Constructions of Good and Evil: The Koreas in International News Richard John Murray BA Hons, MJ A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2020 The School of Communication and Arts Abstract As part of the post-disruption news landscape this thesis investigates the construction (Berger & Luckmann, 1966; Couldry and Hepp, 2017) of North Korea and South Korea in international news. I argue the digital disruption of the news industry has not only transformed the delivery of news but also the practice of crafting stories on the Koreas. Taking Picard’s (2014) Twilight or New Dawn of Journalism thesis as a starting point, this thesis takes Picard’s post-disruption newsroom model and applies it to international news. Under this conception of news as an industry, newsrooms have become the site of the curation and distribution of news rather than a site of news gathering and production. Picard terms this the “service mode of journalism”. The scholarly practice of situating news framing research of this nature in a newsroom is rendered outdated when viewed through the lens of two digital migrant news organisations: news.com.au and The Guardian. Despite the changes in the role and function of the newsroom, journalism as a field of scholarship has been slow to respond. Within framing theory and methodology scholarship there is a persistence in applying outdated methods of newsroom ethnography in keeping with the classic studies in the tradition (Tuchman, 1978; Gans, 1979; Gitlan, 1980; Gamson, 1988; Entman, 1991, 1993; Reese, 2005). This thesis responds to the transformation of the role of the newsroom by moving beyond the newsroom and into the network where the stories on Korea are constructed. This thesis also introduces “networked framing” as a methodology as a means of going beyond simple salience in news story telling. A taxonomy of the network is mapped followed by a simple qualitative framing analysis of the story as an artefact. Finally, long form semi-structured interviews with journalists on the ground producing content on North Korea and South Korea for the international network were conducted. Through these interviews the strains and stresses of reporting on these countries are revealed as factors that impact the overall narrative of news on North Korea and South Korea as part of the ‘journalist frame’. 1 Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co-authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. 2 Publications included in this thesis “No publications included”. 3 Submitted manuscripts included in this thesis Murray, R. (2017). ‘Reporting the Impossible: The use of defectors in reporting North Korea’. Ethical Space: International Journal of communication ethics. Vol 14, No 4. Other publications during candidature Book Downman, S. & Murray, R. (2017). Hyperlocal Journalism and the digital disruption – The Journalism change agents in Australia and New Zealand. London: Routledge. Refereed Journal Articles Downman, S., & Murray, R., (2017). The Change Makers Project: A service learning approach to journalism education. fusion. Vol 11. Obijiofor L., Murray, R., & Singh, S. (2016). Changes in journalism in two post- authoritarian non-western countries. International Communication Gazette. doi:10.1177/1748048516682147. Conference Presentations Thomas, D. & Murray, R. (2019). True crime does pay: the rise of the true crime podcast and the transformation of investigative journalism. Cultural Studies Association of Australasia. Brisbane, QLD. Murray, R., Ananian-Welsh, R. & Greste, P. (2019). The Law or the Lawyers: Understanding the chilling effect of Legal Counsel and Advisors in Australian Editorial Processes. Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia Conference, Sydney, NSW. English, P. & Murray, R. (2019). The Peace Games?: Media representations of North Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics. International Association for Media and Communication Research Conference, Madrid, Spain. English, P. & Murray, R. (2018). North Korea's return to the field of international sport. Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia Conference, Hobart, TAS. Murray, R. (2017). Bizarre news triangle: North Korea, defectors and foreign correspondents. Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia Conference, Newcastle, NSW. 4 Downman, S. & Murray, R. (2017). When a community rises up against fake news: The Change Makers’ Project. World Future of Journalism Conference. Cardiff, Wales. Murray, R., & Obijiofor L. (2016). Changes in journalism in three post-authoritarian non-western countries. World Journalism Education Congress, Auckland, New Zealand. Murray, R. (2016). Squeezed out: The plight of the foreign correspondent in South Korea. World Journalism Education Congress, Auckland, New Zealand. Downman, S., & Murray, R. (2015). #journalismisdead: Resuscitating a critical profession and reimagining the role of the journalist. Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia, Bathurst, NSW. Murray, R. (2015). Dangerous journalism: The perilous job of reporting from South Korea. Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia, Bathurst, NSW. Murray, R. (2015). Reporting North Korea: Understanding tyranny and bad hair from Australia. Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia, Bathurst, NSW. Murray, R. (2015). Framing and re-framing North Korea in the Australian news. Work in Progress Conference, School of Communication and Arts, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. 5 Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree “No works submitted towards another degree have been included in this thesis”. Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects “No animal or human subjects were involved in this research”. 6 Acknowledgements I would thank all the people who helped make this project possible. First, I would like to thank my advisors, A/Prof Levi Obijiofor, Dr Scott Downman and A/Prof Eric Louw for their guidance. I would also like to thank my colleagues Dr Skye Doherty, Zoe Winder, A/Prof Nic Carah, Mairead MacKinnon, Prof Peter Greste, A/Prof Kelly Fielding, Prof Bronwyn Lea, Prof Tom O’Regan, Prof Kweon Seung-hee, Dr Kasun Ubayasiri, Dr Kylie Navuku, Rebecca Simpson, Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Dr Melissa Harper, Angela Tuohy, Diana Marsh, Dr Peter English, and Daniel Seed. Big thanks to Jean Lee, Choe Sung-hun, Choi Ha-young, John Power, Justin McCurry, Prof Andrei Lankov, Joshua Stanton, Rob York, Chad O’Carroll, Don Kirk, Lee Tae- hoon, Alistair Gale, Steve Evans, James Pearson, and Anna Fifield. I’d like to thanks friends Rick and Tamara Trail, Matt Stewart, Max Fischmann, Ross and Catherine Savage, Kelly Caught, Shane Brown, Choi Bawi, David Roberts, and Alec Matussek. I’d like to thank my family, Michael, Christine, Colleen, Yang-gi, Mi-Hwa, Yeon-ok, Nadine, Sarah, and John. Finally, and most importantly, a huge thanks to Soowon, Bella and Tilly. Financial support ‘This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship’ Keywords journalism, international news, framing, north korea, south korea, digital disruption 7 Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 190301, Journalism Studies, 50% ANZSRC code: 200101, Communication Studies 50% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 1903, Journalism and Professional Writing, 50% FoR code: 2001, Communication and Media Studies, 50% 8 Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 1 Declaration by author ................................................................................................. 2 Publications included in this thesis ............................................................................ 3 Submitted manuscripts