Watchdogs or Masters? The Changing Role of the Canberra Press Gallery

Margaret Jean Simons, Stephanie Louise Brookes, Philip Anthony Chubb

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleOtherpeer-review

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
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7-12
Number of pages5
JournalMedia International Australia
Volume167
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 May 2018

Keywords

  • journalism
  • canberra press gallery
  • australian politics
  • political journalism

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