MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM – EPISODE PITCH

LITTLE ITALY: THE CHANGING FACE OF MELBOURNE'S LYGON STREET

Jesse Setaro, Will Botoulas, Jack Vear

EPISODE OUTLINE• The episode is designed to highlight the changing face of

Melbourne’s iconic Lygon Street precinct. • The episode will include an interview with Café Notturno

owner Maurizio Calamone and potentially with the founding members of Mondo Music.

• The episode will also examine the history of Lygon Street, the demographic of the area and the progression of the site from 1950 onwards.

• The influence of Italian immigrants on the renowned social hub will also be emphasized.

ITALIAN IMMIGRATION – A BACKROUND• From 1949-1959, approximately

200,000 Italian immigrants arrived on Australian shores after World War II.

• The population of Italian immigrants peaked at around 288,300 in 1971.

• The influx of Italian migrants throughout the 1950s eventually led to the expansion of ‘Little Italy’s’ in major Australian cities.

• In Melbourne, Lygon Street became the central hub for all things Italian.

PROGRESSION OF LYGON ST.• The Lygon Street precinct was home to almost fifty Italian

owned shops by 1960. • Among these were Melbourne café icons including Café

Notturno, Brunetti and Café Cavallino.• The close proximity of Melbourne University and to the

suburbs of Fitzroy and Collingwood also ensured the strip gained wider popularity amongst the Melbourne community.

CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS• While Lygon Street

remains Italian at heart, the precinct has become more culturally diverse.

• In 1971, the Italian born population of Lygon Street was 28.5%. Today, the percentage is just 4%.

• 52% of residents are born overseas, with most from Asian nations.

THE CHANGING FACE OF LYGON ST.• As the residents of Lygon Street continue to diversify,

so too do the businesses which inhabit the precinct.• Over the past two decades, the strip has seen a rise in

restaurants offering alternative cuisine’s of the world.• It’s this changing face of Lygon that will form the basis

of our episode.

PLANNING THE EPISODE• The episode will begin with an insight into Lygon Street

with narration, including background information, demographic statistics, and facts regarding the gradual change in Lygon history.

• We will interview Maurizio Calamone of Café Notturno and members of Mondo Music if deemed necessary.

• The episode will be cut as the interview progresses. As the story develops, we will endeavor to incorporate snippets of the interview to support the findings and visual components.

• The visuals will be vital to the overall presentation and subsequent success of the episode.

WHAT TO AVOID• Racism: We will attempt to provide an unbiased and

unprejudiced insight into the street’s development. • Repetition: We will endeavor to provide relevant and

informative information regarding the issue, with an emphasis on avoiding repetition.

• Inappropriate audio & visuals: We will strive to capture the best possible audio and visuals, as these components are vital to the success of the episode.

• Irrelevant interviews: We will edit where necessary, and ensure the interviewee is able to accurately depict and analyze the changing face of Lygon Street.

MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS• We aim to incorporate constant blog posts and social

media updates promoting the episode. We will release pictures from the shoot, as well as audio snippets from any interviews. We may also post the full and un-edited interview for the audience if deemed appropriate.

• To promote the episode and provide information regarding the piece, we will take advantage of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We also have plans to promote the piece with ‘flyers’ placed at various locations throughout the university.

• In relation to data, we plan on using graphs to provide engaging and more accessible understandings of the information.

DEMOGRAPHIC TARGET• Since Lygon Street is not as inherently Italian as previous

years, we believe the episode is relevant not only to the Italian population of Melbourne, but also the wider community.

• Our focus is to promote the episode through online forums and as previously mentioned, via social media i.e. https://www.facebook.com/melbourneitalians

• We may also promote the episode through community groups such as Italian church societies, thereby ensuring the episode can be accessed by a wide variety of audiences.

ROLES OF GROUP MEMBERS• All members will contribute to the filming process and

editorial components of the episode. • Promotion of the episode will be equally distributed

amongst the three group members.• Interview preparation will involve brainstorming and

preparation of relevant and high-quality questions. • Final editing of audio and visual components will also be

completed by all three members of the group.

NOTE: • Please ensure you have viewed the YouTube video

accessible via:• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kGoikVxFxA

END OF EPISODE PITCH