Mocking the News: PRS Examination for Sami Shah

This public presentation is the culmination of Sami Shah's PHD studies through the Practice Research Symposium (PRS) method at RMIT University's School of Media and Communication.

This practice-based PhD (PRS) investigates how Australian satirical news podcasts are reshaping what “journalistic professionalism” can sound like; especially in relation to the enduring ideal of objectivity. It asks how satirical podcasting econfigures journalistic authority by challenging institutional performances of neutrality and balance, and by foregrounding rhetorical and affective transparency as an alternative basis for credibility and public trust.The project is anchored in my ongoing creative practice as the writer, host, and producer of the satirical news podcast News Weakly, which functions as a live research site where ideas are tested through writing, voicing, editing, release, and audience feedback. The practice is triangulated through semi-structured interviews with several prominent Australian satirists and a listener survey (n=212), examining how satire is produced, interpreted, and evaluated as “news”, critique, commentary, or something hybrid.Across the creative and critical components, the research shows that satirical podcasts can disrupt conventional journalistic authority not by abandoning truth claims, but by refusing the performance of neutral stance. In these contexts, trust is negotiated through declared perspective, tonal cues, irony, and reflexive openness—features amplified by podcasting’s intimacy and the ethics of voice. I describe this as sonic reflexivity: the way cadence, hesitation, parody, and delivery signal political and ethical positioning, shaping how listeners assess credibility and intent.The project also documents the risks and responsibilities of making satire in real time, including emotional labour, decisions about who and what to target, and the pressures of audience feedback. Overall, this PhD positions satirical podcasting as an affective, iterative form of media critique that illuminates changing relationships between voice, power, and authority in contemporary journalism.

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Host or Publisher RMIT Journalism with Media Diversity Australia