2001/03/01 by Peter McGregor
Social Sciences · #Media Studies and Communication #Island Studies and Pacific Affairs
paper · pdf · doi:10.7275/democratic-communique.191
Whose News? is an essential new book for anyone concerned about the role of news as information in our society.The title refers to the ongoing battle for control over news within the Australian Broadcasting Commission (transformed into 'Corporation' in 1983) -from the birth of ABC News in 1947 until early 1999, when Petersen's manuscript was completed.Despite being relatively brief at 65 pages, Petersen prOVides a comprehensive analysis, exposing the past and offering a better understanding of the restricted policy choices facing the ABC at the end of 1999.Petersen initially worked for 25 years as an ABC TV journalist.then became an academic researching and teaching media and politics.He is currently one of the more incisive scholars in Australia addressing the historical and contemporary practices of media institutions.Approaching the area through the discourses of political economy, and organisational sociology, Petersen's work parallels that of Robert McChesney in the USA.