Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 29 April
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
By now, we’re accustomed to hearing all kinds of predictions (and pronouncements) of the death of the media giant. But what would David be without Goliath?
In a discussion sparked by media historian Bridget Griffen-Foley’s new book, A Companion to the Australian Media — a comprehensive survey drawing on 300 industry experts and professionals — we’re taking stock of the information economy. In particular, we’re taking the most pessimistic forecasts to their hypothetical conclusions, and asking: what would Australia’s media landscape look like without its biggest players?
Griffen-Foley will lead a panel comprising The Saturday Paper founding editor Erik Jensen, New Matilda editor Chris Graham and respected journalist and editor Michelle Grattan (currently chief political correspondent for The Conversation) through the industry’s most pressing questions.
What would happen if smaller operators and startups weren’t able to feed off the newsrooms of Big Media — the engines that drive news cycles across radio, TV and the internet? Amidst all the commentary, what are the real risks and opportunities facing publishers? Is the media in a state of ‘disruptive innovation’ … or panic? And has anyone yet figured out how to make investigative journalism financially sustainable?
Follow this discussion on Twitter: #landwithoutgiants
Featuring
Bridget Griffen-Foley
Bridget Griffen-Foley is a Professor of Media and the Director of the Centre for Media History at Macquarie University. A leading media historian, she is the author of several books, and the editor of A Companion to the Australian Media.
Erik Jensen
Erik Jensen is an award-winning journalist, biographer, poet and screenwriter. He is the founding editor of The Saturday Paper and editor-in-chief of Schwartz Media. He is the author of Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death ...
Chris Graham
Chris Graham is the owner and editor of New Matilda. He was the Associate Producer on John Pilger’s latest epic, Utopia, and is the former managing editor and founder of Tracker magazine and the National Indigenous Times (NIT).
Chris has won a Walkley Award for Excellence in Indigenous Affairs reporting, a Walkley High Commendation, and has twice been awarded the Human Rights Award – Print Category for his Indigenous affairs reporting.
Michelle Grattan
Michelle Grattan AO is one of Australia’s most respected and awarded political journalists. She has been a member of the Canberra parliamentary press gallery for more than 40 years, during which time she has covered all the most significant stories in Australian politics.
As a former editor of The Canberra Times, Michelle Grattan was also the first female editor of an Australian daily newspaper. She has been with the Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald and Political Editor of the Age since 2004.
Michelle currently has a dual role with an academic position at the University of Canberra and as Associate Editor (Politics) and Chief Political Correspondent at The Conversation.
She is the author, co-author and editor of several books and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2004 for her long and distinguished service to Australian journalism.