The trial of Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik for the murder of 77 people has a special significance for journalists in Australia, and not just because Breivik summoned the names of John Howard, Peter…
None of the 27 Australian universities that answered a recent survey about disclosure policies expect their staff to reveal competing interests when making public comment, according to a paper published…
Welcome to In Conversation, our series of discussions between leading academics and major public figures in Australian life. In this instalment, Mark Scott, managing director of the Australian Broadcasting…
Despite rapid growth in the number of non-profit investigative centres in the United States and many fine examples of quality journalism by such centres, uncertainty remains over the longer-term sustainability…
The Conversation has “provided an avenue for academics to present an informed view of topical questions” and has become a “reliable source of information for the public at large around questions of major…
On Friday, internationally-popular US radio show This American Life retracted its “Mr Daisey and the Apple Factory” episode upon the discovery its narrator and author Mike Daisey had fabricated some of…
The recent Finkelstein inquiry into media regulation in Australia has suggested a new body to govern journalistic standards and handle complaints from the public, the News Media Council. But at a time…
The dispute between Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, and her children is more than a private squabble between relatives. The high profile of the litigants meant the case was always going to attract…
Some news organisations take the view that their access to a wide audience gives them the capacity to defend themselves against their critics, so they should never need to resort to the defamation laws…
An independent inquiry has found that the way media is regulated in Australia is not rigorous enough to ensure accountability and transparency. It proposes that a new statutory body, the News Media Council…
An independent inquiry into media regulation has recommended that a statutory watchdog be given the power to set journalistic standards for all news organisations, and to order them to publish apologies…
The trouble with words is that you never know whose mouths they’ve been in. – Dennis Potter Readers following the Australian news media’s coverage of climate change will probably have detected the conspiracy…
Australia’s wealthiest person, Gina Rinehart has bought shares in Fairfax Media. Should we be worried if she buys a controlling interest in the company that publishes the Age, Sydney Morning Herald and…
La Trobe University’s Dr Jan Schapper recently completed a study into signage and writing on women’s toilets in Australia. The research, just published in the international journal, “Gender, Place and…
We have entered a new, digital, era in animal protection, yet one in which a legislative backlash against video exposes is stirring in parts of the US. Last week brought another revelation of animal cruelty…
Margaret Mutu, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Maybe it’s the lot of academics to be misrepresented, but when a single incident can nearly get you sacked it makes you reconsider whether to deal with the media at all. Last year, comments of mine about…
James Packer, Lachlan Murdoch, Kerry Stokes, John Singleton and Gina Rinehart. While Stokes and Singleton have been around media traps for a few years now, the return of a Packer, a Murdoch and the addition…
A growing cohort of commentators has bemoaned the descent of contemporary political “debate” into a largely fact-free zone. People used to be entitled to their own opinions, but not their own set of facts…
News that Gina Rinehart has reportedly attained a 12.8% stake in Fairfax Media (and is seeking just under 15%) is bad for the Australian media environment: it potentially puts yet another billionaire in…
Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has moved to increase her stake in Fairfax Media, owner of The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and a number of radio stations. Rinehart has already shown her desire…