2013 Australian Federal Election Analysis
What does the media coverage of the 2013 Australian Federal Election tell us about Australian journalism?
Andrea Porcaro October 2013
This essay will examine the media coverage of the 2013 Australian Federal Election to evaluate the symbiotic relationship between Australian journalism and politics. The legitimacy of democracy and course modern politics finds itself at the mercy of print and broadcast media. This is largely due to the power of reporting and interpretation of political events which can shape public opinion and voting preferences. In a liberal democracy, efforts to overcome opinion, bias and misrepresentation in the media are regulated by industry standards and practice codes. Ideally, such systems should protect the general …show more content…
In general terms, the weeks leading up to a federal election changes the dynamics of print and broadcast media as they shift their focus towards the coverage of political parties and their leaders. In turn, citizens hoping for unbiased, accurate and comprehensive accounts of party policies and their respective politicians were left somewhat disappointed with the media coverage of the 2013 Australian Federal Election. The reasons for this argument will be systematically addressed in this essay.
The first noteworthy error made by the mainstream media (print, television and radio) involves the overarching narrative of the election which focussed on the Labor party and the Coalition. It is not the first time election media coverage was guilty of wearing the two-party blinkers. For decades,
Australian voters have had to decipher this misrepresentation for themselves. This practice of exclusion towards other parties is common, yet damaging to the possibility of unbiased political representation as voters form opinions through the lens of the media. Perhaps the media feel it is justified due to the use of polling statistics (which are often facilitated by media companies themselves) (Craig 2004, p.166). However, the emphasis of the two-party preference …show more content…
Hence, the media are often blamed when misrepresentation in politics occurs. This is the first potential improvement of
Australian journalism. The incorporation of minor parties and the voices of voters would make a drastic change to the state of election coverage practices as we know them today. Wider inclusion of such political parties would dilute the two-party obsession and pay credit to the efforts of remaining participants, and in turn, educate and influence readers and viewers about the wider Australian political landscape. After all, if democracy is the system by which this country operates, it must be duly reflected in political media coverage. What the media should realize while they are publishing repetitive stories borrowed from one another, is the future of a nation is largely held in their hands.
The media cannot be simply reduced to innocent messengers. If each message was accurate, informative and unbiased, perhaps innocence could be assumed. But until then, and against the backdrop of this argument, the Australian media giants must reform political journalism to sell information rather than entertainment.
Andrea Porcaro October 2013
This essay will examine the media coverage of the 2013 Australian Federal Election to evaluate the symbiotic relationship between Australian journalism and politics. The legitimacy of democracy and course modern politics finds itself at the mercy of print and broadcast media. This is largely due to the power of reporting and interpretation of political events which can shape public opinion and voting preferences. In a liberal democracy, efforts to overcome opinion, bias and misrepresentation in the media are regulated by industry standards and practice codes. Ideally, such systems should protect the general …show more content…
In general terms, the weeks leading up to a federal election changes the dynamics of print and broadcast media as they shift their focus towards the coverage of political parties and their leaders. In turn, citizens hoping for unbiased, accurate and comprehensive accounts of party policies and their respective politicians were left somewhat disappointed with the media coverage of the 2013 Australian Federal Election. The reasons for this argument will be systematically addressed in this essay.
The first noteworthy error made by the mainstream media (print, television and radio) involves the overarching narrative of the election which focussed on the Labor party and the Coalition. It is not the first time election media coverage was guilty of wearing the two-party blinkers. For decades,
Australian voters have had to decipher this misrepresentation for themselves. This practice of exclusion towards other parties is common, yet damaging to the possibility of unbiased political representation as voters form opinions through the lens of the media. Perhaps the media feel it is justified due to the use of polling statistics (which are often facilitated by media companies themselves) (Craig 2004, p.166). However, the emphasis of the two-party preference …show more content…
Hence, the media are often blamed when misrepresentation in politics occurs. This is the first potential improvement of
Australian journalism. The incorporation of minor parties and the voices of voters would make a drastic change to the state of election coverage practices as we know them today. Wider inclusion of such political parties would dilute the two-party obsession and pay credit to the efforts of remaining participants, and in turn, educate and influence readers and viewers about the wider Australian political landscape. After all, if democracy is the system by which this country operates, it must be duly reflected in political media coverage. What the media should realize while they are publishing repetitive stories borrowed from one another, is the future of a nation is largely held in their hands.
The media cannot be simply reduced to innocent messengers. If each message was accurate, informative and unbiased, perhaps innocence could be assumed. But until then, and against the backdrop of this argument, the Australian media giants must reform political journalism to sell information rather than entertainment.