School of Communication Studies - Te Kura Whakapāho

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https://hdl.handle.net/10292/1316

The School of Communication Studies is committed to innovative, critical and creative research that advances knowledge, serves the community, and develops future communication experts and skilled media practitioners. There is a dynamic interaction between communication theory and media practice across digital media, creative industries, film and television production advertising, radio, public relations, and journalism. The School is involved in research and development in areas of:

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Media Performance

Multimodal Analysis

Online, Social and Digital Media

Asia-Pacific Media

Political Economy of Communication

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 190

The South Pacific media:politics, ownership and control
(Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars (BCAS) / Critical Asian Studies, 1995-01-10) Robie, D
Two transnational media conglomerates own or control all the major circulation newspapers in the South Pacific. Through their subsidiaries Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation Ltd and French media magnate Robert Hersant's group in the French territories own five of the eight dailies in the region. The most recent daily, the National, began publishing in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in mid-November 1993. It is owned by a company associated with Malaysian senator Datuk Tiong Hiew King's family timber group, Rimbunan Hijau (RHG). Although the Tiong family is not in the big news media league of the Murdochs and Hersants, it has significant media interests, including the publishing of Malaysia's largest Chinese-language daily newspaper, Sin Chew Jit Poh.
Community, demagogues and the South Pacific news media
(Australian Key Centre for Cultural and Media Policy; University of Queensland, School of Journalism and Communication, 1998-02) Robie, D
On 19 October 1995, the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea issued the terms of reference for a Constitutional Review Committee's (CRC) Subcommittee on Media Accountability: to examine 'whether changes need to be made to ensure that, while freedom of the press is maintained, owners, editors and journalists of all elements of the media are accountable and that persons aggrieved by media abuses have reasonable redress'. The CRC held a public seminar in January 1996 to explore the issues and the Media Council of Papua New Guinea held a 'freedom at the crossroads' seminar the following month. Public responses were overwhelmingly in favour of the traditional 'free' press in Papua New Guinea, as guaranteed under Section 46 of the Constitution. The report of the Subcommittee on Media Accountability to Parliament in June 1996 essentially came to the same conclusion. However, the CRC introduced three draft media laws in November which introduced a controversial system involving a Media Commission, registration of journalists, licensing of media organisations and serious penalties for transgressors. The proposed legislation was widely condemned and was eventually shelved in February 1997. A general view is that the media debate was manipulated by a small group of politicians out of self-interest. This paper examines the developments in the context of the erosion of the news media and free expression in the South Pacific generally.
Journalism education in the South Pacific, 1975-2003 : politics, policy and practice
(University of the South Pacific, 2004-04) Robie, D
University education for South Pacific journalists is a relatively recent development. It has existed in Papua New Guinea for merely a generation; it is less than a decade old at degree level in Fiji, and in the former colonies in Polynesia. At the same time, mean age, experience and educational qualifications have been rising among journalists in the major Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) member countries, Australia and New Zealand, as the news media has become more professionalised. While the Papua New Guinea media has largely depended on journalism education to provide the foundation for its professionalism, Fiji has focused on a system of ad hoc short course training funded by international donors. This thesis examines the history of South Pacific university media education and its impact on the region’s journalism. Its first objective is to test the hypothesis that tertiary education has a critical influence on how Pacific journalists practise their profession and perceive their political and social role in a developing society faced with the challenges of globalisation. Secondly, the thesis aims to analyse the political, economic and legal frameworks in which the media have operated in Papua New Guinea and Fiji since independence. Third, the thesis aims to explain and assess in detail the development of journalism education in the South Pacific since independence. The theoretical framework is from a critical political economy perspective. It also assesses whether the concept of development journalism, which had its roots in the 1980s debate calling for a ‘New International Information and Communication Order’ (NWICO), has had an influence on a Pacific style of journalism. The thesis argues within a context where journalists can be considered to be professionals with some degree of autonomy within the confines set by a capitalist and often transnational-owned media, and within those established by governments and media companies. Journalists are not solely ‘governed’ by these confines; they still have some freedom to act, and journalism education can deliver some of the resources to make the most of that freedom. The thesis includes historical case studies of the region’s three main journalism schools, Divine Word University (PNG), University of Papua New Guinea and the University of the South Pacific. It demonstrates some of the dilemmas faced by the three schools, student journalists and graduates while exercising media freedom. Research was conducted using the triangulation method, incorporating in-depth interviews with 57 editors, media managers, journalists and policy makers; two newsroom staff surveys of 15 news organisations in Fiji and Papua New Guinea in 1998/9 (124 journalists) and 2001 (106); and library and archives study. It also draws on the author’s personal experience as coordinator of the UPNG (1993-1997) and USP (1998-2002) journalism programmes for more than nine years. The thesis concludes that journalists in Papua New Guinea (where university education has played a vital role for a generation) are more highly educated, have a higher mean experience and age, and a more critically sophisticated perception of themselves and their media role in Pacific societies than in Fiji (where almost half the journalists have no formal tertiary education or training). Journalists in Fiji are also more influenced by race, cultural and religious factors. Conversely, PNG journalists are poorly paid even when compared with their Fiji colleagues. There are serious questions about the impact that this may have on the autonomy of journalists and the Fourth Estate role of news media in a South Pacific democracy.
Book Review: campaigning with passion for an ‘arsenal for democracy’
(School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology, 2005) Robie, D
No abstract.
Pacific solutions
(AUT University, 2005) Robie, D
Media students in the South Pacific are being taught how to respond to physical threats and attempts at bribery, as well as journalism, says David Robie.
Book Review: ‘Embedded’ with the invaded Iraqi people
(School of Communication Studies, Auckland University of Technology, 2005) Robie, D
No abstract.
From campus to newsroom in the South Pacific: credible media career paths versus "academic anaemia"
(University of Wollongong, 2005) Robie, D; Singh, S
The University of the South Pacific’s Regional Journalism Programme, which caters for 12 member countries1 from the Cook Islands in the east to the Solomon Islands in the west, was founded in 1994 with French Government aid. It began producing double major graduate journalists for the South Pacific from 1996. Two-thirds of the graduates live and work in Fiji. While some news media organisations in Fiji have generally recruited graduates, others have preferred to hire untrained school leavers. Parallel with draft legislation designed to turn the self-regulating Fiji Media Council into a statutory body, there have been public calls for higher media standards and more professional training and education. This article explores the career attitudes and destination of the university’s 68 journalism graduates between 1996 and 2002 based on empirical data from a five-year monitoring project that started in 1998. It also examines the policies of the Fiji media industry towards graduates and education.
Using virtual stories to resolve workplace miscommunication
(Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Inc., 2005-07) Mules, PA
www:workstories.ac.nz is an Auckland University of Technology, Faculty of Arts Learning and Teaching initiative. The aim of the site is to provide an online learning tool that is a flexible, interactive textbook/teaching resource. The key differentiating feature of the site is that authentic student experiences of communication breakdown in the workplace are valued, collected and posted online to create a rich, unfolding source of core site content and an online venue for AUT Communication students to share, discuss and resolve these experiences. Threaded through these stories is support and advice from peers and teachers. In semester 1, 2005 www.workstories.ac.nz has been piloted with level 4 students who are studying interpersonal communication as part of AUT’s Diploma of Information Technology. These students are from a diverse range of backgrounds, ages and ethnicities. Some are part-time students who are working while studying, some are recent school leavers, some are older learners who have had a range of experiences in the working world, and some are international students. Many of the students are hoping to staircase to degree courses. This paper describes the motivation, and pedagogical rationale, behind www.workstories.ac.nz. It examines the unique potential that the online medium offers for using true stories as the central tool for learning, and reports some of the feedback that has been collected from students in light of these claims. The site has been piloted as a teaching tool in semester 1, 2005 and will be the subject of research and evaluation in semester 2, 2005. The research will be based on student and teacher feedback and analysis of the site discourse, and will ask the question: what, if any, demonstrable value does www.workstories.ac.nz offer to students learning about workplace miscommunication? Until this research has been completed the benefits of using this approach to teach workplace communication skills are unproven.
The changing face of current affairs programmes in New Zealand, United States and Britain
(New Zealand Communication Association (NZCA), 2006) Baker, Sarah
This paper will explore the changing face of current affairs programmes in three countries, New Zealand, Britain and the United States. News and current affairs programmes have been the subject of much debate in recent years in these three countries. It is common to read of the tabloidisation of news and current affairs and its general decline. This paper will evaluate how key drivers such as legislative changes, globalisation and technological advances have impacted on current affairs programmes in these countries. A recent British study by the University of Westminster is used as one example to discuss the issues facing current affairs as a genre with the claim that it is in crisis and possible terminal decline. For other academics and television executives comes the response that the genre of current affairs has changed with the demands of changing audience taste and commercial realities. This paper suggests that the genre has undergone significant change and is in some crisis. It argues that the change in itself is worthy of investigation and consideration and questions whether the once respected formats of the past that offered context, depth and serious commentary represent the norms of a discarded television genre.
Revisiting French terrorism in the Pacific: Rainbow Warrior revelations
(Pacific Institute of Resource Management (PIRM), 2006) Robie, D
No abstract.
South Pacific notions of the fourth estate: A collision of media models, culture and values
(Auckland University of Technology, 2006) Robie, D
South Pacific media is generally projected as embracing Western news values with the ideals of "objectivity" and "facticity" being paramount. In fact, while this may well be partially true of the Western-owned mainstream media in the two largest nations, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, the reality is far more complex. In many respects, Pacific media have more in common with other developing nations, such as in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Some argue that unique forms of media language are evolving in the region, while others assert that a unique style of Pacific journalism is emerging. This paper discusses notions of Fourth Estate in the South Pacific and outlines and applies a "Four Worlds" news values model that contrasts with media in the dominant regional neighbour states, Australia and New Zealand. It also assesses the findings of two rounds of empirical research in the newsrooms of Fiji and Papua New Guinea (1998/9 and 2001). Finally, the paper argues for major changes t alter a mindset in the region among news organizations that have been reluctant to invest in human resource development or recognize the importance of education for media and democracy.
Reflections on journalism and objectivity: an episode, ideal or obstacle?
(Media Studies Programme of the School of English, Film, Theatre and Media Studies, Victoria University, Wellington, 2006) Rupar, V
No abstract.
An independent student press: three case studies from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Aotearoa/New Zealand
(Auckland University of Technology; University of Wollongong, 2006) Robie, D
In spite of a relatively small but vibrant news media base, two South Pacific countries have been regional leaders in convergent publishing with both newspapers and online media as educational outcomes for student journalists. Universities in Fiji and Papua New Guinea have pioneered with various versions of an entrepreneurial and socially activist student press for three decades, including titles such as Uni Tavur (founded in 1975), Wansolwara (1996) and Liklik Diwai (1998). All three papers have strongly identified with a national development role. In 2003, Aotearoa/New Zealand’s AUT University began publishing Te Waha Nui as a regular professional course publishing venture. It quickly established a niche with indigenous and diversity affairs coverage as an important strength. Using a problem-based learning (PBL) context, this article compares and contrasts the pedagogical challenges faced in all three countries in Oceania and outlines a media educational case for independent journalism school publishing.
Examining the changing face of television current affairs programme in New Zealand from a 'political economy' perspective
(Australia and New Zealand Communication Association International Conference (ANZCA), 2006) Baker, Sarah
This paper will look at the changing face of current affairs television programmes in New Zealand from a political economy perspective. As part of that exploration it will examine the contending cultural studies position and address the claimed limitations of the political economy method. The Political Economy approach provides a framework from which to examine key areas of change in Western and New Zealand broadcasting. Many Western governments have lessened their commitment to public service broadcasting and the political economy method is well suited to research where economic structures, social and cultural life are interconnected, and can be used to evaluate these relationships. For New Zealand broadcasting a defining event of recent years was the application of neo-liberal policies after the 1984 election, taken even further by successive governments. These changes mirrored other Western nations where broadcasting became increasingly commercial, deregulated and globalised. As debates continue about the reduction of quality current affairs programmes on New Zealand television, this paper will explore the application of a political economy approach to changes that have occurred to this television genre.
Pan-Asian identity in a globalizing world
(Common Ground Publisher, 2007) Benson, JS; Rahman, KA
For many East and South East Asian youth, global citizenship is an increasing reality. This raises new research questions of the process of acculturation and ethnic identity. East and South East Asian immigrants and student sojourners in Australia and New Zealand may embody multiple ethnic backgrounds, speak several regional languages and sometimes live for extended periods of time in two or more Asian states or country. This paper challenges the concept of ethnic essentialism or a single cultural adaptation and explores the notion of a regional Pan-Asian identity that extends beyond the barriers of the Asian continent to a globalizing world.
The death of a genre? Television current affairs programmes on New Zealand Public Television
(Australian New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA), 2007) Baker, Sarah
“We need the angry buzz of current affairs programmes” (Professor Sylvia Harvey in Holland, 2006, p. iv). “In a public system, television producers acquire money to make programmes. In a commercial system they make programmes to acquire money” (Tracey, 1998, p.18). Television current affairs programmes have from their inception been a flagship genre in the schedules of public service broadcasters. As a television form they were to background, contextualise and examine in depth issues which may have appeared in the news. They clearly met the public broadcasters' brief to 'inform and educate' and contribute to the notional 'public sphere'. Over the past two decades policies of deregulation and the impact of new media technologies have arguably diminished the role of public broadcasting and profoundly affected the resources available for current or public affairs television with subsequent impacts on its forms and importance. This paper looks at the output of one public broadcaster, Television New Zealand (TVNZ), and examines its current affairs programming through this period of change.
Exploratory study into the perceptions of knowledge, knowledge sources and knowledge uses among students
(AUT University, 2007-12-05) Theunissen, P; Theunissen, C; Allan, M
In 2007 an explorative, quantitative survey among students from the AUT University, Manukau Business School (MIT) and the University of Canterbury was undertaken to determine their perceptions of knowledge, knowledge sources and knowledge ownership. A few of the initial key findings are presented in this paper. The results provide insight into students’ use of the Internet as a knowledge source and of other, more traditional information and knowledge sources. Although several trends appear to be emerging from this research such as an age bias towards the use of knowledge sources (including the Internet), general use seems to be highly personal and varied. Perceptions of reliability and citing sources for academic work were often shaped by tutors and tutors’ perceptions of source reliability, indicating a need for educational leadership from tutors in providing guidelines regarding the reliability of emerging sources such as podcasts, video podcasts (vodcasts), blogs and wikipages. Overall, this exploratory research raises several new and interesting questions, pointing the way for further in-depth research in the area and as such adding to the body of knowledge of Communication.
New Zealand-based students' perceptions and use of the Internet as a communication tool and source of information
(New Zealand Communication Association, 2008) Theunissen, P; Theunissen, CA
In 2007 a pilot study in the form of a quantitative survey among New Zealand-based students was undertaken to determine their use and perceptions of the Internet as a communication tool and source of information and knowledge. While the topic is not necessarily "new", ongoing research of this kind is deemed relevant given the rapid changes in the transference of information and knowledge, and the role communication plays in this. A few of the initial key findings are presented in this paper. The results provide insight into students' current perceptions and use of the Internet, compared to a small number of select other, more traditional information sources. Although several trends appear to be emerging from this research such as an age bias towards the use of the Internet, general use seems to be highly personal and varied, and appear to underscore research in other fields that point towards personality being a determining factor rather than age. An interesting finding was that perceptions of reliability and citing sources for academic work were frequently shaped by tutors and tutors' perceptions of source reliability, signifying the need for educational leadership from tutors to provide guidelines regarding the reliability of emerging sources such as podcasts, video podcasts (vidcasts), blogs and wikipages. Overall, this research raises several new and interesting questions, pointing the way for further in-depth research that could add to the body of knowledge of Communication.
Don't publish and be damned: an advocacy media case study
(Global Fusion Consortium, 2008) Berney, CJ; Robie, D
Advocacy journalism is practised by a wide range of mainstream media publishers and broadcasters and alternative media outlets. It is a genre of journalism that is fact-based but supports a specific viewpoint on an issue. It is generally in opposition to so-called objective journalism. Likewise, advocacy advertising is used to espouse a point of view about controversial public issues. It can be used to target consumer groups, government agencies, special groups or market competitors. Independent student journalism publishing also often challenges normative values. Advocacy advertising, or social issues marketing, was the brief for five shortlisted groups of Auckland University of Technology advertising creativity students on behalf of a New Zealand lobby and protest movement called Homeowners Against Line Trespassers (HALT) in September 2006. HALT was campaigning against a controversial proposal by the state-owned enterprise Transpower to build a 400kV transmission line across a 200km route from Otahuhu to Whakamaru in the Waikato as part of a new national pylons network. Three campaign advertisements were created by a pair of students for AUT's journalism training newspaper, Te Waha Nui, and a separate single advertisement was designed by a second pair of students for an Auckland metropolitan billboard and postcard campaign. This article examines advocacy media in the context of the HALT campaign that explored research links between power pylons and public health and the dynamic with student editors that led to non-publication of the professionally selected social issues message.
The suitcase, the samurai sword and the pumpkin: Asian crime and news media treatment
(Pacific Media Centre, 2008) Baker, Sarah; Benson, SJ
In 2005 and 2007, two high profile crimes were reported in the New Zealand media. The first case involved the murder of a young Chinese student, Wan Biao, whose dismembered body was discovered in a suitcase. The second case involved domestic violence in which a Chinese man murdered his wife and fled the scene with their young daughter - who the press later dubbed 'Pumpkin' when she was found abandoned in Melbourne, Australia. The authors discuss how news and current affairs programmes decontextualise 'Asian' stories to portray a clear divide between the 'New Zealand' public and the separate 'Asian other'. Asians are portrayed as a homogenous group and the media fails to distinguish between Asians as victims of crimes as a separate category to Asians as perpetrators of crimes. This may have consequences for the New Zealand Asian communities and the wider New Zealand society as a whole.

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