7. News and media

Snapshot: YouTube, earwax and blogs biting back: the internet and election 2007
Politics in the media—television and newspapers—Media power—The relationship between political actors and news—Interactive media

1. Consider the coverage of the 2007 election campaign by various news sources. What news sources did you consult for information? Was there a pattern in their coverage and if so, how much did it affect your voting preferences?

2. Only two cities in Australia have access to two daily metropolitan newspapers. What are the possible implications of highly concentrated media ownership on election coverage?

3. Given these implications, how much of a role can alternative media, such as internet sources like YouTube and blogs, play? Do you think such sources played a role in influencing public opinion during the 2007 election campaign?

4. Politicians must negotiate their relationship with their voting public through the media. Do you think that the influence of the media on public opinion can affect the way that politicians behave?

5. How is the relationship between various media and audiences defined? Who holds the power? Is this relationship different in the case of new, web-based media?

6. How does interactive media fit into the equation? Account for the role played by talkback radio in political discourse.

7. Given the rise of so-called new media, do you think that the relationship between media and politics is set to change fundamentally? Do you see the apparent freedom of interactive media as a departure from media centralisation?

Resources

ABC Online

Crikey

Independent media

Trevor Barr, Newmedia.com.au, pp5-19
Read an extract (PDF)