Frank Morgan, University of Newcastle
Abstract
Bad press in suburbia
Within a decade, humankind will become an urban (rather than a rural) species. The majority of the human race will live in cities of more than a million people. "So what?" you say, "most Australians already live in the cities". Not so. Most Australians live in the suburbs of cities. Most of them get a daily newspaper. And virtually all, once or twice a week, have a local paper tossed on their lawn or stuffed in their letterbox.
Suburban newspapers are "free" – paid for by advertising – their readers pay for them indirectly, whenever they shop or do business locally, instead of directly at the newsagents. They are largely produced by a young and lowly paid workforce that turns over fairly rapidly as it moves on to the metropolitan media, turns to related fields such as public relations and marketing or heads for greener pastures.
One question that arises is whether these young people require any different preparation than their counterparts who head directly for the metropolitan media. Similar questions arise in respect of those heading for provincial and rural media and those, from smaller or less developed countries overseas, who will return home on graduation. Another, more fundamental, question is whether current university curricula prepare anyone adequately for capable professional practice.
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