Pink Cigarettes Babies In Rhinestones Storycuts

In 'Pink Cigarettes', a schoolboy grows tired of his relationship with an aging poet, who is becoming a greater draw on his time by the day. But when it looks as though his behaviour will break the old man's heart, he must listen closely to his own feelings. In 'Babies in Rhinestones', the Alfred Ellis School of Fine Art and the Araidne School Elliot School of Dance and Drama stand side by side, much to their proprietors' dismay. The two trade insults daily as they exchange the mail that so often ends up in the wrong letterbox. The tension increases when the owners find that they have adopted the same stray cat. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

In 'The Thirty-first of October', Claudia's family is long-departed and her talents as a writer fading; she has gradually come to cocoon herself within her chilly cottage. Her misanthropy grows with every unpleasant encounter with her petty neighbours and their ungrateful and cruel daughters, who regard Claudia as a fairytale witch. But just as Claudia reaches breaking point and begins to descend into a dark mess of jagged thoughts, we witness the redemptive power of even the smallest act of kindness. In 'Angelo', Violet Greene glances around the room at the funeral of her first husband - celebrated poet, Felix - and can't help noticing many a familiar face from a previous colourful life: fellow novelists, poets and publishers as well as an array of Felix's former lovers and wives. Consumed by memories of the past, Violet blocks out the gawping, gossiping congregation by fondly and sadly reminiscing about their time together. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

In 'Dreams of Dead Women's Handbags', crime writer Susan Vigo ponders death as she travels by train to give a reading of her latest book; specifically, the kind of death awaiting the characters of her next heavily-anticipated novel. But an unpleasant encounter with a fellow passenger sparks a chain of recollections which throws our author's obsession with the macabre into a shocking light. In 'Other People's Bathrobes', Adam is frustrated by his borderline-anorexic girlfriend, and finds himself obsessively reliving childhood memories of tinned soup and spaghetti at inappropriate moments. A compulsive thief by nature, when Barbara goes out to work Adam trawls her apartment looking for hidden fragments which might reveal her deepest secrets. However, when he finds remnants from Barbara's unhappy childhood, it is Adam who undergoes an unexpected transformation. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

Gathers the essential essays of Dwight Conquergood, performance studies scholar, ethnographer, and activist

In a series of entertaining essays, this wide-ranging book looks at the impact of the media on Australian life and politics, and anlyses key images and stories that shape our perceptions at century's end. Topics include Americanisation, feminism, pop, pay TV, the Internet, political correctness, Mabo, and the republican convention.

American democracy was founded on the belief that ultimate power rests in an informed citizenry. But that belief appears naive in an era when private corporations manipulate public policy and the individual citizen is dwarfed by agencies, special interest groups, and other organizations that have a firm grasp on real political and economic power. In Democracy and the News, one of America's most astute social critics explores the crucial link between a weakened news media and weakened democracy. Building on his 1979 classic media critique Deciding What's News, Herbert Gans shows how, with the advent of cable news networks, the internet, and a proliferation of other sources, the role of contemporary journalists has shrunk, as the audience for news moves away from major print and electronic media to smaller and smaller outlets. Gans argues that journalism also suffers from assembly-line modes of production, with the major product being publicity for the president and other top political officials, the very people citizens most distrust. In such an environment, investigative journalism--which could offer citizens the information they need to make intelligent critical choices on a range of difficult issues--cannot flourish. But Gans offers incisive suggestions about what the news media can do to recapture its role in American society and what political and economic changes might move us closer to a true citizen's democracy. Touching on questions of critical national importance, Democracy and the News sheds new light on the vital importance of a healthy news media for a healthy democracy.

Examinations of civic engagement in digital culture—the technologies, designs, and practices that support connection through common purpose in civic, political, and social life. Countless people around the world harness the affordances of digital media to enable democratic participation, coordinate disaster relief, campaign for policy change, and strengthen local advocacy groups. The world watched as activists used social media to organize protests during the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution. Many governmental and community organizations changed their mission and function as they adopted new digital tools and practices. This book examines the use of “civic media”—the technologies, designs, and practices that support connection through common purpose in civic, political, and social life. Scholars from a range of disciplines and practitioners from a variety of organizations offer analyses and case studies that explore the theory and practice of civic media. The contributors set out the conceptual context for the intersection of civic and media; examine the pressure to innovate and the sustainability of innovation; explore play as a template for resistance; look at civic education; discuss media-enabled activism in communities; and consider methods and funding for civic media research. The case studies that round out each section range from a “debt resistance” movement to government service delivery ratings to the “It Gets Better” campaign aimed at combating suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth. The book offers a valuable interdisciplinary dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of the increasingly influential space of civic media.