Andrew Denton Professional Biography PDF

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Andrew Denton: A Media Professional Profile

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Andrew Denton: A Media Professional Profile Will Garrett, Assignment 2 QUT Journalism

29/04/2018

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Introduction: “Give a person enough rope, and they’ll hang themselves…” this is the phrase that led to the controversially successful brainchild of Andrew Denton. For 2 years between the late 1980s and the late 2000s, the Australian media scene was dominated by the talented comedian, producer and dedicated journalist. During this period, many called him prophet to the masses as he uncovered multiple controversies that spanned politics, sport and Australian identity. Whilst he has since stepped away from the media spotlight, he remains one of the most influential entities in Australian journalism to this day.

Andrew was born in 1960 into a loving and rather successful family. His father, Kit Denton was a writer and the author of award winning novel “The Breaker”, about Australian soldier Breaker Morant. His education spanned through Roseville primary school, Blue Mountains Grammar School and graduating high school at Guildford Grammar School. From there, Denton studied a “Bachelor of Arts in Communications” at Mitchell College of Advanced Education in which he graduated in 1982 (Wikipedia, 2016). Due to his diverse talents, Andrew has had multiple careers in television, radio, production, stand-up comedy, film and of course journalism. He began in radio at the Triple M station, where he was a writer for Doug Mulray, this was brief though as Denton soon became the host of the peak hour time slot with Amanda Keller. On TV, Denton hosted many shows over his career however none more important than “Enough Rope with Andrew Denton” which became a hit for the ABC network in 2003 and ran until 2008. It is important to note that Andrew’s career in television gained him logies nominations for ‘most popular presenter’, ‘most popular comedy personality’ and many more (Bureau, 2013. Due to his relentless researching, tenacity in interviews, sharp wit and excellent intellect Andrew Denton interested me personally. However, Andrew’s investment in Australian culture as a die-hard supporter of NRL club South Sydney Rabbitohs is what peaked my interest as a huge sports fan myself. However, his value of honesty in his work stands out but more importantly using his humour to get across his passions and messages in his pieces.

Convergence and Globalisation: Andrew Denton has often evolved with the ever-changing society and adapted his career path based on the influences of globalistation and media convergence. As previously mentioned

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Andrew is a huge name in national journalism, however he has also had some impact in the UK and US. He has interviewed huge stars originating from these countries such as Jerry Seinfeld, Bono, Madonna and Michael Parkinson. This in-turn gave Australia media exposure in these countries as multiple television stations ran said interviews. However, Andrew has not worked for any media company outside of Australia, nor does he own and media in other countries besides Australia. Whilst it would almost be expected for someone of Andrew’s caliber to have more of an international presence. Many of the public are drawn to the simple fact that he has remained in Australia, as it shows his true character and an overall patriotism to the land down under. Not to mention that in 2017, Denton turned down a huge job opportunity in the United States to host a tonight show, a very popular show archetype that is controlled primarily by the host. The reason? To start a new show on the Australian Seven Network simply titled ‘Interview’ which will hit airwaves in June of 2018 and focus on hard hitting journalistic pieces that seek to uncover the hidden truths in Australian society. Therefore, it can be said that Andrew sacrificed a global stage to service a large Australian community and better its culture.

Despite only being an Australian figure, Denton has converged on nearly all platforms of media in his distinguished career. As previously mentioned he has taken roles in radio, television, film, article writing, producing and podcasts. In his early work on several radio stations, Andrews tone and journalistic pieces were from a lax comedic standpoint, and as he transitioned into his early televised career this standpoint remained consistent. However, he did not start catching the attention of the larger population until he took on serious pieces that whilst being controversial, gained the trust of audiences due to Denton’s uncanny ability to ruthlessly research his pieces/interviewees (The Weekly, 2016). The height of his career across all media platforms was during his time as the host of “Enough Rope” which ran for 5 years and had an average audience of 1.43 million per episode. Within these 5 years alone, Denton interviewed over 500 people, and harnessed his talents “…draw riveting stories from the famous, infamous, and totally unknown.” (Leser, 2014) The impact that his presence in multiple media platforms had on his career was resounding, as he ultimately gained the wider public’s trust and respect as a man invested in truthful Journalism that serves a purpose to society.

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Fourth Estate and Public Sphere: Throughout history the first three estates were the clergy, nobility and the townsmen, however society is now in an age where the ‘fourth estate’ is prevalent, and is found in journalism. What this entails is that journalism is to act to report injustices in society and not only bring to light those responsible but ensure they are held responsible for these injustices. Therefore, the concept of the fourth estate is very important to any modern journalist. Andrew upheld this estate when on his show “Enough Rope”, through meticulous interviewing of multiple people from all walks of life. However, his most daring attempt to provide a fourth estate was on the highly controversial subject of euthanasia, in which Denton believes that laws needed to be put in place to warrant the assisted killing of those in “unbearable and untreatable pain” (The Weekly, 2016). He demonstrated his vintage skills as he travelled to three specific locations in the world where these laws are already in place and are working successfully. This lead to him creating a draft of laws that would improve the suicide rates in Australia significantly and end the unimaginable pain of so many in the world, and in true Denton fashion these laws are not loose, they are strict and create zero liabilities. Since coming public with these views, a large portion of the population have changed their views on euthanasia, with a poll conducted 6 months after Denton’s comments spread nationwide, 37% increased to 53% agreeing with euthanasia. A true testament to Denton’s ability to tap in to the fourth estate, using raw and honest facts to give truths.

It is argued that in contemporary society, the public sphere is most prevalent in the media. To put it simply, the media is a focal point of communication between up to millions of people within a social context (Sage Pub, 2016). But more importantly, the social sphere is now vying for resonation in the minds of the masses as fluff pieces and buzz feed videos hog the limelight on social media. Therefore, making real hard hitting journalistic pieces that have the potential to change status quos relevant is more than half the battle. How does Andrew Denton do it? He takes on pieces he is passionate about because in his words “…if I’m passionate about a piece, I will not stop digging until the people get all the facts…” (Denton, 2017) Once again this contributes largely to the public perception of Denton, and the consensus is that he is an honest, hard working and hilariously diverse journalist.

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References 1. (2014). Uk.sagepub.com. Retrieved 29 April 2018, from https://uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/42871_Cushion.pdf 2. Andrew Denton. (2016). En.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 27 April 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Denton 3. Andrew Denton | NFSA. (2018). Nfsa.gov.au. Retrieved 29 April 2018, from https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/andrew-denton-oral-history-interview 4. Bureau, S. (2013). Andrew Denton ... leading Australian TV and radio announcer.. Saxton Speakers Bureau. Retrieved 29 April 2018, from http://www.saxton.com.au/andrew-denton/ 5. Leser, D. (2014). Dark side of the loon. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2018, from https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/dark-side-of-the-loon20140902-10bbq3.html 6. That's quite enough rope. (2008). Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 29 April 2018, from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/television/thats-quiteenough-rope/news-story/4423bc632cfcbae3f2ba0758767c1c64? sv=39216473cb324f369134e2ef82901cf7 7. The Weekly: Andrew Denton Interview. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocT9za0JnYU...