https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3885 Fri, 05 Jun 2026 10:40:55 GMT 2026-06-05T10:40:55Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34016 Platformization in the Digital Comics Industry – Leaving Comic Creators Behind Hercus, Zoe Webcomics have become an incredibly influential part of the comic industry. Traditional publishers look to webcomic platforms, where creators can establish an extensive following for their comics, to pick out successful titles to transition to print. These publishers are also trying their hand at the platform model, developing platform-like systems (PLS) to appeal to a digitally orientated readership. These movements afford platforms an immense amount of power to affect the comics industry. The ways they are shaping business directions and user expectations are consistent with the dynamics of platformization outlined by Poell et al. (2022). This thesis investigated the structures and mechanisms of webcomic platforms to determine how they engineer platformed effects and their ramifications for comic creators as a vulnerable group. Additionally, it assessed how these effects were reflected by digital comic PLS and how that affected their practice. Ten platforms and PLS, capturing a variety of industry players, were observed using a variation of Light et al. (2016)’s walkthrough method. The data captured from these observations was analysed using Braun and Clarke (2022)’s reflective thematic analysis approach. My findings revealed that the recommendation and sorting techniques of platforms and PLS demonstrate orientations towards newness, quantification (less so for PLS) and low-value exchange terms. These orientations were exaggerated by mechanics that encouraged habitual return, success based on metric logics, and comic monetisation that devalued the individual comic product. This was to the detriment of comic creators, whose efforts to support themselves via relationship- based crowdfunding were not sustained by platforms and PLS. The ways comic creators have become reliant on webcomic platforms to build a following, based on the entanglement of the print and digital comic industries, places pressure on them to weather these negative effects to seek success. Sun, 22 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34016 2025-06-22T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/18630 Nostalgia Games: Replaying The Past Gonlin, Marion This thesis aims to analyse the function of a “nostalgia game” – games that intentionally reference to the past to broaden their appeal. The two games chosen for analysis are Yacht Club Games’ Shovel Knight (2014) and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017). Shovel Knight exemplifies a game purposefully designed as a celebration of classic videogames on the NES form the late 1980s to early 1990s by using retro aesthetics and old game design conventions. Breath of the Wild demonstrates how a game series looks to its roots for innovation – the original Legend of Zelda released in 1986. The analysis will be divided in two sections for each game. The first section looks at the recurrence of game mechanics and references both games make through the concept of “remediation” (Bolter & Grusin, 1999) and how the games use nostalgia. The second section looks at the micro-temporalities of the games and how they reflect the games they are referencing. These micro-temporalities are referred to as “seriality” (Denson & Jahn-Sudmann, 2015). The wider purpose of this thesis is to lay the groundwork for future research into the field of nostalgic videogames. Sun, 01 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/18630 2017-10-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/12444 "How far will Miley go next?”: Miley Cyrus and the news in celebrity gossip magazines Watson, Lucy This thesis examines news values in celebrity news. News values have been thoroughly analysed with regard to “serious” news, but little has been done to see how useful existing conceptions of news values are for celebrity news in gossip magazines. This thesis examines coverage of Miley Cyrus in four Australian gossip magazines from December 2010 to July 2014 according to traditional news values, and argues they are inadequate for understanding how celebrity news is produced. It then proposes and tests a different set of news values that function for celebrity news. Using a queer approach to heteronormativity, this thesis argues that the news values employed by celebrity magazines uphold and maintain a normative hierarchy, through the promotion of non-normative behaviour as scandalous gossip, and normative behaviour as worthy of celebration. Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/12444 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/12443 GGWP (Good Game, Well Played): How Free Labour and Exploitation is established within videogames Ridgeway, Benjamin The aim of this thesis is to explore the way in which free labour of and user – generated content are part of the current structure and business model of the e-Sports industry. Specifically the competitive industry of League of Legends helps us to understand the nature and growth of e-Sports as well as the way in which business that are founded by models of the free to play variety have continuously subjected gamers to exploitation. Through the fantasy of professionalisation, the gamer is propelled into a market in which such exploitation is necessary to the potential of becoming a celebrity within the wider gaming community. To make it so that gamers are more willing to participate in such a culture of free labour, professional and competitive league play is had, as well as actual money. Using an archival method, this thesis will seek to explore the way in which the labour that is given by the gaming community is further exploited by Riot. Through the analysis of build sites, live streaming and the process of the Tribunal, the contributions of the community toward the production and maintenance of the cultural significance of League is significant and worthy of investigation. With my own experience within the gaming field of League of Legends guided general knowledge on how the game was structured and played as well as how the meta worked, my knowledge allows me to further investigate the ways in which the community interacts with Riot and amongst themselves. The outcome of such research helps establish and understanding of how such an understanding of the professionalisation of videogames can increase our Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/12443 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10137 Daily Life: pink ghetto or feminist triumph? An analysis of the content of and responses to Fairfax’s women’s news website. Wilcox, Kate In the last five years a number of news companies around the world have launched women’s news websites attached to, but distinct from, the regular website for their newspapers. In February 2012 Fairfax launched Daily Life, a self-proclaimed “femalebiased” website, the first Australian iteration of this women’s news website phenomenon. These websites have been new focal points for old feminist debates about separate gendered media spaces, and are particularly reminiscent of debates among feminist media theorists about the women’s pages of newspapers. This thesis will conduct qualitative content analysis of Daily Life’s most-viewed articles from its first year of publication in order to ascertain what content is popular on the website and how they portray women’s issues. In addition to this, results of a Daily Life reader survey will be discussed to understand how readers use and perceive the website. These results will be examined in the light of theoretical debates about separate gendered media spaces to see how Daily Life and other women’s news websites mitigate or contribute to problems of female representation in media. The thesis highlights the inequality still present in the way women are represented in the media and participate in the news industry. It examines the ideological complexities of producing a website for women, and analyses the many concerns raised about Daily Life, to ascertain whether women’s news websites help or hinder the feminist cause. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10137 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10138 Play to win: How competitive modes of play have influenced cultural practice in digital games Egliston, Benjamin The aim of this thesis is to explore the function of emergence and spectatorship as cultural practices within the competitive arena of Blizzard's World of Warcraft (WoW). The game and its peripheral web spaces and paratexts will be subject to both qualitative and quantitative research approaches, including content analysis and autoethnography. Grounded theory content analysis was used to explore emergence in the context of player gameplay tactics (emergent play). It is argued that players who succeed in the game's competitive arena do so on the privilege of effective tactics and a thorough understanding of the game mechanics. Additional insight into the phenomenon of emergence was gained from a study of paratexts and the ways in which emergence conflicts with authorial intent. The ecology of competitive gaming is comprised not only of players but also spectators. Grounded theory content analysis and quantitative analysis were used to examine the cultural practice of spectatorship. Broadcasting platforms (Twitch.tv and YouTube) facilitate indirect player interaction with games. It is my contention that viewers utilise these broadcasts of high-end play as a form of paratext to guide their individual playstyle. Analyses suggest that the spectatorship of live and recorded emergent gameplay is directly linked to the formulation of gameplay tactics. Data also indicated tension between authorial intent and emergent practices. In some instances players worked with developers as co-authors to highlight malfunctioning gameplay mechanics (exposed via emergent play patterns). Other scenarios involved the conveyance of absolute authorial power by Blizzard. As a result of these differing relationships with players, Blizzard appear to have struggled with the implementation of a linear, single-authored experience. Although my own gameplay experiences guided the exploration of emergence and spectatorship, my expertise with the game facilitated a sophisticated mechanical analysis and allowed me to provide novel cultural insights into competitive play.  Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10138 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10075 Capture - Upload - Broadcast. A case study in the gatekeeping of amateur footage Bagshaw, Eryk This thesis explores the transition of amateur footage across three different stages of the news making process. Through a case study of the 'Mardi Gras Police Brutality Video' this thesis tracks and analyses the development, reception and integration of amateur footage. Each stage is marked by a different media environment, firstly, as an eyewitness to the news event, secondly through its development in the online YouTube landscape and finally in its broadcast across TV news networks. In order analyse each of these media platforms a mixed-method approach has been adopted that utilises both qualitative content analysis and textual analysis. Whilst the thesis is situated in gatekeeping theory it also crosses into other areas of discussion integral to the understanding of the progression of this case study. This includes the concepts of gatewatching, eyewitnessing and participatory journalism. This thesis is an original contribution to the field of gatekeeping theory by focusing on a unique case study and addressing a new component of gatekeeping processes. What happens to amateur footage as it moves through the gates? This thesis argues that despite the proliferation of amateur footage and the multiplying of gates across multiple platforms, Australian TV news networks successfully retain their authority as gatekeepers through a process of normalisation. However, as this thesis will demonstrate, participatory journalists and active audiences in sites such as YouTube now have the power to influence and judge what enters through the gates. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/10075 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/9292 False Start: Quantitative representation of sportswomen in The Sydney Morning Herald in 2005, 2007 and 2011 Wade, Kirsten Despite the increasing participation and success of women in sport in Australia, sportswomen continue to receive a significantly lower quantity of media coverage than sportsmen. This thesis will examine the impact of the 2006 Senate inquiry ‘About time! Women in sport and recreation in Australia’ and the 2010 Australian Sports Commission (ASC) report ‘Towards a Level Playing Field: sport and gender in Australian media’, which were designed to address the underrepresentation of sportswomen in the media. Content analysis of The Sydney Morning Herald 1 sports section was conducted to quantify the representation of sportswomen in 2005, prior to the inquiry, and in 2007 and 2011, following the publication of the inquiry and report. This thesis highlights that, despite the issue being deemed important enough to warrant a parliamentary inquiry and large-scale government-backed research, the quantitative coverage of sportswomen in SMH has not improved. Interviews with SMH sports journalists and an editor, combined with academic scholarship, offer insights into why underrepresentation of sportswomen in SMH still exists. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/9292 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/9273 Technologies of Government Sheenal, Singh In the last two decades, the deeply flawed ethical disposition of the press, or print media, and changes in the traditional business models of the print media have been carefully staged as policy challenges for both the Australian government and the eponymous public. This thesis attempts to characterise and critically untangle the technology of ‘inquiry’ that has been offered by government as a remedy to these perceived failings – a deeply intrusive, diagnostic, productive and creative technology that demands assessment when the traditionally unfettered and unregulated press becomes its field of intervention. With the print media as the key unit of analysis, ‘inquiry’ is historicised through genealogical analysis and subsequently refracted through the Foucauldian prism of governmentality to offer, quite simply, an analytics of inquiry as it relates to the print media in Australia. The first part of the paper undertakes a modest genealogical analysis of inquiry and traces a trajectory toward a governmentalisation of inquiry, before composing a general conceptual space for thinking of inquiries as ‘technologies’ by proposing a tetrad analytic encompassing the polytelic, polytechnic, polytemporal and polyspatial dimensions of inquiry. The second part of the paper patiently knits a governmental perspective with the discursive, using the tetrad as a starting point to analyse the 1992 Joint Select Committee Inquiry into the Print Media and the 2011 Independent Inquiry into Media and Media Regulation. This offers a preliminary insight into the unstable ecology of rationalities, strategies, techniques, governmental programmes, powers, resistances and co-existing technologies that animated these two inquiries into the print media. By making the self-evident nature of inquiry contingent, it becomes possible to illustrate the specific historical conditions which render inquiries into the print media intelligible. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/9273 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/9272 A Social Cognitive Theory based examination of the behavioural change role played by Let's Move's website and social media applications Kaiser, Stephanie It is of key importance to find ways to combat the growing global obesity epidemic. This thesis investigates, using the basis of social cognitve theory, the behavioural change role played by the obesity prevention campaign Let's Move's online channels, including their website and social media sites. The investigation utitlises qualitative content analysis to examine three key areas: How the official social media sites and websites of the Let's Move campaign work together to facilitate behavioural change; how Let's Move uses its online channnels in their attempt to change the audience's behaviour; and how the audience interacts on using the online channels. The thesis concludes that the use of online channels in Let's Move's campaign allows the official campaign messages and the messages posted by the audience to work together to foster behavioural change. Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/9272 2011-10-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7198 A study of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s soft power in Indonesia and China 2007 – 2010 Irvin, Keeley In 2009, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Managing Director Mark Scott put forward a contentious proposal to develop ‘a global ABC’, establishing the ABC as a leading international broadcasting presence. This thesis seeks to reflect on the plausibility of Scott’s vision, which was inspired by then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s foreign policy strategy. It analyses to what extent the ABC’s international services, Radio Australia and Australia Network television, have been able to function as effective tools of Australian public diplomacy and soft power in Asia during the term of the Rudd government, from 2007 – 2010. This thesis argues that the ABC faces significant challenges to realising its policy aims in two key international territories, Indonesia and China. It provides innovative interpretive framing analysis of interviews with six senior ABC managers and four Asian media studies academics, together with government and corporate document research, to determine how Radio Australia and Australia Network’s achievements and problems have been perceived by key strategic communications actors and analysts. Four dominant frames were identified, through which the effectiveness of the ABC’s international services is investigated: political independence, resource dependence, colonialism and engagement. This analysis suggests that while there are a number of existing and emerging opportunities for the ABC to act as a vehicle of Australian soft power in Asia, Radio Australia and Australia Network have to date been largely unable to function as effective tools of public diplomacy due to a number of financial, political, cultural and regulatory constraints. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7198 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7200 An examination of Australian news coverage of Papua New Guinea Carter, Jessica This thesis examines Australian news coverage of Papua New Guinea, a country with which Australia shares geographic proximity and strong historical ties. Specifically, this study examines the coverage of PNG by The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers from January 01 until June 30, 2010. This work aims to demonstrate that PNG is a neglected news region. This neglect – in terms of quality reporting – has produced a limited and fragmentary portrayal of PNG in the Australian media. In this context, this study observes that the majority of news stories about PNG tend to lack analysis and contextual background. By examining the process of news framing and news values, this thesis suggests that the disproportionate emphasis on events associated with crime, chaos, disaster, and corruption has constructed PNG as a fragile, suffering and dependent society. The key methodologies used in this thesis are content analysis, and indepth interviews with a selected number of Australian journalists currently or previously based in PNG. The thesis forms part of a much broader examination of the changing trends in international news coverage of developing countries, particularly the Asia-Pacific. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7200 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7201 Lights, Camera, Accolade: Towards an Understanding of the Nature and Impacts of the Nobel Peace Prize Swiatek, Lukasz The Nobel Peace Prize is more than a medal,diploma and monetary sum. This thesis investigates the nature and international impacts of this accolade. It traces the historical evolution of the media resources that underpin the Prize, and offers three ways of conceptualising it: as a meme, as a set of intangible and software assets, and as a tool of soft power. The study argues that these elements are all components of the award, and that they act as communicational tools that operate in various ways to disseminate specific messages to international publics. To substantiate these conceptualisations, selected media texts are analysed using a multi-method approach. The 2007 conferral of the Prize to the former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (represented by Rajendra Pachauri) serves as the case study. The thesis concludes suggesting that the Prize can have significant impacts on individuals around the world, in encouraging universal peacemaking. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7201 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7199 The Good, The Bad and The Morally Grey: The Ethics of Journalism in Film Law, Melinda This thesis examines the portrayal of journalists in feature films and treats the films as cultural artefacts, which represent many of the prevailing attitudes and public expectations of the contemporary news media. It considers three films Good Night, and Good Luck (2004), Lions For Lambs (2007) and State of Play (2009) and uses three ethical frameworks, John Stuart Mill‟s Utilitarianism, Immanuel Kant‟s Deontological ethics and the Society of Professional Journalist‟s Code of Ethics to closely examine the actions of the journalists. After applying these frameworks to the films, the thesis examines the ethical framework favoured by filmmakers and analyses the work of these journalists as indicative of the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the contemporary news media in the popular imagination. The thesis discusses how films containing journalists as characters shape public expectations of their real life counterparts and if there are indeed any suitable recommendations that can be applied as best practice to the work of journalists in the evolving news media industries Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/7199 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/5872 I am your worst fear, I am your best fantasy: new approaches to slash fiction Brennan, Joseph Carl Linden This thesis uses slash fan fiction produced for the CW television series Supernatural to suggest two new slash typologies. While existing frameworks — romantopia (concerned with sex) and intimatopia (concerned with intimacy) — are useful, I argue that many slash stories fall outside the scope of these two terms into two newly proposed categories: paratopia and monstropia. Paratopic slash is centrally concerned with psychological change or geographical repositioning and realises, like romantopia and intimatopia, potentials of homosocial desire. Monstropic slash is centrally concerned with perversity and realises potentials of homosexual panic; it is a genre of slash fiction until now unexplored by slash scholarship. To illustrate these frameworks I discuss Supernatural slash stories in detail. Supernatural was chosen to illustrate both paratopia and monstropia because it is arguably a text that promotes homosexual panic as much as it does homosocial desire. I also argue that Supernatural slash, which would ordinarily be classified as romantopic or intimatopic, is paratopic due to the changes necessary to negotiate the characters’ homophobia and authentically present them in either sexual or intimate love. In conclusion, I argue that paratopia and monstropia are useful frameworks for understanding the ‘other worlds’ that slash inhabits — worlds beyond the reach of ‘topias’ romantopia and intimatopia. Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/5872 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/5867 “Can Daft Punk Play At My House?” Hui, Alan This thesis analyses and discusses the tensions between sampling and copyright by posing the question: ‘Can Daft Punk Play At My House?'. It examines one particular case of music sampling - the Soulwax Shibuya Re-remix of LCD Soundsystem’s Daft Punk Is Playing At My House to consider the ways in which copyright views sampling as infringement and to what extent copyright can subsist in a work of sampling. Following Chapter One on methodology, Chapter Two reviews the relevant legal, cultural studies and media studies literature to consider how sampling further challenges the copyright’s assumptions about author. Chapter Two demonstrates how sampling further challenges legal assumptions of what is a work and who is an author, and threshold tests, based on the concepts of originality, the idea-expression dichotomy and substantiality. It finds that the application of these assumptions and tests restrict the creative practice of sampling. Chapter Three presents examines the case study recording through the interpretations of music commentators and brothers Stephen and David Dewaele, two of the four members of Soulwax. It also examines the case study through further interpretations of the case study by four relevant experts in the musical and legal fields, the subjects of primary interview research. Chapter Three finds that with the exception of the Licensing Manager’s view, all other interviewees, commentators and artists recognise the cumulative, creative contribution of Soulwax’s sampling over and above its reproduction of .prior work by LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk and other artists. It further finds by signing a contract with EMI, Soulwax gains access works for sampling but loses control of the rights in its Re-remixes. Chapter Four discusses the shortcomings of existing music industry licensing and contractual agreements, analyses prospective solutions and identifies future challenges. Chapter Four shows that the application of copyright law, based on the problematic assumptions about the author discussed in Chapters Two and Three, and industry practice of sampling clearance, discussed in Chapter Three, contribute to the tragedy of the anti-commons. It further shows by entering into contracts with copyright owners, who are often not creators or authors, artists make this tragedy perpetual. It argues that a number of prospective solutions, particularly, Creative Commons and recognition of transformative works, under a fair use doctrine or a compulsory licensing system, make some progress to avoiding this tragedy. It identifies extreme sampling that stretches the threshold of recognisability and the sampling of oral cultures as future challenges for sampling and copyright. Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/5867 2010-02-16T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/5341 In The Public Interest? : Investigative Journalism and Fourth Estate Philosophy Within the Australian Press Lenffer, Heidi The tradition of ‘investigative journalism’ has come to denote the most lauded qualities of the journalistic profession, and has an impressive history of producing social reform in Australia. However, its grounding in Fourth Estate principles arguably promotes an adversarial, top-down approach to journalism, which has served to position the journalist as a removed ‘watchdog’ gaurdian of public interests, rather than as a professional who facilitates the public’s expressions of politcal, social and cultural interest. This thesis uses a case study of the National Times newspaper (1971-1986) to illustrate the form and effect of a particular manifestation of investigative journalism, and seeks to contextualise the tradition within a historical account of the development of Fourth Estate philosophy within Australia. This thesis aims to contribute to contemporary debates surrounding the role of journalism by situating this research within a broader discussion of the changing relations between the media and the citizenry within the contemporary public sphere. Sat, 01 Oct 2005 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/5341 2005-10-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/4029 The Disconnect Between Journalism and Governance: A Critical Analysis of The Interaction of Journalism and Governance in the Virtual World Second Life. Boyd Jones, Annabelle This thesis analyses the interaction of journalism and governance in the virtual world Second Life. It examines the structure, practices and influence of journalism in Second Life and explores the nature and communicative aspects of governance in this virtual world. As virtual worlds attract growing numbers of subscribers and social interaction increasingly moves towards the online environment, it is crucial to understand the practices and conventions which structure human interaction in these spaces. To explore these concerns, a close critical analysis of Second Life was conducted, based upon academic literature, interviews and a content analysis. Eight interviews with significant journalists in Second Life were conducted and a content analysis of thirteen publications was undertaken. Yochai Benkler’s theory of social production provides a theoretical base which frames the nature of Second Life as participatory, collaborative and networked, and defines the relationship between media and governance using the concept of a networked public sphere. Practices of journalism in Second Life display a combination of traditional, professional,gatewatching and participatory, networked, gatekeeping characteristics, and it perform numerous roles in mediating communication. Second Life publications facilitate active and abundant conversation between residents, facilitating a networked public sphere. Linden Lab uses a variety of strategies to communicate governance discourses to users. Despite the similarity between normative and Second Life journalism, it has a negligible influence over the structure and direction of governance. The disconnect between journalism and governance in Second Life raises questions about individual freedom and collaborative production in virtual worlds, challenging existing understandings of online interactions. Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/4029 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3934 Misconceived: Representations of "The RU486 Debate" in the Media Daroczy, Jenna In December 2005, a cross-party coalition of female senators presented a Bill to Parliament that changed the way Australian women could have abortions. ‘Misconceived: Representations of RU486 in the Media’ is a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of newspaper coverage leading up to the passing of the Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Repeal of the Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of RU486) Bill 2005 in February 2006, together with an extensive literature review. Analysing all coverage discussing RU486 in three publications – national newspaper The Australian as well as Sydney-based The Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald – over a five month period, the study was chiefly concerned with the way RU486 and key stakeholders in the story were framed. The Bill sought to remove the power of veto the Health Minister held over abortifacients coming into Australia, instead assigning the power to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). One abortifacient in particular, known as ‘RU486’ or mifepristone, was already in use in many other countries. When the Bill was successful in February 2006, the TGA could assess RU486 and Australian doctors could prescribe medical abortions as an alternative to the already legal surgical abortion. This study positions itself within the established fields of theory and research surrounding interactions between science and the media, science and politics as well as science and ethics. Previous studies assessing the way science is framed in the media informed the direction of the quantitative and qualitative content analyses. The quantitative analysis found statistical evidence strongly suggesting the invocation of the wider ‘abortion debate’ utilised throughout the coverage, although the Bill itself was about regulation of abortifacients, not the procedure itself. It also found that despite journalists’ use of a wide range of sources, stakeholders presented in the ‘leads’ of articles preserved the status quo and favoured government or ‘anti-Bill’ sources over those in support of the Bill, thus challenging the status quo. The articles analysed fell short of meaningful engagement with the wider issue of Australia’s high abortion rate, based on the proportion of coverage relating to the underlying causes of Australia’s high abortion rate. The majority of coverage focused on the detail of the Bill rather than the ‘horse race’ of political manoeuvring behind it, suggesting a reluctance to revisit the issue after the parliamentary vote was taken. Throughout the coverage there was strong use of emotive language, which could be seen to obstruct objective engagement with the facts of the Bill. Using McKee’s ‘commutation test’, phrases deemed to indicate a particular frame were singled out for qualitative assessment. Four main frames were established relating to the wider abortion debate; portrayals of the medical profession, the use of medical jargon and the rhetoric of risk and claims that ‘accountable’ politicians should be in charge instead of the unelected Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Within the broad framing of the medical profession, the work of Karpf provides the scaffolding for an updated interpretation of the ‘medical’, ‘consumer’, ‘look-after-yourself’ and ‘environmental’ approaches. Interviews were also conducted with three journalists involved in reporting the stories, one from each of the newspapers and three key medical spokespeople frequently mentioned in the coverage, adding a further layer of meaning to the analysis. Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3934 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3933 Informing a Distracted Audience: News Narratives In Breakfast Television Copeman, Emma This thesis takes its lead from Baym’s (2004) suggestion that incorporation of entertainment techniques into television news undermines its authority and credibility. To explore this question, textual analysis was conducted on the news bulletins of Australian breakfast television programs Sunrise and Today with regard to narrative features and the spread of traditional news conventions compared to entertainment techniques. This analysis was followed by a discussion of the dominant meanings produced by the news narratives of Sunrise and Today. The two programs employed similar narrative styles that largely adhered to traditional news conventions, positioning themselves as impartial and authoritative relayers of news. However, narratives of both programs also diverged from traditional news: both used entertainment conventions – with Today often abandoning the traditional Inverted Pyramid news story structure for new structures – and contained briefer stories, with references to the opinions and personal experiences of the item presenters. In some breakfast news items, the short and sometimes personal narrative structure diminished the construction of impartiality. While entertainment techniques represented a potential threat to the overall authority of the news, in this analysis, the threat was mitigated by the dominance of traditional news conventions and authority was retained. In summary, departures from traditional news narrative structure and delivery are evident in Australian breakfast television, and may partly decrease its news authority and impartiality. However, the ability of these programs to retain distracted breakfast audiences may depend on the brief, entertaining and sometimes personal nature of the news items. Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3933 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3930 Niche Publications and Subcultural Authenticity: The case of Stealth Magazine Blight, David Authenticity is often constructed as an absolute subcultural value. Within the field of subcultural studies, a relatively small amount of literature exists regarding the relationship between different forms of media and subcultural notions of authenticity. Even less literature examines the relationship that individual media texts foster with subcultural niche markets or the internal techniques such publications utilise to discuss authenticity. This thesis aims to address these gaps by performing an in-depth analysis of a Sydney-based hip hop publication, Stealth magazine. The analysis explores how subcultural authenticity is constructed within this publication. In doing so, the nature of authenticity is called into question. Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3930 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3931 The Mythic Monument and the Monumental Myth: 9/11 Through Film Posters. Williams, Kathleen Two films were released in 2006 that depicted the events of September 11, 2001. This thesis seeks to interrogate the interpretation of the events through the vehicle of the film poster, for United 93 and World Trade Center. The single image of the film poster calls on audiences to re-engage with the events of 9/11 by bearing witness through consumption in the realm of entertainment. Combining these powerful experiential imperatives with memorialisation and commemorative practices, representations are located in the nexus of the troubled binary of personal and the monument. This discussion will be levelled at the depiction of the personal/monument binary and how this binary is employed to make sense of the event, by disciplining the narrative to exist outside of terrorists’ aims. The use of mythic Hollywood images in the posters can be seen as interpreting the events of 9/11 for a movie-going audience. The posters draw upon mythologies using particular constructions of the binary of personal/monument in response to the role of public memorials, trauma and commemoration, and representations of grief, tragedy and heroism in mythic Hollywood images. Considering the strong national and ideological divisions inherent in the September 11 narrative, film posters from English and non-English speaking contexts are considered. While no claims are made on the individual national identities portrayed, a comparison of five posters English language posters, with four posters released to non-English speaking countries – Korea, Turkey, Germany and Russia – show distinctions between the internationally released posters and alterations made for audiences in the United States. This thesis will adopt a post-structural method of critique. As such, binaries must be seen as contextually bound. Apart from the conceptual apparatus of post-structural theory, the body of literature provides a conceptual and thematic form for analysis. This study develops its own context for analysis by drawing on previous literature concerning: 9/11 particularly in relation to concepts of the Real, taken from Žižek and Baudrillard, including work on pain, tragedy and mourning drawn from Sontag and Butler; previous literature on the film poster, an area of work that is limited and normally tied to advertising discourses, which is not of interest to this study; and mythologies and semiotics, drawing heavily on the work of Roland Barthes. This thesis will use Barthes’ description of “Leaving the Movie Theater” that engages with posters and the role of the cinematic space, as a point of departure. The aim of this thesis is to engage with binaries to find dominant meanings to question the various interpretations and understandings of 9/11, and to question whether these parties to the binary are truly opposed poles. Engaging with a large body of previous literature to theoretically and conceptually guide the analysis, this thesis seeks to further existing study to argue toward a new socio-historical understanding of 9/11 through an in depth analysis of film posters. Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3931 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3932 “MySpace: a place for friends?”: A Study of Friendship on MySpace Sawyer, Rhiannon This thesis seeks to examine the concept of friendship on MySpace. It will address the need for a comprehensive study of the daily operation of friendship on the social software site. As the site itself is relatively new, previous studies of social software have not included a focus on MySpace. This study will analyse the concept of friendship by using a theoretical framework of friendship based on the work of Aristotle, Kant and Derrida. It will focus on three identified types of MySpace: MySpace for artists, for businesses and for individuals. The thesis will study these friendship types then analyse them according to the motivations behind these friendships and the context in which they exist. Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/3932 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z