Fay Anderson

Chasing the pictures: Press and magazine photography

For over a century, press and magazine photography has influenced how Australians have viewed society, and played a critical role in Australias evolving national identity. Despite its importance and longevity, the historiography of Australian news photography is surprising limited. This article examines the history of press and magazine photography and considers its genesis, the transformative technological innovations, debates about images of violence, the industrial attitudes towards photographers and their treatment, the use of photographs and the seismic recent changes. The article argues that while the United States and United Kingdom influenced the trajectory of press and news photography in Australia, there are significant and illuminating differences.

Into the Night: Max Crawford, the Labyrinth of the Social Studies Enquiry and ASIO's 'Spoiling Operations'.

This article examines the Social Studies Affair, a controversy that erupted in 1961 when the venerated historian, Max Crawford wrote to the Bulletin and drew attention to a University staffing matter under the guise of exposing a Communist plot. What followed was a prolonged and, at times, vicious debate about intellectual freedom. The case exposed the prevailing Cold War obsession with communism, the various campaigns against ‘suspect’ academics and ASIOs manipulation of the press. It would also involve a remarkable and influential group including Donald Horne, Sydney Hook, Frank Knopfelmacher and Vincent Buckley.

‘Photographing Lindy’: Australian press photography and the Chamberlain case, 1980–2012

This article analyses the news photography surrounding a high-profile case of alleged matricide in Australia: the disappearance of 9-month-old Azaria Chamberlain, and the subsequent murder trial and eventual acquittal of her mother, Lindy. While the scholarship on the media’s conduct during Chamberlain’s ordeal has been exhaustive, the press photographers’ role has not been considered. Drawing on oral history interviews with newspaper photographers, this article explores the ways that the photographers’ workplace culture, gender, relationships and practices informed their approach. It argues that their images in isolation did not contribute to the demonisation of Chamberlain; the same photographs were used to project both innocence and guilt depending on the editorial interpretation. The article will provide new historical understanding about the photographic traditions and routines surrounding the Chamberlain case and crime photography more generally.

MOSQUITOES DANCING ON THE SURFACE OF THE POND

This article examines the impact of technology on Australian conflict reporting using the experiences and insights of the practitioners themselves. There is a prevailing belief that war and foreign correspondents are more liberated and the audience better informed as technology permits immediate communication from the frontline. The article considers the challenges faced by previous generations of war correspondents and the contrasting experiences of reporting in Iraq, analysing how technology has impacted on newsgathering, military management and reporting. I argue that the magnitude of the technological changes has been considerable, and in some cases immensely positive, but in other ways technology has not mitigated past challenges in the realm of censorship, syndication, resources and competition. At the same time the journalists articulate new difficulties with instant deadlines, 24-hour news, increased syndication, and editorial expectations caused by the imperatives of infotainment and compounded by technological advancement.

Perilous: Australian news photographers and trauma

Using oral testimony with 60 present and former Australian newspaper photographers, this article examines their frequent exposure to high-risk situations and the physical and psychological costs. Photographers engage with both vulnerability and aberration, and at the same time negotiate with editors who demand and prize a proximity and emotional closeness to danger. With a particular focus on war, disaster, and everyday assignments, the article reveals a litany of hazardous experiences. It considers the photographers’ reflections, the physical effects, the significant prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma-related symptoms, and the support and failings of their news organisations. The article argues that the seismic changes in the photographers’ workplace and their profession have further compounded the psychological and physical stress. This work illuminates new understanding about the historical and contemporary experiences of news photographers and the impact of the fracturing newspaper industry in Australia.Using oral testimony with 60 present and former Australian newspaper photographers, this article examines their frequent exposure to high-risk situations and the physical and psychological costs. Photographers engage with both vulnerability and aberration, and at the same time negotiate with editors who demand and prize a proximity and emotional closeness to danger. With a particular focus on war, disaster, and everyday assignments, the article reveals a litany of hazardous experiences. It considers the photographers’ reflections, the physical effects, the significant prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma-related symptoms, and the support and failings of their news organisations. The article argues that the seismic changes in the photographers’ workplace and their profession have further compounded the psychological and physical stress. This work illuminates new understanding about the historical and contemporary experiences of news photographers and the impact of the fracturing n...