This blog follows the progress of my Master of Journalism project, looking at the idea of Democracy in Wollongong.
I will be doing a practical multimedia project looking at the topic democracy in Wollongong. This will be a comprehensive investigation of the state of democracy in Wollongong, looking at how the fact that Wollongong has no elected Council (and is unlikely to have an elected Council for some time) has affected democracy in the region. One year on from ICAC, where do we stand?
Are residents happy with how the city is being run now? Are the Administrators doing a better job than the former elected Council? What do former Councillors, sacked Councillors and current business leaders think?
Why ask about democracy in Wollongong?
Questions about democracy are bubbling below the surface in the local consciousness. For example, several letters published in the Illawarra Mercury over the past months have praised or questioned the role of the administrators.
On the beachfront construction work is rife, with huge changes happening to the “Blue Mile” to improve the beaches and harbour. In the city, a huge block of land that promised a cinema complex and department stores has grass growing behind tall fences and no sign of when construction might begin.
About a year and a half ago, Wollongong City Council was sacked and replaced by three Administrators who now make all the decisions of the Lord Mayor and elected Councillors . This event made for dramatic front pages and weeks of coverage on shady figures and sex scandals in papers around Australia but since then there hasn’t been much coverage on the fallout. If the Illawarra region is to go without elected representatives for up to three years, surely questions about the state of democracy are important. Are we being fairly represented?
It is also important to look at the idea of democracy because of the alleged failings of the former Council. Was democracy working, or does the unelected Administration do a better job? What questions does this raise about democracy and local government?
Practical outcomes
The centerpiece of my project will be about eight 4 - 5 minute multimedia pieces, which will be a combination of video, audio and pictures. The pieces will be posted to this blog, but will be designed to work within a news website, for which I will design the shell/interface.
Similar examples, of multimedia projects linked to a common theme include:
• Fire, Footy, Fate - Triple J's Hack
• Islam in Australia - SMH Multimedia
• Sexual Warfare - SMH Multimedia
My project is intended to present a range of views, and allow the diverse talent that I will be interviewing to tell the story – rather than drawing my own conclusions. However, to frame the interviews and multimedia pieces, I will be doing a small amount of written analysis to accompany the audio and video pieces.
To complement to multimedia pieces I will research a timeline of Wollongong’s local government, as well as a researched ‘case study’ on another town that has had the council sacked.
Front covers and articles from the Illawarra Mercury during ICAC will be used to give context to my pieces. These aspects of my project will be included as links from the main website, so that users can explore the issue of democracy in Wollongong as broadly or as narrowly as they wish.
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