ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6932-7832
Current Organisations
Monash University
,
Monash University - Caulfield Campus
,
University of Melbourne
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Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 10-04-2018
Abstract: This article draws on interviews with members of the Canberra Press Gallery to reflect on the performance of journalists in reporting recent national leadership instability. This is in the context of claims that reporters assisted in fomenting the instability and were ethically compromised. The increased pace of the news media cycle and the role of social media has caused a ‘cacophonous’ environment which journalist believe contributes to instability. The journalistic convention of background briefings is both central to the gallery’s performance in reporting leadership tensions and the major impediment to an informed assessment of whether journalists have assisted in fanning instability. We find that despite the centrality of the background briefing to the Gallery’s work, there is complexity and disagreement about the practice and the ethical standards that apply. This, we suggest, will be of increasing importance, yet the gallery’s willingness and ability to reflect on the issues is limited.
Publisher: Intellect
Date: 06-2023
DOI: 10.1386/AJR_00117_7
Abstract: Many people would say that journalism is in crisis. In Australia, we regularly see front pages in our newspapers that show scant regard for the facts and are clearly partisan. Two former prime ministers have called for a Royal Commission into the media. Incursions on media freedom are frequent, and Australia has dropped down the scale on measures of media freedom. Meanwhile, repeated attempts to improve self-regulation have created only cynicism. Meanwhile lawyers, doctors and even builders have professional associations in which industry practice and ethics can be discussed. No such body exists for journalists. Social media contains plenty of criticism of journalism, but most are poorly informed and the profession reacts defensively. In this article, I will argue that some of the ideas about journalism that we teach, and measure the profession against, are not as historically well based as we like to think. Journalism has been many things since the profession was created, not all of them good. Now, though, there is the potential for a conversation with the public about what we want journalism to be. What role might universities play in advancing such a conversation? And what outcomes should we seek?
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 05-2018
Abstract: This Special Issue tackles increasing urgent questions about the role and performance of the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, a unique and valuable institution central to Australian political journalism. These questions about the Press Gallery’s contribution to political life include: how might we understand the changing authority and effectiveness of the Press Gallery? Has Australia entered an era when media failures are damaging the country’s ability to affect reform? Are we witnessing a twin assault on the quality of Australian democracy from politicians and the media? The articles gathered here offer a variety of tools and perspectives useful for thought and action in this moment in history – when political reporting is fundamentally disrupted, and with it the democratic forms that have grown up in lockstep with mass media. They chart changes and longer-term trends, and particularise broader shifts in political journalism and communication, providing both information and theoretically engaged analysis.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-08-2016
Abstract: This article draws on ‘hyperlocal’ journalism scholarship to explore the civic functions of Australian local reporting in the digital age. Through place-based case studies based on interviews with media and civic leaders from three disparate communities, we find community groups are engaging with social media, particularly Facebook, to connect locals to services and community news. Community service providers are increasingly adept at using social media and, in many cases, prefer it to legacy media to gather, disseminate and exchange news. Concurrently, legacy media have lost newsroom resources that limit their practice of ‘shoe leather’ journalism and increase their dependence on official sources without independent verification. Yet, journalists are adapting to newsroom cutbacks by forming symbiotic relationships with non-media news providers, including local police. We find there are promising alternatives for fostering civic discourse and engagement through digital technologies despite less traditional local news and a reduced capacity for verified journalism.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-2015
Abstract: The 2014 UniPollWatch project brought together the journalism schools of four Victorian universities to cover the 2014 state election. The project was a unique experiment in political journalism education and provided valuable lessons about experiential learning, cross-c us cooperation and industry engagement. It also created a potential model for large reporting projects, involving journalism programmes at many universities working together to cover topics for the public’s benefit, while enabling students to gain real-world skills. The c uses were each designated eight key, mostly marginal, electorates and were encouraged to provide electorate and candidate profiles, as well as other news and information. The reports were compiled on one website, housed off c us and not identified as being associated with any one university. The project partnered with The Age newspaper and a number of student reports were co-published in the newspaper. The results of the project can be seen at www.unipollwatch.org.au . This article places UniPollWatch in the context of other large-scale student reporting projects in Australia and elsewhere and discusses how the project was structured and how it fostered authentic, real-world learning. It also addresses key challenges and discusses the major pedagogical and journalistic lessons gained from this groundbreaking project.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 16-02-2016
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-10-2022
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-01-2018
Publisher: Springer Singapore
Date: 31-08-2020
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 05-09-2018
No related grants have been discovered for Margaret Simons.