Aborigines, Refugees, and Battlers: Who Does Your Newspaper Barrack For?
June 30th 2009 13:39
Forget Bob Hawke's mates at the Big End of Town, the 1980's policies that allowed a near duopoly on Australian media. The major dailies are actually rooting for the underdog. Which underdog depends on which cause is most popular with its readership and guaranteed to elicit sympathy, not to mention make the Murdochs and the Fairfaxes look like caring, community minded folks.
Murdoch's two audiences, the rich and/or educated (The Australian) and the masses of his tabloid dailies (Herald Sun, Telegraph, Courier Mail, Advertiser, and Sunday Times) focus their sympathies on two groups: Indigenous people and the Aussie Battler. Fairfax dailies (The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Western Australian and the Brisbane TimesYour text goes here root for migrants and refugees.
Take The Australian. For over ten years, Indigenous issues have been prominently displayed on the front pages of its paper. To its credit, the publicity and call for action of some of these stories have helped keep improving indigenous health and opportunities in the forefront of politician's minds. The Australian has been behind the intervention from its inception and regularly invites commentary from Aboriginal leaders such as Noel Pearson. It seems that a right wing paper provides a stronger image of Aborigines than its left wing whinging counterparts; the problems in communities are described and photographed but commentary from Aboriginal notables are also pushed, especially that which mainstream Australians would support; that is, one whose views are practical, moderate and common sense. Its Fairfax cousins tend to feature extreme left viewed commentary from both Aborigines and non Aborigines alike on Indigenous matters and therefore, miss the opportunity to galvanise a cross community support base.
The Murdoch News Ltd tabloid dailies proudly claim the "Aussie Battler," and it may be argued, are like []A Current AffairI[/I] in print. (Although the Herald Sun et al can proclaim superiority than weeknightly sensation Today Tonight.). These papers don't get into intellectual debates about racism and multiculturalism, and proudly display what could be considered as traditional working class Australian values. Migrants are incorporated into these values without stressing the ideological. For instance, if a Vietnamese shop keeper is robbed, he is pictured as the hardworking immigrant, robbed of his honest day's work, and you and I, the readers, are his neighbours. However, should that migrant not embrace mainstream Australian culture, such as not want certain civics classes taught in their child's school, he will be targeted as "UnAustralian."
The Murdoch tabloid dailies ignore Fairfax's intellectualised feminism, and support the average suburban mum, whether she works or not. In fact, News Ltd is quite progressive in their portrayal of women's issues like abortion, and will find examples not of university lecturers and glamour women it's audience can't relate to, but decent hard working women faced with a decision on whether she could cope with baby with Down's Syndrome.
News Ltd's tabloids such as the Courier Mail and the Herald Sun are also extremely effective in fundraising. How often have tears been shed over the page three coverage of an Aussie Battler, typically a suburban mother of three and part time nurse, struck down with a rare form of cancer and the paper appeals for your help as her husband's income can't afford to pay the mortgage and the medical treatment? These stories invoke action from the masses, raising millions for charitable causes. Sick children and the average (but hard working and deserving) are these papers' pinup causes.
It is worth mentioning that the tabloid papers, despite their fear tactics and sensationalism at times, also are considered "tough on crime." Some important and horrific crimes committed have been covered, raising funds and assistance for victims and support groups; and in some cases, changing the law (such as the "double jeopardy" law where a person who has been tried for a crime, can't be tried for it again even if there is new evidence to come forth). Victoria are about to pass this legislation and I would argue in part due to the Herald Sun's coverage of some of its inadequacies and all media coverage of the Jaiden Leskie case.
Fairfax caters for intellectuals, and has a high concentration of inner city readers, but by no means exclusively cater for inner urban types. Their papers emphasise cultural understanding and experiences as fashionable as cafes and soy lattes. They constantly highlight the plight of the refugee, and compared to the lack of international news in Murdoch’s tabloids (Siege in Bangkok – but Aussie footballers in Phuket okay), they describe the background of the situation and actually provide…well, news. The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald take plight to the refugees and the boat people and Muslims. The focus on the international could be due to a larger proportion of migrants in inner city areas. Or possibly it is just fashionable to reject White Anglo Australia as boring, passé and boganesque.
Fairfax could be the leader of credible news however although the general news section is excellent but they have become lazy and reliant on “armchair” journalism/psychology in their supplements (why men cheat – according to the non informed opinion of not real journalist Alice who surveyed her bitter divorcee friends at the pub on Friday night) and all the outsourcing of subediting is showing (have you played "spot the spelling error" in their weekend supplements recently?).
The battler, the refugee and the Indigenous population compete for intellectual sympathies if each newspaper determines barracking their causes meets its interests.
Murdoch's two audiences, the rich and/or educated (The Australian) and the masses of his tabloid dailies (Herald Sun, Telegraph, Courier Mail, Advertiser, and Sunday Times) focus their sympathies on two groups: Indigenous people and the Aussie Battler. Fairfax dailies (The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Western Australian and the Brisbane TimesYour text goes here root for migrants and refugees.
Take The Australian. For over ten years, Indigenous issues have been prominently displayed on the front pages of its paper. To its credit, the publicity and call for action of some of these stories have helped keep improving indigenous health and opportunities in the forefront of politician's minds. The Australian has been behind the intervention from its inception and regularly invites commentary from Aboriginal leaders such as Noel Pearson. It seems that a right wing paper provides a stronger image of Aborigines than its left wing whinging counterparts; the problems in communities are described and photographed but commentary from Aboriginal notables are also pushed, especially that which mainstream Australians would support; that is, one whose views are practical, moderate and common sense. Its Fairfax cousins tend to feature extreme left viewed commentary from both Aborigines and non Aborigines alike on Indigenous matters and therefore, miss the opportunity to galvanise a cross community support base.
The Murdoch News Ltd tabloid dailies proudly claim the "Aussie Battler," and it may be argued, are like []A Current AffairI[/I] in print. (Although the Herald Sun et al can proclaim superiority than weeknightly sensation Today Tonight.). These papers don't get into intellectual debates about racism and multiculturalism, and proudly display what could be considered as traditional working class Australian values. Migrants are incorporated into these values without stressing the ideological. For instance, if a Vietnamese shop keeper is robbed, he is pictured as the hardworking immigrant, robbed of his honest day's work, and you and I, the readers, are his neighbours. However, should that migrant not embrace mainstream Australian culture, such as not want certain civics classes taught in their child's school, he will be targeted as "UnAustralian."
The Murdoch tabloid dailies ignore Fairfax's intellectualised feminism, and support the average suburban mum, whether she works or not. In fact, News Ltd is quite progressive in their portrayal of women's issues like abortion, and will find examples not of university lecturers and glamour women it's audience can't relate to, but decent hard working women faced with a decision on whether she could cope with baby with Down's Syndrome.
News Ltd's tabloids such as the Courier Mail and the Herald Sun are also extremely effective in fundraising. How often have tears been shed over the page three coverage of an Aussie Battler, typically a suburban mother of three and part time nurse, struck down with a rare form of cancer and the paper appeals for your help as her husband's income can't afford to pay the mortgage and the medical treatment? These stories invoke action from the masses, raising millions for charitable causes. Sick children and the average (but hard working and deserving) are these papers' pinup causes.
It is worth mentioning that the tabloid papers, despite their fear tactics and sensationalism at times, also are considered "tough on crime." Some important and horrific crimes committed have been covered, raising funds and assistance for victims and support groups; and in some cases, changing the law (such as the "double jeopardy" law where a person who has been tried for a crime, can't be tried for it again even if there is new evidence to come forth). Victoria are about to pass this legislation and I would argue in part due to the Herald Sun's coverage of some of its inadequacies and all media coverage of the Jaiden Leskie case.
Fairfax caters for intellectuals, and has a high concentration of inner city readers, but by no means exclusively cater for inner urban types. Their papers emphasise cultural understanding and experiences as fashionable as cafes and soy lattes. They constantly highlight the plight of the refugee, and compared to the lack of international news in Murdoch’s tabloids (Siege in Bangkok – but Aussie footballers in Phuket okay), they describe the background of the situation and actually provide…well, news. The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald take plight to the refugees and the boat people and Muslims. The focus on the international could be due to a larger proportion of migrants in inner city areas. Or possibly it is just fashionable to reject White Anglo Australia as boring, passé and boganesque.
Fairfax could be the leader of credible news however although the general news section is excellent but they have become lazy and reliant on “armchair” journalism/psychology in their supplements (why men cheat – according to the non informed opinion of not real journalist Alice who surveyed her bitter divorcee friends at the pub on Friday night) and all the outsourcing of subediting is showing (have you played "spot the spelling error" in their weekend supplements recently?).
The battler, the refugee and the Indigenous population compete for intellectual sympathies if each newspaper determines barracking their causes meets its interests.
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