Are the back pages and supplements real journalism, or just a bit of colour? Sports, IT, culture, lifestyle and entertainment might be thought of as the soft-end of journalism, but they make up an enormous part of the news media.

Copyright 2012 Christopher Scanlon / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Newspapers and magazines play an important role in economic, political, social and personal life. Focusing primarily on the press in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, this subject examines the history of the press, the principles that underlie and inform the press, ongoing debates about quality and 'tabloidisation' and the opportunities and challenges posed by new technologies. A core theme running throughout the subject is the changing business model that underlies the press and effects these changes are having on the traditional role of the press in liberal democratic societies.