tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post6993998556138669454..comments2024-02-11T19:28:27.997+11:00Comments on Personal Reflections: More on perceptions, selection and bias in the Australian mediaJim Belshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-34134973505107808032008-12-27T06:29:00.000+11:002008-12-27T06:29:00.000+11:00Thank you for the comments, Michael. I am not quit...Thank you for the comments, Michael. <BR/><BR/>I am not quite as strongly opposed to all infotainment as you, but there is an issue of balance and space. On the second, and I have read the Rural Press papers a lot, I agree. I had them in mind in part when I talked about the impact of economics.<BR/><BR/>The third is more difficult from my perspective because I think that your comment joins a few different issues.<BR/><BR/>In fact, I woke up this morning thinking about it. I am going to use you comments as a base to try to tease the arguments out.Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-69157280039340222212008-12-26T20:44:00.000+11:002008-12-26T20:44:00.000+11:00I'll respond to three issues:Infotainment: Too muc...I'll respond to three issues:<BR/><BR/>Infotainment: Too much of this appears in Fairfax papers. A lot of people, like you and I, throw it out without reading it. The web is a better source for this, if you're interested (I'm not).<BR/><BR/>Country papers: Rural Press has cut them to the bone and introduced syndicated content which nobody wants to read. Their niche is local news. Those papers that also own the web space will do well.<BR/><BR/>Reporter opinion: There should be no such thing. Newspapers should report, not commentate. I know there's a trend towards "campaign journalism" especially at APN papers, but I don't agree with it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-16735936153230444122008-12-26T11:00:00.000+11:002008-12-26T11:00:00.000+11:00I suspect that two quite different variables are i...I suspect that two quite different variables are involved, Lexcen.<BR/><BR/>The first is the desire for "high" value news stories. This reflects the perceived interests of the Australian public. Child sex abuse is an example.<BR/><BR/>The second is the non-Aboriginal Australia guilt factor on one side, guilt rejection on the other. <BR/><BR/>The two feed into each other.<BR/><BR/>We can see the way all this works in bias terms with the sale of Toorale station. This appealed to the popular environmental stream, so nobody focused on the indigenous side - job losses in an already poor indigenous community. <BR/><BR/>If those with doubts about the sale had had the wit to put the results in the context of the impact on Aborigines, then we would have had two popular causes in opposition. This would have made it a far bigger story.<BR/><BR/>In fairness, the media did pick up the job loss issue. However, this was phrased in general terms.Jim Belshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075614280789984767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24338064.post-83265615387392047842008-12-26T10:00:00.000+11:002008-12-26T10:00:00.000+11:00My perception from the Australian newspaper is tha...My perception from the Australian newspaper is that not a day has gone by in the last year without a story relating to aboriginals included in the paper. I wonder what their agenda may be.Lexcenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17856993035719777231noreply@blogger.com