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Journalism, Vol. 8, No. 6, 640-656 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1464884907083116

Personalizing current affairs without becoming tabloid

The case of Australian Story

Frances Bonner

University of Queensland, Australia, f.bonner{at}uq.edu.au

Susan McKay

University of Queensland, Australia, s.mckay{at}uq.edu.au

The television programme Australian Story is located in the News and Current Affairs section of the Australian public broadcaster, yet it does not follow a conventional current affairs format. Each week, it presents a personal profile of either a high-profile or an ordinary Australian, and it does so without the on-screen presence of an interviewer. The paper argues that this more documentary approach represents a feminizing of the current affairs format rather than a shift into a tabloid approach. It considers a number of examples to demonstrate the persistence of themes such as altruism, perseverance and the importance of family, but also human weakness. It demonstrates that Australian Story is able to operate as a current affairs programme both by augmenting contemporary news coverage and being a rich site for working through a range of issues.

Key Words: K E Y W O R D S • celebrity • current affairs • documentary • feminizing • tabloid television • working through


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