Ideally, Australia would introduce constitutional protections for media freedom. But, in the meantime, four laws need urgent reform to better balance those freedoms with national security.
- Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne
This week’s raids on media show our democracy at its darkest.
This election showed that Australia is stuck with an increasingly polarised media, a highly concentrated media ownership landscape and no apparent way to do anything about it.
At some level, democratic societies have had enough of Murdoch and his propaganda operation masquerading as a news service.
However, the problem of combining the managing director and editor-in-chief roles remains, and these must be separated to preserve editorial independence.
The Conversation’s experts analyse the first Morrison-Shorten debate, with a focus on the key policy issues and the leaders’ performances.
With a fake news scandal already marking this election campaign, questions remain about how well our democracy can cope with it.
A Senate inquiry report has found that while the broadcaster’s board was aware of the deteriorating relationship between the chair and managing director, it did not make any further inquiries.
Pell trial reporters, a judge and a media lawyer on why the suppression order debate is far from over
The Conversation, CC BY79.9 MB (download)
On the day George Pell was sentenced, several experts with wide-ranging experiences of suppression orders discussed how they affect the public’s right to know and whether the laws should be reformed.
On the day of the Christchurch mosque shootings, several media outlets repeatedly failed the test of necessity in showing graphic footage.
With a long history in the media and public life, Ita Buttrose’s appointment is a decision the government may have gotten right.
The national broadcaster has had a tumultuous history, targeted by both major parties at various times. No matter who takes office after the 2019 election, the ABC can never rest easy.
An ACCC interim report is one of the most consequential documents for media policy in decades, while a government report finds both public broadcasters are acting in the public interest.
As recent events show, we might get better media reporting if journalists questioned authorities more closely on the relevance of ethnicity and religion in crime reporting.
A new book examines the relationship between national security and access to information in Australia, New Zealand, US, UK and Canada, comparing it with other countries around the world.
One of the reasons the managing director failed was that she did not understand the journalism she was overseeing, and that weakness filtered down the ranks.
Media moguls’ alleged involvement in bringing an end to Malcolm Turnbull’s prime ministership raises serious questions about their influence, and media accountability.
News Corp, Sky News and 2GB have contributed to the creeping ‘Foxification’ of Australian politics over the life of the Turnbull government.
The dilemma for the rest of the media is: to report or not to report? And how?
The merger signals the death of Fairfax, and is the most consequential change in Australian media ownership in 31 years.
The public broadcaster’s editorial independence must be protected at all costs – from within and without.
Many female politicians have had to endure sexist abuse, from Cheryl Kernot to Julia Gillard to Sarah Hanson-Young. And it is not a matter that should simply be brushed aside.
A motion to privatise the ABC, no matter how vigorously repudiated by the government, is political poison, and may now reap a political harvest.
In democratic political systems, public officials are accountable through the media to the people. That responsibility to be accountable comes with public office. It is not a marketable commodity.
The focus raises questions about the motives behind the inquiry and how it might benefit anti-ABC crusaders, including Pauline Hanson.
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