Journalism in most Western societies is undergoing an intensive period of transformation. Key social, technological and economic developments have affected the way news is produced and consumed, arguably leading to changes in journalistic cultures. Economic considerations have led to newsrooms becoming smaller, while often producing more news, on more platforms. Increased competition for audiences and advertisers is influencing journalistic decision-making, and – according to critics – a decrease in the quality of news. New media outlets, as well as so-called citizen journalists are further challenging journalists’ status as society’s authorised storytellers. Based on the first representative survey of Australian journalists in 20 years, this presentation will provide a snapshot of Australian journalism culture during these tumultuous times. It will demonstrate some of the significant changes in the journalistic workforce, provide an overview of journalists’ professional views, their ethical views, job satisfaction, and perceptions of changes that have occurred in the industry.

Folker Hanusch is a Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow in Journalism at Queensland University of Technology. His research focuses on journalism culture, comparative communication research, Indigenous journalism, lifestyle and travel journalism, as well as news media and suffering. He has authored more than 60 journal articles and conference papers on these topics, and authored or edited four books. Folker is heavily involved in cross-national collaborative research projects. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Worlds of Journalism Study, and co-leads the 30-country study Journalism Students Across the Globe.