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Media images of heroic, hard-working Australian achievers have often accompanied stories about an upbeat national work ethic to boost public morale in times of massive upheavals and crisis. The concept of an Australian work ethic has not been a natural creation, but it has been actively developed in the media. This article reveals a turning point in the media portrayal of the crucial area of work that helped cultivate diverse expressions of Australia's image. The article focuses on the era of momentous disruption in World War II that led to an unprecedented idealisation of workers and changed the traditional roles of the prime minister, journalists and the public. Wartime prime minister John Curtin became an egalitarian partner and a collaborator with media teams. Journalists created increasingly inclusive media experiences to encourage the public to identify with the fashionable new ethos of working-class thrift. Wartime citizens enthusiastically contributed to the varied media expressions of collective work ethics, overturning the traditional notion of a passive public sphere. Using the concept of the emotional public sphere, this article provides a rare perspective on the media's role in shaping and extending popular attitudes towards Australian workers, collective service and inclusive communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators increasingly need to teach journalism within everchanging digital newsrooms. This study conducts a rare analysis of popular, United States–focused textbooks to answer a foundational question: What is journalism? Drawing on concepts of journalism's social function, this analysis finds the university textbooks are providing more upbeat messages, but significantly different definitions. General textbooks often emphasize a dominant, print-oriented watchdog role, while specialized books mostly accentuate journalists' neighborly, multimedia approach to reporting everyday life. This study points to the value of providing pluralist journalism approaches that show varied views of journalists' moral authority in reporting for diverse audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have recognised the Canberra Press Gallery’s capacity to contribute to an inclusive, collective style of political leadership in the context of declining nostalgia for heroes of military conflict. While political leaders have signified supporting journalists in a ‘cooperative search for truth’ about a conflict, the Gallery has influenced these relations as ‘the courageous teller of a truth’. This article examines the media rhetoric and Press Gallery relations of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her identification with US President Barack Obama during the conflict in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. Gillard connected to Obama’s agenda by arguing, like him, that military sacrifices had been justified because of the need to support marginalised groups, including Afghan women and girls. This article argues that as time went by, Press Gallery journalists increasingly queried and investigated Gillard’s rationale for the conflict. The journalists portrayed their role as public defenders of the ‘truth’ about Australia’s military engagement by including Afghanistan sources countering heroic military narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Australia's wartime leader, John Curtin generated international headlines for his "breaking news" broadcasts, candid media conferences and electoral success. Yet there has been a lack of studies on Curtin's impact as a media communicator. To evaluate his legacy for government-journalist relations, this article conducts a multi-method approach, including analyses of rarely viewed archives about Curtin's use of the media and the newspaper coverage of his major wartime speeches. The research indicates that Curtin expanded the ways that the prime minister communicated with public audiences through press interviews, the radio, films and television during World War II. Through his extraordinarily frequent media discussions, he opened up more opportunities for citizens to interact with political leaders, the government and parliament. Arguably, modern political communicators still borrow from Curtin's news management legacy through the use of question-and-answer media conferences, news briefings, occasional off-the-record talks and use of the most advanced audio-visual technological innovations to communicate with voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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