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Freelance Journalism in the 21St Century: Challenges and Opportunities

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Freelance Journalism in the 21St Century: Challenges and Opportunities Freelance Journalism in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology 2016 Tiana Templeman Master of Creative Industries ABSTRACT Despite a declining number of staff writers at major publications and a growing reliance on freelancers, there has been minimal dedicated research on Australian freelance journalists’ careers and their role in the 21st century news industry. A mixed-methods and explanatory sequential design underpinned by informed grounded theory was used to conduct this study which found the industry skills, working life and professional identity of Australia’s freelance journalists continue to be shaped by an industry undergoing rapid change. It also discovered that the concept of what constitutes freelance journalism had been transformed and existing industry definitions did not reflect the role in the 21st century. The findings indicated that, while freelance journalists were unable to influence some aspects of their role within the media industry, the changes had created new work opportunities and the chance for freelance journalists to develop new skills and diversity in their careers. The need for freelance journalists to specialise in order to increase their employability was highlighted as was their rising significance within the journalism industry due to the dwindling number of staff writers. The findings indicated that freelancers should adapt to and harness industry changes in order to succeed in their careers. The study identified a significant gap in the learning framework developed by leading educators, especially given the rise of freelance journalism in the 21st century, and the fact more employment opportunities for journalists exist outside media organisations than within them. A new 21st century definition of freelance journalism was derived from the study, together with a recommended skill set for Australian freelance journalists and recommendations for improvement of current higher education Threshold Learning Outcome statements. Perhaps most importantly, the project provided evidence that freelance journalists could create a viable and rewarding career in the 21st century. i TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................................ vi Key Words and Definitions .................................................................................................................................. viii Publications and Presentations .............................................................................................................................. ix Statement of Original Authorship .......................................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................. xi 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Research Problem ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Purpose of the Research ............................................................................................................................ 3 1.2.1 Context ........................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.2 Aim ................................................................................................................................................ 6 1.2.3 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 7 1.2.4 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Thesis Structure ......................................................................................................................................... 8 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 10 2.2 Placing Journalism into the Media Landscape .................................................................................... 11 2.2.1 What is Journalism? .................................................................................................................... 11 2.2.2 What is Freelance Journalism? ................................................................................................... 13 2.2.3 The Changing Media Landscape ................................................................................................ 19 2.2.4 Financial Background ................................................................................................................. 20 2.2.5 Technological Background ......................................................................................................... 24 2.2.6 The Changing Role of the Journalist .......................................................................................... 27 2.2.7 The Changing Role of the Audience ........................................................................................... 28 2.3 Freelance Journalism and the Creative Industries .............................................................................. 30 2.3.1 Significance of the Creative Industries ....................................................................................... 30 2.3.2 Journalism in the Creative Industries .......................................................................................... 31 2.3.3 Careers in the Creative Industries ............................................................................................... 34 2.3.4 Journalism as a Creative Career .................................................................................................. 41 2.3.5 Freelance Journalism as a Creative Career ................................................................................. 42 2.4 Entrepreneurship Meets Freelance Journalism ................................................................................... 49 2.4.1 Entrepreneurship ......................................................................................................................... 49 2.4.2 Entrepreneurship and Australia’s Freelance Journalists ............................................................ 51 2.5 Gaps in the existing research .................................................................................................................. 60 2.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 61 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................. 63 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 63 3.2 Research Design ....................................................................................................................................... 63 3.2.1 Mixed Methods ............................................................................................................................ 63 3.2.2 Position of the Researcher ........................................................................................................... 66 3.2.3 Triangulation of Methods ............................................................................................................ 67 3.3 Research Phases ....................................................................................................................................... 67 3.3.1 Phase 1 – Online Survey ............................................................................................................. 68 3.3.2 Phase 2 – Interviews .................................................................................................................... 71 ii 3.4 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 76 3.4.1 Survey Data Analysis .................................................................................................................. 76 3.4.2 Interview Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 77 3.5 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................................................... 78 4 SURVEY RESULTS ...............................................................................................................................
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