Joanne Lowe's Profile

Sport has been a central part of the Australian experience since the country
was first colonised. Press reports of
the endeavours of sportsmen and sportswomen played a fundamental role in the way
that the developing country viewed and understood itself, and the influence of
the sporting media continues to this day.

As Australia developed economically, so too did technology and literacy
rates. This meant that more Australians had the leisure time in which to play
and watch sport, and more time to read about it. The first newspaper devoted
entirely to sporting news was The Referee, published in Sydney in 1886.

And it's likely that forms of audience participation will become more
widespread once mobile devices such as video-enabled phones -- which allow
you to transmit text, photos and video directly over the phone -- become
commonplace.

• Newspapers 2.8 hours (down from 3.1)