Why the where matters: A sense of place imperative for teaching better Indigenous affairs reporting
Much Indigenous affairs journalism in the Western Australian state capital of Perth reproduces colonial discourse and perpetuates racist stereotypes of Aboriginal people. Against this background the traditional custodians of Perth, the Noongar people, have struggled to find a media voice. Meanwhile,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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2015
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| Online Access: | http://www.pjreview.info/articles/why-where-matters-sense-place-imperative-teaching-better-indigenous-affairs-reporting-1051 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14638 |
| _version_ | 1848748676525064192 |
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| author | Thomson, Chris Bennett, Dawn Johnston, M. Mason, B. |
| author_facet | Thomson, Chris Bennett, Dawn Johnston, M. Mason, B. |
| author_sort | Thomson, Chris |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Much Indigenous affairs journalism in the Western Australian state capital of Perth reproduces colonial discourse and perpetuates racist stereotypes of Aboriginal people. Against this background the traditional custodians of Perth, the Noongar people, have struggled to find a media voice. Meanwhile, observers in several countries have critiqued a shift from journalism about specific places toward journalism concerned with no place in particular. Spurred by globalisation, this shift has de-emphasised the ‘where?’ question in the ‘what, where, who, why, how and when?’ template of journalistic investigation. Reporting from a project in which journalism students collaborated with Noongar community organisations, we argue that an understanding of Indigenous Australians’ profound connection to place can inform journalists about the underlying character of places about which they report. We suggest that working with Indigenous people can transform the way journalists conceptualise their careers, and help secure a sense of place for Indigenous people in the media. Finally, collaborating with Indigenous people can teach journalists to view their professional practices through a sense of place lens, re-emphasising the ‘where?’ question in its application to both geographic place and the realm of a journalist’s imagination. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:08:50Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-14638 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:08:50Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-146382021-01-15T07:49:43Z Why the where matters: A sense of place imperative for teaching better Indigenous affairs reporting Thomson, Chris Bennett, Dawn Johnston, M. Mason, B. Much Indigenous affairs journalism in the Western Australian state capital of Perth reproduces colonial discourse and perpetuates racist stereotypes of Aboriginal people. Against this background the traditional custodians of Perth, the Noongar people, have struggled to find a media voice. Meanwhile, observers in several countries have critiqued a shift from journalism about specific places toward journalism concerned with no place in particular. Spurred by globalisation, this shift has de-emphasised the ‘where?’ question in the ‘what, where, who, why, how and when?’ template of journalistic investigation. Reporting from a project in which journalism students collaborated with Noongar community organisations, we argue that an understanding of Indigenous Australians’ profound connection to place can inform journalists about the underlying character of places about which they report. We suggest that working with Indigenous people can transform the way journalists conceptualise their careers, and help secure a sense of place for Indigenous people in the media. Finally, collaborating with Indigenous people can teach journalists to view their professional practices through a sense of place lens, re-emphasising the ‘where?’ question in its application to both geographic place and the realm of a journalist’s imagination. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14638 http://www.pjreview.info/articles/why-where-matters-sense-place-imperative-teaching-better-indigenous-affairs-reporting-1051 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Thomson, Chris Bennett, Dawn Johnston, M. Mason, B. Why the where matters: A sense of place imperative for teaching better Indigenous affairs reporting |
| title | Why the where matters: A sense of place imperative for teaching better Indigenous affairs reporting |
| title_full | Why the where matters: A sense of place imperative for teaching better Indigenous affairs reporting |
| title_fullStr | Why the where matters: A sense of place imperative for teaching better Indigenous affairs reporting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why the where matters: A sense of place imperative for teaching better Indigenous affairs reporting |
| title_short | Why the where matters: A sense of place imperative for teaching better Indigenous affairs reporting |
| title_sort | why the where matters: a sense of place imperative for teaching better indigenous affairs reporting |
| url | http://www.pjreview.info/articles/why-where-matters-sense-place-imperative-teaching-better-indigenous-affairs-reporting-1051 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14638 |