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This paper draws upon public sphere theories and the “mediatization of politics” debate to develop a mapping of the Australian political public sphere, with particular reference to television. It discusses the concept of a “political public sphere,” and the contribution of both non-traditional news media genres, such as satirical television and infotainment formats, to an expanded conception of the political public sphere. It considers these questions in the context of two case studies: the Q&A program on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and its uses of social media and interactive formats to engage citizens, and the comedy program Gruen Nation, also on the ABC, which analyzed the use of political advertising to persuade citizens during the 2013 Australian Federal election. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies two major forces driving change in media policy worldwide: media convergence and renewed concerns about media ethics, with the latter seen in the UK Leveson Inquiry. It focuses on two major public inquiries in Australia during 2011-2012 - the Independent Media Inquiry (Finkelstein Review) and the Convergence Review - and the issues raised about future regulation of journalism and news standards. Drawing upon perspectives from media theory, it observes the strong influence of social responsibility theories of the media in the Finkelstein Review and the adverse reaction these received from those arguing from Fourth Estate/free press perspectives, which were also consistent with the long-standing opposition of Australian newspaper proprietors to government regulation. It also discusses the approaches taken in the Convergence Review to regulating for news standards, in the light of the complexities arising from media convergence. The article concludes with consideration of the fast-changing environment in which such proposals to transform media regulation are being considered, including the crisis of news media organization business models, as seen in Australia with major layoffs of journalists from the leading print media publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]