INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM, THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND DEMOCRACY The Watchdog Role of Australian Broadsheets in the Digital Age Andrea Louise Carson Submitted in Total Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2013 Department of Social and Political Sciences University of Melbourne Produced on archival quality paper To Andrew, Alex, Lilly and Emma with love. i ABSTRACT This thesis uses mixed methodologies to examine Australian broadsheet newspapers' role in contributing investigative journalism to the public sphere over seven decades from 1956 to 2011. It explores print newspapers' content to make findings about the quantity and qualitative features of investigative journalism over time. This thesis considers established theories of the media, democracy and the public sphere and finds that, in Australia, as in other developed democracies, investigative journalism has played a normative role informing the public sphere and promoting democracy by providing transparency and holding public figures to account. While investigative journalism is not exclusively the domain of broadsheet newspapers, the thesis finds they have contributed a significant sum of public interest investigative journalism to the Australian public sphere. However, print newspapers, especially broadsheets, have suffered circulation and revenue declines since the late 1980s. Print journalism has relied on advertising revenues to pay for it. In the digital age, the symbiotic relationship between journalism and advertising — at the core of the newspaper business model — has fractured. Media companies no longer have a monopoly on attracting advertisers, nor do they have a monopoly on reporting news. This thesis represents original and new research in Australia. It is the first study combining qualitative and quantitative methods to determine if the Australian public sphere has lost investigative reporting as newspapers experience economic decline. Empirical data were gathered through three content analyses, including: selected mastheads over five decades; selected online news sites; and newspaper stories from selected categories of journalism's peer-reviewed Walkley awards since their inception in 1956. This study also included qualitative analysis through 22 semi-structured interviews with editors, media proprietors, investigative journalists, media analysts, academics and media sector unionists. It directly compared the contributions of print investigative journalism between broadsheets and ii tabloids; and more broadly examined the contributions from non-print media. The content analysis data of news websites tested whether the nascent online sphere was originating, rather than merely distributing, Australian investigative journalism. This research resulted in the acquisition of a comprehensive repository of Australian award- winning and investigative journalism from 1956 to 2011 — the first of its kind. To perform the analyses, this author derived an original operational definition of investigative journalism informed by both academic literature and media professionals. Finally, this thesis concludes what effects economic and technological changes have had on broadsheet investigative journalism, and discusses emerging trends in investigative reporting. The research contributes original findings to the scholarly literature about the state of the relationship between print investigative journalism and democratic accountability in Australia. iii DECLARATION This is to certify that: The thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used. The thesis is fewer than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, reference list and appendices. ANDREA LOUISE CARSON iv PREFACE Sections of this thesis have been previously published in the following sources but appear in this dissertation in a revised format: Book Chapter Carson, A. 'The History of Investigative Journalism in Australia,' in Journalism Research and Investigation in a Digital World, in press, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2013. Conference Papers (Refereed) Carson, A. 'The Watchdog Role of Newspapers: Analysing Print Walkley Winners 1956-2011,' Hobart: Australian Political Studies Association, 24-26 September 2012. Online Opinion-editorial Carson, A. 'Black And White And Dead All Over? Fairfax's $2.7b Loss Suggests its Future is Far From Rosy,' The Conversation, 23 August 2012. Carson, A. 'Climate Sceptics Steal the Big Tobacco Playbook: Create Doubt, Cause Delay,' The Drum, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 15 June 2011. Carson, A. 'Dangerous Remedies: Ending the Horror of Backyard Abortions,' The Conversation, 4 November 2012. Carson, A. 'Death by 1900 Cuts: Will Quality Journalism Thrive under Fairfax's New Model?' The Conversation, 18 June 2012. Carson, A. 'Debt Deal Saves Channel Nine — for Now,' The Conversation, 18 October 2012. Carson, A. ‘Finkelstein Inquiry Report Cause for 'Cautious Optimism,' The Conversation, 3 March 2012. Carson, A. 'Job Cuts, Strikes, "Structural Change": The Uncertain Future Facing Quality Newspapers,' The Conversation, 31 May 2012. Carson, A. ‘The Finkelstein Inquiry into Media Regulation: Experts respond,’ The Conversation, 2 March 2012. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis was made possible with the help, guidance and expert opinion of family, friends, colleagues and dedicated academics. I want to sincerely thank Associate Professor Sally Young for her unwavering support and invaluable supervision, and for giving me encouragement at crucial times. Also, thank you to Professor Verity Burgmann for her time and guidance when I needed it. In no particular order, heartfelt thanks to Alan Kohler, Rafael Epstein, Richard Baker, Margaret Simons, Christian Guerra, Paul Robinson, Michael Gawenda, Michael Parks, Bruce Guthrie, Mark Scott, Jon Faine, Eric Beecher, Chris Masters, Louise Connor, Mike Dobbie, Andrew Jaspan, Marian Wilkinson, Wendy Bacon, Hedley Thomas, Jonathan Holmes, Evan Whitton, Ross Coulthart, Nick McKenzie and Mark Baker, who, for no reward other than assisting me with my research, gave so generously of their time and expert knowledge about journalism and the media. Thank you also to Brian McNair, David McKnight and Rodney Tiffen for responding to my queries in the early stages of the research design. I am also grateful to Adamandia Fourlanos, Paul Budde, Max Suich, V. J. Carroll, Barbara Blackman at the Walkley Foundation, and the University of Melbourne Library staff for assistance of one kind or another. This research would not be possible without the University of Melbourne, to which I am grateful for providing me with a place to study, and Commonwealth Australian Postgraduate Award funding. Special thanks also to the School of Social and Political Sciences for its dedicated staff and graduate support, along with the statistical consulting centre for helpful advice at critical moments during the design of this project. Finally, but never lastly, thank you Andrew, my very supportive husband, and my children Alexander, Lilly and Emma, for your love and humour. vi CONTENTS List of Tables and Figures page xi 1 Introduction 1 Background to the Study 1 Aim and Approach 8 Scope 9 Structure of the Study 11 2 Paper Cuts: From 'Rivers Of Gold' to the Digital Economy 13 SECTION I 13 Introduction 13 A Brief History of Key Australian Newspapers 13 The Sydney Morning Herald 17 The Age 18 The Australian 19 The National Times 21 The Broadsheet Tradition 22 A Critical Perspective on Investigative Journalism 24 Print Revenue Decline and Investigative Journalism 27 Defining Investigative Journalism 29 Romanticising Investigative Journalism 33 A New Typology of Investigative Journalism 35 SECTION II 36 The Decline of Key Australian Newspapers 36 Stock Price 37 Advertising Revenues: A Comparative Analysis Australia and USA 40 Advertising Revenues in Australia 42 Online and Younger Generations 48 Australian Newspaper Sales - Circulation 49 vii Australian Daily Metropolitan Newspaper Revenues 51 The Internet as a Source of News 53 Responding to Online News Growth 55 Print Journalism Cost Cutting 57 Audience Research 58 Conclusion 59 3 Habermas To Twitter: Theories of The Public Sphere 62 Introduction 62 The Public Sphere — Jürgen Habermas 63 The Press and Liberal Democracy 66 Transformation and Degeneration of the Public Sphere 68 Contesting Habermas 70 The Media's Role as the Fourth Estate in a Post-liberal Era 72 'Manufactured Consent' 73 Multiple Public Spheres 75 Rethinking Critical Theory and The Public Sphere 76 Benedict Anderson's 'Imagined Communities' 78 'Imagined Communities' and Australian Newspapers 79 The Modern Mass Media: Pessimists Versus Optimists 84 The Role of Print Investigative Journalism in The Public Sphere 86 Tabloidisiation of the Print Media 88 The 'Golden Era' of Australian Investigative Journalism 89 Challenges to Australian Investigative Journalism 91 The 'Crisis' for Australian Newspapers 92 Concentrated Media Ownership and Australian Democracy 93 The Internet: 'Noise' or a New Frontier for Rational-Critical Discourse? 94 Conclusion 98 4 Research Design 101 Introduction 101 Research Questions 102 viii Methods and Subjects Considered for Study 103 Content Analysis as a Preferred Method 106 Coding 108 Frequency 111 Direction 111 Intensity 112 Space 112 Triangulating Research Methods 113 Operational Definition of Investigative Journalism 114 Mandatory Fields of the Operational Definition 117 Applying a Sliding Scale to Investigative Journalism 118