Time Well Spent: ABC Journalists Reflect on Slow Journalism and the Remote Communities Project

Abstract

Conceptualisation and theoretical understanding of slow journalism has developed over more than a decade in reaction to the fast-paced journalism so prevalent in contemporary, mainstream media. Articulated in 2007 by Susan Greenberg, the slow journalism movement encompasses attributes such as deep, non-sensational storytelling, transparency, participatory involvement, community service and ethical practice. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) foray into slow journalism over the last several years via the Remote Communities Project (RCP) enables reporters to spend up to two weeks in a remote or rural community and find what the project management team call “the untold stories”. As part of a research project investigating the RCP, 15 journalists, producers and managers from the ABC were interviewed. When these participants were asked to reflect upon their understanding of slow journalism, several themes emerged: this form entails a change in practice; the importance of community engagement; and the ability to invest time in finding and developing stories. This article reports on those themes through the lens of participant reflection and Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural production model to develop a better understanding of how reporters who undertook projects for the RCP view the process of slow journalism and implications for journalistic practice.