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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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101233
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$454,386.00
Summary
Addressing the Crisis of Local Visual News in Regional and Remote Australia. This project aims to measure the volume and quality of visual content on regional news platforms by diverse publishers in eight key geographic areas. It is the first in Australia to examine the full cycle from production through presentation to consumption for local visual news in a regional context. Expected project outcomes include enhanced relationships between journalists and communities, stronger regional news ecos ....Addressing the Crisis of Local Visual News in Regional and Remote Australia. This project aims to measure the volume and quality of visual content on regional news platforms by diverse publishers in eight key geographic areas. It is the first in Australia to examine the full cycle from production through presentation to consumption for local visual news in a regional context. Expected project outcomes include enhanced relationships between journalists and communities, stronger regional news ecosystems, and a more representative local visual news product. These outcomes boost the academic understanding of an understudied area, help regional Australia, including regional Indigenous Australia, see itself in the journalism that is produced in the regions, and provide commercial benefits to hard-hit news providers.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
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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100416
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$452,727.00
Summary
Beyond broadcasting: Community radio as a model community organisation. With 20,000 volunteers, almost six million weekly listeners, and 50 years of history, Australia has one of the most well-established community radio sectors in the world. Yet discussions about community radio are limited to debates about media. Community radio stations are diverse and community-engaged organisations, with much more to offer than just what's on air. This research aims to explore community radio as a model for ....Beyond broadcasting: Community radio as a model community organisation. With 20,000 volunteers, almost six million weekly listeners, and 50 years of history, Australia has one of the most well-established community radio sectors in the world. Yet discussions about community radio are limited to debates about media. Community radio stations are diverse and community-engaged organisations, with much more to offer than just what's on air. This research aims to explore community radio as a model for successful, sustainable, and diverse community organisations. The findings of this project will help other community organisations improve their community connections and engagement, and articulate their value, which will contribute to re-engaging Australians in civic life.Read moreRead less
Understanding and Combatting 'Dark Political Communication'. This project examines an emergent series of tactics used by political actors (i.e. politicians, lobbyists, political groups, etc.) that we are calling 'Dark Political Communication' (DPC). DPC differs markedly from existing, well-established modes of political communication, as it often involves the deliberate spread of disinformation, use of highly inflammatory language, antagonism towards the press and democratic institutions, as wel ....Understanding and Combatting 'Dark Political Communication'. This project examines an emergent series of tactics used by political actors (i.e. politicians, lobbyists, political groups, etc.) that we are calling 'Dark Political Communication' (DPC). DPC differs markedly from existing, well-established modes of political communication, as it often involves the deliberate spread of disinformation, use of highly inflammatory language, antagonism towards the press and democratic institutions, as well as actions that seek to exacerbate social discord. In this project, we will provide the first-ever complete account of DPC tactics, and provide a series of recommendations to journalists about how their practice can best evolve to address this novel communication paradigm. 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
Voice and Belonging: Pathways to inclusion for new migrant communities. This project investigates the role of Australia's ethnic media in the humanitarian and refugee settlement experience, conceptualising media engagement as a key lens through which to foster a sense of belonging. The project expects to provide the first-ever national study of ethnic media, mapping the 'migrant mediasphere' with a focus on new humanitarian and refugee communities. Expected outcomes include conceptual advances a ....Voice and Belonging: Pathways to inclusion for new migrant communities. This project investigates the role of Australia's ethnic media in the humanitarian and refugee settlement experience, conceptualising media engagement as a key lens through which to foster a sense of belonging. The project expects to provide the first-ever national study of ethnic media, mapping the 'migrant mediasphere' with a focus on new humanitarian and refugee communities. Expected outcomes include conceptual advances about media engagement and public connection for new and emerging migrant communities, and media's place in the assemblage of humanitarian settlement services. Significant benefits emerge for humanitarian and refugee arrivals, for media trying to service these communities and for policymakers in urban and regional areas.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.
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Community Music Radio: Building the Music-Media Ecosystem. This project aims to investigate the economic and sociocultural impact of community music radio. It seeks to generate new knowledge about the detailed relationships between community music radio stations and the Australian music industry, documenting for the first time national activities and infrastructures. Anticipated outcomes include the identification of policies and strategies to improve the audibility and visibility of Australian ....Community Music Radio: Building the Music-Media Ecosystem. This project aims to investigate the economic and sociocultural impact of community music radio. It seeks to generate new knowledge about the detailed relationships between community music radio stations and the Australian music industry, documenting for the first time national activities and infrastructures. Anticipated outcomes include the identification of policies and strategies to improve the audibility and visibility of Australian music domestically and on global digital platforms; providing a new model for evaluating both economic and sociocultural outputs of creative industries; and building the music-media ecosystem as a vital component of the Australian creative industries. Read moreRead less