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Truth-Telling at the Border: An Audience Appraisal of Border Security

Since its initial broadcast in October 2004, Border Security: Australia's Front Line has enjoyed sustained high ratings on Australian television. This article examines the key theme of ‘truth-telling’ in Border Security. Drawing on interviews with audiences and the program's executive producer, the article argues that the way truth-telling shapes the storytelling in Border Security taps into contemporary social and political ideas about how and why Australian borders should be managed. As a diagnostic tool for identifying authenticity, truth-telling is the key condition, or ‘rule’, that newcomers must follow if they want to enter the country. But audiences also apply the rule of truth-telling to the program itself, and disengage when they feel like they are being manipulated. Truth-telling at the border – by people wanting to enter the country and by the program production itself – contributes to the continued popularity of the program with Australian audiences, and also explains when and why audiences disengage with the program.