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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Australia: The Lucky Country | Australia: The Lucky Country |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Welcome to an experiment in journalism and community — a newsletter (in beta) that will help shape the process of opening a new bureau in Sydney, Australia. Follow along by signing up to receive it by email, and tell us what you think at nytaustralia@nytimes.com. | Welcome to an experiment in journalism and community — a newsletter (in beta) that will help shape the process of opening a new bureau in Sydney, Australia. Follow along by signing up to receive it by email, and tell us what you think at nytaustralia@nytimes.com. |
| “This is the easiest place to live in the world,” said the dark-haired woman with a nose ring and London accent who was cutting my hair the day I arrived in Sydney two weeks ago. Compared with Morocco, England and a few other places she used to call home, Australia was clearly the most relaxed, she said, and perhaps the hardest to engage. | “This is the easiest place to live in the world,” said the dark-haired woman with a nose ring and London accent who was cutting my hair the day I arrived in Sydney two weeks ago. Compared with Morocco, England and a few other places she used to call home, Australia was clearly the most relaxed, she said, and perhaps the hardest to engage. |
| “It’s so nice here. It’s hard to get people to think about all the terrible things in the world,” she said. Then she laughed: “Or maybe it’s just my friends; maybe you’ll find a different crowd.” | “It’s so nice here. It’s hard to get people to think about all the terrible things in the world,” she said. Then she laughed: “Or maybe it’s just my friends; maybe you’ll find a different crowd.” |
| To some degree, we hope to actually bring those crowds together — to get the disengaged and the engaged talking to us, and one another. We’re early on in the process of opening a new bureau in Australia and expanding our coverage of a place that is sometimes called The Lucky Country: for many, because of its blinding beauty and resource-rich fortunes; for others, including the writer who coined the phrase, because of its ongoing effort to define itself beyond the accident of its location and youth as a nation. | To some degree, we hope to actually bring those crowds together — to get the disengaged and the engaged talking to us, and one another. We’re early on in the process of opening a new bureau in Australia and expanding our coverage of a place that is sometimes called The Lucky Country: for many, because of its blinding beauty and resource-rich fortunes; for others, including the writer who coined the phrase, because of its ongoing effort to define itself beyond the accident of its location and youth as a nation. |
| Our own goals are relatively universal: We want to do irresistible in-depth journalism. We want to connect with audiences, working with sources, readers and creators to build a body of work that explores, investigates and highlights what matters in Australia, to Australians and to the world. And we want to connect readers in Australia to the best work of Times journalists around the globe. | Our own goals are relatively universal: We want to do irresistible in-depth journalism. We want to connect with audiences, working with sources, readers and creators to build a body of work that explores, investigates and highlights what matters in Australia, to Australians and to the world. And we want to connect readers in Australia to the best work of Times journalists around the globe. |
| As part of that, we have some ambitious plans that we’ll tell you about as they come together. But we also don’t want to assume we have it all figured out. There’s a process that goes into covering a new country as a foreign correspondent; in my 12 years at The Times, I’ve done it in Mexico, Haiti and Cuba as well as in Iraq and Lebanon, and a big part of it involves listening. It’s reading books, it’s watching movies, it’s interviewing everyone from bartenders, hairstylists and taxi or Uber drivers (who seem to be remarkably well informed about American politics, by the way) to novelists, artists and political figures of varying views. | As part of that, we have some ambitious plans that we’ll tell you about as they come together. But we also don’t want to assume we have it all figured out. There’s a process that goes into covering a new country as a foreign correspondent; in my 12 years at The Times, I’ve done it in Mexico, Haiti and Cuba as well as in Iraq and Lebanon, and a big part of it involves listening. It’s reading books, it’s watching movies, it’s interviewing everyone from bartenders, hairstylists and taxi or Uber drivers (who seem to be remarkably well informed about American politics, by the way) to novelists, artists and political figures of varying views. |
| Usually that all happens offscreen. This time, we want to bring you, the audience, in. I’d love your suggestions for what I should be reading. I’m currently halfway into “Cloudstreet” by Tim Winton, which is fantastic, but what should I add to my list? Who should I meet? What themes should The Times make sure it doesn’t overlook? | Usually that all happens offscreen. This time, we want to bring you, the audience, in. I’d love your suggestions for what I should be reading. I’m currently halfway into “Cloudstreet” by Tim Winton, which is fantastic, but what should I add to my list? Who should I meet? What themes should The Times make sure it doesn’t overlook? |
| Initially, this newsletter, which we’ve been testing a few different ways, will be a platform for that exploration. It will often be me (as the new bureau chief) or one of my colleagues writing about what we’re noticing, and asking questions. We’ll also show you a few stories we’ve done or liked, and find ways to toss in a little fun. | Initially, this newsletter, which we’ve been testing a few different ways, will be a platform for that exploration. It will often be me (as the new bureau chief) or one of my colleagues writing about what we’re noticing, and asking questions. We’ll also show you a few stories we’ve done or liked, and find ways to toss in a little fun. |
| That’s just a start. We’re hiring and looking for pitches for projects so there will be more to read and see once we really get going. | That’s just a start. We’re hiring and looking for pitches for projects so there will be more to read and see once we really get going. |
| But enough throat-clearing. Even as we grow, we’ll be committing regular acts of journalism. Jacqueline Williams, an investigative journalist originally from Canberra, is here now, joining me from New York, and Michelle Innis, a born-and-raised Sydney-sider, continues to provide a steady stream of news and features about Australia — not to mention all the other things The Times has to offer about Washington and the world. | But enough throat-clearing. Even as we grow, we’ll be committing regular acts of journalism. Jacqueline Williams, an investigative journalist originally from Canberra, is here now, joining me from New York, and Michelle Innis, a born-and-raised Sydney-sider, continues to provide a steady stream of news and features about Australia — not to mention all the other things The Times has to offer about Washington and the world. |
| Here are a few stories, not all having to do with The Lucky Country, that I found striking in recent weeks, followed by a perhaps surprising recommendation. | |
| _____ | _____ |
| Trump Flees Pacific Trade Deal | Trump Flees Pacific Trade Deal |
| The Obama administration worked for years to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership to life, or close to it. Donald Trump erased that with the sweep of a pen. Long-serving American officials in the region are none too pleased and predict China will fill the void; critics of multilateral trade deals say it’s about time someone stiffens policy on behalf of American workers. But this is really just the start of a foreign policy shake-up in Washington that will ripple through the entire world, including Australia. Here’s a smart look at how China may be interpreting what’s going on. | The Obama administration worked for years to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership to life, or close to it. Donald Trump erased that with the sweep of a pen. Long-serving American officials in the region are none too pleased and predict China will fill the void; critics of multilateral trade deals say it’s about time someone stiffens policy on behalf of American workers. But this is really just the start of a foreign policy shake-up in Washington that will ripple through the entire world, including Australia. Here’s a smart look at how China may be interpreting what’s going on. |
| _____ | _____ |
| The American Footprint | The American Footprint |
| The headline on this global graphic from The Interpreter, a column by Max Fisher and Amanda Taub that uses context and history to explain world events (sign up here for their newsletter), focuses on what the United States gets for defending its allies around the world. It could just as easily emphasize what the world receives from the U.S. Either way, what you’re left with is a portrait of interlocking alliances and exchanges that have managed to keep much of the world in relative peace and economic harmony — well, at least for the elites. | The headline on this global graphic from The Interpreter, a column by Max Fisher and Amanda Taub that uses context and history to explain world events (sign up here for their newsletter), focuses on what the United States gets for defending its allies around the world. It could just as easily emphasize what the world receives from the U.S. Either way, what you’re left with is a portrait of interlocking alliances and exchanges that have managed to keep much of the world in relative peace and economic harmony — well, at least for the elites. |
| _____ | _____ |
| I Love You, but You’re Wrong | I Love You, but You’re Wrong |
| I’m one of many Americans who come from a politically divided working-class family. At times it feels as if Donald Trump has dropped a surprise onto our kitchen table: It could be a grenade; it could be gold bullion. We don’t yet know. But to understand some of the awkward conversations happening in clans like ours (and maybe yours?), watch this video. | I’m one of many Americans who come from a politically divided working-class family. At times it feels as if Donald Trump has dropped a surprise onto our kitchen table: It could be a grenade; it could be gold bullion. We don’t yet know. But to understand some of the awkward conversations happening in clans like ours (and maybe yours?), watch this video. |
| _____ | _____ |
| Marching Around the World | Marching Around the World |
| One of our goals here is to connect Australia to the world by being more inclusive of Australia in our coverage and (if possible) creating journalism that helps put Australia in perspective. This photo-driven interactive features protests in Sydney and Melbourne. It’s also visually arresting, easy to understand and global in scope — appropriate to the size and scale of the protests. | One of our goals here is to connect Australia to the world by being more inclusive of Australia in our coverage and (if possible) creating journalism that helps put Australia in perspective. This photo-driven interactive features protests in Sydney and Melbourne. It’s also visually arresting, easy to understand and global in scope — appropriate to the size and scale of the protests. |
| _____ | _____ |
| Melbourne as Canvas | Melbourne as Canvas |
| As you may have noticed, our itinerant Frugal Traveler, Lucas Peterson, has been bouncing around Australia recently. This piece really grabbed me — as a look at street art and its many forms in Melbourne. I’ve often found that artists can tell you more about a country than politicians, and I also appreciated Lucas’s approach: “Find complete strangers that appear to be local residents and ask what they enjoy about the city.” That pretty much sums up what I plan to do as I get started in Sydney, and all over this vast country: Ask what people love, and also what they want investigated and explored. Tell me on Twitter (@damiencave) or by email (nytaustralia@nytimes.com). | As you may have noticed, our itinerant Frugal Traveler, Lucas Peterson, has been bouncing around Australia recently. This piece really grabbed me — as a look at street art and its many forms in Melbourne. I’ve often found that artists can tell you more about a country than politicians, and I also appreciated Lucas’s approach: “Find complete strangers that appear to be local residents and ask what they enjoy about the city.” That pretty much sums up what I plan to do as I get started in Sydney, and all over this vast country: Ask what people love, and also what they want investigated and explored. Tell me on Twitter (@damiencave) or by email (nytaustralia@nytimes.com). |
| _____ | _____ |
| Finally, here’s some topical and meaningful fun. | Finally, here’s some topical and meaningful fun. |
| This week, in the world of politics and media, there’s been a lot of discussion about facts, alternative facts, and lies, and it’s been framed in stark black and white terms: truth, it would seem, is obvious. | This week, in the world of politics and media, there’s been a lot of discussion about facts, alternative facts, and lies, and it’s been framed in stark black and white terms: truth, it would seem, is obvious. |
| But when should we trust the facts we think we know? | But when should we trust the facts we think we know? |
| For some things — crowd sizes for one — what we see is what we get. But with our memories, facts are eels, slippery and fast, which led me back to what I still think of as the most creative bit of fact-bending storytelling that I’ve seen in five, maybe 10 years: “Stories We Tell.” It’s Sarah Polley investigating her own family, and her documentary’s themes of betrayal and curiosity are as universal as her filmmaking is unpredictable and surprising. | For some things — crowd sizes for one — what we see is what we get. But with our memories, facts are eels, slippery and fast, which led me back to what I still think of as the most creative bit of fact-bending storytelling that I’ve seen in five, maybe 10 years: “Stories We Tell.” It’s Sarah Polley investigating her own family, and her documentary’s themes of betrayal and curiosity are as universal as her filmmaking is unpredictable and surprising. |
| No, it’s not an escape (for that, there’s Cooking); it’s a dive into the mysterious foggy abyss of facts and alternatives. And it’s worth it. | No, it’s not an escape (for that, there’s Cooking); it’s a dive into the mysterious foggy abyss of facts and alternatives. And it’s worth it. |