John Curtin's forgotten media legacy: the impact of a wartime Prime Minister on news management techniques, 1941-45

Article

Coatney, Caryn. 2013. "John Curtin's forgotten media legacy: the impact of a wartime Prime Minister on news management techniques, 1941-45." Labour History: a journal of labour and social history. 105 (1), pp. 63-78. https://doi.org/10.5263/labourhistory.105.0063
Article Title

John Curtin's forgotten media legacy: the impact of a wartime Prime Minister on news management techniques, 1941-45

ERA Journal ID34266
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorCoatney, Caryn
Journal TitleLabour History: a journal of labour and social history
Journal Citation105 (1), pp. 63-78
Number of Pages16
Year2013
PublisherLiverpool University Press
Place of PublicationSydney, Australia
ISSN0023-6942
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.5263/labourhistory.105.0063
Web Address (URL)http://www.asslh.org.au
Abstract

As Australia's wartime leader, John Curtin generated international headlines for his 'breaking news' broadcasts, candid media conferences and electoral success. Yet there has been a lack of studies on Curtin's impact as a media communicator. To evaluate his legacy for government-journalist relations, this article conducts a multi-method approach, including analyses of rarely viewed archives about Curtin's use of the media and the newspaper coverage of his major wartime speeches. The research indicates that Curtin expanded the ways that the prime minister communicated with public audiences through press interviews, the radio, films and television during World War II. Through his extraordinarily frequent media discussions, he opened up more opportunities for citizens to interact with political leaders, the government and parliament. Arguably, modern political communicators still borrow from Curtin's news management legacy through the use of question-and-answer media conferences, news briefings, occasional off-the-record talks and use of the most advanced audio-visual technological innovations to communicate with voters.

KeywordsJohn Curtin; World War II; media history; journalism history; political communications; Australia
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020470105. Journalism studies
440701. Communications and media policy
440801. Australian government and politics
Public Notes

© 2013 Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. Published version deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Humanities and Communication
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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