Sasha Mackay Thesis
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STORYTELLING AND NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES: INVESTIGATING THE POTENTIAL OF THE ABC’S HEYWIRE FOR REGIONAL YOUTH Sasha Mackay Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons), Creative Writing Production Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology 2015 Keywords Australian Broadcasting Corporation Heywire new media narrative identity public service media regional Australia storytelling voice youth Storytelling and new media technologies: investigating the potential of the ABC’s Heywire for regional youth i Abstract This thesis takes a case study approach to examine the complexity of audience participation within the Australian public service media institution, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). New media technologies have both enabled and necessitated an increased focus on user created content and audience participation within the context of public service media (PSM) worldwide and such practices are now embedded within the remit of these institutions. Projects that engage audiences as content creators and as participants in the creation of their own stories are now prevalent within PSM; however, these projects represent spaces of struggle: a variety of institutional and personal agendas intersect in ways that can be fruitful though at other times produce profound challenges. This thesis contributes to the wider conversation on audience participation in the PSM context by examining the tensions that emerge at this intersection of agendas, and the challenges and potentials these produce for the institution as well as the individuals whose participation it invites. The case study for this research – Heywire – represents one of the first instances of content-related participation within the ABC. Since 1998, Heywire has invited 16-22 year- old Australians who live in rural, regional and remote parts of the country to share self- representational narratives on an online platform managed by the ABC (www.abc.net.au/heywire). Taking a cultural studies approach, and through semi- structured interviews, participant observation and textual analysis, this thesis investigates the value of this project for the institution as well as for the young people who it engages as storytellers. The values of self-representation and individual self-expression are at the heart of Heywire, and yet, the PSM context produces some explicit challenges. At times, the intentions of participants intersect with the agendas of the institution in ways that are unproductive; at other times, young people’s use of Heywire results in highly meaningful outcomes for the ABC, as well as the participants for whom this project functions as a unique opportunity for narrative identity and voice. Through investigating Heywire, its unproductive tensions and meaningful potentials, this research illuminates some of the exciting possibilities of PSM-facilitated participation, while also drawing attention to the missed opportunities of participatory practices in the public service media context. Storytelling and new media technologies: investigating the potential of the ABC’s Heywire for regional youth ii Table of Contents Keywords .................................................................................................................................... i Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ v Statement of Original Authorship ............................................................................................ vi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. vii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................1 Background ...............................................................................................................................2 Context ......................................................................................................................................3 Methodology and research process .........................................................................................4 Chapter overview ................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Contemporary discussions and debates ....................................................... 17 Public Service Media .............................................................................................................. 17 Participation ............................................................................................................................... 26 Digital Storytelling .................................................................................................................. 39 Digital storytelling and the Heywire project .............................................................................. 40 Diverse contexts, similar intentions ........................................................................................... 42 Differences and new developments .......................................................................................... 54 Youth and New Media ........................................................................................................... 60 Cautionary approaches .............................................................................................................. 65 Celebratory perspectives ........................................................................................................... 68 New media, new possibilities..................................................................................................... 73 Storytelling and new media technologies: investigating the potential of the ABC’s Heywire for regional youth iii Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 79 Chapter 3: The Platform .............................................................................................. 82 Heywire’s place and purpose within the ABC ........................................................................ 84 Funding structure....................................................................................................................... 93 The ABC’s aims .......................................................................................................................... 96 The website .......................................................................................................................... 102 Criteria and judging.................................................................................................................. 107 The Summit .......................................................................................................................... 111 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 125 Chapter 4: The Participants ........................................................................................ 127 The interviewees ...................................................................................................................... 128 The interviews.......................................................................................................................... 130 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 164 Chapter 5: The Stories ................................................................................................ 169 Narrative and identity .............................................................................................................. 171 Heywire stories: three categories ............................................................................................ 176 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 203 Chapter 6: Conclusion ................................................................................................ 207 Discussion of Findings .......................................................................................................... 208 Implications .......................................................................................................................... 213 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 217 Appendix 1.............................................................................................................. 233 Appendix 2.............................................................................................................. 235 Appendix 3.............................................................................................................. 237 Storytelling and new media technologies: investigating the potential of the ABC’s Heywire for regional youth iv List