The Rise of the Fifth Estate: Social Media and Blogging in Australian Politics

Using original research, this account examines the emergence of social media as a new force in the coverage of Australian politics. As it reveals who makes up the Australian political blogosphere, it tackles some of its key developments, such as the way that Australia's journalists and federal politicians use social media and digital news, the motivations of bloggers and tweeters, the treatment of female participants, and the eruption of Twitter wars. Arguing that journalists welcome Twitter as a work tool and platform despite having to deal with vitriolic online comments, this book demonstrates how politicians, meanwhile, are finding it hard to engage genuinely with the new media. Because the new social media are here to stay and their political role and influence are bound to increase, the real question is whether the old structures of the political world will absorb this new force or be changed by it.