AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISTS&apos; REACTIONS TO NEW TECHNOLOGY

Henningham, John

doi:10.1080/08109029508631981

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Prometheus

Volume 13, Issue 2

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AUSTRALIAN JOURNALISTS' REACTIONS TO NEW TECHNOLOGY

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editorial

Author(s): John Henningham

Publication date (Print): December 1995

Journal: Prometheus

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: journalists, technology, media, newspapers, television

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Abstract

The new technology which has revolutionised newsrooms over the last decade has been generally accepted by Australian journalists, who believe the quality of their work has improved and time savings have occurred. Older journalists are somewhat less enthusiastic, but when controlling for age there are no sex differences in reactions to technology. Journalists who are stressed and those who admit to being cynics are less sanguine about the benefits of technology, while those who are job-satisfied and optimistic about the future are more pro-technology.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): cpro20

Journal ID (archive): CPRO

Title: Prometheus

Subtitle: Critical Studies in Innovation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 0810-9028

ISSN (Electronic): 1470-1030

Publication date (Print): December 1995

Volume: 13

Issue: 2

Pages: 225-238

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Article

Publisher ID: 8631981 Coden ID: Prometheus, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1995: pp. 225–238

DOI: 10.1080/08109029508631981

SO-VID: d261133d-2a74-4a4a-9881-21c989a8703f

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

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Figures: 0, Tables: 0, References: 21, Pages: 14

NOTES AND REFERENCES

Hillier Krieghbaum, Science and the Mass Media, New York University Press, New York, 1967; Peter Farago, Science and the Media, Oxford University Press, London, 1976; Sharon Friedman, “The journalist's world’, in Sharon M. Friedman, Sharon Dunwoody & Carol Rogers (eds) Scientists and Journalists: Reporting Science as News, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, 1986; Peter Pockley, ‘Communicating chemistry’, Australian Journalism Review, 8, 1986, pp. 40–49; Ian Barns, ‘Interpreting media images of science and technology’, Media Information Australia, 54, 1989, pp. 22–29; Ann Villiers, ‘Science communication deserves closer study’, Media Information Australia, 52, 1989, pp. 61–63; Sharon Dunwoody, Reconstructing Science for Public Consumption: Journalism as Science Education, Deakin University Press, Geelong, 1993; Brian Woodruff, “The popularising of science’, Australian Journalism Review, 8, 1986, pp. 29–32; Stephen Utick, ‘Tuned in or switched off’, paper presented to the annual conference of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, September; John Henningham, ‘Who are Australia's science journalists?’, Search, 26, 3, 1995, pp. 89–94.
Mike Noon. . 1993. . ‘Control, technology and the management offensive in newspapers’. . New Technology, Work and Employment . , Vol. 8:: 102––110. .
Kerry Green, and Lyle Radford, ‘Digital cameras: industrial problems?’ Australian Journalism Review, 15, 1, 1993, pp. 99–102; Sheila Reaves, ‘What's wrong with this picture? Daily newspaper photo editors’ attitudes and their tolerance toward digital manipulation’, Newspaper Research Journal, 13, 4, 1992, pp. 131–153.
John Henningham, Looking at Television News, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne, 1988; Ridley Williams, ‘Journocam and beyond; a look into the future of ENG’, Australian Journalism Review, 15, 1, 1993, pp. 93–98.
Anne Dunn. . 1993. . ‘Towards the tapeless newsroom: the development of D-cart’. . Media Information Australia . , Vol. 67:: 77––82. .
Alan Kershaw. . 1981. . “‘Living with VDTs’. ”. In Fixing the News: Critical Perspectives on the Australian Media . , Edited by: Windschuttle K. and Windschuttle E.. Sydney : : Cassell Australia. .
Geoff Turner, ‘Changes in a metropolitan daily newspaper's copy flow system’, Australian Journalism Review, 12, 162–170; Geoff Turner, ‘Information underload: recent trends in the Courier-Mail's information news content’, Australian Studies in Journalism, 1, 1992, pp. 43–72; Margaret Dombkins, ‘The impact of technology and environmental factors on newspaper organisational design’, Australian Journalism Review, 15, 1, 1993, pp. 29–51.
Judee Burgoon, M. Burgoon and C. Atkin, The World of the Working Journalist, Newspaper Advertising Bureau, New York, 1982, p. 100, cited in David Weaver and G.C. Wilhoit, The American Journalist: A Portrait of US News People and Their Work, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1986, p.153.
Bruce Garrison. . 1982. . ‘Electronic editing systems and their impact on news decision making’. . Newspaper Research Journal . , Vol. 3((2)): 43––53. .
Don Sneed. . 1985. . ‘VDTs as potential health hazards: a critical analysis’. . Newspaper Research Journal . , Vol. 6((4)): 66––72. .
David Weaver and Wilhoit G. C.. 1986. . The American Journalist: A Portrait of US News People and Their Work . , Bloomington : : Indiana University Press. .
John T. Russial, ‘Pagination and the newsroom: a question of time?’, Newspaper Research Journal, 15, 1, 1994, pp. 91–101; Starr D. Randall, ‘How editing and typesetting technology affects typographical error rate’, Journalism Quarterly, 63, 1986, pp. 763–770.
Gerald Stone. . 1987. . Examining Newspapers: What Research Reveals About America's Newspapers . , Newbury Park : : Sage. .
Catherine McKercher, “The push to pagination: the impact of a new technology on Canadian daily newspapers’, Canadian Journal of Communication, 16, 1, 1991, pp. 110–117; Doug Underwood, A. Giffard and K. Stamm, ‘Computers and editing: pagination's impact on the newsroom’, Newspaper Research Journal, 15, 2, 1994, pp. 116–127.
Weaver & Wilhoit, 1986, op. cit.
John Henningham, ‘Characteristics and attitudes of Australian journalists’, Electronic Journal of Communication, 4, 3, 1993, no page numbers; John Henningham, ‘Journalism in the USA and Australia: some comparisons’, Australian Journal of Communication, 22, 1, 1995, pp. 77–91.
Dunn, 1993, op. cit.
Peggy Kelly, ‘When women try to work with television technology’, Canadian Journal of Communication, 14, 3, 1989, pp. 63–75; Liesbet van Zoonen, ‘Feminist theory and information technology’, Media, Culture and Society, 14, 1992, pp. 9–29; Dale Spender, ‘Women must tackle high-tech roadblocks’, The Australian, 9 March, 1995, p. 9; Jonathan Margolis, ‘And man created cyber space …’, Sunday Times, 26 February, 1995, p.3.6.
Valerie Frissen. . 1992. . “Trapped in electronic cages? Gender and new information technologies in the public and private domain: an overview of research’. . Media, Culture and Society . , Vol. 14:: 31––49. .
Geoff Turner. . 1993. . ‘Quality journalism's vital role in Australian communication: a case for intervention’. . Electronic Journal of Communication . , Vol. 4((3))
One computer program designed to generate news stories is already being used by some small newspapers in the United States. “SportsWriter”, written by Roger Helms, writes colourful reports of high school games on the basis of boxes ticked by coaches. An example: “In an excellent team effort, the Jonathan Law Lawmen rallied to pull off an upset of the archrival Milford Indians 66–61 in boys Big Nine Basketball Tuesday at Milford.” (Mike Nadel, ‘Hello sweetheart? Get me rewrite or that new software’, Associated Press, 20th May 1994.)

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Hillier Krieghbaum, Science and the Mass Media, New York University Press, New York, 1967; Peter Farago, Science and the Media, Oxford University Press, London, 1976; Sharon Friedman, “The journalist's world’, in Sharon M. Friedman, Sharon Dunwoody & Carol Rogers (eds) Scientists and Journalists: Reporting Science as News, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, 1986; Peter Pockley, ‘Communicating chemistry’, Australian Journalism Review, 8, 1986, pp. 40–49; Ian Barns, ‘Interpreting media images of science and technology’, Media Information Australia, 54, 1989, pp. 22–29; Ann Villiers, ‘Science communication deserves closer study’, Media Information Australia, 52, 1989, pp. 61–63; Sharon Dunwoody, Reconstructing Science for Public Consumption: Journalism as Science Education, Deakin University Press, Geelong, 1993; Brian Woodruff, “The popularising of science’, Australian Journalism Review, 8, 1986, pp. 29–32; Stephen Utick, ‘Tuned in or switched off’, paper presented to the annual conference of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, September; John Henningham, ‘Who are Australia's science journalists?’, Search, 26, 3, 1995, pp. 89–94.

[2] Mike Noon. . 1993. . ‘Control, technology and the management offensive in newspapers’. . New Technology, Work and Employment . , Vol. 8:: 102––110. .

[3] Kerry Green, and Lyle Radford, ‘Digital cameras: industrial problems?’ Australian Journalism Review, 15, 1, 1993, pp. 99–102; Sheila Reaves, ‘What's wrong with this picture? Daily newspaper photo editors’ attitudes and their tolerance toward digital manipulation’, Newspaper Research Journal, 13, 4, 1992, pp. 131–153.

[4] John Henningham, Looking at Television News, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne, 1988; Ridley Williams, ‘Journocam and beyond; a look into the future of ENG’, Australian Journalism Review, 15, 1, 1993, pp. 93–98.

[5] Anne Dunn. . 1993. . ‘Towards the tapeless newsroom: the development of D-cart’. . Media Information Australia . , Vol. 67:: 77––82. .

[6] Alan Kershaw. . 1981. . “‘Living with VDTs’. ”. In Fixing the News: Critical Perspectives on the Australian Media . , Edited by: Windschuttle K. and Windschuttle E.. Sydney : : Cassell Australia. .

[7] Geoff Turner, ‘Changes in a metropolitan daily newspaper's copy flow system’, Australian Journalism Review, 12, 162–170; Geoff Turner, ‘Information underload: recent trends in the Courier-Mail's information news content’, Australian Studies in Journalism, 1, 1992, pp. 43–72; Margaret Dombkins, ‘The impact of technology and environmental factors on newspaper organisational design’, Australian Journalism Review, 15, 1, 1993, pp. 29–51.

[8] Judee Burgoon, M. Burgoon and C. Atkin, The World of the Working Journalist, Newspaper Advertising Bureau, New York, 1982, p. 100, cited in David Weaver and G.C. Wilhoit, The American Journalist: A Portrait of US News People and Their Work, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1986, p.153.

[9] Bruce Garrison. . 1982. . ‘Electronic editing systems and their impact on news decision making’. . Newspaper Research Journal . , Vol. 3((2)): 43––53. .

[10] Don Sneed. . 1985. . ‘VDTs as potential health hazards: a critical analysis’. . Newspaper Research Journal . , Vol. 6((4)): 66––72. .

[11] David Weaver and Wilhoit G. C.. 1986. . The American Journalist: A Portrait of US News People and Their Work . , Bloomington : : Indiana University Press. .

[12] John T. Russial, ‘Pagination and the newsroom: a question of time?’, Newspaper Research Journal, 15, 1, 1994, pp. 91–101; Starr D. Randall, ‘How editing and typesetting technology affects typographical error rate’, Journalism Quarterly, 63, 1986, pp. 763–770.

[13] Gerald Stone. . 1987. . Examining Newspapers: What Research Reveals About America's Newspapers . , Newbury Park : : Sage. .

[14] Catherine McKercher, “The push to pagination: the impact of a new technology on Canadian daily newspapers’, Canadian Journal of Communication, 16, 1, 1991, pp. 110–117; Doug Underwood, A. Giffard and K. Stamm, ‘Computers and editing: pagination's impact on the newsroom’, Newspaper Research Journal, 15, 2, 1994, pp. 116–127.

[15] Weaver & Wilhoit, 1986, op. cit.

[16] John Henningham, ‘Characteristics and attitudes of Australian journalists’, Electronic Journal of Communication, 4, 3, 1993, no page numbers; John Henningham, ‘Journalism in the USA and Australia: some comparisons’, Australian Journal of Communication, 22, 1, 1995, pp. 77–91.

[17] Dunn, 1993, op. cit.

[18] Peggy Kelly, ‘When women try to work with television technology’, Canadian Journal of Communication, 14, 3, 1989, pp. 63–75; Liesbet van Zoonen, ‘Feminist theory and information technology’, Media, Culture and Society, 14, 1992, pp. 9–29; Dale Spender, ‘Women must tackle high-tech roadblocks’, The Australian, 9 March, 1995, p. 9; Jonathan Margolis, ‘And man created cyber space …’, Sunday Times, 26 February, 1995, p.3.6.

[19] Valerie Frissen. . 1992. . “Trapped in electronic cages? Gender and new information technologies in the public and private domain: an overview of research’. . Media, Culture and Society . , Vol. 14:: 31––49. .

[20] Geoff Turner. . 1993. . ‘Quality journalism's vital role in Australian communication: a case for intervention’. . Electronic Journal of Communication . , Vol. 4((3))

[21] One computer program designed to generate news stories is already being used by some small newspapers in the United States. “SportsWriter”, written by Roger Helms, writes colourful reports of high school games on the basis of boxes ticked by coaches. An example: “In an excellent team effort, the Jonathan Law Lawmen rallied to pull off an upset of the archrival Milford Indians 66–61 in boys Big Nine Basketball Tuesday at Milford.” (Mike Nadel, ‘Hello sweetheart? Get me rewrite or that new software’, Associated Press, 20th May 1994.)