141755 - University education and the quest AAM.pdf (294.47 kB)
University education and the quest for the professionalisation of journalism in Australia between the world wars
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 19:15 authored by Katherine Darian-SmithKatherine Darian-Smith, Dickenson, JThe crisis of World War I, including the challenges of reporting from the fighting front, sparked public discussion about the reliability and status of journalism. In response, unprecedented changes to the education of journalists were introduced around the world, including in Australia. By the 1920s, the majority of Australian universities offered a Diploma in Journalism, developed in collaboration with the Australian Journalists’ Association (AJA). Yet despite the AJA’s commitment to developing professional standards, by 1945 these courses were either defunct or struggling. This article explores the introduction and subsequent failure of tertiary journalism education in the context of discussions within the AJA about educational ‘relevance’, and whether journalists required improved ‘thinking’ or improved ‘skills’. Analysis of the establishment of these university courses highlights debates around the professionalism, status, and ethical practice of journalism in the interwar years, at a time when the newspaper industry was expanding.
Funding
Australian Research Council
History
Publication title
Media HistoryVolume
27Issue
4Pagination
491-509ISSN
1368-8804Department/School
College Office - College of Arts, Law and EducationPublisher
RoutledgePlace of publication
UKRights statement
Copyright 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is the Author’s Original Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Media History on 15 Nov 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13688804.2020.1843421Repository Status
- Restricted