In the tracks of Blinky Bill : How Sam the koala led news journalists into an Australian literary tradition

The world was captivated when footage of a badly burnt koala taking water from a Victorian Country Fire Authority volunteer was taken with a mobile phone and broadcast to the world on YouTube in February 2009. When the story of ‘Sam the Koala’ was subsequently adopted by traditional broadcast and print media, recombinant themes were used to construct her story – from heroism, patriotism, villain v victim - even romance was incorporated to entertain and create audience appeal. This paper explores how ‘Sam the Koala’ became a defining news story in the coverage of Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires and examines the power of narrative when cross pollination occurs between new and traditional media in the production of news. It is argued that Sam’s story is evidence of journalists adopting new approaches to storytelling in a bid to retain their legitimacy as the authoritative voice of news and information in an increasingly technologically driven society.