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Media, Public Discourse and Racism

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Racism in Australia Today

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of Australian media in the production, propagation and enactment of racism. It discusses how media racialises particular groups and influences political discourse around immigration policy, diversity and national identity issues. Media plays central role in modern society by setting the agenda for public discourse and by disseminating information across increasingly compressed notions of time and space. Media remain vital for modern democracy, particularly in balancing state power and holding it to account. Yet, like any other public institution, media can also be used and abused for various purposes that promote unfair inequalities. Racism is one such negative social outcome that is widely perpetrated in media with significant adverse effects on racial minorities. At the beginning of the twentieth century, racist tropes in the media and the film industry encouraged racist hatred against African Americans. Similarly, the media was instrumental in carrying racial propaganda for White Australia. Throughout the 1960s and beyond, media was at the heart of racial polarisation that continues to this day. This chapter examines the contemporary nature of mediatised racism that perpetuates structural inequities in Australia. The chapter also explores the recent spike in anti-Asian racism on social media during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic showing the role of media in perpetuating both ethno-cultural as well as institutional forms of racism.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See National Library of Australia website, “Press timeline 1802–1850”, January 25, 2012. Accessed on July 14, 2020: https://www.nla.gov.au/content/press-timeline-1802-1850.

  2. 2.

    See The Guardian, July 30, 2020. Accessed on August 18, 2020: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/30/naming-brisbane-women-risks-a-second-wave-of-covid-related-racial-hostility-commission?CMP=share_btn_tw.

  3. 3.

    See a statement in the Commission’s website. Accessed on August 23, 2020: https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/27434/2020.07.30-Media-statement-re-new-Queensland-COVID-cases.pdf.

  4. 4.

    One of the vocal debates on racism occurred in the discussions surrounding anti-discrimination clause in the Racial Discrimination Act, namely Section 18C.

  5. 5.

    Dog whistling refers to a political strategy that uses coded messaging directed towards particular groups (e.g. white working-class men) to win their support.

  6. 6.

    For reports on Reporting Islam see: https://reportingislam.org/ and for Police Accountability Project’s (PAP) see: http://www.policeaccountability.org.au/commentary/reporting-crime-and-race-a-short-guide-for-journalists/.

  7. 7.

    See a June 30, 2020 Google News story at news.com.au: “I felt dirty and humiliated, Suicidal”: Kodie Bedford details treatment at SBS.

  8. 8.

    See Essential Report, Weekly surveys, May 30, 2017 available at https://essentialvision.com.au/asylum-seekers-3.

  9. 9.

    See 2 GB’s March 19, 2020 report in https://www.2gb.com/im-gonna-come-after-you-peter-dutton-issues-stark-warning-to-busload-hoarders/; and The Courier’s March 19, 2020 report in https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/6686812/have-busloads-of-hoarders-from-out-of-town-actually-been-buying-up-here/?cs=62&fbclid=IwAR3_XyovmXYAWn2MZrjeILdl84ezwilroZgsf7gQklQGL8U4C0RCPDhZj3c.

  10. 10.

    See June 22, 2020 Sky News report. Accessed on 18 July 2020: https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6166254713001.

  11. 11.

    See the following July 2020 RMIT-ABC Fact Check (Accessed July 30, 2020: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-24/coronacheck-black-lives-matter-melbourne-andrew-bolt-masks/12481360.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    Dr. Amanuel Elias

  2. Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    Prof. Fethi Mansouri

  3. Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    Prof. Yin Paradies

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  1. Dr. Amanuel Elias
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  2. Prof. Fethi Mansouri
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  3. Prof. Yin Paradies
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Correspondence to Amanuel Elias .

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Elias, A., Mansouri, F., Paradies, Y. (2021). Media, Public Discourse and Racism. In: Racism in Australia Today. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2137-6_6

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