Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation. Encompassed by the disputed term ‘fake news’, overtly or covertly biased, skewed, or falsified reports claiming to present factual information present a critical challenge to the effective dissemination of news and information across society. This project conducts a systematic, large-scale, mixed-methods analysis of empirical evidence on the dissemination of, engagement with, and impact of ‘fake news’ and other malinformation in p ....Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation. Encompassed by the disputed term ‘fake news’, overtly or covertly biased, skewed, or falsified reports claiming to present factual information present a critical challenge to the effective dissemination of news and information across society. This project conducts a systematic, large-scale, mixed-methods analysis of empirical evidence on the dissemination of, engagement with, and impact of ‘fake news’ and other malinformation in public debate, in Australia and beyond. It takes a triangulated approach, combining computational big data analytics with deep forensic analysis, to reveal the complex ‘fake news’ ecosystem, replace 'fake news' with more precise terminology, and provide recommendations for policy responses based on robust evidence.Read moreRead less
The rise of mistrust: Digital platforms and trust in news media. This project aims to investigate how trust and mistrust in news changes audiences’ behaviours as they increasingly access news through digital platforms. Observing the global crisis of trust, the project will undertake a longitudinal analysis of trust and mistrust in news, a four-country experiment that links trust and audience responses, and an in-depth qualitative study that provides specific contexts of these choices. The resear ....The rise of mistrust: Digital platforms and trust in news media. This project aims to investigate how trust and mistrust in news changes audiences’ behaviours as they increasingly access news through digital platforms. Observing the global crisis of trust, the project will undertake a longitudinal analysis of trust and mistrust in news, a four-country experiment that links trust and audience responses, and an in-depth qualitative study that provides specific contexts of these choices. The research will directly benefit policy makers, as it addresses questions of how to better secure trustworthy news content in an age of increasing dominance of digital platforms that algorithmically sort the range of news available to the Australian public.
Read moreRead less
Platform governance: rethinking internet regulation as media policy. This project aims to investigate the regulatory and policy implications of understanding global digital platforms as media companies. Responding to ongoing public concern about these companies’ self-management of online communication and social media, this project will evaluate regulatory approaches to mediating abusive, offensive, defamatory and potentially illegal digital content. The project will develop detailed recommendat ....Platform governance: rethinking internet regulation as media policy. This project aims to investigate the regulatory and policy implications of understanding global digital platforms as media companies. Responding to ongoing public concern about these companies’ self-management of online communication and social media, this project will evaluate regulatory approaches to mediating abusive, offensive, defamatory and potentially illegal digital content. The project will develop detailed recommendation for reform based on case studies in Australia, the European Union, the United States of America and New Zealand, enabling media policy makers to more effectively regulate digital media platforms to better align with contemporary public interest rationales.Read moreRead less
Internet-distributed television: cultural, industrial and policy dynamics. This project aims to investigate the impact of global subscription video-on-demand platforms on national television markets. The rise of subscription video streaming has created significant challenges for Australian and international broadcast, media and cultural policy frameworks, which are struggling to keep up with audience viewing practices. This project will provide a comparative analysis of how governments are respo ....Internet-distributed television: cultural, industrial and policy dynamics. This project aims to investigate the impact of global subscription video-on-demand platforms on national television markets. The rise of subscription video streaming has created significant challenges for Australian and international broadcast, media and cultural policy frameworks, which are struggling to keep up with audience viewing practices. This project will provide a comparative analysis of how governments are responding and investigating the implications for debates about local content, local screen production, and media diversity. The project will provide an analysis of original production and programming strategies to identify new forms of trans-national media flow. The project will advance an understanding of media globalisation and provide media regulators options and opportunities for a convergent media policy environment.Read moreRead less
Willing collaborators: Negotiating Change in East Asian Media Production. This project examines how media producers and investors from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are moving into flexible and innovative forms of collaboration. Focusing on cinema, television, online video and mobile content in East Asia, the study enhances academic, industry and policy understandings of the dynamics of regional media production. In addition, the project investigates opportunities and challenges for Austra ....Willing collaborators: Negotiating Change in East Asian Media Production. This project examines how media producers and investors from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are moving into flexible and innovative forms of collaboration. Focusing on cinema, television, online video and mobile content in East Asia, the study enhances academic, industry and policy understandings of the dynamics of regional media production. In addition, the project investigates opportunities and challenges for Australian and other international media companies. It addresses the urgent need to foster understanding of the media industries and cultures of Australia's regional neighbours in order to better equip the nation and its screen sectors to participate in the forthcoming "Asian Century". Read moreRead less
Making Australian TV in the 21st Century. Existing practices designed to enable Australian television to achieve national cultural and economic objectives have been deeply transformed by the impact of technological change and foreign ownership. This project investigates the intertwined implications of non-Australian ownership, technological adjustments, policy changes, and support adjustments enacted since the mid-00s that have challenged the making of ‘Australian’ television. The investigation ....Making Australian TV in the 21st Century. Existing practices designed to enable Australian television to achieve national cultural and economic objectives have been deeply transformed by the impact of technological change and foreign ownership. This project investigates the intertwined implications of non-Australian ownership, technological adjustments, policy changes, and support adjustments enacted since the mid-00s that have challenged the making of ‘Australian’ television. The investigation will develop data and analysis relevant to policy debates, terms of trade, and collective agreements useful to national policymakers, producers, content providers, industry bodies, media and communication researchers, and audiences.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.
Locating television: an international study of the changing socio-cultural functions of television. This project investigates the socio-cultural function of television in nation-states so far largely ignored by media studies: Mexico, Cuba and the Philippines. Combining cultural studies and anthropology, it uses publications and symposia to provide a more detailed global account of television's continuing influence in the post-broadcast era.
The Persistence of Television: how the medium adapts to survive in the digital world. The project investigates the way television program content modulates over time to retain audiences, even when the audience itself fragments across different reception technologies. It explores the substantial degree of stability in both fiction and non-fiction programming by considering a range of British, Australian and American texts which have been altered to remain relevant, been sequentially adapted to re ....The Persistence of Television: how the medium adapts to survive in the digital world. The project investigates the way television program content modulates over time to retain audiences, even when the audience itself fragments across different reception technologies. It explores the substantial degree of stability in both fiction and non-fiction programming by considering a range of British, Australian and American texts which have been altered to remain relevant, been sequentially adapted to reflect contemporary preferences, and been made as local versions of international formats. It uses empirical and qualitative methods to compare programs from the beginning of mass broadcast television in Australia, the UK and the US. Outcomes will include a scholarly monograph and several articles.Read moreRead less
Media transformation in its Australian and international contexts: analysis and theory-building. This project provides a new perspective on historical and contemporary media by exploring the multifaceted character of Australian media transformation since the introduction of television. It examines the changing relations among media and the roles played by particular cities and their screen production facilities, infrastructures and creative processes.