The construction of Australia Day: a study of public relations as ‘new cultural intermediaries’

Abstract

Australia Day is a foremost expression of Australian culture and identity, but historical and critical analysis shows that, far from being an organic or spontaneous expression and celebration of identity and culture, Australia's national day has been ‘manufactured’ by what can be identified as ‘new cultural intermediaries’. Drawing on but reinterpreting and updating Pierre Bourdieu's concept to account for twenty-first century media and public communication practices, this article reports a transdisciplinary study which shows that the organized and orchestrated practices of public relations (PR) and the activities of PR practitioners have been instrumental in the creation of Australia Day and in the production, distribution and interpretation of symbolic materials, presentations and representations of national identity and culture that it reflects. This analysis identifies and explores a significant underestimation and marginalization of the activities and influence of PR within media and cultural studies, as well as Australian history, sociology and politics, to illuminate a ‘blind spot’ in these disciplines. It argues for further transdisciplinary research to provide a more comprehensive understanding of contemporary society and culture and create more transparent PR practices.