Newspaper Building Design and Journalism Cultures in Australia and the UK: 1855–2010 (Routledge Research in Journalism)

By: Carole O'Reilly and Josie Vine

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Synopsis: This book examines the micro-cultural ideologies of the journalism profession in Britain and Australia by focusing on the design, execution and development of newspaper building architecture. Concentrating on the main newspaper buildings in the major metropolitan areas in Australia (Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide) and the UK (Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Liverpool) from 1855 to 2010, Newspaper Building Design interweaves a rich analysis of spatial characteristics of newspaper offices with compelling anecdotes from journalists’ working lives, to examine the history, evolution and precarious future of the physical newsroom and the surrounding interior and exterior space. The book argues that newspaper buildings are designed to accommodate and extend journalism’s professional values and belief systems over time and that their architecture reflects ideological change and continuity in these value and belief systems, such as the evolution from trade to profession. Ancillary factors, such as the influence of the newspapers’ owners on the building design and the financing of new structures are also considered. As professional practice rapidly shifts out of the newspaper offices, this insightful study questions what this may mean for the future of the industry. Newspaper Building Design will benefit academics and researchers in the areas of media, journalism, cultural studies and urban history.