Eyes on Asia: the Australian media's blind spot
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OzAsia Festival Keynote Lecture
Wednesday 18 September 2013
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with Jane Hutcheon, international journalist and media presenter
Podcast available HERE (mp3 format 19MB)
The Federal government's White Paper Australia in the Asian Century is an aspirational document that has outlined the possibilities for economic, cultural and linguistic growth if Australia was to embrace the goal of greater integration and engagement with Asia.
Since returning from overseas to join the ABC News in 2010, and in the wake of the White Paper, highly experienced international journalist Jane Hutcheon has occupied a unique vantage point from which to see the ebbs and flows of recent media coverage of Asia. According to Jane Hutcheon, Australia's media covers Asia when it wants to. While widely reported, the themes of the White Paper seem to have largely been ignored. Few mainstream media organisations make it a goal to cover Asia comprehensively. It is a selective approach which is often down to individual journalists and the weight they carry.
Born in Hong Kong, Jane has been a prominent media figure in Australia with many international assignments during her career. As a former correspondent and ABC News anchor, Jane has observed the workings of the Australian media for more than twenty years.
In this provocative discussion, Jane will reflect on the attitudes and issues holding back wider engagement.
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Co-presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre and the Adelaide Festival Centre's OzAsia Festival
Biography
Jane Hutcheon is a journalist with ABC News. She presents the interview program One Plus One as well as The World on the ABC's news channel, ABC News 24, which launched in July 2010. She is the author of From Rice to Riches.
Jane was an international television correspondent based in China, the Middle East and Europe for more than a decade. She has covered events including the Hong Kong Handover (1997), Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2000), the aftermath of the Iraq invasion (2003-2005), The London Bombings (2005) Hurricane Katrina (2005), and the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon War.
Apart from her experience as a presenter and a correspondent, she has developed a reputation as an incisive interviewer, building One Plus One into a solid addition to the rolling news coverage on the ABC's news channel.
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