Reading in brown paper : Beckett\u27s budget and the sensationalist press in interwar Sydney

This article addresses the audience reception of sensationalist newspapers in interwar Australia through a case study of Sydney weekly Beckett\u27s Budget. During a libel trial brought against Beckett\u27s in 1928, readers came to its defence and their testimony reveals overlaps between reading and political allegiances: reading Beckett\u27s equated with voting Labor. While histories of sensationalist media in Australia have rightly emphasised illicit sexuality and public outcry, connections between sensationalism and working-class political movements remain on the margins of academic interest. Responding to the question \u27Do you read Beckett\u27s?\u27 readers\u27 evidence at the trial constitutes an audience response and invites debate over the ways gender and class could inform political engagement in the 1920s. Viewing Beckett\u27s Budget outside of \u27brown paper\u27 and beyond the sensationalist genre reveals a shift in Australian political culture as party strategists embraced a broader electorate, using Beckett\u27s Budget to tap into the culture and concerns of interwar society