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.

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ContentsPublicationdata.........................................................................................................................................................................................iContents.......................................................................................................................................................................................................iiPeerReviewedAbstracts(alphabeticalbyauthor)..................................................................................................................1PeerReviewedPapers(alphabeticalbyauthor).....................................................................................................................32Panels.........................................................................................................................................................................................................52

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PeerReviewedAbstracts(Alphabeticalbyauthor)

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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

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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’.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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-

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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,

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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weather’enthusiastssuchasstormchasers,andcrowdsourcedmaterialfromthoseclosetotheactionofmajorstorms.

Questionsthathaveemergedfromthisare:whatistheroleofjournalistsinshapingthethemesofthesestories?Whatkindof‘weatherliteracy’isassumedwhenitcomestomainstreammediaconsumers?HowhasthepopularityofthesestorieschangedthewaythattheBureauofMeteorologyengageswithmedia?Andtowhatextentdostoriesconnectsevereweatherstoriestoclimatechange?

Oneargumentadvancedisthatthehistoryofweatherinthemediaisastoryofconstantlyunmetdemand.Tosomeextent,thismayreflectthetrueextentofaninnatehumaninterestintheelements.Butthewaythatthisismanifestvariesconsiderablyaccordingtolocalclimateconditions,andalso,crucially,tothekindofjournalisticresourcesthatareallocatedtocoverageofweatherstories.

Thepaperdrawsonthemesdevelopedintherecentlypublishedbook,TheWeatherObsession,andthemorethan50interviewsconductedaspartoftheresearchforthebook.

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PeerReviewedPapers(Alphabeticalbyauthor)

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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

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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-

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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Panels

(Panelswerereviewedbytheconferencecommittee)

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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