The federal election in Australia

Australia held a general election on Saturday, July 2, 2016, after a double dissolution. The campaign duration started eight weeks ago, after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's announcement. The election provided an opportunity for the Australian people to choose 226 members of the country's 45th parliament (Maher, 2016). The 2016 election was significant because it marked the start of a new electoral scheme for the Senate. That was also the result of the resulting double dissolution following the 1987 election. Since there were so many close seats, the election results were difficult to forecast. The significant political change in Australia has been an ongoing process for many years.

The main political parties have been more preoccupied with reelection and growth of the corporate sectors than adequate articulation and communication of policies that promote the public good (Douglas and Wodak, 2015). Consequently, the respect for political parties has waned gradually. Moreover, globalization has altered the country’s neoliberal economic system, facilitated the rise of powerful multinational companies, and diverted focus on the public. The study reveals that political journalism has not represented public interest adequately. Australia’s fourth estate is weak and has become easy prey for manipulation by powerful organizations and influential lobbyists. The latter contributes a significant part of the media content. On the other hand, it has rendered the media unable to sustain a balance between public and private interests. The study further reveals that the loss of advertising revenues to multinational companies like Facebook and Google continues to undermine the independence of media organizations.

Public Interest

The public interest is about the well-being of the public. In a submission to the Australian Senate Select Committee on the future of public interest journalism, Elder (n.d.) describes public interest as “having a safe, healthy, and fully-functional society” (p. 1). Thus, political journalism should seek to give people political information that they need to participate in the democratization process. Giving citizens political information enables, they have a span of thinking as far as choosing the leader is concerned. In so doing, voters’ stand a high chance of electing a leader democratically and peacefully. Political journalism that represents the interest of the public has a broad scope. It extends beyond the products that media companies offer through the press (Elder, n.d., p. 1). Most media organizations in Australia have employed journalists who report on the activities of politicians in the federal parliament. The activities usually include policies of the government and opposition politicians. Elder (n.d.) opines that the public interest transcends the boundaries of what Australian traditional media covers. The author explains several reasons why the media (political journalism) cannot provide a full gamut of coverage that is necessary for the public interest.

The fourth estate is a weaker entity in Australia

One of the reasons cited for lack of adequate coverage that meets the public interest is the lack of transparency on the part of the media. The press gallery does not account to the public unlike the politicians (Elder, n.d., p.2). Members of the Australian public have no powers to appoint or dismiss political journalists. Because of this, the journalists are choosy on what to unveil to the public. Failure to expose the public to the emerging issues in the government makes them have no idea about the prevailing situation of the nation. It is important to recognize that the composition of the press gallery in Australia is not representative of the broader geographic and demographic characteristics of Australia. In Australia, most of the political news outputs are about the activities of the government. Such events are usually released to the media through respective ministers. The Australian media broadcasts the intentions of the government but often ignore the public interest in matters such as incompetence, corruption, and maladministration (Elder, n.d., p. 1). Ignoring public interest shows an oppressive form of government. Also, failure to address issues affecting the nation gives a clear indication that the government is not for the benefit of the residents. The Australian media hardly carry out thorough investigations, which aim at highlighting the failures of the government to the public. The media failing to investigate and inform the public regarding the evils of government has painted it in a bad light, and cast aspersions on its ability provide accurate information. In this regard, it is inconceivable that political journalism in Australia can represent the public interest especially about the coverage of elections. Despite the apparent reluctance of Australian journalism to know what the government is doing, there is a line of separation between public interest and operational strategy.

Political journalists in Australia do not provide deeper insights regarding political information. In rare cases, journalists merely “relay information that is provided to them” (Douglas and Wodak, 2015). They hardly engage policy experts on a broad range of issues about the politics and governance. During coverage, political journalists do not cover complex political problems. It is an order from the government, and they have to comply. They only relay information as instructed by the administration. A lot of information is left unveiled, hence making the public unaware on how the government runs the nation.

The coverage of Australian politics has become dull and uninspiring. Kerry O’Brien, who has been a veteran, current affairs journalist, has decried the state of the country’s government and the way the media covers it. The media plays a central role in strengthening democracy and the political process. Despite the fact that democracy is strengthened, the reverse is the order of the day in the government. In the real sense, if the will of the public cannot be put into consideration then, the government does not practice equality. Political journalism requires the journalist to have a deeper understanding of what constitutes public interest (Carvajal et al., 2012, p. 638). In so doing, they get the opinions of the citizens and take it to the government. The state is in control for taking action on the issues affecting the public and addresses them on a serious note. If this is done, it creates a balance between the two parties, hence making the residents have a peaceful stay. When this is overlooked, it affects the nation in a series of ways. Political, economic and social modes of living are changed. It is important for a political journalist to ask questions on behalf of the public. After asking the questions, they should be addressed meaningfully to the public satisfaction.

Outdated TV advertising blackout

Television advertising blackout in the run-up to the federal elections in 2016 in Australia failed to serve the public interest. The outage began exactly two days before the polling day. Government is in control of this; it portrayed that there was something hidden. Consequently, it barred political parties from highlighting their campaigns through the traditional media through adverts (Maher, 2016). Critics of the blackout have argued that it does not represent the interest of the public and that it embodies the failure of successive regimes to recognize the developments in technology and consumer behavior (Maher, 2016). Although the Australian media organizations have complied with blackout provision in the Broadcasting Services Act of 1992, the decision is not very relevant in the modern era characterized by widespread internet access.

Legislative and policy backdrop for political journalism in Australia

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act of 1983 guides Australian media. The Act allows the media the extent by which it can broadcast political matters (Carvajal et al., 2012, p. 639). During the 2016 federal elections, the elections coverage review committee (ECRC), which is convened by the ABC, was responsible for monitoring the election and covering complaints that arose as a result of the process. The media organization offered free broadcast time on both television and radio across Australia for various political parties. The ABC required parties to prepare their material by the provisions of ABC Act.

Stakes hamper representation of public interest

The powerful influence of lobbyists in Australia has hindered media organizations from relaying accurate information to the public. Some of the problems that such organizations face include inadequate resources, which make them vulnerable to manipulation by influential lobbyists (Douglas and Wodak, 2015, p. 6). Consequently, the media is forced to rely on propaganda produced by the stakes for public consumption. In 2010, lobbyists and the depended influenced about 55% of content from major media organizations in Australia significantly on public relations of the lobbyists (Douglas and Wodak, 2015, p. 6). The study further reveals that about 24% of the content did not have any single input of journalists. There has been a growing concern on why the media in Australia is increasingly being compromised due to the handouts that influential lobbyists give in the form of advertorials. The media are experiencing financial and resource challenges; the organizations are unable to balance the competing for the will of both public and private sectors.

The federal elections in 2016 pitied incumbent Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of the Liberal-National Coalition against his closest challenger, Bill Shorten of the Labor Party. The coverage of the elections by the media revealed that the press showed support for Mr. Turnbull. According to Hunter (2016), the leading media newspapers expressed their support for the Prime Minister through weekly editorials on Fridays. The papers argued that in the interest of the public, Prime Minister Turnbull offers positive economic agenda a time of unpredictable economic and political circumstances. Although some papers like The Sunday Herald lauded Mr. Shorten for providing a legitimate choice, they observed that the leader of opposition’s policies does not warrant the change of leadership.

However, The Sunday Age argued that the policies of the Labor party were good for Australia. The party provides a broad range of scope where all the citizens are viewed equally. The media houses that supported the Prime Minister appear to anchor their reasons on Mr. Turnbull’s ability to develop a sound economic plan that can benefit the public. He is seen as more visionary with broad skills aimed at taking the nation to the next economic level. In this regard, it is valid to recognize that the Australian media could have acted in the interest of the public, something that Mr. Turnbull aims at giving the priority.

Mr. Turnbull has established a solid basis in declaring and articulating good governance during his campaign. He has focused on social policies and aims at improving the manner in which people stay. He has promised to agitate for same-sex marriage, which has been the will of the public. In the coalition government, they promise to stir and make the state stronger than labor. On the same note, the government aims at embracing a friendly budget and reforming the tax structure to favor both local and international trade markets. Mr. Turnbull and his leadership have provided a clear vision of the people of Australia. In this case, they should be given the mandate to implement the plans they have for the nation. Their government seems to be more coherent, which is likely to meet the demands the 21st century.

The expression of solidarity to the government of the day by Australian media houses could also signal their lack of independence and financial constraints. Currently, Australia’s journalism is facing a serious threat from multinational companies like Facebook and Google. The competition has led to a significant “collapse of advertising revenues” which could have helped the media houses to operate. According to JERRA, about 3000 journalists in Australia have lost their jobs due to the failure by the media organizations to develop a working business model that can challenge the competition. In this regard, the media organizations could have placed their bet where is it safe considering that the opinion polls had put the incumbent a few points ahead of Mr. Shorten.

Conclusion

The study reveals that political journalism has not adequately represented public interest. While experiencing financial problems, media organizations become susceptible, weak, and malleable. The financial problems make them lose the journalistic capacity to sustain an independent and accurate reporting that favors the public interest. The failure of the Australian market to build a business strategy modeled around public good has undermined the ability of political journalists to represent the public interest. In this regard, finding alternative ways of funding the media will strengthen the independence of Australian media.



References

Carvajal, M., García-Avilés, J.A. and González, J.L., 2012. Crowdfunding and non-profit media: The emergence of new models for public interest journalism. Journalism Practice, 6(5-6), pp.638-647.

Douglas, B., & Wodak, J. 2015. Who Speaks for and protects the public interest in Australia? Australia21.org, Retrieved from http://www.australia21.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ATT00055.pdf

Elder, S. n.d. A submission to the Australian Senate Select Committee on the Future of Public Interest Journalism. Pdf

Maher, S. 2016, February 29. Federal election 2016: TV advertising blackout a big joke.” The Australian. Retrieved from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/federal-election-2016/federal-election-2016-tv-advertising-blackout-a-joke/news-story/7b89bfbe79255254e0fca27ab6a453db















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