Through the lens of the local: public arena journalism in the Australian community broadcasting sector

Abstract

This article explores the role of community or `public arena' journalism in offering alternative frameworks for making sense of the world through the lens of local communities and their various networks. Our particular focus is on new research into Australia's unique community broadcasting sector, based on nationwide telephone surveys and focus group discussions involving a broad range of community journalists, which suggests that they fulfil an important cultural role in providing communities with a local voice through what we have termed a `community public sphere'.