Plain language practices in an Australian local government organisation. Governments have unsuccessfully tried to eliminate bureaucratic language from their documents for many years. This project will examine a local government organisation's writing practices to discover why plain language has not been achieved and recommend strategies to address the problem in the researched organisation and at a broader scale.
Journalism Beyond the Crisis: emerging forms, practices and uses. This project seeks to conduct a transnational comparative study designed to discover how journalism is changing as a cultural form, and the implications of this for political and cultural life. Journalistic culture in Australia is in transition, with significant implications for politics, culture and economic life. Change is affecting the forms of journalism available to Australian audiences; the ways in which, and by whom, journa ....Journalism Beyond the Crisis: emerging forms, practices and uses. This project seeks to conduct a transnational comparative study designed to discover how journalism is changing as a cultural form, and the implications of this for political and cultural life. Journalistic culture in Australia is in transition, with significant implications for politics, culture and economic life. Change is affecting the forms of journalism available to Australian audiences; the ways in which, and by whom, journalism is produced; and the uses to which practitioners and citizens in general put journalistic content.Read moreRead less
From rivers of gold to the clickstream: Newspapers and quality journalism in the Internet Age. This project will enhance Australian democracy by providing a scholarly basis for public discussion about the ways that quality journalism can survive in the Internet age. It will create knowledge about the specifically Australian experience of newspapers' transition to online media services and will thus help Australian citizens and journalists engage in global debates about journalism futures. It wil ....From rivers of gold to the clickstream: Newspapers and quality journalism in the Internet Age. This project will enhance Australian democracy by providing a scholarly basis for public discussion about the ways that quality journalism can survive in the Internet age. It will create knowledge about the specifically Australian experience of newspapers' transition to online media services and will thus help Australian citizens and journalists engage in global debates about journalism futures. It will create knowledge about the workplace conditions that foster quality journalism. It will showcase Australian research in international scholarly debate within the field of Journalism Studies.Read moreRead less
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.
A global standard for reporting conflict. The research will confirm and extend Australia's status as the world-leading centre in a rapidly growing field of research. It will establish a globally applicable area of expertise, to be presented and marketed to both public and commercial producers in a highly significant industry. It will enable journalists and publics alike to be empowered, through greater media literacy, to implement and demand higher standards from journalism about conflict.
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
Australian responses to the images and discourses of terrorism and the other: establishing a metric of fear. The world was changed on 9/11. Small-scale studies indicate half the Australian non-Muslim population is now anti-Muslim and up to 80% of Muslims are in a siege mentality. This research examines Australian perceptions of the other, of terrorism, of refugees and of fears about these. In seeking to analyse these influences upon contemporary society, the project investigates ways that policy ....Australian responses to the images and discourses of terrorism and the other: establishing a metric of fear. The world was changed on 9/11. Small-scale studies indicate half the Australian non-Muslim population is now anti-Muslim and up to 80% of Muslims are in a siege mentality. This research examines Australian perceptions of the other, of terrorism, of refugees and of fears about these. In seeking to analyse these influences upon contemporary society, the project investigates ways that policy can drive appropriate communication responses to racism and to social isolation, particularly in supporting fear-filled communities. Arguing that the global response to 9/11 is out of proportion to the events themselves, the study suggests strategies to support ethnically diverse groups that feel threatened by media discourses and adverse public opinion.Read moreRead less
A study of political commentary in the outlets of a major media corporation. This project will analyse the political commentary published or broadcast in the media outlets of a major media corporation and explore whether political commentators and columnists in these outlets share an agenda of conservative populism. The project will impact on a public policy debate on cross-media ownership and its consequences. It will enhance the international scholarly debate on media ownership and its connect ....A study of political commentary in the outlets of a major media corporation. This project will analyse the political commentary published or broadcast in the media outlets of a major media corporation and explore whether political commentators and columnists in these outlets share an agenda of conservative populism. The project will impact on a public policy debate on cross-media ownership and its consequences. It will enhance the international scholarly debate on media ownership and its connections with the content of mass media.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.
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