The Australian Asbestos Network – how journalism can address a public health disaster

Authors

  • Gail Ann Phillips Murdoch University
  • Mia Kersti Maria Lindgren Monash University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS442010418

Keywords:

asbestos, public health, narrative medicine, journalism, online communities

Abstract

Asbestos presents an ongoing health disaster worldwide. First through mining and manufacturing, and now through workplaces and the home, exposure to asbestos is presenting a public health hazard that will continue well into the 21st century. Yet it is a hidden epidemic with litigation often silencing the voices that could attest to the destructive impact of what was once called the ‘magic mineral’. This paper describes a unique collaboration between journalists, doctors and public health researchers where journalistic techniques are used to bring the peoples’ stories of suffering and caring to public attention. The project illustrates the value of interdisciplinary collaboration as well as demonstrating how journalistic activity can be the subject of legitimate academic research. The outcome is a website, with three functions: first, as an historical archive of asbestos stories through audio and video interviews with asbestos diseases sufferers, their families and carers; second, as a one-stop-shop for public health information about asbestos risk where journalism skills are employed to translate often complex information into accessible language and formats; and third, as the nucleus for a future online community where patients and doctors can interact and experiment with more collaborative models of medical and public health interventions.

Author Biographies

Gail Ann Phillips, Murdoch University

Associate Professor, Journalism

Mia Kersti Maria Lindgren, Monash University

Senior Lecturer, Journalism

Downloads

Published

2010-12-10

How to Cite

Phillips, G. A., & Lindgren, M. K. M. (2010). The Australian Asbestos Network – how journalism can address a public health disaster. Observatorio (OBS*), 4(4). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS442010418

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 4 (2010)

Section

Articles

License

Observatorio (OBS*) has an academic journal profile. As such, it is dedicated to the open exchange of its contents, and freely available to individuals and institutions without charge or formal permission. Copies of this journal or articles in this journal may be distributed for research or educational purposes free of charge and without permission. Authors will not be charged for publication or submission to this journal. Authors who publish in Observatorio (OBS*) will release their contributions under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-2.0 generic. This licence allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given - being the author the copyright holder. This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The publisher perpetually authorizes participants in the LOCKSS system to archive and restore our publication through the LOCKSS System for the benefit of all LOCKSS System participants. Specifically participating libraries may: • Collect and preserve currently accessible materials; • Use material consistent with original license terms; • Provide copies to other LOCKSS appliances for purposes of audit and repair. Fair use of a copyrighted work, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include: 1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2. the nature of the copyrighted work; 3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; & 4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. In accord with these provisions, the OBS journal believes in the vigorous assertion and defense of Fair Use by scholars engaged in academic research, teaching and non-commercial publishing. Thus, we view the inclusion of “quotations” from existing print, visual, audio and audio-visual texts to be appropriate examples of Fair Use, as are reproductions of visual images for the purpose of scholarly analysis. We encourage authors to obtain appropriate permissions to use materials originally produced by others, but do not require such permissions as long as the usage of such materials falls within the boundaries of Fair Use.