Speakers & Abstracts
'GIVING THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT'
Saturday 18th October 2008
REGISTRATION: OPEN AT 08.00
SESSION ONE: 'UNDER THE RADAR: NEW MEDIA, NEW VOICES'
The spread of technologies has enabled audiences to access global news sources, but it's also giving voice to local communities under-represented in the past, and to those challenging mainstream and official viewpoints. How will the expansion of citizen journalism impact on communities, and on traditional forms of journalism? TIME: 0900-1015
MODERATOR: Jenna Price (Journalism, UTS)
PANELISTS:
- Nasya Bahfen, Lecturer in Journalism, School of Applied Communication, RMIT (Paper: 'Social networks, community reporting and the role of amateurs.')
- Dr Susan Forde, Centre for Public Culture & Ideas, Griffith University, Brisbane (Paper: 'The lure of the local: Giving community broadcasting audiences what they want.')
MORNING TEA: 15 MINS
SESSION TWO: 'BLOCKED ARTERIES: GATEKEEPERS VS. THE FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION'
How much are we entitled to know? In a so-called Age of Terror, is there an argument for withholding vital information? As use of the Internet crosses national and international borders, what controls should there be on matters of sub-judice? Is technology rewriting the rules on crime reporting? And what can be done when authoritarian governments shut down media outlets? TIME: 1030-1145
MODERATOR: Prof. Wendy Bacon (Journalism, UTS)
- Geoff Holland, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Technology, Sydney (Paper: 'The Soft Underbelly of Sub-judice Contempt.')
- Dr David Blackall, Senior Lecturer, University of Wollongong and Seth Tenkate, Lecturer, Qantm College, Sydney (Paper: 'Media, anti-terrorism and the public right to know: From Jack Thomas to Dr Mohamed Haneef.')
- Joy Cameron-Dow, Senior Lecturer, Bond University (Paper: 'The question of crime: How much does the public have a right to know?')
- David Robie, Director, Pacific Media Centre, AUT University, Aotearoa/New Zealand (Paper: Freedom of the gatekeepers: A free media study of NZ and Fiji - self-regulation or government intervention?)
SESSION THREE: 'BEYOND CONVENTION: NEW WAYS OF TELLING'
New issues, new cultures and concepts require new ways of reporting and disseminating information, yet much of our media remains locked into templates that reflect a post-war, Anglo-centric view of the world. This disconnect with current, early 21st century realities produces reporting that often exacerbates, rather than illuminates, problems. Are there better approaches to connecting audiences with critical issues? TIME: 1145-1300
MODERATOR: Tony Maniaty (Director ACIJ, UTS)
PANELISTS:
- Dr John Carr, Public Communication, FASS, University of Technology, Sydney (Paper: 'Letting them eat Cake: Narrative Templates in Current-Affairs/News Journalism.')
- Dr Gail Phillips, Ass. Professor, School of Media Communication & Culture, Murdoch University (Paper: 'The representation of cultural diversity in Australia's television news: Past imperfect, present tense, future conditional.')
- Dr Ruth Skilbeck, Lecturer Journalism & Social Inquiry, FASS, University of Technology, Sydney (Paper: 'Trauma, Courage and Journalism: Reporting the Stories of Refugee Writers.')
- Chris Nash, Professor, School of Humanities, Monash University (Paper: 'The Public Right Not to Know: the challenge of reporting environmental sustainability in the La Trobe Valley, Victoria.')
LUNCH: ONE HOUR
SESSION FOUR: 'MAKING HEADLINES: POLITICS, ISSUES AND SPIN'
Behind those bold headlines is an increasingly sophisticated machine that shapes agendas and accentuates the positive. Political reporting wasn't always like this, but today the spin industry had much of the media in its grip. How did climate change, an issue that's been around for two decades, suddenly become the most talked about topic in the universe? Who's driving news, who's pushing and who's pulling? TIME: 1400-1515
MODERATOR: Quentin Dempster (ABC)
PANELISTS:
- Helen Ester, Griffith University, (Paper: 'Hand-feeding the reptiles - a historical perspective.')
- Professor Mark Pearson, Head of Journalism & Director Centre for New Media Research & Education, Bond University (Paper: 'Government in a spin: a Queensland case study.')
- Jane Macdonald, Ph. D candidate, CQ University Australia (Paper: 'The tabloid view of climate change: Did the Tele find it "Easy Being Green"?')
AFTERNOON TEA: 15 MINS
SESSION FIVE: 'BEHOLD A NEW HORIZON: MEDIAWORLD'
Exit the VJ or video journalist, enter the mojo - filing text, audio, video and stills from anywhere in the world with nothing but a mobile phone. How does the mojo impact on the more traditional forms of journalism, and journalism education? What effects will increasing media convergence have on massive, capital-heavy broadcasters like Japan's NHK? And where does all this leave the humble ink-and-paper tabloid? TIME: 1530-1645
MODERATOR: Christopher Warren, Federal Secretary, Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
PANELISTS:
- Zorana Kostic, Post grad. Researcher, Dept of Media & Comms, Uni of Sydney (Paper: 'The challenges of digital broadcast media: NHK [the Japanese broadcasting corporation], internet, mobile technologies and the future role of the public broadcaster.')
- Dr Stephen Quinn, Ass. Prof. Journalism, Deakin University (Paper: 'I found my mojo: The mobile journalist around the world.')
