National history or post-industrial commodity? Negotiating Australian history through television documentary

Only a few documentaries have portrayed Australia’s national history on free-to-air television in the twenty-first century. These programs, presenting key concepts about the national past, supported by government funding and endorsed by public broadcast, are privileged histories that inevitably play a part in the politics of history. But who decides what histories are told, and what industrial, social and economic factors determine why certain historical perspectives are given precedence over others? Can documentaries made within ‘history initiatives’ actually take historical initiative? This article will consider these questions and the challenges historians face in playing a more active role in constructing the national past on screen.