Festival Image Creation: The Role of Local and Interstate Newspapers

Abstract

Despite describing itself as an international festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival sells 91 percent of its tickets to local Melbourne residents, with only 4% of attendees visiting from other Australian states and, 1% from overseas. Therefore, the festival would benefit from understanding how the festival is perceived by interstate residents and then adapt its public image accordingly. For that reason, the aim of the article is to consider the images created of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival first by the local newspapers and second by the interstate newspapers. To achieve this, a content analysis of newspaper coverage of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was conducted before the commencement of the festival, during the festival, and immediately following the close of the festival. The Melbourne based newspapers covered the festival extensively, with previews and reviews of shows, profiles of artists, and articles on comedy as an art form. However, there was surprisingly scant coverage by the national and non-Victorian newspapers of the festival, despite the Melbourne International Comedy Festival being the largest cultural event in Australia in terms of ticket sales. The descriptor words used in the non-Victorian newspaper articles were noted and the related newspaper photographs and illustrations were examined. The images created of the festival by the non-Victorian newspapers appear to be lightheartedness and fun, where the comedians are depicted as experienced, professional performers skilled in the art of making their audience laugh. Opportunities for future research are identified.