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Miller, Stephan --- "Book Review - For the Record: 160 Years of Aboriginal Print Journalism" [1997] IndigLawB 74; (1997) 4(4) Indigenous Law Bulletin 16


Book Review -



For the Record:

160 Years of Aboriginal Print Journalism

Michael Rose (editor)

Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1996

ISBN 1 86448 058 0

Reviewed by Stephan Miller

Wasn't that an attention-getting start to the 1997 Reconciliation Convention? No, not that months-in-the-planning, cast-of-thousands opening number, but the prelude, moments before, that involved one relatively unknown Aboriginal woman, a lapse in security, and a microphone. While the performers and VIPs were loitering backstage, clearing their throats and straightening creases, this inconspicuous Aboriginal woman shuffled out onto Melbourne Convention Centre stage and, unannounced, unscripted and totally unscheduled, asked for a glass of water, a chair and, for the following 15 minutes, treated the startled assembly to her call on the issues big and small.

It was not the first act of media event terrorism successfully perpetrated by Shirley Lomas. In the past she has grabbed the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald and all the network news bulletins with similar stunts. This particular incident made the front page of the Daily Telegraph, and received considerable space inside, where Shirley copped servings from the editorial writer and its shock-jock commentator, Piers Ackerman.

You can say what you will about the ethics of this media commando and/or what she has to say, but what fascinates, and indeed encourages, me is her almost unstoppable desire to be heard at all costs. Ackerman made an unnecessarily personal and pious attack upon her as some sort of lunatic fringe renegade, thereby missing the point. It's easy to make such attacks when you have the privilege of your own thrice-weekly column in one of Australia's largest daily newspapers. Outnumbered and intimidated, Aboriginal people rarely have such access to the mass market, solicited or otherwise. How many authors of letters to the editor or callers to talkback radio do you recall as identifying as Aboriginal?

The thrill of a Shirley Lomas in action, then, is in the sense of empowerment she feels, in defiance of and prevailing over the ruling etiquettes of white media protocols-finally, at a crucial moment in time, she has grabbed the microphone, people are listening and she's not going to shut up until they drag her away.

Where's Shirley?

How I wish a Shirley Lomas had leapt out of the printed pages of Michael Rose's anthology of Aboriginal print journalism, For the Record. There is a great, fiery history to be told here I'm sure: the classic story of an underclass struggling to find its voice and be heard; the emotional empowerment of speaking out against frustrations with the system; the issues of media ownership and control; of diversity of opinion and freedom of expression. It just doesn't surface in this book. A veteran journalist and journalism lecturer (according to the cover notes), Rose has opted for a professional objectivity so neutral and passive, the final product is bland in analysis and presentation. It's a pity not just for what might have been, but also because Rose clearly has a passion for the subject matter and appears to have put considerable time and effort into his research.

Don't misunderstand me. There are some eloquent and passionate writers distilling first-hand accounts of important events and issues in Aboriginal development within these pages but, unlike Shirley, they are let down by the lack of a bigger, structured, framework around them, and remain merely voices in apparent isolation. The result is like a textbook version of channel surfing-fragmented and a little disorientating, these are superficial snapshots of interest without any glue for the big picture.

The introduction

To be fair, Rose never promises more than he can deliver. He makes it clear in his brief 16 page introduction that this is an anthology - a selection of primary source material from Aboriginal writers in the 160 years up to 1995. It is, he says, 'an introduction to the world of Aboriginal print journalism, and also a rare opportunity to witness Australian events and issues-Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal-through the eyes of Aboriginal journalists'. Rose only intrudes in this intro and a brief one-page scene-setter to each chapter. It is not surprising, then, that there are few revelations in his analysis-the emphasis is on the source material presented.

His initial notes outline a sketch history of the development of literacy and written communication for a people previously heavily reliant on oral communication. This anthropological novelty, of an information-rich society built without even the first brick of an alphabet, has attracted many academics, which Rose acknowledges without adding anything new to the discourse.

Similarly drawing from other sources, he rehashes the well-documented strong visual communication tradition of Aboriginal people. 'It has been noted that traditional Aboriginal verbal art has always had a relatively strong "reportage" function', he says, and starts to make some interesting points about the 'invention; of the print medium in Aboriginal terms, citing a Pitjantjatjara community publication Amataku Tjukurpa (Amata News/Times) produced in 1985 and 1986. In a rare passage of descriptive prose, he writes 'This modest newsletter was a truly eclectic mix of content, styles, and forms. It was produced in English and in the local language; partly typewritten and partly handwritten; filled with both hand-drawn illustrations and photos; and is an example of exuberant and idiosyncratic use of typography ... Aboriginal writers and editors appeared to be employing, whether consciously or not, some of the modes of oral communication'.

But, having whet our appetites, Rose fails to deliver any pictorial examples. The photographic material presented is hugely disappointing in the quality, quantity and selection. Rose seems to acknowledge that print journalism is more than just words on the page, that its effective communication involves visual elements of design, typography and photography, and that the unique development of Aboriginal communication might bring fresh dimensions to the medium. But his presentation is obsessed with the written word and the result is much poorer for it.

The rest of the book

Although restricting himself, for reasons of economy, to Aboriginal writers in Aboriginal-owned print media, how much richer and more rewarding the material might have been if, say, the words from poet and activist Kevin Gilbert at the Tent Embassy had been enhanced with photos from the time.

I suspect these were not just spatial economies but also financial. It is a cliched journalism maxim that Aboriginal stories don't rate, and similarly, this book will likely appeal to only the smallest of niches within a slightly larger niche within a pretty small national market.

Rose does make the point (again, hardly fresh news) that many of the print media's Aboriginal journalists have also been political activists and at the forefront of its creative writing. Hence, in the last section of the book, there are interesting but all too brief articles by Marcia Langton, Noel Pearson, Pat 0' Shane, the brilliantly concise and articulate John Newfong, Gary Foley, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker) and inventor David Unaipon, all published in the mainstream press. It is a shame this section wasn't expanded upon, as it has been an area of important gains for Aboriginal writers in recent years. Surprisingly, Unaipon is credited as the first Aborigine to be published in a non-Aboriginal publication, The Daily Telegraph in 1924. How times change ...

Compare this freedom of expression and demand for Aboriginal writers to express their concerns and ideals in their own words, with the book's earliest entries from the 1836 Flinders Island Chronicle. Written by Aboriginal clerks suspected of being supervised by their white master to provide a legitimised vehicle for the spread of religious propaganda and the commandant's 'good deeds', it hints at the imprisonment of the era that was more than just a physical restriction.

In between these two periods, there are samples of stirring and emotive passages that encapsulate the frustrations of the times, arranged into chapters by chronology and geography under the titles of the various publications. (But I would have enjoyed more detail on the origins and closures of these journals.) In this process of arranging material in chronological and geographical order there is some merit; but if only Rose had backed it up with more historical scene setting, social, political and media analysis, cross references to non-Aboriginal media reports of the same events, photographic support material, and, where practical, 'behind-the-scenes' commentary from those who struggled to get their message across!

As it is, the final product is not only an unsatisfying read, it is difficult to gauge who will find it useful. There is a bibliography at the back and extensive endnotes for further reading, and a very brief chronology of important dates at the beginning for those with little knowledge of Aboriginal affairs. It may be a handy, if patchy, reference for students looking for source reports of events of the time, but personally I found the index disappointing. Admittedly, much of the source material I hadn't heard of before, but having discovered it, I think it would be more satisfying to examine the originals first-hand. Many large libraries, for instance, will have the bound reproduction volumes of the Abo Call - and it is far more insightful to see this material as it was originally presented. For the Record is, at best, a sampler that never aspires to anything comprehensive or incisive.

The bigger picture

Rose acknowledges there is a much bigger story to be told here. He disqualifies himself from covering the huge developments in Aboriginal broadcasting, both radio and television, by qualifying this book as the Aboriginal history of the print media. This is such a shame, as community and regional radio and television have done much to allow Aboriginal people to report and relate while retaining their languages, and with the near completion of the satellite network technology, will provide a national link up for information exchange. Similarly, the ABC's 1% quota system for indigenous people have developed fine journalists and production people, producing the popular 'Songlines', 'Kum Yan', 'Blackout', and, from SBS, 'ICAM'. A handful of indigenous independent film makers, such as Tracey Moffatt, are also making inroads into the Australian psyche. None of these developments is mentioned. Also, for a book put together in 1996, 1 find it odd there is no mention of new technology such as desktop publishing and the internet and their potential, realised or not, for indigenous communication. The words 'National Indigenous Media Association' do not appear. Neither for that matter, is there much mention of that 'other' forgotten Australian people, the Torres Strait Islanders, nor their publication the Torres News.

Rose admits the media is an evolving area for Aboriginal people, and the shortage of trained and experienced Aboriginal journalists and editors impedes growth of self-expression and empowerment. Interestingly, Rose himself is Canadian and maybe this is why his role as editor of this book is largely unobtrusive. Hopefully one day, an indigenous journalist will be able to take up the challenge and produce the whole story (with pictures!).

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