Penny O'Donnell

Listening, pathbuilding and continuations: A research agenda for the analysis of listening

This introductory paper posits ‘listening’ as a rubric for reframing contemporary media theory and practice. We propose moving beyond questions of voice, speaking and representation to focus on often-ignored questions of listening as the ‘other side’ of communication. This article sets out the ways in which it may be possible to address the neglected question of listening, not in isolation but rather, following Susan Bickfords notion of ‘pathbuilding’, through explorations of speaking and listening, voice and hearing, logos and interpretation/deconstruction. The article argues for more receptive forms of public discourse and media practice, while seeking to place the recent problematization of listening in a critical framework. Through a survey of theorizations of listening and explication of their research agenda, the authors consider listening in relation to conflict and inequality in diverse practices of citizenship. A central aim is to push discussion of listening practices beyond individual, personal, and private forms of discourse and to identify a spectrum of listening practices that complicate the speaking/listening binary.

Journalism, change and listening practices

This paper develops a theoretical account of listening as the ‘anchoring practice’ for change in all types of contemporary journalism. It contests the technological determinism implied in claims that citizen journalism will ‘naturally’ help us to listen. Instead, the paper makes the case for theorizing media as practice, attending to the practical and symbolic dimensions of the work needed to redistribute communicative power, and recognizing editorial vision, communicative expertise and financial resources as decisive factors in enabling ‘everyday people’ to speak, listen and be heard in the media. Three examples of media practices anchored in new approaches to listening are discussed: purposeful cross-cultural communication in SBS Radio, GetUp!s strategic use of television advertising to achieve a public hearing for dissent, and the bridgeblogging activities of Global Voices that facilitate intercultural dialogue between strangers. Helping people to listen to and hear unfamiliar voices, break silences, and establish meaningful dialogue across difference and disparity can be difficult and costly work. Approaching media as practice provides a productive way of analysing not only the complex range of aural experiences, political interventions, and journalistic activities that emerge when we ask what people are doing in relation to listening, but also the rationales they offer for the turn to listening in journalism and media practice.

Where do journalists go after newsroom job cuts

This article explores the aftermath of job loss in journalism in 2012, a year of dramatic press industry restructuring in Australia. It reports the findings of a pilot survey of 95 Australian redundant journalists, undertaken as part of the New Beats project, a five-year, university–industry investigation of what happens to journalists, and journalism, after job loss. Three related questions drive the analysis: Where do journalists go after job cuts? How do they make sense of job loss? What happens to professional identity? In contrast to a recent study of journalists laid off from the British press, and the literature on the aftermath of job loss for older professionals, this research finds that, in practical terms, the Australian journalists had relatively better than expected post-job loss experiences. All but two of the redundant journalists seeking re-employment found some form of work within one year, and, thanks to union-enforced redundancy agreements, most left newsrooms with severance payments that cushioned the financial impact of unemployment. Yet, the majority did not resume their full-time careers in journalism, and many were emotionally traumatised not only by job loss but also career change. The article argues a sense of leaving a newspaper industry in seemingly terminal decline amplified feelings of anger and anxiety about both the future of journalism work, and lost professional identity, prompting many to leave the profession intentionally and seek jobs elsewhere.

Listening, journalism and community voices – Nadyat El-Gawley in conversation with Penny O'Donnell

Nadyat El-Gawley works with local and national media to change the ways in which issues of race and ethnicity are reported, listened to, and understood in Australian society. She makes radio documentaries and features, often based on stories that people tell her about migration, life in the suburbs, racism and their encounters with the media. Here she describes the ways she works to get mainstream journalists to listen to people and communities that they report about, often without ever visiting or interviewing. For Nadyat, listening involves giving people the time and respect they need to tell their stories in their own way, providing opportunities where possible for them to ‘edit’ themselves, and finding ways to maintain the ‘authenticity’ of the stories when they are translated and heard in mainstream media formats.

For the lifestyle and a love of creativity: Australian students’ motivations for studying journalism

A number of studies have examined why students choose to study journalism at university, but overall, this area is still relatively underexplored. Yet, understanding why students choose journalism, and what career expectations they hold, is important not only for educators but also for wider society and public debates about the future of journalism and the value of tertiary journalism education. This article examines the motivations of 1884 Australian journalism students enrolled across 10 universities. It finds that hopes for a varied lifestyle and opportunities to express their creativity are the most dominant motivations among students. Public service ideals are somewhat less important, while financial concerns and fame are least important. These motivations also find expression in students’ preferred areas of specialisation (referred to in Australia as rounds): lifestyle rounds are far more popular than politics and business rounds or science and development rounds.