Media, Power and Politics in Australia

For students of government, policy and journalism.

Media, Power and Politics in Australia provides journalism students with the insights they need in order to understand the nature of the government/media relationship in this country. Equally, it provides politics students with an understanding of how the media operates in Australia and the influence journalists wield in the political process.

It employs a cross-disciplinary approach that introduces theoretical debates and provides appropriate examples that give students practical information regarding the Australian political system and the role of journalism as mediator between the government and the public.

Introduction
1. Government, politics and the press – the liberal-democratic setting
2. Towards’ an ideal paradigm? The ‘Fourth estate’ model
3. Critical reflections on the Fourth Estate approach
4. The ‘right to know’ versus ‘confidence in government’
5. The state and ‘the press’ – public broadcasting
6. The state and media policy
7. The journalist and press production
8. Journalism and ethics
9. Politics and ethics
10. The press and ‘governance’
11. Objectivity and bias
12. Who controls the message? Politics, public relations and ‘spin doctors’
13. The media and ‘presidentialism’ – personality politics in Australia
14. The press and opinion polls: the rise of the ‘new machine men’
15. The press and the polls – media and elections
16. Journalists and budgets – understanding the numbers
17. The media and politics: future directions?
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendices
Index

• End of chapter Questions give students a chance to look at and discuss the issues related to the government/media relationship.
• Boxed examples provide students with specific case scenarios and can be found throughout the text.
• List of references at the end of each chapter for further reading, reference and review.

Assoc. Prof Stephen Tanner is Head of the School of Journalism and Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong. He has published Journalism: Investigation and Research (Longman, 2002) and co-written with Gail Phillips, Chris Smyth and Suellen Tapsall Journalism Ethics at Work (Pearson Longman, 2005). Stephen has a background in journalism and politics as well as impressive academic skills.

Dr Nicholas Economou is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University. He is a contributor to Boreham, Stokes & Hall The Politics of Australian Society, Fenna Australian Public Policy and Parkin, Summers & Woodward, Government, Politics, Power and Policy in Australia.