JEA

Preface

The Journalism Education Association 2005 conference was hosted by the School of Arts at Griffith University's Gold Coast campus between the 29th November - 2nd December, 2005. The 2005 conference marked the 30th anniversary of the Journalism Education Association (formerly the AATEJ) which has been meeting since 1975.

The JEA is made up of journalism educators, working professionals and students from Australia and the South Pacific who are committed to the continuous improvement of journalism education across the region. The JEA's annual conference is therefore an excellent opportunity for all those working within this broad field to come together to discuss the realities and challenges of both the practice and the teaching of journalism in the 21st century. More than 60 papers were presented by Journalism educators from Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, Great Britain and the United States.

The conference would not have been possible without the support and assistance of my colleagues in the Journalism program at the School of Arts on the Gold Coast campus of Griffith University: Dr Jane Johnston and Dr Scott Downman. Our weekly meetings were always a pleasure and particularly productive when I was was required elsewhere. Colleagues in the Journalism program at the Nathan campus of Griffith University completed the organising committ: Associate Professor Michael Meadows provided great assistance in arranging the international keynote speakers, Dr Jacqui Ewart supervised the refereeing process to exacting standards and Dr Susan Forde and Dr Cathy Jenkins both provided sage advice and timely interventions. Many thanks arew also due to our sponsors: Griffith University's Centre for Public Culture and Ideas and The Response Ability Project which does so much to educate journalists and journalism students on ways to report on suicide and mental health topics without exacerbating these issues. I would like to thank the Journalism Education Association for entrusting me with the responsibility of convening their 30th Annual conference and acknowledge the support JEA President Associate Professor Stephen Tanner and the JEA Executive.

Finally I must pay tribute to the tireless work of the Conference's Executive Director, Mr Ben Isakhan whose calm persistence and tireless attention to detail are the real reasons that many judged the conference such a success. He managed the registration, hotel liaison and support services including the conference timetable with keynote addresses, research presentations, panel discussions, the JEA General Meeting as well as a Cocktail Party, a conference BBQ and the Ossie Awards. He was ably assisted by technical adviser Mr Bevan Bache, financial controller Ms Fiona McCurdy and the ever helpful Mr Lee Cox. For information on the 2006 JEA Conference, visit the Auckland University of Technology.

Associate Professor Stephen Stockwell
Conference Vice-President, JEA 2005

Introduction

The 2005 JEA conference investigated the theme of 'Journalism and the Public' with a range of papers exploring the history and current connections between the practices of journalism and the audiences journalism creates. Most noticeable was the particular concentration on issues raised by government and media focus on terror, particularly as they relate to multicultural Australia. There were also a number of thoughtful papers on the practices and purposes of journalism education.

Following a short welcome from the JEA President, Stephen Tanner, Wednesday's program commenced with Professor Valerie Alia's (Running Stream Professor of Ethics and Identity at Leeds Metropolitan University) penetrating keynote address entitled ‘The ‘New Media Nation': Indigenous journalists, global vision' . This was then followed by a a diverse range of sessions covering areas as broad as The Power of the Press, Media Regulation, Policy and Legal Issues, Journalism Education Trends and Community, Democracy and the Media . As well as this, Wednesday's program included a Panel Discussion on the topical issue of: Reporting Islam in the "Age of Terror".

Thursday morning continued in a similar vein with the delivery of Dr Kalinga Seneviratne's (Senior Research Associate at the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, Singapore) keynote address, ‘Looking Behind the Terror Curtain: The New Challenge for Journalism.' As with Wednesday's program, Thursday was filled with a myriad of insightful and thought provoking sessions covering areas like Blogging and the Internet in Journalistic Practice, A Country in Profile: Papua New Guinea, Surf Media and Reporting the Tsunami.

Friday's program involved two further Panel Discussions. The first of these, ‘Reporting Difficult Issues,' saw a diverse range of presentations regarding the media's role and responsibility in reporting sensitive issues. Following this, the ‘Industry Futures' panel sparked some lively debate between industry representatives and a number of the academics present regarding the role of the journalism educator in preparing the students for ‘the real world' of journalism.

All in all, the JEA Conference for 2005 was a great success. I am sure that, like me, you will find the refereed papers listed below to be cogent and insightful, covering the broad spectrum of debates and topics that make the field of journalism education and media studies such a rich and stimulating one.

Mr Ben Isakhan
Executive Director, JEA Conference 2005

Refereed Papers

Profiles of Journalism Education: what students are being offered in Australia

Debra Adams and Lee Duffield Queensland University of Technology

The disappearing cadetship: trends in entry level journalism employment 1995 – 2005

Barbara Alysen University of Western Sydney

Articulating the local at Four Triple Zed: Is community radio representing the community?

Heather Anderson Griffith University

Manufacturing policies: the media’s role in the policy making process

Michael Barker Griffith University

Newspaper Theatre: Applying performance-based learning to journalism education

Jerry Boland and David Cameron Charles Sturt University