Are there news gaps in rural/regional Australia? Researching media plurality beyond Finkelstein

Rural/regional news is emerging as a vital area of media policy and research throughout the world as industry bodies, governments and academics grapple with debates concerning the future of news in a complex digital world. However, there has been little examination of media plurality at the rural/regional level, or research into the sustainability of the sector in Australia. Such concerns go to questions of what roles industry and government might play in ensuring its future. The Finkelstein report in 2012 noted that many rural/regional newspapers in Australia had limited resources and consequently low capacity for in-depth coverage of local issues. In the meantime, the funding model of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (which services rural/regional areas as part of its charter) has come under intense scrutiny by the federal Liberal-National Party coalition government. Signs from abroad – especially from the United Kingdom – are troubling. Several independent inquiries have called for policy initiatives to address what British scholars describe as the growing “democratic deficit” created by the closure of hundreds of local UK newspapers since 2004. This paper canvasses current and emerging media policy settings in the UK, the United States and Australia before posing some broader questions on the future of rural/regional news in Australia

We have the means but what's the model? A better way for universities and industry to produce investigative journalism

This paper offers a solution to two problems facing Australian journalism: the declining numbers working in newsrooms on investigative journalism and the shortage of specific and up to date curriculum materials about investigative journalism. These problems create an opportunity for universities not only to improve teaching of journalism but for them to play a greater role in providing the public with the fruits of investigative journalism projects. This paper examines the various models for producing investigative journalism within university settings. It explores collaborations with industry partners and the various forms of selfpublishing undertaken by journalism courses. It asks which forms of association with industry work well and which forms of investigative journalism best suit such collaborations. It assesses recent examples in which industry partners work alongside journalism students on investigative projects. Several universities have created their own print outlets for investigative journalism and the proliferation of digital platforms has made self-publishing more accessible. This paper asks how worthwhile these stories are if they are limited to university rather than mainstream or independent publications. The paper proposes a new approach to industry-academy collaborative investigative journalism and the creation of a new model that draws on the successes and failures of existing and previous ones so that universities can better realise their potential in this field and so that student learning can be enhanced while audiences are better served

Collaboration on a national scale: journalism educators, students and the 2016 Australian federal election

Journalism is a collaborative process that requires individuals to work autonomously and collectively to produce news and information. In 2016, journalism educators from 28 Australian universities collaborated to provide coverage of the Australian federal election in a project called UniPollWatch. This project involved around 1000 students and 75 staff producing coverage of 150 House of Representatives seats that included 346 candidate profiles, 125 electorate profiles and verdict stories, profiles of 26 Senate candidates, and feature stories on nine key policy areas. The purpose-built UniPollWatch website also hosted two large-scale data journalism projects. This paper describes how the largest Australian student university project was devised and how it attracted and sustained collaborative participation. It also reports on the results of a survey of participating journalism academics about the structure of the project and draws insight from their comments about the management of future projects on this scale. The theoretical perspectives of analysis are drawn from journalism practice as well as governance theory, journalism pedagogy and work integrated learning. This paper argues that the UniPollWatch model offers possibilities for further development and adaptation for universities to collaborate for the benefit of journalism education, students and the practice of journalism

Digital news report: Australia 2015

This report gives a clear picture of how the Australian news consumer compares to eleven other countries surveyed in 2015: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, UK, USA and urban Brazil. The Digital News Report: Australia is part of a global survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. Further in-depth analysis of Australian digital news consumption has been conducted and published by the News & Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra

'It has a bleak future': The effects of job loss on regional and rural journalism in Australia

Severe contractions in the Australian media landscape have led to a loss of jobs in major metropolitan newsrooms. In 2015, those cuts spread significantly to regional and rural newsrooms in Australia. This paper explores the effect of job loss on rural and regional journalism through a survey of 31 journalists working at rural and regional media organisations whose positions were made redundant from 2012 to 2015. As well as providing accounts of their own personal redundancy experiences, this paper explores the participants’ opinions of regional and rural journalism. It concludes that those whose positions in local journalism have become redundant are concerned about the resources of local newsrooms, and the quality of journalism these newsrooms can subsequently produce

Submission to the Select Committee on the Future of Public Interest Journalism

New Beats is a project studying Australian journalists whose positions became redundant during or since 2012. The four-year project is funded by the Australian Research Council and is being conducted by a team of researchers at four universities. The project aims to create greater understanding about the process of redundancy in journalism and of the human effects and societal ramifications for an industry undergoing profound change. The project is also a means by which journalists who have been through the redundancy process can share information and gather data on jobs, demand for journalistic expertise, new career directions, re-training, and the impact of redundancy on professional identity, family life and well-being. This submission addresses themes that pertain to the current state of public interest journalism in Australia and around the world, including the role of government in ensuring a viable, independent and diverse range of media services. This inquiry is taking place at a time when the ranks of journalists employed by major news outlets have been in serious decline for a decade.Australian Research Counci

Efficacy and Safety of Ciprofloxacin for Prophylaxis of Polyomavirus BK Virus–Associated Hemorrhagic Cystitis in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Recipients

Polyoma virus BK–induced hemorrhagic cystitis is an important cause of morbidity after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Fluoroquinolones have been shown in vitro to inhibit BK viral replication by direct inhibition of the BK-encoded DNA gyrase. We hypothesized that extended prophylaxis with ciprofloxacin may decrease the incidence of severe (grades 3 and 4) BK virus–associated hemorrhagic cystitis (sBKHC) after HSCT. We retrospectively collected patient and transplant data, as well as incidence of sBKHC, for all consecutive patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT between June 2006 and August 2010 at our institution. Prophylaxis for sBKHC with ciprofloxacin 500 mg orally twice daily from day 0 until day 60 had been instituted in March 2009, delimiting a group receiving ciprofloxacin prophylaxis (CP) or no prophylaxis (NP). We compared the cumulative incidence of sBKHC in CP and NP, including death in absence of sBKHC as a competing risk. Ninety-two consecutive patients were included in the analysis, 44 in CP and 48 in NP. Median age of patients was 50 years (range: 19-70), and 47% received a myeloablative conditioning regimen. The cumulative incidence of sBKHC was significantly reduced in CP (2.6% versus 20.9%, P = .01). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that assignment to CP and concomitant acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) were the only factors independently associated with the occurrence of sBKHC. Patients in CP did not experience a higher risk of Clostridium difficile diarrhea and were less likely to develop episodes of bacteremia. Ciprofloxacin prophylaxis appears safe and effective in reducing the incidence of severe BKHC after allogeneic HSCT