The next MeLCi Lab Webinars event has Alexandra Wake (RMIT University) as a guest, with the communication "The view from Australia: media literacy, the news funding crisis and digital citizenship". The session will be held on September 3, 10 am (UTC +1) on Zoom (link here).
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Title: The view from Australia: media literacy, the news funding crisis and digital citizenship
Abstract: Despite a spike in consumption and trust in the media on the back of the Covid-19 crisis, the latest surveys shows that while Australians have become more trusting of news in general, a lack of media literacy among sections of the population, a lack of presentation of particular social groupings, and the continuing funding crisis for news organisations, remain critical policy issues for the nation. For all of Australia’s reputation as an advanced liberal nation, it is well documented that 40% of Australians have literacy levels below what is considered enough to get by in everyday life, and it was only in 2018 that an alliance was formed to collaborate on the development of a united approach to media literacy in Australia. At the same time, Australia’s news media industry, which could be charged with helping combat misinformation and increasing representation and inclusion, remains in turmoil. A globally lauded news media bargaining code that has forced the big platforms Google and Facebook to help pay for Australian news publishers has started, but it is not possible, yet, to measure the impact of this government initiative to support public interest journalism, particularly on small and regional news providers. This presentation will provide an outline of the problems in the news media in Australia, and some of the strategies that are being undertaken to solve to address media literacy, media representation, and to support the funding of news media.
CV: Alexandra Wake is programs manager for Journalism at RMIT University and the elected President of the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia. She is an active leader, educator and researcher in journalism. Her research, teaching and practice sits at the nexus of journalism practice, journalism education, equality, diversity and mental health. Dr Wake has taught journalism at RMIT, Deakin University, Dubai Women’s College, and was a trainer on international aid projects including at the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Before turning full time to the academy, she spent more than 25 years working for broadcast and print international news agencies in Australia, the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Dr Wake has been an education advisor for Mindframe for Journalists since 2012 and was a Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma Academic Fellow in 2011. She is also part of the team of researchers in The International UNESCO UniTWIN Network on Gender, Media and ICTs" promoting and developing international co-participative projects together with the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Chair: Célia Quico