'Newsrooms were these crazy universities, full of experts on the
strangest things, people with real understanding and experience of
things that mattered, places where you could ask anybody anything,
though you might get your head bitten off if you interrupted someone on
deadline. You've also got company, noise, yahooing and jokes. I
discovered I'm made for that kind of place.' - David Marr
Newsrooms, the engine rooms of reporting, have shrunk. A generation of
journalists has borne witness to seismic changes in the media. Sharing
stories from more than 50 Australian journalists - including Amanda
Meade, David Marr and Flip Prior - Upheaval reveals the highs and the
lows of those who were there to see it all.
They show us life inside frenetic and vibrant newsrooms at the peak of
their influence, and the difficulties of adapting to ever-accelerating
news cycles with fewer resources. Some left journalism altogether while
others stayed in the media - or sought to reinvent it. Normally the ones
telling other people's stories, in Upheaval journalists share the
rawness of losing their own job or watching others lose theirs. They
reveal their anxieties and hopes for the industry's future and their
commitment to reporting news that matters.
'In Upheaval journalists do something they normally avoid. They turn
the spotlight on themselves and their industry. They narrate a brutal
transition at a critical moment in the media. This oral history
documents the culture of Australian journalism before the internet -
extemporising, sexist, booze-fuelled and brash - and reveals the private
pain of the digital dislocation for many journalism lifers who had to
reshape their professional identities. Upheaval puts readers in the
newsroom as the rivers of gold dried up.' - Katharine Murphy
'Essential reading for those who care about journalism and its
struggle to survive. This book captures the essence of what it is to be
a reporter amid tectonic shifts in the media and in the world that we
strive to make sense of for our audiences. Anyone who follows the news
and politics will be absorbed by Upheaval.' - Nick McKenzie
