipativecontractstheyhavewithonlinenewsproviders?Whataretheirrationalesforcontributingtonewstalk?Andwhataretheproblemsofdesign,registration,interaction,participationandgovernancetheyidentify,thathindertheirsocialinteractions?
Drawingoncriticaldiscourseanalysis,textualanalysisandparticipationtheory(Carpentier,2011,2016)thispaperconsidersnewscommentingnotsimplyasaformofpersonalexpressionorpoliticalaction,butasdialogicmedia—aformofsocialandculturalcapitalbuildingthatevidencestheformationofcommunitydespiteconditionsoftransience,churnandwhatSlavojŽižekcallsobjectiveviolence.
Tomakethiscaseitanalysestherepresentationandsubstanceofusers’textualresponsestothreenarrativeevents,eachofwhichevidencesrupturesinparticipativejournalismrelations:aGuardianjournalists’proposaltodiscontinuecomments;userreactionstotheAustralianBroadcastingCorporation’sclosureofitsopinionsite;andtheNewYorkTimesinitiativetointroduceverifiedcommenterstatus.Inexamininghowusersframetheseeventsandtheirexperienceofcommenting,thepaperexploreshowtheyconceivetheconditionsfor,andideologicallimitsof,newsjournalismasameansofgeneratingpublicdiscourse,social
20
bondsandcreativerelationships.Itsuggeststheneedforjournalismtorethinkitscommitmenttovaluingdialogicmediaandprovidingbetterwaystogovernit.
References
Carpentier,Nico(2011)Theconceptofparticipation:Iftheyhaveaccessandinteract,dotheyreallyparticipate?CM:
CommunicationManagementQuarterly/Casopiszaupravljanjekomuniciranjem.21:13-36.
Carpentier,Nico(2016)Beyondtheladderofparticipation.Ananalyticaltoolkitforthecriticalanalysisofparticipatory
mediaprocesses,Javnost–ThePublic,23(1),70-88.
Žižek,Slavoj(2008)Violence:SixSidewaysReflections.NewYork:Picador.
BizarreNewsTriangle:NorthKorea,defectorsandforeigncorrespondents
RichardMurrayTheUniversityofQueensland
TherearefewplacesmoredifficulttocoverthanNorthKorea.TheregimeinPyongyanghasbuiltareputationonkeepingtheoutsideworldout,and,whenitdoesletpeoplein,makingsurevisitorsseeamanagedandcuratedviewofthecountry.ThiscarefulmanagementextendstowhattheNorthKoreangovernmentshareswiththeworldviastatecontrollednewsagencieswhoseofferingsoftenborderonthebizarre.Thishasledtoavacuuminreliablecoverageonthestate;avacuumthatisneverthelessfilledbyanewsmediadesperatetomeettheseeminglyinsatiabledemandsforstoriesonthecountry.ThisstudylooksattheconstructionofnewsonNorthKoreabyinvestigatingtherelationshipbetweenthosecoveringthecountryandtheirsources.ItshouldbestressedthispaperisnotabouthowNorthKoreacommunicateswiththerestoftheworld.Rather,thisaboutthepracticeofjournalistsreportingonNorthKoreafortheforeignnewsmedia.Specifically,thispaperinterrogatestheuseNorthKoreandefectorslivinginSouthKoreabyforeignjournalistsreportingfortheforeignnewsmedia.Since2012,theperiodimmediatelyafterthedeathofKimJong-ilandriseofKimJong-un,demandfornewsonthecountryhasincreased,andquestionshaveemergedwithintheforeignjournalistcommunitycoveringNorthKoreafromSeouloverthemotivesbehindsomeofthe“bigname”celebritydefectorswhoareoftenrelieduponinlendingcredibilityandauthenticitytonewsstoriesonNorthKorea.Fifteenjournalistsfromprominentwireservices,legacymastheadsanddigitalstart-upsbasedinSeoulwereinterviewedinordertogaugehowtheyusedefectorsintheirworkandtheissuesfacingtheindustryoverrelianceonanduseofdefectorsinreportingNorthKorea.ThisstudyformspartofamuchlargerframingstudylookingathowbothNorthKoreaandSouthKoreaareframedinadisruptedAustraliannewsindustry.
Cardinal:acasestudyofmethodologyinjournalism
ChrisNashMonashUniversity
LouiseMilligan’sbookCardinal:TheRiseandFallofGeorgePell(2017)isaprize-winningaccountoftheargumentthatCardinalGeorgePellhasacompellingcasetoansweragainstallegationsofpersonalsexualabuseofminors.PellistheformerCatholicArchbishopofMelbourneandsubsequentlySydney,andcurrentlythethirdmostseniorleaderintheVaticanhierarchy,inchargeoftheChurch’sfinances.Thebook
21
canvasesinformationalreadyonthepublicrecordaboutPellinrelationtoinstitutionalfailureswithrespecttotheprotectionofchildren,andpresentsnew,originalresearchthataccusesPellofpersonalactsofchildsexualabuse.PellhassincebeenchargedbyVictorianpolicewithmultiplechildabuseoffencesandwillfacecourtinMelbourneinJuly2017.
Thispaperexaminestheargumentinthebookforitsmethodologicaladequacy,andpresentsitasacasestudyinthelargerdebateaboutwhetherjournalismassuchcanbesufficientlyrigorousandreflexivetomeritscholarlystatus.ForthelargerdebateitdrawsontheframeworkadvancedbyNash(2016)thatrigorousjournalismisnecessarilyinterdisciplinaryandalsodrawsongeography,history,sociologyandartfortheoreticalvalidationofitsmethods.
ThepaperdrawsitsempiricalevidencefromaclosereadingoftheevidenceandtextofCardinal,supplementedbydatafromin-depthinterviewswiththeauthor,ABCtelevisionreporterLouiseMilligan.Afterpresentinganoverallreviewofthenarrativestructureandauthorialreflexivitypresentedinthebook’sargument,thepaperfocusesonthreekeymethodologicalissuesintheallegationsmadeagainstPellbytheauthor.Thefirstonerelatestothespatio-temporalityofoffencesallegedagainstPellinregionalVictoriawhileapriestbeforehebecameabishop,andatStPatrick’sCathedralinMelbournewhilehewasArchbishopthere.ThisanalysisdrawsontheHarvey-LefebvreGeneralMatrixofSpatio-temporalitiesadvancedbyDavidHarvey(2006)anddeployedwithrespecttojournalismbyNash(2015,2016).
ThesecondmethodologicalissuerelatestoMilligan’snewssenseorintuitioninfollowingherresearchleads,andexaminesthemwithrespecttoBourdieu’stheoryofhabitusandspatio-temporality(Nash,2017).Thethirdissueinvolvesinter-disciplinaryissuesinforensicpsychology,inparticularwithrespecttothecredibilityofsurvivorsofallegedchildabuseasprosecutionwitnesses.MilliganidentifiessuchsurvivorstobesufferingfromPTSD,andreferencesacademicresearchtosupportherargumentthatsubstanceabuseandmentalhealthconcernsshouldnotbeusedtodiscounttheveracityofsuchevidence–indeed,shearguesthecontrary,thatPTSDcanbetakenasevidenceofcredibility.
ThepaperconcludesthatCardinalisanexemplaryinstanceofjournalismasscholarlyresearch,andprovidesacontemporarydemonstrationoftheargumentadvancedbyNash(2013,2014,2016)thatrigorousjournalismcanbereadilydefendedmethodologicallytobeaccordedscholarlystatus.Indeed,Milligan’scanvassingofthepsychologicalscholarshiponPTSDwithrespecttowitnesscredibilityisacompellinginstanceofcollegiateinterdisciplinarity.
'TheSecondComingofMediaDoctor':Aresurrectionforthedigitalworld
CaitlinParr,AmandaWilsonandCraigHightUniversityofNewcastle
Mostpeople,includinghealthprofessionals,learnaboutnewhealthinterventionsthoughthemedia,andmanypeoplemakeimportanthealthdecisionsbasedonthisinformation.Theriseofonlinehealthinformationand‘fakenews’makesitdifficulttoknowwhichinformationisrelevantforindividuals,andwhichinformationcanbetrusted.Whenhealthnewsisunreliableormisleading,andhaspoorinformationoradvice,itcanresultinpublicpanics,thewronghealthchoices,increasedmedicalcosts,andevendeath.Thepublic’srelianceonmediaforhealthinformationcanbeseeninthepublicitysurroundingKylie
22
Minogue's2005breastcancerdiagnosis,whichresultedina100-foldincreaseinthenumberofyoungwomenbookingmammograms.Noextracancersweredetectedbecauseformostwomenofthisagethereisnobenefitinhavingamammogram.Insteadthesewomenwereunnecessarilyexposedtoradiation,anxietyandcost.Thiswasadirectresultofmediacoverage,despitemoststoriesstressingthefactthatmammogramswereinappropriateanddiscussingotherformsofbreastchecks.Youngwomenwereworriedenoughbythenewstoseekreassuranceintheformofaninvasive,uncomfortable,expensiveandpotentiallyharmfulprocedure.
MediaDoctorisagloballyrecognisedpublichealthinitiativeaimingtoaddresstheseissues,andimprovethequalityofhealthreportinginthedigitalage.MediaDoctorAustralia,establishedin2004,developeda‘ratingsystem’forhealthjournalism,withtheaimofhelpingjournalistsimprovetheircraft,andincreasingthehealthliteracyofthegeneralpublic.TheprojectinspiredinternationalventuresinAmerica,Japan,Sweden,Canada,HongKongandGermany,beforegoingintohiatusinAustraliain2012.TheteamiscurrentlyregeneratingtheMediaDoctorAustralianprojectfortheageofthecitizenjournalist.MediaDoctorwillbeanopenaccessonlineresourcewhereinterestedpeoplecanbetrainedtoassesstheaccuracyofhealthnewsstories.Thesitewillusecrowdsourcingtobuildacommunityofvolunteerstoanalysemediacontent,andposttheresultsforthewidercommunity.Theprojectisalsousingcrowdfundingtore-establishitselfinAustralia,andassuch,offersinterestinginsightsonthepotentialcollaborativelinksbetweencommunities,media,andhealthprofessionalsforresearchinthenewmediaecology.Thispaperexploresthepotentialofsuchlinks,andoutlinesthelargeraimsandbenefitsoftheregenerationofMediaDoctor,includingimprovinghealthliteracyinthecommunity,increasinglyaccuracyofhealthreporting,andtrainingfuturejournalistsineffectivehealthreporting.
ThevalueofAustralianjournalists’personalnarratives:casestudiesofAnnabelCrabb’s&ShannonHarvey’snonfictionwriting
VarunikaRuwanpuraTheUniversityofAdelaide
TherangeofnonfictionbookswrittenbyAustralianjournalistsindicatespublicappreciationofbook-lengthjournalism.Scrutinisingthesetextsrevealsthatlocaljournalists’nonfictionwritingisoftenshapedbytheirindividualnewsreportingstyleandpersonalconvictionsonwidersocietalissuesorthemes.ThispaperpresentscasestudiesofAnnabelCrabb’sbook,TheWifeDrought(2014),andShannonHarvey’sbook,TheWholeHealthLife(2016),andinsightsfromconversationswiththeseauthors.ItisbasedonabroaderstudyofAustralianjournalists’nonfictionwritingbeingundertakenforamaster’sresearchproject.ThepaperexploresthevalueofCrabb’sandHarvey’shighlypersonalnonfictionnarrativesandhowtheirbook-lengthjournalismservesasauthenticvoicesinanageoffakenews.Theresearchandwritingeffortthesejournalistsputintotheirnonfictionbooksalsotransfersbackintopublicconfidenceintheirday-to-daynewsreporting.Inotherwords,theirbook-lengthjournalismcontributestoanenhancedpublicfollowingfortheirmainstreamnewsreporting.
TheoreticalperspectivesusedtoanalyseCrabb’sandHarvey’snonfictionwritingareGieber’s(1964)argumentthatthecreationofanewsnarrativeisanintenselypersonalexperienceforreporters,Sim’s(1984)theoriesonauthorialvoiceandtheneedforaccuracyinliteraryjournalismandTulloch’s(2014)
23
viewsontheconstructionofanauthenticnarrativevoiceinlongformjournalism.AlthoughnewspracticenormshavechangedconsiderablysinceGieber’sargument,hisbasicpremiseregardingthepersonalqualityofnewsnarrativesisstillrelevant.Crabb’snewsreportingdisplaysanalmostlarrikinhumourandtakeonpoliticsthatfeedsintohernonfictionwriting.Similarly,Harvey’sheavily-researchedbook(2016)wasinspiredbyherpersonalexperiencewithautoimmunedisease.Byweavingtheirpersonalexperiencesintotheirnonfictionnarratives,thesewritersprovideuniqueinsightsthatenhancethestory.Bywritingtruestoriestheyarealsocontributingtotheslowjournalismmovementthatisincreasinglybecomingacounterpointtothefastnewscycleofdailynewsreporting.
References
Crabb,A.(2014).TheWifeDrought.SydneyNSW:RandomHouse.
Gieber,W.(1964).NewsisWhatNewspapermenMakeIt.InH.Tumber(Ed.),News:AReader,218-223.NewYork:
OxfordUniversityPress.
Harvey,S.(2016).TheWholeHealthLife.Australia:WholeHealthLifePublishing.
Sims,N.(1984).TheLiteraryJournalists.NewYork:BallantineBooks.
Tulloch,J.(2014).Ethics,trustandthefirst-personinthenarrationoflong-formjournalism.Journalism,15(5),629-
638.
RegulatingHateSpeechonSocialMedia:AToolforSocialCohesionorASlipperySlopeofCensorship?
AmyKristinSandersNorthwesternUniversity,Qatar
InlightofrecentterrorattacksinEurope,anumberofleadershavebandedtogetherespousinganagendatocombatterroristpropaganda.Atthecenterofthisplanareproposalstargetingspeechonsocialmediasites,includingFacebook,TwitterandotherInternet-basedplatforms.InGermany,forexample,theSocialMediaNetworksEnforcementLawwouldholdsitesaccountableforthespeechpublishedintheirforumswiththehopesofcurtailingthespreadofoffensivespeech.Thisdebate,withparticularfocusonhatespeech,isnotuniquetoEurope.ThroughoutAsiaandeveninAustralia,governmentsandcivicgroupsarewagingwarsoverwhether,andhow,tolimitspeechtargetingparticulargroupsofsocietythatmanypeoplefindoffensive.Thispaperexaminesglobaleffortstocombathatespeech,contrastingthemwiththeAmericanapproach,whichprotectshatespeechundertheauspicesoftheFirstAmendment’sfreedomofspeechguarantee.ItoutlinesthelegalprotectionsandlegislativejustificationspresentintheUnitedStateswithregardtoprotectedspeech.Itsuggestsnotonlythateffortstooutlawhatespeecharelargelyunrealisticgiventechnologicaladvancementsbutalsothatallowingspeakerstoairtheirviewsopenlyencouragescivicdiscourse.First,thepaperassertsthatholdingsocialmediasitesandothernetworksaccountableforspeechpublishedontheirsitesservesasasubstantialchillingeffect,encouragingbothpublishersanddistributorstoengageinself-censorship.Doingso,removessignificantamountofspeechfromthemarketplaceofideas.Second,restrictingoffensivespeechwon’taccomplishthedesiredsocialcohesionthatpoliticiansdesire.RelyinglargelyonThomasEmerson’sworkondissentandLeeBollinger’sworkontolerance,thispaperarguesthatsuppressionofhatespeechdoesnotpromotesocialstabilitybutinsteadinhibitsit.Asacounter,
24
thispaperarguesthatcountriesshouldpermitpeacefulexpressionofevenhatefulmessageswhileencouragingcounter-speechasafundamentalpartofcivicdiscourseinademocraticsociety.
Intersectionsandinterruptions:socialmediaandsportsjournalistsinNewcastle,Australia
PaulScottUniversityofNewcastle
Theintroductionofsocialmediahashadamajoreffectonbothsportsandmediaorganisations.MatthewsandAnwar(2013)arguethatsocialmediaisanimportantavenuetobreaksportingnews,andtobeabletodisseminatenewsquickly,suchasthelatestteamandinjuryupdatesforsportsfans.Thishashelpedintheproductionofsportingstories,intensifyingtheamountthemediacontentofsportsnewsandinformationthatisavailable,creatingdifferentwaysofthinkingforathletes,journalists,sportingorganisationsandthefansabouttheinteractionbetweensportandthedigitalmediaplatform(Hutchins2011).
Socialmediaisafundamentalandcentraltoolintheprocessofsharingofinformationbyathletesandsportingorganisationsseekingdirectcommunicationwithfans.Suchimmediacyanddirectconnectionhasredefinedtheroleofthesportsjournalistthathasnotbeenmetwithuniversalenthusiasm.KianandMurray’s(2014)studyfoundanunexpectednegativitytowardsocialmediafromsportsjournalistsintheUSA.Theyfoundmanysportsjournalistsdon’tlikesocialmedia,somehaveadisdainforsocialmediaandthe"online-first"publishingprioritythathaspenetratednewsroomsandthatothersresentedtheexpectationsofongoinginteractionandtheamountoftimetheyfeltobligedtomaintainanonlinepresence–evenwhileacknowledgingsocialmedia’sutilitytocontributetotheirwork.Thisnegativitytowardsocialmediafromsportsjournalistsispartlyduetoitsinfluenceonsportsjournalismpracticesanditseffectson“professionalism”,andtheabstractdefinitionofprofessionalismwithinthisspace.
ThispaperreportsonastudyundertakenwithsportsjournalistsinNewcastle,Australia.TheresearchdidnotseektoreplicateKianandMurray’sstudy,butsoughttodeterminehowNewcastlesportsjournalistsusesocialmediaintheirworkandtheirattitudeandapproachtoengagingwith,andusing,socialmedia.Inthisstudy,socialmediadescribesinteractiveandinterconnectednetworksandplatformsandincludesFacebook,Twitter,Instagram,YouTube,LinkedInandTumblr.
Interviewswereconductedwith11sportsjournalistswhoworkinNewcastle,with10malesportsjournalists,andonefemalesportscontributor.Thesportsjournalistswhoseviewsweresoughttoinformthestudyworkinprintmedia,radioandtelevisionandallhaveasocialmediapresence.Theresponsesofintervieweesregardingtheirattitudestowardandexperiencewithsocialmediaareanalysedtoidentifyboththematicsimilaritiesanddifferences.
25
Journalism,fandomoractivism?ThemotivationsofwomenwhocreateindependentsportsmediainAustralia
MerrynSherwoodLaTrobeUniversity
WomenhavehistoricallybeenexcludedfromsportsmediainAustralia.Surveysofsportsjournalistsassertthatnewspapersportdepartmentsareatmost11%women(Henningham,1995;Nicholson,Lowden&Zion2011),andfemaleathletesandwomen’ssportsmakeuplessthan10%ofsportsmediacoverage(Lumby,Caple&Greenwood,2014).Boththeselownumbershavepreviouslybeenattributedtothelingeringhistoricalsexismpresentwithinsportmedia,thatgenerallydelegitimisesanddevalueswomen’scontributions(Fink,2014;Sherwoodetal.,2016).YetrecentlythereisevidencethatwomeninAustraliaaremakingacontributiontothesportsmediadiscourseinnewways,throughdevelopingindependentsportsmediaproducts.Theseproducts,mostlywebsitesandpodcasts,thatfocusonbothsportmorewidelyandwomen’ssportandfemaleathletesspecifically,havenotjustattractedaudiences,theyhavebeenlegitimisedintothemedialandscape.WebsitessuchasTheWomen’sGame(femalefootball),andwitsup(womenintriathlon),regularlysecuremediaaccreditationfromsportsorganisationsbodiestocovereventsinthefield.Theirreportinghasalsoinfluencedmainstreammediacoverage.AsurveyrunbyTheWomen’sGamemadethebackpageofMelbournenewspaperTheAge,foritsfindingsthatamajorityofplayerswereinterestedindefectingtotheAFL’swomen’scompetition(Lynch,2016).ThedespicablecommentsmadebyCollingwoodpresidentEddieMcGuireaboutrespectedAgejournalistCarolineWilsononliveradiowereonlybroughttoaccountwhenTheOuterSanctumpodcast,sixwomentalkingaboutAFL(Perkins,2016),discussedtheminanepisode.
Thisstudyaimedtoexplorewhothesewomenareandwhytheycreatedigitalsportsmediaproducts,throughin-depthqualitativeinterviewswith10women.ItfoundthatlargelyinAustraliathesewomenhaveamixofbackgrounds,somehaveworkedasjournalistsorinothermediaroles,someweresimplysportfans.Inexploringtheirmotivations,thisstudyfoundwomenwhoproduceindependentsportsmediainAustraliawerelikelytohavesimilaritieswithtworelatedbutdistinctindependentmediaproducers-sportbloggersandcitizenjournalists(McCarthy,2014:Wall,2015).Theyweresportfans,similartosportbloggers,butalsoadheredtosomejournalisticidealsandpractices,traitsseenincitizenjournalism.Howevertheirworkalsocontainedtraitsofactivism,thecommonreasonwhytheystartedtheirproductwastoaddressthelackofwomen’ssportcoverageinmainstreammedia.Thispapercontributestothebroaderfieldofcitizenjournalism,independentmediaandsportsmediainAustralia,offeringaninsightintoanunderstudiedarea–womenwhocreateindependentsportsmediaproducts.
ViolenceAgainstWomen:AMediaIntervention
MargaretSimons,JenniferMorgan,DenisMullerandAnnieBlatchfordMonashUniversityandUniversityofMelbourne
InthispaperwereportonthefindingsofanARCLinkageProjectthatexploredwhetherandhownewsagendasaroundViolenceAgainstWomenhavechanged,whetherwecanexpectanychangestobeoflongstandingandhowmediareportingofVAWcanbeimproved.
26
ThenewsmediahavebeenidentifiedinnumerousAustralianstateandnationalpolicydocumentsasapriorityareaforactiononpreventingviolenceagainstwomen.YetAustralianandinternationalresearchhasconsistentlyidentifiedproblemswiththewayjournalistsreportonDomesticViolence,includinganeglectofsocialcontext,sensationalism,perpetuatingmythsandmisrepresentations,victimblamingandoverrelianceonlawenforcementsourcesattheexpenseofotherformsofexpertise.
Todate,mostresearchhasfocussedonnewsmediaoutputs,divorcedfromanexaminationofthenewsroomandjournalisticprocessesthatleadtothoseoutputs.Wedrawoninterviewswithjournalists,focusgroupswithmediaaudiencesandtheresultsofa“mediaintervention”-theUncoveredwebsiteandsocialmediapresence,whichwasestablishedaspartoftheARCLinkageProject.
Throughfocussingontheexigenciesofjournalisticpracticeandtheimpactofmediaoutputsontheaudience,weconcludethatconsistentlyimprovingmediareportingrequiresafocusonjournalisticsourcesandsourcingpractices.Withoutthis,recentincreasesinthequantumofreportingVAWasanimportantsocialissueareunlikelytobemaintained.Mediatrainingforvictimsandsurvivorsshouldbeahighpriorityinprimaryprevention,aswellastrainingforjournalistsandjournalismstudents.WeconcludethatthemanyguidelinesformediageneratedbyDVsectorandotherorganisationshavelimitedimpactontheirown,butaremoreeffectivewhenaccompaniedbynetworkingandcontactbuildingactivities.Wesuggestwaysthatthesemightbemaximisedwithincurrentprimarypreventionactivities.Finally,wefindthatsocialmediaisincreasinglyimportantinhowjournalistsreportVAW,andinthiscontexttheUncoveredinterventionhasdemonstratedpromiseasaflexiblemeansofengagingandassistingjournalistsandbuildingusefulsourcerelationships.
Storiesthatwalkwithyou:Opportunitiesinlocativeaudioforfeaturejournalism
JeantiStClaireSouthernCrossUniversity
Locationandproximityhavegainednewmeaningsinjournalismsinceinbuiltlocativeandmappingcapacitieshavebeenaddedtothemobilephone,nowakeydeviceformediaconsumption.Thesetechnologiesproviderichopportunitiesfornewsproduction(Gogginetal2015,SchmitzWeiss2014,Oie2013andNyreetal2012amongstothers).Yet,falteringmediaeconomieshavelargelycurtailedjournalisticexperimentationwithlocativetechnology,beyondcustomisingnewsdeliveryaccordingtoauser'slocation.UnlikeGPS-drivenaugmentedrealitygamePokémonGo,whichusedlocativetechnologytoactivateandtakeplayersintourbanandcommunityspaces,newsorganisations'useoflocativetechnologyhasbeenfocusedmainlyonconnectingaudiencestoadvertisers.Newsorganisationsmostcommonlyuselocativetechnologytolocalisenewsandweatheronwebsites,andlocation-baseddirectorysearcheswhichcantieuserdatatoadvertisingrevenuestreams.However,locativetechnologyhasotherpotentialapplicationsinjournalismwhichcan,asWilkenandGoggins(2012)theorise,generateemplacednarrativeswhichareconsumedbymovingthroughplace.
Onefieldoflocativeproductionthatworkstoachievethisaim,andwhichhascloseconnectionstoaudiofeaturejournalismthroughradioandpodcastdocumentary,isthelocativeaudiowalk.LocativeaudiowalkplatformsuseGPSorBluetoothbeacontechnologytotrackauser’sjourneythroughaplace.Whentheuser
27
isinproximitytospecific,andusuallynarrativelymeaningful,locationsalongtheroute,audiocontentwillplayontheuser’smobiledevice.Locativeaudioproductionshavegainedsupportinthetourismandmuseumssectorsasimmersivevisitorexperiences.However,thereisscopeforjournaliststoalsoembracelocativeaudiowalks.Thesecanprovideameanstotellnewsworthy,place-basedfeaturejournalismanddocumentarynarratives'insitu'withimplicationsforactiveuserengagementwithplaceandcontent.Farman(2012)suggestssuchnarrativeengagementshavepoliticalcapitaltoexert,andcancontestdominantnarrativesaboutaplace.Thereforelocativeaudiowalksmaymarrywellwithnewsreporting,whichalso‘callspowertoaccount’andexploresalternativeperspectives.ThispresentationexploresseveralAustralianexamplesontheSoundtrailslocativeaudioplatform,whichcanbeseentobridgethedividebetweentourism/museumguidesandjournalisticaudiofeatures.Finally,thepresentationtouchesontheapplicationoflocativeaudioproductionasanextendedlearningactivityinauniversityaudiojournalismclassasameanstodevelopingstudents’understandingofemplacement,proximityandimmersiveaudiodesign.
References
Goggin,G.,Martin,F.,&Dwyer,T.(2015).Locativenews:Mobilemedia,placeinformatics,anddigitalnews.Journalism
Studies,16(1),41-59.
Nyre,L.,Bjørnestad,S.,Tessem,B.,&Øie,K.V.(2012).Locativejournalism:Designingalocation-dependentnews
mediumforsmartphones.Convergence,18(3),297-314.
Oie,K.V.(2013).Locationsensitivityinlocativeofjournalism:anempiricalstudyofexperienceswhileproducing
locativejournalism.Continuum,27(4),558-571.
Oppegaard,B.,&Rabby,M.K.(2016).Proximity:Revealingnewmobilemeaningsofatraditionalnewsconcept.Digital
Journalism,4(5),621-638.
SchmitzWeiss,A.(2015).Place-basedknowledgeinthetwenty-firstcentury:thecreationofspatialjournalism.Digital
Journalism,3(1),116-131.
Wilken,R.,&Goggin,G.(2012).MobilisingPlace:ConceptualCurrentsandControversies.InR.WilkenandG.Goggin,
MobileTechnologyandPlace,(pp.3-25).NewYork:Routledge.
Virtualrealityjournalism:afadorthewayforward?
BenStubbsUniversityofSouthAustralia
Whileit’snotdifficulttofindcontentandcommentarylamentingthecrisisfacingjournalism(Josephi2014,Simons2017)amongthejobcutsandcontentshrinkingwithinthemedia,thereisroomforoptimism.In2012USCAnnenbergJournalismProfessorNonnydelaPeñacreatedthefirstmainstreamvirtualrealityjournalismstorieswithherHungerinLA(2012)productionwhenshecombinednarrative,newsvaluesandtechnologytoopenanewarenaforjournalismstorytelling.
DelaPeña’sworkpavedthewayformoremainstreamvirtualrealityjournalismcontentfromTheNewYorkTimesandtheirGooglecardboardinitiative,CNNVR,EuroNewsandmanymoreintheUSandEuropelookingtoembracethisnewformofjournalismengagement,whichwaslabelledastheultimate“empathymachine”byVRproducerChrisMilk.TherehavealsobeenadvancementsintheVRjournalismeducation
28
spacewitharesearchconcentrationfromtheTOWCentreforDigitalJournalismResearch(Owen2014),the‘Jovrnalism’projectfromAssociateProfessorRobertHernandez(2017)atUSCAnnenbergandtheUniversityofTexas’workintheimmersivespacewiththeKnightFoundation.
Despitethisadvancementandoptimism,theVRjournalismlandscapeinAustraliahasremainedrelativelyquiet.Fromthisprompt,thispresentationwilllookattheevolutionofVRjournalismandthemotivationtocreatethe‘Immersible’VRjournalismprojectatUniSA.OurteamcreatedanauthoringappandwehaverecentlycompletedapilotstudywithfinalyearjournalismandmediastudentsinVRstorytelling–oneofthefirstofitskindinAustralia.Wewillbelookingattheresultsofthestudy,thecontenttheyproducedandwhatimplicationsthishasforthefutureofVRjournalismandeducationinAustralia.
Bythenumbers:comparinghistoricandcontemporaryaudiencereachoffakenews
MargaretVanHeekerenTheUniversityofSydney
Therecentproliferationoffakenewshasidentifiedsocialmediaasacausativefactor,enablingwidespreaddissemination.Thispaperarguesthatsuchreasoningarisesfromtechnologicaldeterminismandignoresthehistoricreachoftraditionalmediaand,therefore,thepervasivenessandimpactofearlierfakenewsscandals.Adata-basedapproachistakentocomparethedistributionandaudiencereachoftwoinfamousfakenewsscandals;thecorpsefactorystoryof1917andthePopeendorsesDonaldTrumpruseof2016.TheanalysisusesreadershipandcirculationdatafromAustralia,GreatBritainandtheUnitedStatestoexaminetheimpactofthe1917storyandreportedstatisticsofsharesandreachforthe2016report.Whilstlimitationstotheavailabilityofcirculationandreadershipstatisticspreventdefinitivefindings,indicativeresultsrevealasimilar,ifnotgreater,levelofaudiencesaturationthanthatofcontemporarytimes.Thepaperthenoffersacomparativediscussionastotheidentificationofthefakeryofbothexamplesandthewaysinwhichnewsreportsnegatingtheinitialstoriesweredisseminated.Itconsidersthetemporaldifferencesinpublicationleadtimesbetweentwentiethandtwentyfirstcenturymediaandtheimpactofthesedifferencesinexposingfakenews.Thisleadstotheconclusionthat,despiteitsspeedindisseminatingfakenews,socialmediacombinedwiththere-reportingofsocialmediacontentbylegacynewsmedia,enablesaswifterandmoreeffective‘antidote’tofakenewsthanlegacyprintnewsmediaalone.Fromthisanalysis,thepapermakestheargumentthat,socialmedia,initsrelationshiptofakenews,isnotonlyadisseminatorbutalsoaneffectivesuppressantinfakenewspenetration.
Renewal&resurgenceofforeignbroadcasters:ThechanginggeographyofnewsbroadcastingintheAsiaPacific
AlexandraWakeRMITUniversity
ThispaperscopesthecurrentpatternofnewsbroadcastingintheAsiaPacific.Specifically,itnotestheextenttowhichgovernment-fundednewsagenciesarerepresented.ItdiscussesthechangeswithreferencetotheaxingoftheAustraliaBroadcastingCorporation’sshortwaveservicesfromAustraliatotheAsiaPacific,theriseofChina’sXinhuanewsagencyasaproviderofnewsintheregion,andtheextensionand
29
contractionofothernewsservicesincludingtheBBCandAlJazeera.TheliteraturefocusesonhowtheprovisionofnewsintheAsiaPacificgrewoutofhistoricandpoliticallinkagetothePacificandAsia,providingavitaltoolforsoftdiplomacytocolonialandneighbouringcountries.Discussionwilllookathownewtechnologiesareimpactingondistributionofnewsintheregion,andmorewidelyonchangingpatternsofnewsproductionandconsumption.ThisstudyisbasedonananalysisofavailablebroadcastmaterialintheAsiaPacific.
“Iwanttoreaditinmyhands”:AUsesandGratificationsstudyintotheaestheticattractionbetweenyoungadultfemalereadersandindependentwomen’smagazinesinAustralia.
SarahWebbandJanetFultonUniversityofNewcastle
ThispresentationisreportingonaresearchprojectthatisexamininghowyoungAustralianwomen(18-24years)engagewithindependentwomen’smagazinesandwhetherhard-copyindependentwomen’smagazinesofferanaestheticmediaexperiencetoitsfemalereadersthatisconsideredmoreauthenticthantheironlinecounterparts.Thestudyisseekingtounderstandthepotentialaestheticattractionthatmayexistbetweensaidyoungadultfemalesandwomen’sindependents,bygivingvoicetotheirreasonsformagazineconsumption.There’sasmall,butgrowingbodyofevidencethatsuggeststhatprintedindependentmagazinesarethrivingevenasmainstreampublicationsfalterinAustralia’sprintindustry.Theaimoftheresearchwastodiscoverwhetherthecontinuedsuccessofindependentscouldbepartlyduetotheeditors,ownersandpublishersplacinggreateremphasisonaestheticaspectsoftheirpublications,asaresponsetochangingreaderexpectations,andwhetherthereisademandtoconnectaestheticallywiththeindependentwomen’smagazinesfemalereadersconsume.
Theresearchemployedasurveyandfocusgroupwithyoungadultfemalereaders(18-24years),usingBlumlerandKatz’sUsesandGratificationtheoryasatheoreticalframework,torevealhowandwhythisdemographic–theindustry’saudienceforyearstocome–engageswithindependentwomen’smagazines.Iftherelationshipbetweenreadersandprintisaformofexperience,thisconnectionmighthighlightdifferentaspectsregardingtheplaceofmediainpeople’slives.Suchaspectscouldincludetheaestheticaspectsthatcanbecentraltounderstandingthecontinuedappealanduseofindependentmagazines,butalsocontent,entertainment,escape,collection,value,habitandeaseofuse.Inanagewhere‘digital’isoftenregardedasthenorm,itwouldseemthatyoungadultfemalereadersareseekinginspirationandexpressiononceagainfromtheprintmediumofindependentwomen’smagazines.
Journalist-SourceRelationshipinCrimeandCourtReporting:AnAnalysisofSourcesinNewspaperCoverageofHighProfileMurdersinAustralia,HongKongandMainlandChina
YanzhuXuMonashUniversity
Journalistsgatherinformationfromdifferentsocialactors(institutions,organizationsandindividuals)toconstructtheirnewsstories.Thevarioussocialactorsareimportant(potential)newssourcesforjournalism;butonetheotherhand,theyalsoposeconstraintsonthejournalisticfield,thusaffectingthe
30
autonomyofjournalism(Bourdieu,1998).Agoodunderstandingofthejournalist-sourcerelationshipisespeciallyimportantforunderstandingcrimeandcourtreporting,asmanysourcesinsuchreportingareinterestedpartiesinvolved.Theirrelationshipswithjournalistshaveimpactsonwhetherjournalistscangettimely,accurateinformationtoinformthepublic.
Usingacontentanalysisapproach,thepresentstudyaimstocontributetotheunderstandingofthejournalist-sourcerelationshipincrimeandcourtreportingindifferentcountries/regions.ItadaptedSigal’s(1973)modeltoexaminethesourcescitedinnewscoverageofonehighprofilemurdercasefromtwonewspapersinAustralia,MainlandChina,andHongKong.Thethreewerechosenasrepresentativesofcountries/regionswithliberaldemocraticcultureandpoliticalsystem,Chinesecultureandpoliticalsystem,andacombinationofthetwo,respectively.
ResultsshowthatnewspapersinAustraliaandMainlandChinausedahighproportionofsourcesgatheredthroughenterprisechannels–byinterviewsconductedatthereporter’sinitiativeorindependentresearchinvolvingquotationsfrommaterialssuchasreportsandstatisticaldata.Theyalsopaidconsiderableattentiontovoicesofpeoplefromthepublic,andthoseclosetothevictimsanddefendants–theirfamily,friendsandacquaintances.Bycontrast,theHongKongnewspapersreliedheavilyoninformationgatheredthroughcourtproceedings;inotherwords,mostofthecoveragewasbasedonwhatjournalistsheardinthecourtroom.TheresultsalsoshowthatofficialauthoritiesoutsidethecriminaljusticesystemwereimportantsourcesfortheAustralianpapers,whilethesevoiceswererarelycitedintheHongKongandMainlandChinapapers.
Takingthedifferencesinthepresssystemsandthelegalsystemsintoconsideration,thisarticlesuggeststhatChina’spresshasmoreleewaytoreportinformationaboutcriminalcasesasMainlandChinafollowsacivillawsystem.However,theirlowuseofofficialsourcesalsorevealstheChinesejournalistsmayhavedifficultiesinobtaininginformationfromthepoliceandcourts.ThearticlealsosuggeststhattheAustralianjournalistshaveacloserelationshipwiththepolice,withthelaterplayinganimportantroleinprovidinginformationaboutongoingcases.Bycontrast,theHongKongpressseemstohavemoredifficultiesinobtaininginformationfromthepolice.
References
Bourdieu,P.(1998)OnTelevision.NewYork:NewPress.
Sigal,L.V.(1973)ReportersandOfficials:TheOrganizationandPoliticsofNewsmaking,Lexington:Heath.
Howtheweatherbecamethenews
LawrieZionLaTrobeUniversity
Thedigitalrevolutionhastransformedthewaythatweengagewiththeweatherthroughthemedia.Onemanifestationofthisisincreasingprominenceofweatherstoriesinonlineversionsoftraditionalmastheadsandotherhighprofilenewssites.Thispaperexaminesthegrowthofweatherasnews,especiallyinTheAgeonline,theABCandinnews.com.au.Theargumentdevelopedisthatweatherstories,especiallythosethatcoverweather‘events’,havebecomeanewsgenreintheirownright,andthishasinturnchangedtheroleoftheBureauofMeteorologyinthe24/7newscycle,aswellasprovidingprominentcoverageof‘citizen
31
weather’enthusiastssuchasstormchasers,andcrowdsourcedmaterialfromthoseclosetotheactionofmajorstorms.
Questionsthathaveemergedfromthisare:whatistheroleofjournalistsinshapingthethemesofthesestories?Whatkindof‘weatherliteracy’isassumedwhenitcomestomainstreammediaconsumers?HowhasthepopularityofthesestorieschangedthewaythattheBureauofMeteorologyengageswithmedia?Andtowhatextentdostoriesconnectsevereweatherstoriestoclimatechange?
Oneargumentadvancedisthatthehistoryofweatherinthemediaisastoryofconstantlyunmetdemand.Tosomeextent,thismayreflectthetrueextentofaninnatehumaninterestintheelements.Butthewaythatthisismanifestvariesconsiderablyaccordingtolocalclimateconditions,andalso,crucially,tothekindofjournalisticresourcesthatareallocatedtocoverageofweatherstories.
Thepaperdrawsonthemesdevelopedintherecentlypublishedbook,TheWeatherObsession,andthemorethan50interviewsconductedaspartoftheresearchforthebook.
33
JournalisminregionalAustralia:Howregulatinglocalcontentisanecessaryevilinthedigitalage
HarryCriticosUniversityofNewcastle
Abstract
Atthebeginningof2015,thePrimeMediaGroup,ownersofPrimeTelevision,closeddownitsTamworthproductionstudiosandnewsroom,choosingtocentralisetheiroperationsinCanberra.WhilethecompanyhasmaintainedjournaliststoreportstoriesintheTamworthregion,thelossoflocalproductionaddedtothelossoflocalcontentandlocalnewsroomsinprint,televisionandradioacrossregionalAustralia.Thisthenraisesthequestionofwhetherthepushbymediacompaniesforchangestomediaownershiplawswillresultinrestoringthosenewsroomsandproductionfacilitiesthatwerecloseddown.TheSaveOurVoicescampaignbyregionaltelevisionstationsPrime,Win,SouthernCrossAustereo(SCA)andImparja,arguesthatchangestothemediaownershiplawswill“ensureastrongregionalmedia,andastrongervoiceforregionalandruralAustralia”(SOV,2017).Radionetworks,liketelevision,havealsocentralisedtheirnewsroomsresultinginfewerjournalistsinregionalareassincederegulationin1992.However,goingagainstthistrendofcontraction,SouthernCrossAustereohavemadethefirstmovebyemployingaround80journalistsinregionalNewSouthWales,QueenslandandVictoria.Whilethisisgoodnewsfortheregionalareas,thedownsideisthatthenewswillbecompiledandbroadcastfromaSCAhub.Thequestionis,ifthiscanhappenunderthecurrent‘regulated’environment,isthereaneedforchangestomediaownershiplaws?ThereisanargumentherethatthefutureforjournalisminregionalAustraliareliesonregulationtoplayitsroleinensuringthatthevoicesandstoriesofregionalAustraliacontinuetobetold.Conversely,isaneoliberalapproachof‘letthemarketdecide’amorepracticalapproachinthedigitalage?SincemuchhasbeenwrittenovertheyearsonthelossofnewsroomsaroundAustraliaasaresultofbroadcasterslookingatminimisingtheircosts(Hess,Waller,&Ricketson,2014;Zion,Sherwood,O'Donnell,Dodd,Ricketson,&Marjoribanks,2016),thispaperwilltakeadifferentperspectiveofjournalisminregionalAustraliawithadiscussiononderegulation,theimportanceofnewsmedia-communitylinksinregionalareas,andtheroleofajournalistwithinanetwork.
Keywords
Journalism;Radio;Community;Networks;Diversity;Localcontent
Paper
Thederegulationofbroadcasting:Abriefoverview
Bythe1990s,theAustralianeconomywasenteringanewera.Itwasbelievedthatneoliberaleconomicpolicymanifestedinaprocessofindustryderegulationwouldencouragediversityandcompetitioninarangeofindustries,includingradio.Itwasexpectedthataderegulated,free-market,couldallowcommercial
34
enterprisestofurtherdevelopwithoutbeingencumberedbyprescriptivelegislation.BroadcastinginAustraliawasabouttoexperiencedramaticchanges,reflectingsimilarchangesintheUSwheretheCarteradministrationinthe1980sfelttheregulationsrelatingtobroadcastingingeneralwere“tooburdensomeforbusinessandservedneitherthegovernmentnortheclientsofthesebusinesses”(Williams,1998,p.9).ThechangestotheBroadcastingServicesAct1992werebroughtaboutbythisshiftineconomicthinkingduringthesuccessivetermsoftheHawkeandKeatingLaborGovernments(Cunningham&Turner,2010,p.121).Itwas,asPrindle(2003)states,marketplacetheorythatdrovethedecision.AccordingtoPrindle,deregulationcreatesacompetitiveenvironmentthatservesthepublicinterestsincethiscompetition“promotesdiversityandlocalisminprogrammingasstationsseekoutspecificnichemarketstogainthegreatestaudienceshare”(2003,p.297).Hendy(2000)alsoarguesthatthatthe‘micro-management’bygovernment(theregulationofcontent)shouldberelinquishedsobroadcasterscanmeetthedemandsofitsaudienceunhampered.
Forthegovernment,deregulationisaboutprovidingarangeofbenefitstothebroadcastingindustry.Whiletheintentionofderegulationwouldcreatealevelplayingfieldasbroadcasterscompetewithstreamingservices,andcompeteforadvertisingrevenueagainstFacebookandGoogle,deregulationhasnotbeenabenefittoregionalAustralia.Ifwelookatderegulationofradiobroadcastingin1992,ratherthandiversifiedownership,therewasconcentrationofownership,alossofnewsroomsandalossoflocalcontentduetoincreasednetworking.ChangestothemediaownershiprulesasproposedbytheTurnbullgovernmentwillseefurthermediaconcentration.Thisconcentrationofownership,Collingwood(1999,2005,2008)argues,deprivesconsumersinregionalareasofdiversityofprogrammingandsubsequentlyqualitylocalprogrammes.Thishasbeenevidencedthroughthenumberofnewsroomsthathavebeencentralisedbybothradioandtelevisionlicenceholders.
Atthecruxoffurthermediaderegulationandchangestomediaownershiplaws,ismaintaininglocalcontent,inparticularnews.NowthattheproposedchangeshavegonethroughtheSenate,thereneedstobeaguaranteethatthecurrentlevelsoflocalcontent,minimalastheybe,aremaintained.Atthemoment,localcontentismaintainedthroughmaterialoflocalsignificanceins43Aands43CoftheBroadcastingServicesAct1992.Materialoflocalsignificanceismaterialthatishostedin,producedinorrelatestothelicenceare.Aswellasmaterialoflocalsignificance,thereareanumberofothersectionswithintheBroadcastingServicesAct1992whichensuresthatlicenceholders,bothtelevisionandradio,mustcomplywithinordertomaintainaprescribedleveloflocalcontent.
Historyhasshown,thatwithoutregulatinglocalcontentlevels,regionallicenceholderswilltakeadvantageofthederegulatedenvironmentanddiscontinuethebroadcastingoflocalcontentandturntonetworkedprogramme,whichischeapertoproduceandasitofferseconomiesofscale.
NodesandHubs:Thenetworkingpowerplay
Wolffsuggeststhattheworkoftheprogramme-makerissubjecttotheconditionsofeconomicreality,beingimmersedinthesocialorganisationofcapitalistproduction.Itisoftentimesmarginalisedandtheirworkfragmentedasaresultofworkprocesses(Wolff,1981,pp.11-13).Whilethesestructuresmayalsoenabletheprogramme-maker,asanagent,theirworkisoftenperformed‘habitually’and,duetotheexpectationsofstakeholders(suchaslicensees,editorsandtheaudience),whattheyproduceisdonewithoutagreatdealofindependentchoice(Wolff,1981p.21).Inthiscase,asWolff(1981)suggests,theroleoftheprogramme-
35
makerasthesoleculturalproducerisnotassignificantaswhatisbelieved.AsWolffargues,“otherpeopleareinvolvedinproducingthework”while“socialandideologicalfactorsdetermineoraffectawork”,andthataudiencesalsohavean“activeandparticipatoryroleincreatingthefinishedproduct”(1981,p.25).
Castellsexaminestheseideasfurtherbyintroducingthenotionofa‘NetworkSociety’whichhedefinesas“asocietywhosesocialstructureismadeofnetworkspoweredbymicroelectronics-casedinformationandcommunicationtechnologies”(2004,p.3)andis“characterizedbythepre-eminenceofsocialmorphologyoversocialaction”(Castells,2010,p.500).Accordingly,societyisbeinginfluencedbyflowsratherthanbyhierarchicalpower,withCastellsdescribingthenetworkasaseriesofhubs(placesofexchange)andnodes(placesoffunction).Thisnotioncanbeextrapolatedtoregionaljournalistswhoareatthenodesandfilestoriestothehub,whichthendistributesthatnewstothewideraudience.
Itcanbearguedthenthatnewsmediaiscentraltothenetworksociety.Itisinclusiveand“connectedthroughouttheglobeandyetdiversifiedbycultures,constitutingahypertextwithextraordinaryinclusivecapacity”(Castells,1999,p.403).Asnewsmediaisacentrepiece,thewayitframeseventsdeterminestoanextenttherelationshipsbetweenmembersofasocietyorcommunity.Fromthispropositionitcanbeargued,throughtheexampleofAustralianradiothattheserelationshipsmovetodissipateanetwork’sabilitytoexercisecompletepower.
AnetworkofstationswithinthenetworksocietyissubjecttowhatCastellstermsthe‘networkenterprise’where:
Thedevelopmentofthenetworkenterprisetranslatesintodownsizing,subcontracting,andnetworkingof
labour,inducingflexibilityofbothbusinessandlabourandindividualisationofcontractualarrangements
betweenmanagementandlabour(1999,p.402).
Broadcastersfunctionbydownsizingtheiroperations,ostensiblyintheinterestofcostsavingandproductivity,totheminimumnumberofstaffneededtooperatethestationandnetworktheirlabour,withsomelicenseeshavingaformof‘internaldecentralisation’(Castells,1999,p.401).Butitishowthisrelatestothenetworksocietythatisimportant.
Barabasi’s(2002)notionofthenetworkcanbeappliedtoregionalbroadcastinginthatnodes(inthiscasestationstakingtheprogrammefeedfromthehub)canalsobecentresofinfluence.Forexample,inaradionetwork,theagentsinthosenodesinteractwithagentsinothernodesincludingthecommunity,whichcanthenhaveaneffectonthenetworkasawhole.Itcanbearguedthatforbroadcasting,televisionorradio,itisnotsomuchwherewesituatethecontent(hostedlocally),butalsohowthebroadcasterissituatedwithinthelicenceareaandalsothecommunityinthatlicencearea.Barabasi(2002)suggeststhathubsandnodescanbroadenaswellasconstrainthetypeofcontentbroadcasttoregionalcommunities.Togivethissituationcontext,withinahubthereexistsanumberofnodes(inthiscaseannouncersandmanagers)withconnectionstothecommunityinwhichtheradiostationislocated.Themembersofacommunitycanalsobenodesandthereforeasourceofcontent.Inatight-knitcommunitythatinformationcanbeeitherfree-flowingorconstrained.Whileitcanbearguedthatstationsinaradionetworkhaveawidereach,theyarealsolimitedbythenumberofcontactsanodehaswithinthatparticularhub.Assuch,informingtheaudienceisdependentontheconnectivityofthesenodes.
36
Andthisiswheretheimportanceofjournalistsinregionalareasisimportant.IfweusethenotionspresentedbyBarabasi(2002),thejournalistestablishescontactswithinthenodesandcementsrelationshipswiththosecontacts.Theserelationshipsoccuronlythroughtheactivityofregionaljournalistsatthenodes,andareafunctionoflivingwithinthecommunity;somethingahubcannotachieve.
It’sAboutCommunity
Inthediscourseofnewsmediaandradioinparticular,thereareanumberoftermsusedtodescribethecommunitythatconsumesthemedium-society,community,citizen,consumerandlistenerareexamples.Theuseofeachtermalsodiffersaccordingtothecontextinwhicheachisusedandthisrepresentationcategoriseseachgroupaccordingtodifferentattributes.Forexample,forthestate,theword‘consumer’isgenerallyusedtodescribethosewhouseorconsumethemediumwhile‘citizen’isgenerallyusedtodescribetheownerofthespectrum.Assuchtheyareconsideredasseparateentities.
Theradioindustry,ontheotherhandtendstofavourtheuseof‘listener’or‘audience’todescribethemembersofthecommunitythatengagewiththem.Inregionalareas,theradioindustryarguesthatradiooperatesforthecommunity.Indeed,regionalnewsmediaoftenseethemselvesasrepresentingthecommunityasevidencedbytheradioindustry’ssubmissiontothe2001LocalVoices:AnInquiryintoRegionalRadio.Manylicenceholdersemphasisedthecommunitylinksmanagershave,statingthateachoftheirmanagers“arewellknownlocalcommunityfigureswhoarereadilyapproachableandcompletelyup-to-datewiththelocalcommunityneedsandaspirations”(BroadcastOperationsGroup,2000,pp.3-4).Thisstatementwasbeingmadetoreinforcetolegislatorsthatdespiteradiobeingabusiness,communitytieswereessentialforregionalstations.Inthiscasetheir‘listeners’arenotsimply‘consumers’buyingtheirproduct.AsubmissionfromtheAssociationofIndependentRegionalRadioBroadcasters(IRRB)alsoreinforcedalocalstation’stieswithitscommunity,statingthatthelocalradiostationis“committedtoservealimitedlocalityandhastheresourcestorespondtothecommunity’sneeds”(IndependentRegionalRadioBroadcasters,2000,p.11).Ewartarguesthatwhetheritisthroughcontent,orthepeopleworkinginthelocalstation,“regionalmediaplayacentralroleinconstructingandcementingtheidentityandcultureofcommunitiesandtheirpublics”(2000,p.1).Itseemsthen,thatradioengageswiththelicenceareaontwolevels.Regionalradiostationsseethemselvesasengagingwiththecommunitythroughstagingeventsorbroadcastingcommunityserviceannouncements,forexample,andalsoprovidingprogrammeelementssuchasnews,musicortalkforthebenefitofthelistener.
Apartfromthewaysradioclaimstoinvolveitselfwiththecommunity,thereisalsotheissueofwhetheralicenceareathatcoversalargeregionwithanumberoftownsoftenseparatedbyhundredsofkilometres,isconstitutedbyacommunityorsmallercommunities?Thissituationleadstoafurtherquestion;whatconstitutesacommunity?Edgar,EarleandFoppanswerthisbystatingthat“communityreferstoacollectionofinterdependentpeoplewhoshareacommonresidentiallocalityandsomefeelingofbelongingwithothermembers”(1993,p.119).However,Willsonarguesthatdefiningordescribingcommunityisnotsostraightforwardasit“isoneofthoseamorphousconceptsthatiseasilyandlooselyemployedwhilerarelydefinedorexplainedclearly”(2006,p.1).Willsonarguesthat“theessenceorfundamentalcomponentofanyconceptionofcommunity(recognisingtheproblemswithmanyoftheseloadedterms)isanunderstandingofcommunityaswaysofbeingtogether”(2006,p.1).Ifthisisthecase,thenwheredoesthisleaveregionalradio?Forlicenseesitseems,thefunctionofregionalradiooperatingwithinacommunitymayattimes
37
guidetheoperationofthestationthroughanengagementwiththatcommunity’sactionsandreactionstotheirownoutput.Anissuehereisthatifthissupposedlyamorphouscommunityisthenviewedasasingulargroup,itmustbeconsideredan“undifferentiatedanduniversalphenomenonabletobeencapsulated”(Willson,2006,p.21).Ifhubsandnodesareconnectingthenetwork,theideathatcommunityisamorphousandthusilldefinedthenquestionswhatconstitutesbelongingaswellastheconnectionsthatexistforcommunitiesinalicencearea.Despitetheproblematicnatureofwhatconstitutesacommunity,atleastaccordingtoWillson,itneedstobeacknowledgedthatthebondsofacommunityaremany,variedandoftenritualisedandneedtobeconsideredatbothamacroandmicrolevel.ButWillson(2006)arguesthatidentitythroughmentalconnectiondoesnotnaturallyoccurandthattheritualsthatdooccurareextendedandenactedthroughthemedia.AsHolmesstates:
inmediasocietieswherethegeographicalandkinshiptiesoftheparish,localneighbourhood,ortheindustrial
slumhavevirtuallydisappeared,individualshavehistoricallybecomeveryheavilydependentonmediaof
manykindstoacquireasenseofbelongingandattachmenttoothers(2002,p.5inWillson,2006,p.26).
Anditisthisverynotionofnetworkedlocalnewsmediathatcreatesasenseofbelonginginregionalcommunities,whothemselvesfeelisolatedfromotherpartsofAustralia,oreventhemajorcentresintheirstate,thathasbecomethecentreofdebateforregionalradio.Thisideathatnewsmediaispartofthe‘connectedness’ofthewidercommunitydoesnot,however,meanthatregionalcommunitiesbecomemoreinvolvedintheregulatoryprocessthatgovernstheirlocalstation.Mediacompaniesclosingdownnewsroomsdespiteoutcriesfromlocalcommunitieshaveshownthistobethecase.
ThiswashighlightedintheFinklesteinReport,whichstatedthatconcentrationofnewsmediareducesthenumberofindependentvoiceswhich“couldbedamagingtothedemocraticefunctioningofoursociety”(Finklestein,2012,p.318).Furthermore,thereportalsostatesthataggregatedmarketswillhavea“reducedfocuson,andrelevanceto,theirsmallerlocalcommunities”(Finklestein,2012,p.328).AstheFinklesteinReportwaswrittenbeforethecurrentmedialawswereintroducedtothefederalparliament,itcanbearguedthatwewillseefurtherconcentrationofnewsmediaandsubsequently,afurtherconsolidationofnewsroomsinregionalAustralia.
Methodology
ThisresearchonregionalnewsmediatookplaceatfourSuperRadioNetworkstations:TwoAMandtwoFM;twoofwhich(oneAMandoneFM)arenetworkhubs(feederstations).ThestationsatthehubnotonlyfeedprogrammetoregionalSRNstations,theyalsobroadcastlocalprogrammetotheirrespectivelicencearea.ThetworegionalAMandFMstationsbroadcastanaverageof18hoursofnetworkedprogrammeperday.AlargeproportionoftheprogrammematerialbroadcastonSRNregionalstationsissourcedfromafeederstation(hub).Duetotheamountofnetworking,interviewsandobservationstookplaceduringthebreakfastprogrammeateachstationasthisistheonlylocallyhostedprogrammeatthemajorityofSRNstations.Itwasfeltthatthiswouldprovideavalidcomparisonofthestations.Thejournalistswereobservedbetween4:30amand11amandfollowingtheobservation,open-ended,conversationalstyleinterviewswereconducted.Fourjournalistsparticipatedinthisresearch.
Thenetworkedjournalist
38
Intheinterviewsandobservationsthatwereconducted,itwasinterestingtonotetheroleofthejournalistwithinanetworkandhowthenetworkviewedthesignificanceofmajorlocalstories.Whencompilingnewsforastationthatoperateswithinanetwork,journalistshavetoensuretheirbulletinssuitanetworkaudience.Onejournalistsaidthatwhencompilingthenetworkbulletin,localnewsandlocalreferenceswereomitted.Unlessthestorywould“makeatleastastatenewsbulletin”(Journalist2,2009)ontelevisionthatnight,itwasnotgoingtobeincludedinthenetworknews:
Sydneystoriesgetalotmoreofafocusonweekendsaswell.It’smostlybecausewealsobroadcasttosome
SouthEastQueenslandstationssowe’vegottokindofkeepitabitofaneastcoastbasedservicewitha
nationalflavour(Journalist2,2009).
Thisalsomeantthatmajorstoriesinotherlocalareaswithinthenetworkwouldbeomittediftheywerenotofnationalsignificance;itwasaboutthewideraudience:
Wejusttryandkeepitanationalagendathat’sgoingtokindofinfluenceoraffectasmanypeopleinthose
marketsaswecan.SoNSWstategovernmentstories,healthstoriesthingsthathavemoreofageneralkindof
appeal(Journalist2,2009).
Anotherjournalistsaidthattheyenjoyeddoingnetworknewsbecauseitgavethemexposureandtheopportunitytodoanationalnewsbulletin:
It’senjoyable.Butagainyou’vegottothinkwiderthanwhereyouare.Againitcomesbacktohowdoesthis
storyaffect...youknow...itmightbeaNSWbasedstorybutifit’sinterestingenoughitmightactuallybe
interestingenoughtoaQueenslandpersonaswell.Soyou’vegottobejustawareofwho’slisteningandhow
thiswillaffectthemandchoosestoriesaccordingly.Sothatdoesmeansomelocalstoriesatthattimewillnot
getarunbecauseit’sjusttooparochialanddefinedintothe[local]area(Journalist1,2009).
However,likemanyotherprogramme-makers,journalistswereconcernedthatthenetworkbulletinsimpactedontheneedtokeepthelocalaudienceinformedofnewsaffectingthem.Journalist1(2009)inparticularfeltdisappointedinomittinggoodlocalstories:
Wearealocalradiostationafterall.Andsosometimesyoufeelwhenyou’reinthatnetworkmodeyouthink
‘geethat’sagoodstory’butI’vejustgottobemindfulthatwe’rewidertodayandwe’vegottowalkawayfrom
it.BecauseIhaveheardthatsometimeswe’vebeenaccusedofrunning[licencearea2]centricnewsbecauseof
that.Well,that’ssomebodyelse’sview.IthinkthenewsthatIthinkI’veselectedinthepastthatmighthave
been[locally]generated,isinterestingenoughforthewideraudience.
Journalists1and2agreedthatnetworkingnewswasdetrimental,expressingtheviewthat“localnewsisactuallyveryimportant”(Journalist2,2009)andshouldnotcomeattheexpenseofagoodlocalstory.Itwasassertedbyjournaliststhatthenetworkingofnewswas“acheaperwaytogetnewstoagreaternumberofpeople”(Journalist2,2009).
Itwasalsonotedthatthosebestplacedtodiscussandcompileruralnewswerebypassedinfavourofacentralisednewsgatheringprocessatthehub,whichwasthenbroadcasttonodes.Thisruralnewswasgeneralinnaturewithinformationconsideredtoberelevanttotheruralaudiences:
TheRuralNewsisnetworked.SothattakesintoconsiderationtheEastCoastNewSouthWalesandSouthEast
Queensland.ThatcomesfromSydneyIthink,it’sthesamenewsreaderthatdoesthenewsfromthenetwork.It
39
iskindofrelevanttolocalaudiencesbecauseithasallthestockreportsfromaroundtheareas,sosomepeople
dolikethat(Journalist3,2010).
Similartootherprogramme-makers,thejournalistsconsiderednetworkingassomethingthathadtobeendured,butatthecostofqualitylocaljournalism.Forthejournaliststhatwereinterviewed,itwasnotaboutwhattheydidintheirroleascompilersofnews,buthowthenetworkcouldmakenewscosteffective.
Wheretofromhere?
ThispaperhasattemptedtopresentadifferentperspectiveoftheroleofjournalisminregionalAustralia.Australiannewsmedia,likemanyothersaroundtheworld,areexperiencingdecliningrevenueandaudiencefragmentation.Asaudiencesmoveawayfromscheduledtelevisionandradiotothedigitalspacewheretheycanwatch,readorlistentoanything-anywhere-anytime,traditionalmediaarefindingitdifficulttomaintainthecurrentbusinessmodel.CompoundingthisareInternetgiantsFacebookandGooglewhoareappropriatingcontentfromAustraliannewsmediacompanieswithoutremuneration.Atthetimeofwriting,theTurnbullgovernmentputtheMediaOwnershipBillbeforetheparliament,whichwassubsequentlypassedbytheSenateinSeptember2017.However,thereisnoguaranteethatthisbillwillprotectnewsasacommunityassetdespitethebestintentions,forexample,ofcompaniessuchasSCAandtheproposedjournalistscholarshipsforsmallpublishers,whicharepartofthemediareformspassedinSeptember.Ashasbeenevidencedovertheyears,throughthederegulationofbroadcastingandtheeffectoftheInternet,mediacompaniesinAustraliahaveclosednewsroomsandcutbackonjournalistscitingcostandlackofrevenueasthemainreasons.Since1992,deregulationhasresultedinalackofdiversityinbothownershipandlocalvoicesinregionalareas,whilecapitalcitiessuchasSydneyandMelbournehavebeenabletosustainagoodlevelofdiversitybasedonthemediaavailable.
Ifdiversityandlocalvoicesaretobemaintained,thenderegulationand/orchangestomediaownership,requiresregulation.WhileitmaybeseenasunfairthatFacebookandGoogleoperateinanunregulatedspace,thisdoesnotmeanthatAustraliannewsmediashouldbesetfreeandletthemarketdecidewhatshouldbebroadcast.Historyhasshownthatthisformofself-regulationfailedasradiostationsbroadcastnetworkedprogrammetwenty-fourhoursperdayintoregionalareas.ItwasonlywhenregulationssuchasmaterialoflocalsignificancewereaddedtotheBSAthatregionalmediawentbacktobroadcastinglocalcontentandrestoringlocalnewsservices.
Legacymediawillalwayshavetroublecompetingwithnewmedia.Manynewsmediacompanieshavenottakenadvantageofwhatthedigitalspacehastooffer,andtheirpointofdifferencetonewmediawillbeofferinglocalcontenttolocalaudiences.SCAhasobviouslyseenthebenefitofputtingjournalistsbackintosomeregionalareas,andifthistrendcontinues,itmayhelpnewsmediaorganisationsrideoutthedisruptionofnewmedia.Butuntilthattime,whenlegacymediaisabletocompeteonanequalbasisandmaintainaleveloflocalnews,governmentsneedtorecognisethatregulationandderegulationmustoperateside-by-sideinregionalareastoprovideaservicethatisatleastequaltothatavailableinthecapitalcities.
40
References
Barabasi,A.L.(2002).Linked:Thenewscienceofnetworks.Cambridge,PerseusPublishing.
Battersby,L.SMH(2016,November7)NineandSouthernCrossAustereotohire80newregionaljournalists.The
SydneyMorningHerald.RetrievedJuly5,2017http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/nine-
and-southern-cross-austereo-to-hire-80-new-regional-journalists-20161107-gsjh6j.html
BroadcastOperationsGroup.(2000).SubmissionNo.171:ParliamentaryInquiry:localvoices:Aninquiryintoregional
radio.Canberra,HouseofRepresentativesStandingCommitteeonCommunications,TransportandtheArts,.
Castells,M.(1999).AnIntroductiontotheinformationage.InH.Mackay&T.O'Sullivan(Eds.),TheMediaReader:
ContinuityandTransformation.London:Sage.
Castells,M.(2004).Informationalism,networks,andthenetworksociety:Atheoreticalblueprint.InM.Castells(Ed.),
TheNetworkSociety:ACross-CulturalPerspective.Cheltenham:EdwardElgar.
Castells,M.(2010).Theriseofthenetworksociety(2nded.).WestSussex,WileyBlackwell.
Collingwood,P.(1999).CommercialRadio1999:NewNetworks,NewTechnologies.MediaInternationalAustralia,
91(May),11-22.
Collingwood,P.(2005).Popularradioanddeliberation.InS.Healy,B.Berryman,&D.Goodman(Eds.),Radiointhe
world:Papersfromthe2005Melbourneradioconference(pp.23-35).Melbourne:RMITPublishing.
Collingwood,P.(2008).TheRe-structuringofAustralianradio,1975-2000:PublicSphereInfrastructureinTwoCapital
Cities.PaperpresentedattheANZCA08conferencePowerandPlace,Wellington,NewZealand.
Cunningham,S.&Turner,G.2010.ThemediaandcommunicationsinAustralia,CrowsNest,Allen&Unwin.
Edgar,D.,Earle,L.,&Fopp,R.(1993).IntroductiontoAustralianSociety.NewYork,PrenticeHall.
Ewart,J.(2000).CapturingtheHeartoftheRegion-HowRegionalMediaDefineaCommunity.Transformations(1).
Finklestein,R.(2012).ReportoftheindependentInquiryintothemediaandmediaregulation.Commonwealthof
Australia,Canberra
Hendy,D.2000.Radiointheglobalage,Malden,MA,BlackwellPublishers.
Hess,K.,Waller,L.,&Ricketson,M.(2014).Aretherenewsgapsinrural/regionalAustralia?Researchingmedia
pluralitybeyondFinkelstein.AustralianJournalismReview,36(2),157-169.
IndependentRegionalRadioBroadcasters(2000).[Submission:RadioIndustryInquiry,AdequacyofRadioServicesin
RegionalandRuralAustralia].
Prindle,G.M.2003.Nocompetition:Howradioconsolidationhasdiminisheddiversityandsacrificedlocalism.Fordham
IntellectualProperty,MediaEntertainmentLawJournal,14,279-321.
SaveourVoices(SOV)(2017).RetrievedJuly5,2017,fromhttp://www.saveourvoices.com.au
Williams,W.,Jr1998.TheimpactofownershiprulesandtheTelecommunicationsActof1996onasmallradiomarket.
JournalofRadioStudies,5,8-18.
Willson,M.A.(2006).Technicallytogether:Rethinkingcommunitywithintechno-society.NewYork,PeterLang.
Wolff,J.(1981).Thesocialproductionofart.London,Macmillan.
Zion,L.,Sherwood,M.,O'Donnell,P.,Dodd,A.,Ricketson,M.,&Marjoribanks,T.(2016).'Ithasableakfuture':The
effectsofjoblossonregionalandruraljournalisminAustralia.AustralianJournalismReview,38(2),115-128.
41
Title:Whitefellabroadcasting:Whynon-IndigenousjournalistsstruggletotellAboriginalstoriesinAustralia.
VickiKerriganMenziesSchoolofHealthResearch
Abstract
AttheAustralianBroadcastingCorporation[ABC]thedominantworldviewiswhiteandwestern.Thisisdespitevariousstrategicplanswhichfocusonincreasingculturaldiversityofstaffwiththeintentionofincreasingthediversityofstoriestoldfromdifferingculturalperspectives.Asanex-ABCemployeewithacareerspanningmorethantwodecades,Iwascomplicitinreinforcingthedominanthegemonyandneo-colonialvalueswhicheffectivelysilencedAboriginalpeoplefrompublicdebate.However,therewerealsoopportunitiestoworkinawaywhichallowedthesubjugatedAboriginalperspectivetobeaired.WorkingatthenationalyouthABCnetworkTripleJintheyear2000,IsecuredaninterviewwithBonitaMabo,AboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderactivist.WhenproducingthatinterviewIbecameacutelyawareofthedifferencesbetweentheAngloAustraliancultureIoperatewithinandAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderculture.
Thispaperexploresthecultureofjournalism,entrenchedimplicitbiasamongnon-Indigenousjournalistsandemployinginstitutions,andtheinterculturaldifferenceswhichallcontributetosubstandardreportageonAboriginalaffairsbyABCradiobroadcasters.Tothatend,ABCjournalistsintheNorthernTerritorycurrentlystruggletofulfiltheirfourthestatefunctioninregardtoAboriginalissues.ThepaperalsoincludesacasestudywhereIreflectonmyownjournalisticpracticearoundreportingonIndigenouspeople.
Keywords
journalism;radio;interculturalcommunication;crossculturalcommunication;AboriginalandTorresStraitIslander;Australia
Paper
AttheAustralianBroadcastingCorporation[ABC]diversityisabuzzword.IntheABC’scorporatedocumentstheorganisationpledgestoaccuratelyreflecttheculturaldiversityofAustralia.
TheABCisoneofAustralia’smostimportantculturalinstitutions.Astheprimarynationalpublicbroadcaster,
itreflectsAustralia’snationalidentityandculturaldiversity.(ABCCorporatePlan2016-17,2015p.12)
However,theABChasanecdotallybeendescribedastheAngloBroadcastingCorporation-anunfortunatemonikerwhichalludestotheculturalperspectivewhichshapeshowstoriesaretold.ResearchwhichunpacksthecultureofjournalismcanhelpteaseoutthesubtleyetimportantissueswhichleadtocurrentABCradiojournalisticpractice.Hanitzsch’stheoryofjournalismculturedescribesanarenawhere“diverse
42
professionalideologiesstruggleoverthedominantinterpretationofjournalism’ssocialfunctionandidentity”(2007p.370).Journalistsworldwidevalueimpartialityandobjectivityhoweverjournalisticculturecanmakeitdifficultforjournaliststoprovideavaluefreeaccountofthetruth(Hanitzsch,2007p.367,376).Hanitzschargues:
Journalismculturebecomesmanifestinthewayjournaliststhinkandact....journalistsconsciouslyand
unconsciouslylegitimatetheirroleinsocietyandrendertheirworkmeaningfulforthemselvesandothers.
(2007p.369)
AtypicalAustralianjournalistislikelytobefemale,tertiaryeducatedandofAnglo-Saxonorigin(Hanusch,2013p.10).Despitebestintentions,manyreportersandproducersinevitablytellstoriesshapedbytheirownculturalworldview.Themediaplaysapowerfulrolein“shaping,perpetuatingandreinforcingracialideology”(Armstrong,2011p.103).Giventhesetheoriesonjournalismculture,thispaperwillreflectonmy20yearABCradiobroadcastingpractice,whileconsideringiftheABCcantrulyreflecttheculturaldiversityofAustraliawhentherearesofewAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeopleemployedbytheorganisation.
In2016theABCemployed4183fulltimeemployeesnationally(ABCCorporatePlan2016-2017,2016p.18).FiguresfromDecember2016state2.5%ofstaffatABCRadio,TVandonlinewereIndigenous(ABCStretchRAPReport2016-2018.FirstreportagainstthePlan,January-December2016,2016p.1).In2014,ABCNorthernTerritorysetanIndigenousemploymenttargetof“15%inordertobetterreflecttheIndigenouspopulationintheNT”(ABCReconciliationActionPlan2013–152014:ReportagainstthePlan,2015p.6).ThecurrentIndigenousemploymentrateatABCNTis9.91%(King,2017).YetAboriginalpeopleintheNorthernTerritorymakeup25.5%ofthetotalNTpopulation,thehighestproportionofallstatesandterritories(AustralianBureauofStatistics,2017).
Context
Thereisnomassmediumasubiquitousasradio;itistheoriginalelectronicmassmedium(Mollgaard,2012p.viii).Despitetheadventoftelevision,growthoftheinternetandpopularityofsocialmedia,radiocontinuestohavehighsocialpenetrationbecauseit’sfree,easytoaccessandimmediate(Castelló&Montagut,2011p.509).ABCDarwin’sbroadcastfootprintincludesthemajorcentresofDarwin,PalmerstonandKatherineandremotetownsincludingNhulunbuy,JabiruandthenumerousremoteAboriginalcommunitiesandhomelandsscatteredacrosstheTopEndandtheTiwiIslands.AcrosstheNorthernTerritory,morethan100Aboriginallanguagesanddialectsarespoken(NorthernTerritoryGovernment,2016)andformanyEnglishisasecond,thirdorsometimesfourthlanguage.ABCDarwinisuniqueinthemetroradiolandscapeasitbroadcaststothehundredsofremoteAboriginalcommunitiesacrosstheTopEnd,communitieswhichcanseemlike“akindofparalleluniverse”(Mahood,2012p.2)formanyoutsiders.
Inwritingthispaper,IammindfulofthedangersofreferringtoAboriginalpeopleasonehomogenousculturalgroup.AsBehrendtstates:“Indigenouscommunitiesarenotculturallyhomogenous”howeverAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeopleshareahistoryofpastgovernmentdispossessionandgenocidewhichhasinfluencedtheAboriginalpsyche(2004p.126,118).Itisfromthisoverarchingperspectivethattheinterculturalcommunicationissueswhichaffectjournalisticpracticewillbeconsidered.
43
ManyAustralianshavelimitedpersonalcontactwithAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeoplehenceviews“areshapedbysecondarysources,likethemedia,thatmaynotpresentabalancedperspective”(ReconciliationAustralia,2013p.5).HighlevelsofprejudiceinAustraliansociety,supportedbynegativeAboriginalnarratives,leadtolowlevelsofunderstandingabouteachother(ReconciliationAustralia,2013p.5).VeteranAustralianjournalistJeffMcMullenarguesthat:
Massmediaistheprincipalpropagandamachinemarketinganeo-liberalvisionaimedultimatelyat
dispossessingtheFirstAustraliansoftheirlandanddistinctiveness....TheAustralianmassmediaattemptsto
strangletheAboriginalvoice....trappingAboriginalpeopleinstereotypesofvictimhoodandhopelessness.
(CreativeSpirits,2015)
HowthemediaportraysIndigenousissuesimpactsontherelationshipIndigenousAustralianshavewithmainstreamsociety(Stoneham,Goodman,&Daube,2014p.1).Foragovernmenttoeffectivelygovern,itshouldhaveasolidunderstandingofthe“characterofsocietyanditsvalues”(Keating,2000p.8)butthisisdifficulttoachievewhenastreamofnegativenewsfeedsdivisiveness.SuchreportingpracticescontributetoandreflecttheungovernablenessofIndigenouspolicy(McCallum,2012p.3).A12monthCurtinUniversitysurveyof335articlesaboutAboriginalhealthfound74%ofthearticleswerenegative,11%neutralandonly15%positive(Stonehametal.,2014p.2-3).Newsstoriesfuelracismandignoranceandenforcenegativestereotypes(CreativeSpirits,2015).Themediafocusesonproblems,whiletheexplorationofsolutionsisreducedtooneminutesoundgrabs(Keating,2000p.17).PresidentoftheIndigenousSocialJusticeAssociation RayJacksonexplains:
OurmediatendstomakeourissuesonlyfrontpagenewsonAboriginalmatterswhenitcanbespunintoa
reportwherebyallthoselazy,drunken,etc,etc,canbeblamedforthemistakesofgovernmentandtheir
departments.(CreativeSpirits,2015)
ThisnegativestereotypeisinflatedbyalackofIndigenouspeoplebeinginterviewed.WhenwhitefellasareinterviewedonIndigenousissuesitperpetuatestheneo-colonialparadigm.ListentotheradiotodayandyouwillhearexamplesofhowIndigenouspeopleareroutinelysilenced.RecentlytheABC’sflagshipcurrentaffairsradioprogramAMbroadcastfromthe2017FirstNationsNationalConstitutionalConventionatUluru.InthefirstprogrambroadcastfromUluru,AMdidnotgivevoicetooneTraditionalOwner,theAnangupeople.Instead,hostSabraLaneaskedtheUluruKatjaTjutaNationalParkmanager,MikeMissotoexplainhowtheAnanguareconnectedtoUluruandtoexplainTjukurpa:
SabraLane:Dreamtimeisnotawordthatisusedinthisarea,insteadlocalstalkaboutTjukurpa.Whatdoes
thatmean?
MikeMisso:It’sareallyhardconcepttoexplainandasanon-Anangupersonveryhardformetounderstand
butI’llgiveitmybestexplanation...(Misso,2017)
Askinganon-AnangupersontoexplainTjukurpaisakintoaskinganAngloAustralianvisitingIndiatoexplainSikhism.WhenAboriginalpeoplearetalkedaboutratherthanspokenorlistenedtoitis“aformofracistdiscourse”(MeadowscitedinWaller,2012p.52).ViaTwitter,AMhostSabraLaneexplainedherteamhadspokentoAnangupeoplebutnonewantedtospeakontheradio,sheendedwith“Therearestill4daystogo”(Lane,2017).Anassessmentofthefive-dayAMbroadcastfromUlururevealedAMsharedthevoiceofoneAnanguTraditionalOwner[T/O].AnelevensecondaudiograbofT/OSammyWilsonformally
44
welcomingconventionattendeeswasincludedinanAMradiopackageabouttheopeningoftheforum(Wilson,2017).ABCradiowasbroadcastingfromaconstitutionalrecognitionconventionwherethediscussioncentredonhowtosecurerespectandrecognitionforAboriginalvoicesonnationalissuesandyetthenationalbroadcastermissedanimportantopportunitytorespectfullyandaccuratelyrepresenttheAnanguTraditionalOwnersandtheissueswhichweremostimportanttothemandtheiruniquecircumstancesasT/O’sofUluru.
TheaimofthispaperisnottoshameABCjournalistsbuttoraiseawarenessofsomeoftheinterculturalcomplexitiesfacedbyreporterswhostrivetosharestoriesaboutAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeople.ItisunderstandablychallengingfortheoutwardlyegalitarianjournalisttoacceptthatimplicitbiasmayaffecttheirabilitytoreportonAboriginalissues.However,evidenceindicatesindividualswhoholdanti-racistbeliefsmaystillhavehighlevelsofimplicitbias(Byrne&Tanesini,2015p.1256).Implicitattitudesareunconsciousideaswhichcanbedifficulttoacknowledgeandcontrol,theyincludestereotypesandnegativeattitudeswhichcancontributetoracial/ethnicdisparities(Hall,2015p.60).Implicitbiasresearchindicatesthatindividualswhoworkinstressfulenvironmentswheredecisionsneedtobemadequickly(likeanewsroom)aremorepronetomakingculturallybiaseddecisions(Byrne&Tanesini,2015p.1257).
Reflectivepracticemethodology
MyresearchprocessisinformedbymyownexperienceasanABCradiobroadcasteratTripleJ,RadioNationalandABClocalregionalandmetroradiostationsover20years.Theideaspresentedherehavebeenshapedbyreflectivepracticewhichallowsprofessionalsto“developagreaterlevelofself-awareness”(OstermanandKotterkampcitedinLeigh&Bailey,2013p.161)creatingopportunitiestoimproveperformance(J.Wilson,2008p.177).In‘EducatingtheReflectivePractitioner’,DonaldSchön(1987)arguesthatapractitionerreflects-in-actionbyapplying:
standardrules,facts,andoperations;thentoreasonfromgeneralrulestoproblematiccases,inways
characteristicoftheprofession;andonlythentodevelopandtestnewformsofunderstandingandaction
whenfamiliarcategoriesandwaysofthinkingfail(1987p.40)
ForthelasteightyearsofmyABCcareer,Ipresentedtheweekday4-6pm‘Drive’shiftatABCDarwin.LivinginthecapitaloftheNorthernTerritory,completingaMastersinCommunityDevelopment,andworkingasaseniorABClocalradiobroadcaster,IbecameacutelyawarethatthemajorityofstoriesaboutIndigenouspeoplewerenegative,oftenusinganon-Indigenousacademic,businessleaderorpoliticianas‘talent’.Inmyexperience,whitefellasworkingonIndigenousissueswereeasytocontact,ofteninofficeswithreliablephoneconnections,andculturallyavailabletobeinterviewed.
ThroughreflectivepracticeitbecameevidentthatABCbroadcastersunwittinglyperpetuateracistideasheldbythedominanthegemonyforvariousreasonsincludingtheincreasingnumberofdailydeadlines[journalistsnolongerworktoonemedium,insteadsupplystoriesforradio,onlineandTVwhichalldemand24hournews]whichaccompaniesthe“churnandburn”mentalityofnewsgathering(Waller,2012p.51-58).Idealistsarguejournalismseeks“tobroadentheboundarieswithinwhichinformationisknownandunderstood”(Shapiro,2014p.560),howeverajournalist’sabilitytobroadentheboundariesofpublicdebateisconstrainedbyculturalcontextsandpersonallimitations(Castelló&Montagut,2011p.507).Thedayto
45
dayrealityofworkingasareporterintheageofthe24hournewscycleanddiminishingbudgetsmeanstheabovedefinitionofjournalismismoreoftenthannotjustanideal.Theseideashaveledtoanexplorationoftheepistemologicalreasonsbehindwhyitisdifficultforanon-IndigenousjournalisttofairlyandaccuratelyproducestoriesaboutAboriginalissuesfromanAboriginalperspective.
Belowisanexampleofreflectivepracticefrommyowncareer.ThecasestudycentresonaninterviewforTripleJintheyear2000withIndigenousrightsactivistBonitaMabo.ThispivotalprofessionalexperiencechangedmyapproachtointerviewswithIndigenousparticipants.
Interculturalcommunicationdifferences
Whenanindividualbelongstothedominantculturalgroupitiseasytoassumethatworldviewisapplicabletoeveryone.HoweverFoldsdebunksthatassumptioninCrossedPurposeswhichisanexaminationofthehistoryofcontactbetweenthePintupipeopleofthewesterndesertandwhitefellas:
Itisamistaketobelievethattwodisparatesocietiesshouldbothbeonthesamepath,justbecausehistorical
circumstanceshaveledtothemsharingthesamecontinent.(Folds,2001p.39)
Asawayofdifferentiatingbetweencultures,Hofstedetheorisedculturescanbebrokendownintoindividualisticorcollectivist(citedinKenny,2011p.323).Individualistsprioritisetheirindividualneedsoverthegroup,whereasinacollectivistsocietytheneedsofthegrouptakepriority(Gudykunstetal.,1996p.513,516;Spencer-Oatey,2009p.18).ThecommunicativedifferencesbetweenthemacroAngloculturewhereindividualismisvalued(Tesoriero,2010,p.169)andthemicroculturethatistheIndigenouscollectivistcultureisproblematicforjournalistswhostrivetosharestoriesaboutAboriginalAustralians.Timeandpatienceisneededtoobservecollectivistculturesbutimpatienceisacceptedinindividualisticcultures(Kenny,2011p.323).FormerABCDarwinjournalistKatrinaBoltonaddresseshowthecollectivedynamicaffectsajournalist’swork:
...thatwholeculturalthingofnotspeakingoutofturn,notspeakingwhenit’snotyourland,notspeakingwhen
you’renotseniorenough,isreally,really,reallylimiting.(Waller,2012p.53)
Thefrustrationexpressedaboveisanexampleofhowcollectiveneedsareprioritised.ThisreflectstheIndigenousepistemologicalconceptof“relationality”inwhichallthingsarerelated(Wilson2008p.58).Arelationalwayofbeingisat“theheartofwhatitmeanstobeIndigenous”(Wilson2008p.80)andanunderstandingofrelationalitycanhelpexplainthatdecisionmakingprocessesarecommunitybased(Wilson2008p.110).Indigenouspeople’sworldviewisdifferenttonon-Indigenouspeople“becauseoftheirrelationshipstoland,theircultures,historiesandvalues”(RigneycitedinWaller,2012p.89).Thatsaid,cultureisdynamicandnon-staticinnature(Ife,2002p.106)and,despitethesharedindoctrinationintoaculturalgroup,thecommonvaluesandbeliefsmaybeadaptedbyindividualstosuitthemselves(MatsumotocitedinSpencer-Oatey,2009p.14).
Atfirstglance,theoralstorytellingmediumofradioshouldeasilycomplimenttheoralstorytellingtraditionsofAboriginalpeople.TheinterculturalcommunicationworkofanthropologistEdwardHall,inwhichheexplainsthedifferencebetween“highcontext”and“lowcontext”communicators,isusefultoconsider.
46
Highcontext(HC)communicationormessageisoneinwhichmostoftheinformationiseitherinthephysical
contextorinternalizedinthepersonwhileverylittleisinthecoded,explicit,transmittedpartofthemessage.
Alow-context(LC)communicationisjusttheopposite;i.e.themassoftheinformationisvestedintheexplicit
code.(HallcitedinGudykunstetal.,1996p.516)
Dailyradiojournalismalignswithlowcontextcommunication,whichisassociatedwithbeingdramatic(Gudykunstetal.,1996p.525).Radioreliesonvividpersonalanecdotesandextremeopinionstocreate‘ice-creammeltingmoments’(whenthelistenercan’tturnoffthecarradioeventhoughtheyaresittinginthegarageandthefrozendessertismeltingintheboot!).Highcontextcultures,dominantincollectivistsocieties,suchasAboriginalAustralians,communicatebybeingreserved,employingunderstatementandsilence(Gudykunstetal.,1996p.517),placingalowvalueonverbalcommunication(Lebra,OkabecitedinGudykunstetal.,1996p.525).ThiscreatesacommunicationschismbetweenreportersandAboriginalpeople.Journalismreliesonaskingquestions:Who,What,When,Where,HowandWhy?Howeverinmanyremotecommunitiesthequestionof“why?”israrelyasked;instead,observationisusedasalearningdevice(ABCMessageStick,2008p.5).AsHagannotes,“thewisepersonlearnsbycarefulobservationandbypersonalexperience”(2008p.35).Itcanbedifficulttocreate‘icecreammeltingmoments’whendirectcommunicationaimedatsolicitinganindividual’sopinionisnotculturallyappropriate.
ThedifferencebetweenthecultureofjournalismandIndigenouscultureisvast,asexplainedbyformerABCDarwinjournalistsKatrinaBolton:
..likeyourtimeframesandyourbudgetandthetimeframesthatpushesonyou,arereallylikedirectopposite
towhatisconsideredpoliteinIndigenousculture.(Waller,2012p.52)
ItcouldbearguedthatwhenitcomestoreportingAboriginalaffairsfromanAboriginalperspective,thejournalist’sprimarystumblingblockistime.InradiostationsitiscommontohearreportersjustifyspeakingtoawhitepersonaboutanAboriginalissuebecausetheywereunabletocontactanAboriginalpersontomeetthe‘top-of-the-clock’deadline.TheworkofEdwardHall(citedinKenny,2011p.320)inwhichhedefinesmonochronicandpolychronicculturesishelpful.Thedominantnon-IndigenousculturalgroupinAustraliatendtobemonochronic–timeismeasurable,activitiesareplanned,punctualityisimportantandschedulesareadheredto(Kenny,2011p.320).Talkradioisstrictlymonochronic.Inpolychroniccultures,timeisflexibleand“nurturingrelationships,suchaswithfamily,ismoreimportantthankeepingschedules”(Kenny,2011p.321).FormerABCDarwinveteranreporterMurrayMcLaughlinsaidinrelationtoreportinginremoteIndigenouscommunities:
You’vejustgottohavepatiencebecausepeopleruntheirowntimetable.It’snousesayingI’llseeyouattwo
o’clocknextWednesday.It’samatterofrollinguponWednesdayandjustsittingaroundandwaitingand
sometimesitneverhappens,andI’velearntnottofeelanyfrustrationaboutthat.(Waller,2012p.52)
Timecostsmoney(Schultz,1998p.61).TheABC’sdiminishingbudgethasbeenwelldocumented.In2014,thefederalgovernmentannouncedthe“ABC’sbudgetwouldbefurtherreducedby$207million”over5years(ABCCorporatePlan2016-17,2015p.10).ABCradiostaffareconsistentlyaskedtoproducemorestoriesacrossmoreplatformswithfewerstaffandlessmoney.Thiscanresultinjournalistsrelyingheavilyonpressreleasestogeneratenewcontent.Economicconstraints,differentperceptionsoftimeandinterculturalcommunicationissuesarejustafewoftheingredientswhichlimitajournalist’sabilitytoget
47
pastthepressrelease,toreportthestorieswhichtruly“reflectAustralia’snationalidentityandculturaldiversity”(ABCCorporatePlan2016-17,2015p.12).
Thefollowinganecdotehighlightsthetheoriesdiscussed.In2000,asareporterwiththeABC’snationalyouthnetwork,TripleJ,ItravelledtoTownsvilletocovertheNationalNAIDOC1weekcelebrations.TownsvillewashometoBonitaMabo,wifeofEddieMabo,theIndigenouslandrightstrailblazer.Facingthedailydeadlineofanationalcurrentaffairsradioprogram,IneededtoarrangeatenminutefacetofaceinterviewwithBonitaMabobyday’send.AfterspeakingviaphonetooneofMrsMabo’sadultchildren,IwastoldtoattendaNAIDOCBBQ.IexpectedtodoaquickinterviewoverasteaksandwichbutMrsMabodeclined,sayingshewasbusywithfamily,andinstructedmetocalllater.WhenIcalledagain,shewasagainbusy;insteadIwasinvitedtoafamilyfunctionafewnightslater.Irememberwalkingintothecommunityhall,filledwithbiggroupschatting,thematriarchwassurroundedbyfamilyandfriendsbutIcouldn’tgetcloseenoughtoutter“Hello”.Onreflection,Irealisemyneedtospeakstemsfromlowcontextcommunicationpatterns.Withthepersistenceofaterrieronatrouserleg,anotherphonecall,andanotherdaughtertoldmetotryagaininafewdays.After10daysofjustturningup,BonitaMabofinallyinvitedmetoherhouse.Shesharedstoriesofherlatehusband’squest,herAboriginalandSouthSeaIslanderancestryandherthoughtsontheimportanceofnon-IndigenouspeopledeeplylisteningtoIndigenouspeople:
Theysaytoforgetthepastbutthat’sonethingwecan’tdobecauseit’ssomuchhurtinginside.We’vegottatalk
aboutitandthatwaypeopleunderstandabitmoreaboutusandwhywe’restartingtocrackupaboutthese
sortofissuesbecausewehavefreedomofspeechthesedaysandbeforeyoucouldn’tdothatkindofthing,
you’dgetputingaol.AndnowwiththatStolenGeneration,thosepeoplecouldn’ttalkoutandnowfreedomof
speechismakingeverybodysaytheirpiece.Thenon-Indigenouspeoplejustsitdownandlistentotheirstories
andfeeltheirhurt.Yousitdownlongenough,youfeelit.Onceyoustartlisteningtothem,it’llbringtearsto
youreyestohearhowtheyhavebeentreatedandithelpsthemtogetalotofthehurtoutofthemwhenyousit
downandlistentothem.Iftheydothat,it’dbereallygoodandpeoplecanunderstandwhattheyareonabout.
(Mabo,2000)
Overcupsoftea,werecordedanhour-longconversation.Unfortunately,duetothestyleofyouthradioIwasproducing(“talk”wasshorttocaterfortheallegedattentionspanofyoungpeople–lowcontextcommunication),theinterviewwascuttosevenminutesforbroadcast.Itisdifficulttoportraythecomplexityofissueswhentheradioformatdictatesinterviewsaretightlyeditedforbroadcast.AsBonitaMabosaidtotrulyunderstandAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderissues,non-Indigenouspeopleneedtoallowmoretimetolisten:“…justsitdownandlistentotheirstoriesandfeeltheirhurt.Yousitdownlongenough,youfeelit.”
Discussion
ThecommunalnatureofIndigenoussocialstructures(displayedbytheMabofamily),meansitisoftennecessarytoconsultagroupofpeoplewhenresearchingastory(ABCMessageStick,2008p.13)butthis
1“NAIDOCstandsfortheNationalAboriginesandIslandersDayObservanceCommittee.Itsoriginscanbetracedtothe
emergenceofAboriginalgroupsinthe1920swhichsoughttoincreaseawarenessinthewidercommunityofthestatus
andtreatmentofIndigenousAustralians.”("NAIDOC,"2016)
48
formofcollectivecommunicationisincontrasttothedirectindividualcommunicationstyleemployedbyjournalists.Reportersexpecttomakeonephonecallandconfirmtheinterview,butiftheywishtouncovertherealstory“respectforIndigenoustimeframesanddecisionmakingprocessesareessential”(ABCMessageStick,2008p.13).Highcontextcommunicators/collectivistculturesprioritisepersonalrelationships“whichpreventthemfromgettingtothepointquickly”(Schilling,2009p.3)insteadengagingin‘smalltalk’buildstrust,itisthe“keytogettingeveryoneintomutuallyrespectfulrelations”(S.Wilson,2008p.99).BonitaMaboandherfamilyweredisplayinghighcontextcommunicationpatterns.Thefamily’srefusaltoconformtolowcontextcommunicationpatternstosatisfythedemandsofdailyradioresultedinaninsightfulandrevealinginterviewwiththeirmother.Asayoungreporter,theMabofamilytaughtmetorespectIndigenouscommunicationstylesandtimeframesifIaspiredtoproducestorieswhichbroadenedtheboundariesofpublicdebate.
Toincreaseculturalcompetence,culturalawarenesstrainingcanbeusefulhowevermanyarecriticalofsuchtrainingwhichisoftentokenistic.Behrendt(2004p.124)arguesevenaweekofstudywouldnotbeenoughforthenon-IndigenouspersontounderstandtheIndigenousworldview.Inmy20yearsatABCradioIparticipatedintwoABCinstigatedculturalawarenesssessions.Onewasaself-guidedonlineinformationpackagetobecompletedbyemployeesattheirdeskandtheotherwasaface-to-facesessionwhichwasfacilitatedbyanon-IndigenousABCemployeefromSydneywhotravelledtoDarwin.ThecontentofthetrainingwasgenericandlargelyinapplicabletotheNorthernTerritory.Researcharoundimprovinginterculturalcommunicationinhealthhasfound“one-shot”culturalawarenesstrainingsessionscarriedoutinaclassroomhaveseriouslimitations(Byrne&Tanesini,2015p.1256-1257).Insteadnegativestereotypesassociatedwithminorities(implicitbias)maybeaddressedbyprovidingcounterstereotypicalstimuliandincreasingpositiveexperienceswithminoritygroups(Byrne&Tanesini,2015p.1261).Thisisachallengeforjournalistswhoworkinaprofessionalenvironmentwhichhighlightsthenegativesofoursociety.Theoldjournalisticadage“ifitbleeds,itleads”continuestodictatewhatisconsiderednewsworthy.
AdeeplevelofpoliticalsensitivitysurroundsIndigenousissueswhichcancontributetothelackofmediaandpoliticalinterest(McCallum&Waller,2012p.13-14).ThesensitivitymaybecompoundedbyjournalistsfeelingillequippedtoreportonAboriginalissues.Forexample,ABCDarwinisseenasatraininggroundforyoungreportersandproducerskeento‘cuttheirteeth’oncrocstories,cyclonecoverageandAboriginalaffairs.AfteracoupleofyearsinDarwin,mostheadbackdownsouth.ThehighstaffturnovermeanstherearefewABCNTjournalistswhohavethelongtermrelationshipsrequiredtoproduceauthenticstorieswhichholdgovernmentstoaccountregardingAboriginalaffairs.
TohelpABCemployeesovercomesomesensitivities,theorganisationdevelopedaneditorialpolicyforIndigenouscontentinwhichreportersareaskedtoconsidertheterminologyusedwhenreferringtoIndigenouspeople.Unfortunatelythepolicyismisleading:
AdviceshouldbesoughtbeforeusingregionaltermssuchasKoori(NewSouthWales),Nunga(South
Australia),Yolngu(NorthernTerritory)andMurri(Queensland)andontheuseoftheword‘black’invarious
contexts.(ABCEditorialPolicies,2015)
TosuggestYolngucanbeusedinasimilarwaytoKooriandMurritorefertoAboriginalpeopleasacollectiveismisleading.YolngurefersonlytoalanguagegroupfromArnhemLand,AnanguarefromcentralAustralia,JawoynarefromtheKatherineregionandsoitgoes.Accordingto“AppropriateTerminology,
49
IndigenousAustralianPeoples”(FlindersUniversity,1996)thereisnogenerictermforAboriginalpeoplelivingintheNorthernTerritoryunlikeMurri(QueenslandandnorthwestNSW)andKoori(NSW).ThetermNungaisalsoquestionableasmanyIndigenousSouthAustralianspreferothersnottousetheirwordNunga(FlindersUniversity,1996).
Conclusion
The24-hournewscycle,encouragedbythepaceofsocialmedia,anddiminishingbudgetslimitareporter’sabilitytoconsidertheculturalandcommunicativedifferencesbetweenIndigenousandnon-IndigenousAustralians.Inaddition,neo-colonialvaluessupportthecultureofjournalismwhich,despitepromisesofobjectivity,fertilisesthedominanthegemonysubjugatingAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeople.Institutionalchangesarerequiredtoallowindividualstodevelopmoreculturallysensitivejournalisticpractices.TheBonitaMabocasestudyhighlightstheimportanceofallowingABCjournaliststimetoworkwithinpolychronicIndigenoustimeframes.Byallowingjournaliststimetodeveloprelationships,anopportunitytoshareauthenticstoriesiscreatedbetweenhighcontextandlowcontextcommunicators.Otherwisenon-IndigenousjournalistsatABCradiostationswillcontinuetostruggletofulfiltheABC’spromisetoreflectAustralia’sculturaldiversity.
Furthermore,iftheABCissincereinitspledgetoreflectAustralia’snationalculturalidentitytheinstitutionshouldsupportjournaliststoincreasetheirknowledgeofAboriginalandTorresStraitIslandercultureandbecomeawareoftheimplicitbiaseswhichcanleadtoracistreporting.Bydevelopingaseriesoflocalisedculturalawarenesstrainingprograms,thereispotentialthenegativenarrativearoundIndigenousaffairsmaychange.ByaccuratelyreflectingthelivesofIndigenousAustralians,theABCmaybeinabetterpositiontofulfilthefourthestaterole.OnefinalhypothesisisthatbychangingthenegativenarrativeonIndigenousissues,theABCwillbeamoreappealingworkplaceforAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeoplewhichmayleadtohigherratesofIndigenousemployment.However,thisrequiresfurtherresearch.
References
ABCCorporatePlan2016-17.(2015).Retrievedfromhttp://about.abc.net.au/reports-publications/abc-corporate-plan-
2016-17/
ABCCorporatePlan2016-2017.(2016).Retrievedfromhttp://about.abc.net.au/reports-publications/abc-corporate-
plan-2016-17/
ABCEditorialPolicies.(2015,October8).ABCIndigenousContent.Retrievedfrom
https://edpols.abc.net.au/guidance/abc-indigenous-content/
ABCMessageStick.(2008).CulturalprotocolsforIndigenousreportinginthemedia.Retrievedfrom
http://pzja.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/TSSAC-27-August-2008-Meeting-46_5.1A-abc-cultural-
protocol.pdf
ABCReconciliationActionPlan2013–152014:ReportagainstthePlan.(2015).Retrievedfrom
http://about.abc.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ABCRAPRPT2014.pdf
ABCStretchRAPReport2016-2018.FirstreportagainstthePlan,January-December2016.(2016).Retrievedfrom
Armstrong,K.L.(2011).LiftingtheVeilsandIlluminatingtheShadows:FurtheringtheExplorationsofRaceand
EthnicityinSportManagement.JournalofSportManagement,25(2),95-106.
AustralianBureauofStatistics.(2017).2016CensusshowsgrowingAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpopulation
[Pressrelease].Retrievedfrom
50
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/MediaRealesesByCatalogue/02D50FAA9987D6B7CA2581480008
7E03?OpenDocument
Behrendt,L.(2004).CulturalConflictinColonialLegalSystems:AnAustralianPerspective.InC.Bell(Ed.),Intercultural
DisputeResolutioninAboriginalContexts,(pp.116-127).Vancouver:UBCPress.
Byrne,A.,&Tanesini,A.(2015).Instillingnewhabits:addressingimplicitbiasinhealthcareprofessionals.AdvHealth
SciEducTheoryPract,20(5),1255-1262.doi:10.1007/s10459-015-9600-6
Castelló,E.,&Montagut,M.(2011).Journalists,ReframingandPartyPublicRelationsConsultants.JournalismStudies,
12(4),506-521.doi:10.1080/1461670x.2010.530969
CreativeSpirits.(2015,17June2017).MainstreammediacoverageofAboriginalIssues.Retrievedfrom
https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/media-coverage-of-aboriginal-
issues#ixzz3yL2Xz9js
FlindersUniversity.(1996).AppropriateTerminology,IndigenousAustralianPeoples.RetrievedfromAdelaide:
Folds,R.(2001).CrossedPurposes:ThePintupiandAustralia’sIndigenousPolicy:UniversityofNewSouthWalesPress.
Government,N.T.(2016,28November2016).IndigenouslanguagesinNT.Retrievedfrom
https://nt.gov.au/community/interpreting-and-translating-services/aboriginal-interpreter-
service/indigenous-languages-in-nt
Gudykunst,W.B.,Matsumoto,Y.,Ting-Toomey,S.,Nishida,T.,Kim,K.,&Heyman,S.(1996).Theinfluenceofcultural
individualism-collectivism,selfconstruals,andindividualvaluesoncommunicationstylesacrosscultures.
HumanCommunicationResearch,22(4),510-518,539.
Hagan,S.(2008).WhitefellaCulture(4thed.):AustralianSocietyforIndigenousLanguages.
Hall,W.J.,Chapman,M.V.,Lee,K.M.,Merino,Y.M.,Thomas,T.W.,Payne,B.K.,Eng,E.,Day,S.H.,Coyne-Beasley,T..
(2015).ImplicitRacial/EthnicBiasAmongHealthCareProfessionalsandItsInfluenceonHealthCare
Outcomes:ASystematicReview.AmericanJournalOfPublicHealth,105(12).doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302903)
Hanitzsch,T.(2007).DeconstructingJournalismCulture:TowardaUniversalTheory.CommunicationTheory,17(4),
367-385.doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2007.00303.x
Hanusch,F.(2013).Journalistsintimesofchange:EvidencefromanewsurveyofAustralia’sjournalisticworkforce..
AustralianJournalismReview,35(1),29-42.
Ife,J.(2002).Changefrombelow,CommunityDevelopment:Communitybasedalternativesinanageofglobalisation(2nd
ed.):Longman.
Keating,M.(2000).Thepressuresforchange.InG.D.M.Keating(Ed.),TheFutureofGovernance:PolicyChoices(pp.8-
40).StLeonards:Allen&Unwin.
Kenny,S.(2011).DevelopingCommunitiesfortheFuture(Fourtheditioned.).Sydney:CengageLearning.
King,C.(2017,June29).[ABCNTIndigenousemploymentrate].
Lane,S.(2017).@VickiKerrigan@dannynitvThanksforthefeedbackVicki.WehavespokenwithAnangupeopleat
length,nonewantedtospeakonradio.Therearestill4daystogo.
https://twitter.com/SabraLane/status/866430615083638784.
Leigh,J.,&Bailey,R.(2013).Reflection,reflectivepracticeandembodiedreflectivepractice.Body,MovementandDance
inPsychotherapy,8(3),160-171.doi:10.1080/17432979.2013.797498
Mabo,B.(2000,June8)Profile/Interviewer:V.Kerrigan.TripleJMorningShow.
Mahood,K.(2012).KartiyaarelikeToyota:WhiteworkersonAustralia’sculturalfrontier.GriffithReview,36.Retrieved
fromhttps://griffithreview.com/articles/kartiya-are-like-toyotas/
51
McCallum,K.(2012).IntroductionTheMediaandIndigenouspolicy:hownewsmediareportingandmeditatizedpractice
impactonIndigenouspolicy-apreliminaryreport.Canberra:Journalism&CommunicationStudies,Facultyof
Arts&Design,UniversityofCanberra.
McCallum,K.,&Waller,L.(2012).ManagingtheopticsofIndigenouspolicyTheMediaandIndigenouspolicy:hownews
mediareportingandmeditatizedpracticeimpactonIndigenouspolicy-apreliminaryreport.Canberra:
Journalism&CommunicationStudies,FacultyofArts&Design,UniversityofCanberra.
Misso,M.(2017,May22)NationalIndigenousConventiontobeheldat'livingculturallandscape'ofUluru/Interviewer:S.
Lane.AM,ABCRadio,AustralianBroadcastingCorporation.
Mollgaard,M.(2012).RadioAndSociety:NewThinkingForAnOldMedium.NewcastleuponTyne:CambridgeScholars
Publishing.
NAIDOC.(2016).Retrievedfromhttp://www.naidoc.org.au/
ReconciliationAustralia.(2013).AustralianReconciliationBarometer2012:Anoverview.Retrievedfrom
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2012-Australian-Reconciliation-
Barometer-Overview.pdf
Schilling,E.,&Kozin,A..(2009).MigrantsandTheirExperiencesofTime:EdwardT.HallRevisited.ForumQualitative
Sozialforschung/Forum:QualitativeSocialResearch,,10(1).
Schön,D.(1987).Educatingthereflectivepractitioner:towardanewdesignforteachingandlearningintheprofessions.
SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.
Schultz,J.(1998).RevivingtheFourthEstate:Democracy,AccountabilityandtheMedia.Cambridge:Cambridge
UniversityPress.
Shapiro,I.(2014).WhydemocraciesneedaFunctionalDefinitionofJournalismnowmorethanever.JournalismStudies,
15(5),555-565.doi:10.1080/1461670x.2014.882483
Spencer-Oatey,H.F.,P.(2009).InterculturalInteraction:AMultidisciplinaryApproachtoInterculturalCommunication:
PalgraveMacMillan.
Stoneham,M.J.,Goodman,J.,&Daube,M.(2014).ThePortrayalofIndigenousHealthinSelectedAustralianMedia.
InternationalIndigenousPolicyJournal,5(1).doi:10.18584/iipj.2014.5.1.5
Tesoriero,F.(2010).Communitydevelopment:Communitybasedalternativesinanageofglobalisation(4ed.).Sydney:
Pearson.
Waller,L.(2012).Journalists,‘remote’Indigenoussourcesandculturalcompetence.Retrievedfrom
Wilson,J.(2008).Reflecting-on-the-future:achronologicalconsiderationofreflectivepractice.ReflectivePractice,9(2),
177-184.doi:10.1080/14623940802005525
Wilson,S.(2008).Researchisceremony:Indigenousresearchmethods.BlackPoint,NovaScotia:Fernwood.
53
ReportingtheRoyalCommission–fromthemicrotothemacro.What’sthenextstory?
(DartCentresponsoredpanel)
Chairedby:CaitMcMahon(DartCentreAsiaPacific) MelissaDavey(MelbourneBureauChief,GuardianAustralia)GemmaMcKibb(MelbourneUniversity) MatthewRicketson(DeakinUniversity)
TheRoyalCommissionintoInstitutionalResponsestoChildSexualAbuseisscheduledtohanditsfinalreporttothefederalgovernmenton15December2017.TheroyalcommissionhasbeenaneventofhistoricimportanceinAustralia,andindeedglobally.IthasfocussednationalattentionontheshockingprevalenceofchildsexualassaultinAustralianinstitutionsbothhistoricallyandintothecurrentday.Equallyifnotmoreimportantithasshoneforensiclightonhowsomanyinstitutionshavefailedsomanychildrenforsomanyyears.Theseinstitutionshaveincludedchurches,governments,schools,bothprivateandpublic,non-governmentwelfareagencies,sportingbodies,thescoutsandtheAustralianDefenceForce.In57publichearingsconductedacrossallstatesover400daysbetween2013and2017,theroyalcommissionhasheardfrom1200witnesses.Aswithalmostanyissueofsuchmagnitude,theroleofthenewsmediaalsohasbeenimportant,whetherinwritingstoriesthatputpressureongovernmentstoact,orinreportingthecommission’sregularhearings,orinprovidingaplatformforwiderdiscussionoftheissuesthrownupbythecommission’swork.Thenewsmediacoveragehasraisedthornyissuesforjournalistsasithasforpolicymakersseekingtorespondtotheroyalcommission’sinterimreportsaswellastoitsfinalfindings.ApanelattheannualJERAAconferenceisagoodvenuetobeginconsideringtheseissues.Theserangefromthoseatthemicrolevel,includingthepersonalpsychologicalimpactofreportingonalong-termstoryinvolvingregulardisclosuresofdisturbingevidence,tomacroissuessuchaswhatforceswereatworkininstitutionstocreateculturesthatfirstcondonedandthencoveredupbehavioursthatsocietyexperiencesasabhorrent.Thepanelwillfurtherexaminewhetherandhowinstitutionssuchasthecourtsandlegalprofessionwerecomplicitinthisdynamic.Thispanelwillbuildonaday-longworkshopconvenedbytheDartCentreAsia-Pacificnearthebeginningoftheroyalcommission’spublichearings;thatworkshopincludedjournalists,representativesofsurvivorgroupsandthechiefroyalcommissioner,theHon.JusticePeterMcLellan.Thepanelintendstostimulatediscussionaboutrarelyexaminedissuessuchastraumaassociatedwithlong-termreportingassignments,andorganisationalandculturalmoresconcerningchildsexualabuse,toopenupanewdiscoursearoundinstitutionalresponsestochildsexualabuse.
MelissaDaveyisMelbourneBureauChiefforTheGuardian.Shehasbeenreportingonthechildabuseroyal
commissionandfamilyviolenceforalmostfouryears.HercoverageofCardinalGeorgePell'sevidencebefore
thechildabuseroyalcommissionsawhernominatedforaWalkleyAwardforjournalismwithhercolleague
DavidMarrin2016.ShehaspreviouslyworkedfortheSydneyMorningHeraldandtheSunHerald.
DrGemmaMcKibbinisaResearchFellowattheUniversityofMelbourne,andhasabackgroundingender
studiesandworkedpreviouslyatWIRE,Women’sInformationdeliveringinformation,referralandsupportto
Victorianwomenwithinafeministframework.Gemmaisapostdoctoralresearchfellowshipincollaboration
withMackillopFamilyServices.Thefellowshipinvolvesactionresearchthataimstopreventharmfulsexual
behaviourandchildsexualexploitationinout-of-homecaresettings.Gemmahasastronginterestin
54
preventingharmfulsexualbehaviourbychildrenandyoungpeople,aswellasprotectingchildrenandyoung
peoplefromsexualexploitation.Gemmawasaco-authoronareportcommissionedbytheRoyalCommissionintoinstitutionalresponsestochildsexualabusetitled,‘Theroleoforganisationalcultureinchildsexualabuse
ininstitutionalcontexts’.
CaitMcMahonOAMisthefoundingManagingDirectoroftheDartCentreforJournalismandTrauma-AsiaPacific.McMahonhasbeenworkingwiththemediasince1988.Asa‘traumaandjournalism’expertand
psychologist,CaitisresponsibleforcreatingandfacilitatingtrainingprogramsacrosstheAsiaPacificregion.
McMahonistheonlyAustralianpsychologisttobepublishedonthistopic.ShehasaPhDonjournalistsand
trauma,examiningposttraumaticstressandposttraumaticgrowthintrauma-exposedAustralianmedia
professionals.
Sheisanationalandinternationalspeakeronpsychologicaltraumaasitaffectsjournalists,andtheonly
knownpsychologisttoworkfulltimewiththemediaonthistopicintheworld.In2016,shewasawardeda
MedaloftheOrderofAustraliaforherworkwithjournalistsexperiencingtraumaexposure.In2014Cait
organisedtheDartCentrefull-dayworkshopforjournalists-EthicalReportingontheRoyalCommissionintoInstitutionalResponsestoChildSexualAbuse.
MatthewRicketsonisanacademicandjournalist.HeisprofessorofcommunicationatDeakinUniversity.He
hasworkedasanacademicatRMITUniversityandtheUniversityofCanberrawherehewasinaugural
professorofjournalism.HehasworkedonstaffatTheAustralianandTimeAustraliamagazineandasMedia
andCommunicationseditorforTheAge.Heistheauthorofthreebooksandeditoroftwo.In2011,hewasappointedbythefederalgovernmenttoassistRayFinkelstein,QC,inaninquiryintothenewsmedia.The
inquiryincludedexaminationofjournalisticstandardsandhowbesttoimprovethem.Matthewhasa
longstandinginterest,asapractitionerandacademic,inhowthenewsmediacoverssocialjusticeissues.Heis
developingalong-formjournalisticprojectabouttheworkoftheRoyalCommissionintoInstitutional
ResponsestoChildSexualAbuse.
55
Asurveyofpodcastingasanewjournalismgenre
SiobhanMcHugh(UniversityofWollongong)MiaLindgren(MonashUniversity)BrittaJorgensen(MonashUniversity)
Theevolutionofpodcastingasamediumoverthelastthirteenyearsiswelldocumented(Berry2016,Bonini2015),butitsimpactasanewjournalismgenreisonlybeginningtobeunderstood.Therearethreemainpodcastjournalismformats:(1)gabfests,panelsofexpertswhoriffonthenewsandseemtoshareinsightsasopenlyasiftheyweretalkingtofriendsatthepub:hencethisformat’salternativename,‘chumcast’.(2)theextendedinterview,whichhasmigratedreadilyfromradiotobecomecolonisedbycomediansaswellasjournalists.(3)thecraftednarrativeformat:seekingtoemulatetheextraordinarypopularityofSerial(itnowhasover250milliondownloadsforitstwoseasons)newsroomsunleashedtheirlongforminvestigativejournalismteamsoniTunes,withmorethanalittlesuccess.Thepanelwillexaminetheevolvingrelationshipbetweenlegacynewsroomsandpodcastformats,withaparticularfocusonTheAge’ssuccessfulpodcast,Phoebe’sFallandtheNewYorkTimes’TheDaily.Itwillconsiderthegrowingnumberofpersonalstorytellingpodcastsandtheethicalissuestheyraise.ItwillalsosurveytheburgeoningofindependentpodcastproducersinAustraliawhocomefromnon-traditionaljournalisticbackgroundsandhowthatmayextendcurrentcategoriesofjournalismpractice.Ifemerginggenrescanbebothmediumandoutcomeoftextualpractices,asLudersetalpropose(2010:947),thenpodcastingcanbethoughtofasanewmediagenre.Thispanel,inshort,considershowjournalismintersectswiththepodcastinggenreandwhattheimplicationsofthatareforjournalismcontent,grammar,aestheticsandimpact.
PropagatingPodcasts:howprintjournalismcanexploitdigitalaudioformats
SiobhanMcHughUniversityofWollongong
Printjournalismisincreasinglyturningtopodcastingtoextenditsreachandamplifyitsimpact.IntheUS,TheAtlanta-ConstitutionJournalisintoitssecondseasonofatruecrimepodcast,Breakdown,whiletheCincinattiPostachievedacclaimforAccused.InAustralia,twonewspapersdeliveredepisodicpodcaststorytellingtopowerfuleffect:TheAustralian’sBowravilleexaminedtheunsolvedmurdersin1990-91ofthreeAboriginalchildren;whileTheAge’sPhoebe’sFallfocusedonthebizarredeathinagarbagechuteofayoungwomanandtheflawedpoliceinvestigationthatfollowed.BowravillewonaWalkleyawardandwasinstrumentalinhavingasuspectre-tried.Phoebe’sFallwongoldattheNewYorkRadioFestival,twonationalindustryawardsandtriggeredareviewoftheCoroner’sActinVictoria.PublicintellectualssuchasMalcolmGladwellofTheNewYorkeralsoconvertedtothepodcastform(RevisionistHistory),whilewithTheDaily,atwenty-minutesurveyoftopicalissues,theNewYorkTimeshasdevelopedapopularnewscommentaryformat.Butdiverseastheseformatsappear,thesuccessfuloneshaveonethingincommon:theypayovertattentiontotheaudiomedium,exploitingitsstrengthsandavoidingitsweaknesses(McHugh2016).Tothisend,theNewYorkTimeshiredsixaudioproducers,whileRevisionistHistoryishelmedbyformerNPRveteranJuliaBarton.Bowraville’sDanBoxisaformerBBCreporter,whilePhoebe’sFallcommissionedaudiospecialistsJuliePosettiandauthorofthispaper,SiobhanMcHugh,asconsultingproducers.
56
Thispapersurveysthetaxonomyofjournalismpodcasting,fromnews-centricformatsandpanelstocraftedstorytelling.Itexamineswhataudiocanbringtoprintreportage,howpodcastingdiffersfromradio–andhowpodcastingcanscaffoldprintjournalisminthedigitalage.
SiobhanMcHughisaninternationallyrecognisedwriter,oralhistorianandpodcaster/broadcasterandthe
foundingeditorofRadioDocReview,thefirstscholarlyjournaldedicatedtocriticalanalysisofthecraftedaudio
feature/podcastform.HerworkhasnumerousawardsincludinggoldandbronzeawardsattheNewYork
RadioFestival.McHugh’sarticle,“TheAffectivePowerofSound:OralHistoryonRadio”isamongOralHistory
Review’smostcited.Shewasconsultingproducerontheinvestigativestorytellingpodcast,Phoebe'sFall,
producedbyTheAgenewsroominMelbourne(2016).SheisSeniorLecturerinJournalismattheUniversityof
Wollongong.
Personalstorytelling:conceptualizingjournalisticpodcastingasafield
MiaLindgrenMonashUniversity
Personalstoriespermeatethecontemporarymedialandscape,wherehumanexperiencesareusedtosellproducts,promotepublichealthmessagesandofcourse,attractaudiencestojournalisticcontent.RosalindCoward(2013)mapsthehistoryofpersonalandconfessionaljournalismfromNewJournalismintheUSinthelate1960sviatabloidizationinthe1980stotoday’sself-reportinginonlineenvironments,includingpodcasting.Coward(ibid)describespersonalandconfessionaljournalismasstorieswherethesubject’slivedexperiencetakescentrestageand/orwherejournaliststhemselvesbecomecharactersintheirstories.Thisculturalform,focusedonthepersonalandemotionalaspectsofhumanlife,isatthecentreofrecentblockbusterpodcastproductions,mostrecentlyS-Town,attractingmillionsoflistenerstoitsaudiostorytelling.Sincepodcastingisamediumthatprivilegestheintimacyofvoice,theseaudio‘stories’canbeseenasaperfectplaceforinterpretationofsocialandculturallifethroughasubjectiveandoftenemotionallens.This‘obsession’withpersonalstoriesisraisingquestionsabouttheethicsofusingpeople’ssecretsandpainforpodcastentertainment(Goudeau,2017).Furthermore,sincetheterm‘storytelling’isincreasinglyusedtodescribeavarietyofjournalisticaudioformatsandpractices,asscholarsweneedtodiscussanddefinewhatweactuallymeanbystorytellingandwhatmethodswemightusetostudypodcastingforms.Thispapergivesabroadinterdisciplinaryreviewofthestorytellingliteratureacrossdisciplines.Itarguesthatthatwearebeginningtoseethedevelopmentofajournalisticfieldwithcommonelementsofgenrehood,whichrequiresasetofcriteriatobeusedwhencritiquingtheform.Understandingjournalisticpodcastingasafieldwillprovidefruitfulopportunitiesforfurtherresearchintothiscontemporaryaudiodevelopment.
AssociateProfessorMiaLindgrenisFoundationHeadofSchoolofMedia,FilmandJournalismatMonash
University,Australia.Sheisco-authoroftwobooksaboutbroadcast;AustralianBroadcastJournalismisnowin
itsthirdedition(OUP,2013).Sheworksacrosstraditionalandnon-traditionalformsofresearch,publishingher
workinpeer-reviewedacademicjournalsandasradioproductions;intheareasofjournalismstudies/practice,
journalismeducation,memoryandtraumaandradiostudies.Sheisco-EditorofTheRadioJournal:
InternationalStudiesinBroadcast&AudioMediaandAssociateEditoroftheonlinejournalRadioDocReview.
57
Podcastingthepodcasters–usingpractice-ledresearchtodocumentthemethodologiesofemergingproducersinAustralia
BrittaJorgensenMonashUniversity
Podcastingisbreakinggroundasaplatformforevolvingformsofjournalismandprovidesanopportunityfornewaudiogenresandnewproducers.However,littleisknownaboutwhotheyareandhowtheyareexperimentingwithpodcasting.Thispaperlooksatoneapproachtomappingthisrelativelyunchartedcornerofthejournalismspherethroughpractice-ledresearch.MydoctoralresearchusestheaudiomediumitselfasanexperimentalresearchtooltodocumenttheproductionprocessesofaselectedgroupofemergingradioproducersandpodcastersinAustralia,includingmyself,andcommunicatetheresearchfindingsinathree-partself-reflexiveradiodocumentary/podcastseriesaboutthegrowingradiocommunityinAustralia.Fiveproducerswillbefollowedoverthecourseoftwoyearsinaseriesofongoinginterviewsandwillkeepaudiodiariesabouttheirproductionprocesses.
Thistypeofprojectaddressesthedualchallengeofdocumentingandcommunicatingnon-traditionalresearchfindingstobothmediaresearchersandabroaderaudiencebyusingtheuntappedaudiomediumasaresearchtoolinitself.Italsoaddressestheneedformoreresearchintoindependent,casualorvolunteerproducersandarguesinfavourofpaintingabroaderpictureofjournalismpractice,particularlyintheareaofradio,buildingontheworkofLindgren(2013).Itwillmakeasignificantcontributiontoboththeunder-researchedfieldofradiojournalismandthegrowingbutstilllimitedbodyofpractice-ledjournalismresearch.
BrittaJorgensenisaPhDcandidateatMonashUniversityinMelbourne,Australia,undertakingapractice-led
thesisinradiojournalism.Sheisalsoaradioproducer,withastrongbackgroundincommunityradioand
podcasting,currentlyworkingasasupervisingproducerforAlltheBest,thenationalAustraliandocumentary
slotforFBIcommunityradio.Shehaspreviouslyworkedonnationalcurrentaffairsprogram,TheWire,the
2015CBAA’sNationalFeaturesandDocumentarySeries,asanexecutiveproduceratEdgeRadioinHobartand
shehasalsoproducedstoriesfor936ABCRadio,AlltheBest,AudiocraftandindependentpodcastSleepTalker.
References:
Berry,R.(2016).Podcasting:Consideringtheevolutionofthemediumanditsassociationwiththeword‘radio’.The
RadioJournal:InternationalStudiesinBroadcastandAudioMedia14(1),7-22.
Bonini,T.(2015).The‘secondage’ofpodcasting:reframingpodcastingasanewdigitalmassmedium.Quadernsdel
CAC,Vol41,18July,21-30.
CowardR.(2013).Speakingpersonally:theriseofsubjectiveandconfessionaljournalism.Basingstoke,Palgrave
MacMillan,Houndmills.
Goudeau,J.(2017,April9).WastheartofS-Townworththepain?,TheAtlantic,Retrievedfrom
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/04/was-the-art-of-s-townworth-the-
pain/522366/
Lindgren,M(2013).Notdeadyet:EmergingtrendsinradiodocumentaryformsinAustraliaandtheUS.Australian
JournalismReview,35(2),101-13.
Lüders,M.,Proitz,L.&Rasmussen,T.,(2010).Emergingpersonalmediagenres.NewMediaandSociety,12(6),947-63.
58
McHugh,S.(2016).Howpodcastingischangingtheaudiostorytellinggenre.TheRadioJournal:InternationalStudiesin
BroadcastandAudioMedia,14(1),65-82.
59
Threetakesonjournalismredundancies
LawrieZion(LaTrobeUniversity)PennyO'Donnell(TheUniversityofSydney)AndrewDodd(SwinburneUniversity)TimMarjoribanks(LaTrobe/Swinburne)MerrynSherwood(LaTrobeUniversity)MatthewRicketson(DeakinUniversity)
ThesignificantcutstoAustralianjournalismjobsin2012,whenanestimatedtenpercentofthetotaljournalismworkforcebecameredundant,formedtheimpetusfortheNewBeatsProject.Sincethen,manymorejournalismjobshavebeenlost,andtherearestillnosignsofanabatementoftheradicalrestructuringofAustralia’snewsmediathathasflowedfromdigitaldisruption.Theclassifiedadvertisingbusinessmodelthatoncesupportedprinthasbeenshattered,andhardwononlineadvertisingrevenuefornewsorganisationshasalsobeendepleted,thankstothemigrationofaudiencestoFacebookandGoogle.Whathasthismeantforthethousandsofjournalistswhosepositionshavebeenmaderedundant?Andforthemedia,whichhaslostsomanyofitsmostexperiencedpractitioners?Since2014,ourteamhasbeenfollowingthepost-redundancycareersofacohortofthesejournaliststhroughfourannualsurveys,thelastofwhichhasjustbeencompleted.Thetrendsandthemesthathaveemergedoverthecourseofthisprojectwillbediscussedinourfirstpaper.Wehavealsoundertaken,inassociationwiththeNationalLibraryofAustralia,tocomplete60‘wholeoflife’interviewswithsurveyparticipantstoestablishanoralhistorycollectionofthelivesofjournalistsinAustralia.Findingsfromtheseinterviewsandourplannedcompanionbook,willbediscussedinpapertwo.Ourfinalpaperfocusesonmediacoverageofredundanciesoverthelastfiveyears,thepracticalandconceptualchallengesfacedbyourownresearchteamwhentryingtoverifythepreciseextentofjournalismjoblossinAustralia,andtheextenttowhichjournalistshavecommunicatedtheirownreflectionsontheircareersandthemediaastheyleavethebuildingstheyhaveworkedinforthebulkoftheirprofessionallives.
Wheredojournalistsgoafternewsroomjobcuts?FouryearsofsurveysofjournalismredundanciesinAustralia
DrMerrynSherwoodDrPennyO’DonnellProfessorTimothyMarjoribanks
NewBeatsannualsurveysofjournalistswhotookredundanciesfromAustraliannewsroomsin2012,2013and2014providearichdatasetdocumentingourcohort’sdemographics,detailsofjobslostandgained,andperceptionsofindustrychangealongwithqualitativeinsightsintothefinancial,well-beingandemotionalcostsassociatedwithredundancyandthechallengesofmoving.Withthefinalonlinesurveydeliveredinlate2017,thispaperisthefirsttopresentalongitudinaloverviewofthesefoursurveysandtheirmajorfindings.
Thereareanumberofkeythemesthathaveemergedovertimethatwillbeaddressed.Thefirstkeythemeisre-employment,andwhetherornotparticipantsstillworkedwithinjournalismpost-jobloss.While60percentofrespondentstothe2014surveycontinuedtoworkwhollyorpartlyinjournalismroles(Zionetal,2016),thispatternhasbecomemorecomplicatedovertimeforreasonsthatwillbeoutlined.Asecondmajorthemeisaroundtypesofworkandemploymentstatus.Ourinitialsurveynotedthatwhilemanystill
60
remainedinjournalism,theyhadmovedtomoreprecariousformsofwork–contact,casualandfreelance.Thispaperwillexplorethetypesofworkparticipantsengagedinovertime,andwhetherornotthismovetoanenvironmentofprecariousworkwassustained.Thirdly,whileparticipant’sincomewasrevisedsharplydowninthefirstsurveycomparedtopre-redundancylevels,particularlyforthosewhostayedworkingwithinjournalism,subsequentsurveyshavenotedanincomerecovery,withhalfoftheparticipantsnotingtheyearnedmorethantheyearbefore.Thispaperwillbeabletopresentananalysisofincomeovertime.Inadditiontobroadoverviewsofthesekeythemes,variablessuchasageandgenderwillbeappliedtoexplorethedatafurther.
Thispaperwillhelpfurtherinformthegrowingliteratureonnewsroomchange,precariousworkandprofessionalidentityinjournalism(Deuze&Witschge,2017;Nikunen,2014;Meyers&Davidson,2016;Sherwood&O’Donnell,2016).Additionally,inatimewhenjournalismredundancieshaveonlybecomemorecommon,withanestimated3000jobscutfromtheAustralianmediasince2012,itwillalsoaimtoprovidepracticalinsightsintopotentialcareerpathwaysforjournalists–bothinsideandoutsidenewsrooms.
CapturingtheWisdom:Recordingwhole-of-lifeinterviewswithredundantAustralianJournalists.
AndrewDoddMatthewRicketsonLawrieZionPennyO’Donnell
OneofthemajoroutcomesfromtheNewBeatsprojectisaseriesofsixtyinterviewswithjournalistsfortheNationalLibraryofAustralia’soralhistorycollection.Theparticipantswereselectedtorepresentawiderangeofjournalistictraditions,beatsandmediumsbuttheyallhadonethingincommon,havingbeensubjectedtoeitheravoluntaryorinvoluntaryredundancysince2012.Aslong-forminterviews,someextendingtoeighthoursindurationandconductedusingoralhistorytechniques,eachconversationspanstheentiretyoftheparticipant’slife–fromearliestmemoriesandchildhoodexperiencestotheiractivitiespost-redundancy,whetherinsideoroutsidethenewsmedia.These‘whole-of-life’interviewswilladdtotherichcollectionofarchivedvoicesintheNationalLibrary’scollection.Collectivelytheirstoriesalsoformareservoirofwisdomintheformofanecdotes,experiencesandinsights,aboutthenatureandpracticeofreportinginAustralia.Ourintentionistocollatetheseinatleasttworadiodocumentariesandinabookcalled‘LivesinJournalism’,whichwillincludehundredsofstoriesaboutthemajormomentsinthesereporters’careers.Thebook’schapterswillcovertopicssuchas:earliestinfluences,thefirstjobinterview,newsroommentors,dealingwithtraumaandthechallengesofchasingdifficultstories.Thebookwillchartthewayjournalismchangedasnewtechnologyaffectedbusinessmodelsandhowworkingconditionsandstaffmoralewereimpactedbytighterbudgetsandtheloomingthreatofmass-sackings.Severalchapterswillfocusontheredundancyexperience,includingtheleaduptodismissalandtheoften-definingmomentwhenaveteranreporterwasescortedtothedoorcarryingtheirbelongingsinaboxafteracareerasaloyalreporterforthecompanythathasjustdispensedwiththeirservices.ThispaperdiscussessomeofthelessonslearnedfromconductingtheseinterviewsandthewaysinwhichthisapproachcanhelpuspreservesomeofwhathasbeenlostfromtheAustraliannewsmediaforthebenefitoffuturegenerations.
61
Whatthejournalistredundancytimelinetellsus
LawrieZionMatthewRicketsonAndrewDodd
Sojusthowmanyjournalismjobredundancieshavetherebeen?ThisisthemostcommonquerywehavereceivedsincethecommencementoftheNewBeatsprojectin2014.Ithasprovedatrickyquestiontoanswer,butourattemptstocomeupwithmeaningfulresponseshavealsorevealedmuchabouttherecenthistoryofthedisruptionofjournalismasaprofessioninAustralia.ThispaperexaminesthechallengesandcomplexitiesofchroniclingthescaleoftheredundanciesofthousandsofAustralianjournaliststhroughmediacoverageofjobcuts.UsingthelensoftheNewBeatsproject’sredundancytimelineathttp://www.newbeatsblog.com/redundancy-timeline/wehavesoughttocapturethereportageofjoblossesacrossafive-yearperiodinanaggregatedchronologicalformat.
Thispaperwillarguethatassessingthescaleofjournalismjoblosseshasbeenexacerbatedbythelackofagreementastowhatkindsofnewsworkersshouldbecountedasjournalists.Anotherchallengehasbeenthatlargemediacompanieshave,tovaryingdegrees,beencircumspectaboutthenumberofjournalismredundancies.FairfaxandNewsCorp,whichhaveexperiencedthelargestnumbersofredundancies,havebothreportedontheirownjoblossesattimes,butthedeclineinthenumberofmainstreammediareportersinAustraliahasmeantthatsmallerdigitaloutletssuchasCrikeyandMumbrellahaveplayedamoreprominentroleincoveringtheexodusofstafffromnewsrooms.Thatsaid,coverageofredundanciesinTheAustralian’sMediaDiaryhasattimesbeenrevealingofjobsheddinginbothFairfaxandNewsCorp,andhasbeenbroadlysympathetictoalljournalistsexperiencingjobloss,includingthoseleavingrivalcompanies.
Anotherthemeexploredisthegradualchangeoverthelifespanofthisprojectinthewaythatjournalistshavebeenprovidedwithopportunitiesto‘signoff’withfinalfarewellpiecesintheirpublicationswheretheyhavereflectedontheircareersandonthepracticeofjournalism.Insomecases,thosejournalistshavealsobeenthesubjectoftributesfromcolleaguesandevenpoliticians.Thistrendreflectsagrowingsenseofresignationacrossmediaindustriesoftheinevitabilityofthedownsizingofnewsrooms,andarecognitionofthesignificancethelossofsomeofthemedia’shighestprofilejournalists.Thepaperalsoconsidersthesocialmediaresponsestosomeofthesefarewells.
DrPennyO’Donnell,penny.odonnell@sydney.edu.auisaseniorlecturerininternationalmediaandjournalismintheDepartmentofMediaandCommunicationsattheUniversityofSydney.Inherroleasachiefinvestigator
ontheNewBeatsproject,sheisresponsibleforliaisingwiththeMediaEntertainmentandArtsAllianceandfor
internationalisingtheprojectthroughcollaborationswithCanadian,GermanandUKcolleagues.Previouslyshe
wasleadChiefInvestigatoronresearchintothefutureofAustraliannewspaperswithAssociateProfessorDavid
McKnight(UNSW)andJonathanEste(WalkleyFoundation).
DrMerrynSherwood,m.sherwood@latrobe.edu.aulecturesinjournalismattheDepartmentofCommunicationandMediaatLaTrobeUniversityinMelbourneandisaChiefInvestigatorontheNewBeats
project.SheisaformernewspaperjournalistwhohasalsoworkedincommunicationsfortheInternational
TriathlonUnion.HerPhDinvestigatedtheinfluenceofpublicrelationsonsportsnews,andherresearchand
teachingengagewithjournalismpractice,mediadisruption,sportsmediaandgender.Shecoordinatesthe
sportjournalismmajorwithinLaTrobe’sBachelorofMediaandCommunicationdegree.
62
ProfessorLawrieZion,l.zion@latrobe.edu.auistheleadChiefInvestigatoroftheNewsBeatsprojectandDirectorofLaTrobeUniversity’sresearchfocusarea,TransformingHumanSociety.Aformerheadofthe
DepartmentofCommunicationandMedia,hewasoneofthefoundersoftheonlinemagazineupstart
(www.upstart.net.au)whichshowcasesstudentwriting.Hisnewbook,TheWeatherObsession,whichwas
publishedbyMUPinAugust,examineshowdigitalmediahasreconfiguredourrelationshiptoweatherand
climate.PriortojoiningLaTrobein2006,heworkedasajournalist,broadcaster,anddocumentarymakerfor
morethan20years.
AssociateProfessorAndrewDodd,adodd@swin.edu.auisConvenorofJournalismatSwinburneandaChiefInvestigatoroftheNewBeatsproject.Ajournalistforover25years,hehasworkedinprint,broadcastand
online.HewasamediaandbusinesswriterwiththeAustralianandabroadcasterwithABC’sRadioNational,
wherehepresentedmanyofthenetwork’sprogramsandfoundedtheMediaReport.In2016heledthe
UniPollWatchproject,whichinvolvedstudentsfrommorethan20universitiesincoverageofthefederal
election.InDecember,2017,hetakesuptheroleofDirectoroftheCentreforAdvancingJournalismatthe
UniversityofMelbourne.
ProfessorMatthewRicketson,matthew.ricketson@deakin.edu.au,hasrecentlytakenuptheroleasprofessorofcommunicationatDeakinUniversityaftereightyearsastheUniversityofCanberra’sinauguralprofessorof
journalism.AChiefInvestigatoroftheNewsBeatsproject,hewaspreviouslyMediaandCommunicationseditor
forTheAge(2006to2009),andalsoledthejournalismprogramatRMITfor11years,andhasworkedasa
journalistforTheAustralian,TimeAustralia,andtheSundayHerald,amongotherpublications.Heisthe
authorofthreebooksandtheeditoroftwomore.HismostrecentpublicationisarevisededitionofWriting
FeatureStories,whichheco-authoredwithCarolineGraham.
ProfessorTimMarjoribanks,t.marjoribanks@latrobe.edu.auisaChiefInvestigatorontheNewBeatsprojectandwasaprofessorofmanagementandAssociateHead,LaTrobeBusinessSchoolbeforejoiningSwinburne
UniversityinOctoberthisyear.Hisresearchandteachingengageswithdebatesinorganisationalbehaviour
andtransformation,andmanagementpractice,bothinAustraliaandinternationally,withaparticularfocus
onmediaindustries,journalismpractice,sport,andnewtechnologies.
63
HowshouldjournalismresearchinAustraliabeassessedbeyondERA2018?
ModeratedbyDrKaytDaviesAssociateProfessorJohanLidbergProfessorChrisNash
TheassessmentofallAustralianresearch,currentlyconductedundertheExcellenceinResearchAustralia(ERA)frameworkeverythirdyear,doesmatterasitinfluenceshowresearchfundingisdistributedbothinternallyatuniversities,andexternallyviafundingbodiessuchastheAustralianResearchCouncil.
Afterclosetoadecadeofdiscussionofhowjournalismresearchisbestassessed,thispanelwillbringtogetherdifferentperspectivesthatarevitaltothejournalismresearchcommunityinAustralia.Thecorequestionaddressedbythepanelishowjournalismresearchshouldbeassessedtocaptureandreflecttheresearchinthefairestwaypossible.
IntheJulyissue2017oftheAustralianJournalismReview(AJR),thejournalpublishedanumberofdiscussionpapersaddressingthisquestion.ThepapersalsosummarisedtheoutcomesofthefirstthreeERArounds(ARC2010;2012;2015)inregardstojournalismresearchinAustraliaandprovidedvariousperspectivesonwheretonextforjournalismresearchassessmentinAustralia.ThisisadiscussionofgreatstrategicimportancefortheAustralianjournalismresearchcommunity.
Thepanelmemberswillbeinvitedbasedontheircontributionstothisseriesofdiscussionpapers.ThepanelwillprovideashortsummaryoftheirAJRpapersandampletimewillbededicatedtoquestionsanddiscussion.
References
ARC,AustralianResearchCouncil,ERA2015Results,http://www.arc.gov.au/news-media/news/era-2015-
results
ARC,AustralianResearchCouncil,ERA2012Outcomes,http://www.arc.gov.au/era-outcomes-2012
ARC,AustralianResearchCouncil,2010Outcomes,http://www.arc.gov.au/era-outcomes-2010
top related