Spinning out of control: the management of news by two Australian governments, 2004-2010. This project will examine the use of news management or 'spin' by Australian governments. Is it a legitimate tool of government in the face of a hyper-adversarial news media or a technique which undermines democracy? It will examine 'spin' in connection with policies on climate change, economic policy, indigenous policy and asylum seekers policy.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100120
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$303,000.00
Summary
Citizen photo-journalism: how is it shaping the news? This project aims to investigate contemporary practices in photojournalism in the Australian news media in the wake of massive layoffs among press photographers. In a media landscape that is more visual than ever, a critical question is whether the news media still has the capacity to bear effective witness. Combining ethnographic and social semiotic approaches, this mixed-method project aims to assess the extent to which contemporary photo-j ....Citizen photo-journalism: how is it shaping the news? This project aims to investigate contemporary practices in photojournalism in the Australian news media in the wake of massive layoffs among press photographers. In a media landscape that is more visual than ever, a critical question is whether the news media still has the capacity to bear effective witness. Combining ethnographic and social semiotic approaches, this mixed-method project aims to assess the extent to which contemporary photo-journalistic practices enable high-quality visual storytelling. It also aims to assess the ways in which citizens and organisations outside of journalism, through their engagement with the digital economy, are re-shaping and re-defining photojournalistic practice.Read moreRead less
Supporting the sustainability of Australia's local news ecosystem. This project aims to understand how Australia’s main public broadcaster, the ABC, can best support public interest journalism in rural and regional communities, with a specific focus on fragile and underserved areas of the nation’s local news ecosystem. The project will develop new knowledge around media power and how news providers can work together to secure the sustainability of local news. Expected outcomes include a framewor ....Supporting the sustainability of Australia's local news ecosystem. This project aims to understand how Australia’s main public broadcaster, the ABC, can best support public interest journalism in rural and regional communities, with a specific focus on fragile and underserved areas of the nation’s local news ecosystem. The project will develop new knowledge around media power and how news providers can work together to secure the sustainability of local news. Expected outcomes include a framework to identify and define areas of news need, an assessment of existing interventions and road-tested approaches to improve information quality. The project should provide benefits by supporting forms of local journalism that ultimately enhances the demographic health and social fabric of small towns and cities.
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Amplifying Indigenous news: a digital intervention. This project aims to road-test, document and analyse an innovative strategy for amplifying Indigenous voices in news media. The project will deploy and assess the impact of a new digital application designed to enable access to a diverse range of Indigenous voices, stories and agendas. The anticipated outcomes will assist the project’s industry partners meet their strategic goals of increasing the level of Indigenous media representation in Aus ....Amplifying Indigenous news: a digital intervention. This project aims to road-test, document and analyse an innovative strategy for amplifying Indigenous voices in news media. The project will deploy and assess the impact of a new digital application designed to enable access to a diverse range of Indigenous voices, stories and agendas. The anticipated outcomes will assist the project’s industry partners meet their strategic goals of increasing the level of Indigenous media representation in Australia, and consolidate their roles as leading outlets for Indigenous content and coverage. These outcomes are also expected to improve public understanding of issues affecting Indigenous Australians and contribute to more informed and inclusive policy discussions.Read moreRead less
Media treatment and communication needs of Sudanese-Australians. Working with industry partners the ABC and Adult Multicultural Education Services, the purpose of this research project is twofold: to investigate the media's coverage of the Sudanese community in Australia and to establish and assess an innovative journalism training program and news website providing Sudanese Australians with a real media voice.
Vulnerability and the news media: Investigating print media coverage of groups deemed to be vulnerable in Australian society, and the media's understanding of their status. The media plays a major role informing society about itself. Today, there are considerable divisions within society, sometimes based upon misunderstanding, sometimes ignorance. This project seeks to break down those divisions by helping to train journalists to report knowledgeably on vulnerable groups. By developing protocols ....Vulnerability and the news media: Investigating print media coverage of groups deemed to be vulnerable in Australian society, and the media's understanding of their status. The media plays a major role informing society about itself. Today, there are considerable divisions within society, sometimes based upon misunderstanding, sometimes ignorance. This project seeks to break down those divisions by helping to train journalists to report knowledgeably on vulnerable groups. By developing protocols which journalists can adopt when reporting on vulnerable groups, the project will add to greater understanding within society about the positive contributions these groups make to the development of Australia and even to international relations. Read moreRead less
Valuing News: Aligning Individual, Institutional and Societal Perspectives. This project aims to identify the links between the preparedness of individuals to pay for news, the value of news brands and organisational cultures of news publishers, and the social value of news in promoting a democratic public sphere. Its significance arises with the ongoing crisis of news media business models, which is raising new questions about the future of journalism, and the changing role of governments worl ....Valuing News: Aligning Individual, Institutional and Societal Perspectives. This project aims to identify the links between the preparedness of individuals to pay for news, the value of news brands and organisational cultures of news publishers, and the social value of news in promoting a democratic public sphere. Its significance arises with the ongoing crisis of news media business models, which is raising new questions about the future of journalism, and the changing role of governments worldwide in financing news production. Its expected outcomes include advancing debates about how to support public interest journalism, and the value of news as both a commodity and a public good. It will be of benefit to industry, policymakers and the community in addressing the prospects for Australian journalism. Read moreRead less
Politics, media and democracy in Australia: public and producer perceptions of the political public sphere. At a time of widespread criticism of the role of the media in informing and enabling Australian democratic processes, this study explores the perceptions of ordinary Australians about the performance of the variety of media forms in which politics is reported, analysed and discussed.
New Beats: mass redundancies, career changes and the future of Australian journalism. This project is a multifaceted, innovative and timely analysis of the role of mass redundancies, forced career changes and the digital reinvention of Australian journalism at a time of industry restructure and technological change. The nation’s journalistic workforce shrank by 15 per cent in 2012 after 1000 journalists were made redundant. In this project, academics and industry stakeholders join forces to expl ....New Beats: mass redundancies, career changes and the future of Australian journalism. This project is a multifaceted, innovative and timely analysis of the role of mass redundancies, forced career changes and the digital reinvention of Australian journalism at a time of industry restructure and technological change. The nation’s journalistic workforce shrank by 15 per cent in 2012 after 1000 journalists were made redundant. In this project, academics and industry stakeholders join forces to explore how to best address questions about professional journalism’s experience of structural transformation and its capacity to adapt positively to change. This project aims to provide the first in-depth account of the complex interplay between economic, technological, workplace and career pressures reshaping professional journalism.Read moreRead less
New Beats: mass redundancies and career change in Australian journalism. This aim of this project is a multifaceted, innovative and timely analysis of the role of mass redundancies, forced career changes and the digital reinvention of Australian journalism at a time of industry restructure and technological change. The nation's journalistic workforce shrank by 15 per cent in 2012 when 1000 journalists were made redundant. This project is intended to explore the transformation of the careers of t ....New Beats: mass redundancies and career change in Australian journalism. This aim of this project is a multifaceted, innovative and timely analysis of the role of mass redundancies, forced career changes and the digital reinvention of Australian journalism at a time of industry restructure and technological change. The nation's journalistic workforce shrank by 15 per cent in 2012 when 1000 journalists were made redundant. This project is intended to explore the transformation of the careers of these journalists and how to best address questions about professional journalism's experience of structural transformation and its capacity to adapt positively to change. The project is expected to provide the first in-depth account of the complex interplay between economic, technological, workplace and career pressures reshaping professional journalism.Read moreRead less