Chapter Synopses

Preliminary Pages

Index

Chapter 1 - A Wild Ride: Maxwell Newton, Rupert Murdoch and the early Australian

Chapter 1 outlines the origins and launch of the paper in Canberra during mid 1964, profiling the young proprietor Rupert Murdoch and his first editor Maxwell Newton and the difficulties they faced during the daunting start-up period. It compares and contrasts the fortunes of the two men as tabloid publishers in the 1970s, prior to their reconciliation at the end of the decade, and documents their close working relationship and free market liberalism in the United States of the 1980s.

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Chapter 2: Plaudits and Patrons: National culture, identity and the arts

Chapter 2 demonstrates that the early feature writing and coverage of books and reading by the Australian during the 1960s and 1970s are neglected aspects of the paper's national reputation, as are the regular contributions of its women journalists. In addition to debates over cultural nationalism and Ocker masculinity in the 1970s, Chapter 2 looks at coverage of debates about feminism and gay culture, and examines the role of the paper and its editors as guardians of print culture and patrons of the visual arts during the 1980s in the context of resurgent nationalism and the Bicentenary celebrations.

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Chapter 3: Labor's Bane: Politics, journalism and workplace change on the Australian

Chapter 3 explores growing workplace tensions during the newspaper's campaign against the Whitlam government and the turbulent industrial politics of the landmark 1975 journalists' strike. This chapter also documents the opposition to the Murdoch press and boycotts voiced by sections of the labour movement (unions, politicians) in the wake of the Dismissal. It maps the evolution of industrial relations on the paper in the late 1970s and 1980s, with a detailed account of the introduction of Video Display Terminals onto the paper, culminating in a national strike in the early 1980s, before the paper began finally to be profitable.

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Chapter 4: Liberal to Neo-conservative: The Australian's changing coverage of world affairs

Chapter 4 provides a fresh perspective on the Australian's liberal reportage of international and domestic issues under Adrian Deamer, starting with an analysis of the paper's early opposition to the Vietnam War and incorporating a discussion of the paper's stance on issues of colonialism and racism. It contrasts this early position with the growing conservatism of the Australian on national and foreign policy issues during the 1970s and 1980s, including its opposition to anti-colonial movements in the Pacific and South Africa, its revisionism over the Vietnam conflict and its denunciation of the global role of the Soviet Union under Gorbachev.

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Chapter 5: Turning a Profit: The Australian and the culture of News Limited

Chapter 5 looks at early competition with the Fairfax group in Canberra including the production of the Canberra edition (the 'little Oz') in local competition with the Canberra Times and the establishment of the Australian's other capital city bureaux (Melbourne, Brisbane). It examines at length the reasons for ongoing financial losses incurred by the Australian over a protracted period, and the reasons for Murdoch's continued support. Chapter 5 also looks at the changing status of the Australian within News Limited from the mid 1980s, a time of political concern about the growing market power of Murdoch's News Corporation.

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Chapter 6: Kingmaker: The Joh for Canberra campaign

Chapter 6 continues the analysis of Chapter 3 by examining the aggressive policies of the Australian during the Fraser years on such issues as taxation reform and industrial relations. It focuses on the abortive 'Joh for Canberra' campaign of 1987 as the culmination of Hollings's protracted influence as editor and the willingness of the paper to canvass far Right political agendas through both contributors and regular columnists.

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