Jason WilsonJournalism and Communications

University of Canberra

Australia’s political communications

system has changed

From McNair, Brian (2003) An Introduction to Political Communication.London: Routledge.

Post-broadcast democracy

There is no mass audience

The audience is not passive, they are

communicative and adaptive.

The lure of social media

Election 2010 - the Great Stalemate

“A highly complex web of relationships has grown up between politicians, their professional advisers and media professionals, which is so

mutually preoccupying that the needs of ordinary citizens can fall far from sight.”

From Blumler, J and Gurevitch, M (1995) The Crisis of Public Communication. London:

Routledge.

Contested journalism

•Audience members openly critical, in real-time, of

•Agendas

•Credibility

•Ergo, legitimacy

Contested campaigns

•Mobilising splinter/interest groups

•Disrupting messaging

•Partisan counter-messaging

Cultural chaos: how should

practitioners adapt?