Overview

An insightful and timely reappraisal of international broadcasting as an instrument of discursive rather than ‘soft’ power and its contested role in Australia’s Indo-Pacific regional statecraft. This book re-appraises the concept and utility of state-funded, multi-platform international broadcasting as an instrument of statecraft, which offers cultural representation with the political purpose of contesting relations of power. This at a time when issues of transnational media, the credibility of news and the perils of disinformation and information warfare, figure worryingly in public discourse. The book reflects the perspective of middle power Australia, the circumstances and options of which differ from a great power. It dissects and evaluates the political purpose and efficacy of international broadcasting, its means as an instrument of inter-cultural communication and the variables that enable or impede its effectiveness. The author draws both on extensive scholarly research and his extensive professional experience in journalism, international broadcasting and media management in Australia and internationally. Heriot proposes a model for the strategic analysis, application, organisational design and operation of multi-platform international broadcasting. Necessarily, the model is informed by an analysis that situates international broadcasting in relation to contemporary theories of soft/hard/smart power projection and inter-cultural communication. He applies the model to the contentious political history and performance of Australia’s international broadcaster, Radio Australia, during the late Cold War decades of the twentieth century and asserts the relevance of this approach to an increasingly media-dense — though asymmetric — international environment. The model eschews general or coded descriptions of purpose and identifies six specific functions appropriate to the circumstances and imperatives of Australia as a resident power in the Indo-Pacific region. The flawed success of Radio Australia during the later years of the Cold War arose from the interaction of a broad range of external and internal variables to which it was exposed. These included geostrategic and national political factors; the formal prerogatives and constraints of the broadcaster’s mandate in pursuing defined objectives; institutional relationships across government; Radio Australia’s programming or editorial outlook, which determined information agendas and framed the coverage of issues; the production norms and socio-linguistic processes involved with inter-cultural communication; resource constraints and the effect of work design on the character and performance of the broadcaster; and the management of professional and cultural biases (including boundary work demarcations and in-group/out-group rivalry). This book offers an insightful reappraisal of international broadcasting as discursive rather than ‘soft’ power in service of democratic statecraft. This at a time when issues of transnational media, the credibility of news and the perils of disinformation and information warfare, figure worryingly in public discourse. Reflecting the perspective of middle power Australia, author Geoff Heriot locates the strategic utility of multi-platform international broadcasting with reference to contemporary theories of soft/hard/smart power projection and inter-cultural communication. He applies a fresh model of strategic analysis to the political history of Radio Australia, examining the various external and internal variables that resulted in its flawed success in political communication during the late Cold War period.

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9781839985041

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Reviews

Combining his top-notch scholarship and personal experience, Geoff Heriot has created an insightful multidisciplinary account of the rise and fall of Australian international broadcasting. Heriot deftly blends theoretical insights from international relations and communication with history to explore Radio Australia's contribution to its country's foreign policy. This is an important addition to the literature on Australia's foreign relations and middle power foreign policy, as well as international radio, and public diplomacy - Nicholas J. Cull, author, Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age. This valuable and original book deftly combines attention to soft power and its limits as a tool of analysis with deep knowledge of international broadcasting, especially giving fascinating insights into the history of Radio Australia - Rodney Tiffen, Emeritus Professor in Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. International Broadcasting and its Contested Role in Australian Statecraftexamines a national broadcaster's influence on overseas audience. Identifying variables hampering international broadcasting, it assays the instrumental efficacy of broadcasting practice. Multiple sub-focuses, interdisciplinarity, readability and scholarship will be appreciated by researchers, course convenors and students of media and international communication - Naren Chitty AM, Professor Emeritus, Inaugural Director, Soft Power Analysis and Resource Centre, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University.

Author Information

Geoff Heriot is a former Australian broadcasting executive and strategist, a foreign correspondent and journalist, with extensive Indo-Pacific regional experience.

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